Creative Highlights of 2021

Maryanne and Sammy

2021 was just as crazy as 2020. The pandemic neared an end, thanks to masks and vaccines, but then another strain came in and New York City is shut down again. But over here, in a small town in New Jersey, my husband and I continue to make our own magic as we navigate life’s ups and downs.

However, in due respect to our private lives, I’ve chosen to make this year end review more about creative projects (and threw in some shows we’ve seen). Of course there is much more to a year than this, but these are definitely the highlights! ENJOY!

JANUARY

January started off with lots of creative energy — and pretending to be a mess.

I modeled as a health care practitioner junkie for a photography contest. I collaborated with a doctor/photographer to illustrate opioid abuse in the health industry.

I also had a role in the ZOOM presentation, “The Holiday Channel Christmas Wonderthon” which aired on The Jesse Walker Show on You Tube. My character sociopath Carol was in love with the guy in the coma.

Me, in the upper left as crazy Carol

MARCH

On March 14, I spoke about Women Empowerment at a local NJ venue. Here I am photographed with organizer, Carolyn M. Gourdine.

Maryanne with Carolyn Gourdine

MAY

In May I did an Over-50 model shoot for David Esposito. This was my favorite shot.

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta (Un-retouched photo by David Esposito)

JUNE

In June, I was thrilled to have my poem, “All About Eve” included in a Black Lives Matter art show, hosted by the West Orange Arts Council. Here’s a candid shot from the event.

JULY

July was amazing because I was assistant to The Amazing Kreskin for four days in Boxwood, Massachusetts at ComicCon. It was a blast!

Maryanne and The Amazing Kreskin

SEPTEMBER

September was double the modeling fun, as I got to work with two great photographers. Over 50 has never been so much fun!

Photo of Maryanne by Jeff Danze

Photo of Maryanne by Beautiful Photo Moments

OCTOBER

My husband and I go to see so many concerts, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But The Smithereens always deliver! I was honored to meet Marshall Crenshaw for the very first time; and Smithereens guitarist, Jim Babjak 

Marshall Crenshaw and Maryanne

Maryanne and Smithereens guitarist, Jim Babjak 

DECEMBER

Earlier this year I began taking art classes. By December, I got pretty good. This is a painting I did of birch trees at dawn.

Birch tree painting by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta

REST IN PEACE

Earlier this year, we lost the incredible Lori Burton. I had the honor to meet her twice when I was a teenager. She was a great talent and a wonderful human being.

We also lost, rock legend photographer, Mick Rock. I was a fan of his work since I was 12. I was honored to not only review his photography show for New York’s Westsider in the 1990s, but I also had the chance to meet him.

Mick Rock, Maryanne, and Lenny Kaye, circa 1999/2000

And finally, on a very sad note, a photo tribute I did for Michael Nesmith who we lost this year. I was lucky to see him in the original Monkees tour in the 1980s and many more Monkees shows, including his own solo show; and finally with Mickey Dolenz, just a month or so before Nesmith passed. He was a great artist, and truly my favorite Monkee.

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta can be reached at: maryannechristiano@gmail.com.

She is the author of the following books:

“Be (Extra)Ordinary: 10 Ways to Become Your Own Hero” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback or Kindle version, visit:Be (Extra)Ordinary

“I Don’t Want to Be Like You” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback, Kindle or audio copy, go here: I Don’t Want To Be Like You

Her fiction book “Love Cats” second printing is now available, under the pen name Krystianna Mercury, from Pink Flamingo. You can purchase it here: Love Cats

You Tube Establishes A Respectful Environment For Creators; What a Class Act!

NOW I LOVE YOU TUBE EVEN MORE!

I am a huge fan of You Tube, and it’s where I spend ninety percent of my internet time. I’ll have a cup of coffee and breakfast watching commentary. I use You Tube videos for my evening meditations. I use You Tube for my workout routines. And whenever I discover a new musical artist I love, I go on a You Tube binge for hours watching all their videos.

And I have my own You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLq6J9MSvcjd-haQ30ycLWA/videos

A week ago I casually mentioned to someone that I have an anti-bullying You Tube Channel.

“Oh, you’re trying to be a You Tube star?” he asked.

“No, I’m not. I just create videos I believe could make the world a better place. I don’t push them. Whoever is meant to find them, finds them.”

I don’t update on a schedule, just when I’m inspired. And when I have the time.

Since I began my fairly obscure channel, three years ago, believe it or not, I never got a thumbs down–except for three months ago, which I’ll get into. I’m guessing my zero “dislike” number on You Tube is because I’m not on anyone’s radar there who dislikes me–because trust me, I have plenty of haters on Facebook and Amazon who go to great lengths to show their “disapproval” for me. For example, they will go to my Facebook page and put the “ha-ha” icon to make fun of my photos, then they block me so I can’t report them. This is the level of immaturity I deal with; and I’m sure thousands of others do too. I’ve also had women who dislike me giving my books bad reviews on Amazon. (Uh, common sense, if you don’t like me, don’t read my books. Why torture yourself? Just get a life, little dude-tte!)

So, three months ago, I got my first “thumbs down”. It was for a video I created about the closing of a favorite record store. By putting in the hashtag “VintageVinyl” I attracted more viewers than usual. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwVcYMW8Wl4&t=1s). Since there wasn’t a negative comment, I can only guess what the thumb’s down meant. Was it because they don’t like the way Vintage Vinyl closed suddenly and left all their customers and employees dumbfounded? Was it the low-grade video, which my husband records on my little Canon camera? (I actually love the grainy, effect and background noise; it reminds me of the way stuff was filmed on an 1980s show called “Night Flight” which aired from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends – the perfect thing to watch when you came home buzzed after seeing live acts. This was back in the day when the support act came on at midnight, and the main act hit the stage around 1 or 2 a.m.)

Nevertheless, I never saw a thumb’s down as anything horrifying. It just meant more people were watching. Unlike Facebook, where they have horrible emoji’s like the dreaded “ha-ha” that people overuse, basically to say, “I’m laughing at your content, you’re a fucking idiot.” Or the “angry” icon. Someone used that one on me when I spoke about going to concerts during the pandemic and being in a social distanced circle. Guess they were jealous their town didn’t offer something so cool. Or they were afraid to go out altogether. Nevertheless, you always get that jerk who likes to rain on the parades of others — and wants them to know they are MAD with that angry emoji. Boy, oh boy, isn’t modern technology great for self-expression? You don’t even have to think anymore.

YOU TUBE MADE THE WORLD KINDER FOR CHRISTMAS

Anyway, over the weekend I created a new You Tube video, the first in over a month. Once I put it up, I was looking through some of my old videos and saw that there was no longer a thumbs down for my Vintage Vinyl video. Wow, did some nice person decide to give me a thumbs up instead? Was he or she in the Christmas spirit? I wondered…

Then earlier today I was watching a video by a very famous group and saw that they had no thumbs down. When you’re at that level of success, you always have a couple thousand thumbs down. What happened? Was You Tube hacked? Or did they take down ALL the “thumbs down” to wish every artist/musician and creator a Merry Christmas?

That’s not what happened, but I was close. My “dislike” wasn’t turned into a “like” — it was made private by You Tube. According to their blog (https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/update-to-youtube/) they’ve decided to do this to create a respectful environment for creators.

Their decision is a beautiful one. I was so thrilled, I posted about it on Facebook today (and blatantly said they should follow suit and get rid of their nasty emojis).

A friend–who chooses to remain anonymous–and I had the following conversation:

HIM: Isn’t that a great development? Too much negativity (especially malicious and not constructive critiques). 

ME: Exactly – 100 percent! And now that I think of it, Amazon should do this too!

HIM: All sites should honestly. Reviews are entirely subjective and can be done simply to try and hurt someone or their business. There is no way to determine if the reviewer can be trusted or if what they share is verifiable.

ME: When I wrote entertainment reviews for New York’s Westsider and The Montclair Times, I never put down new comers. I’d only give bad reviews to established artists/acts. I’d never want to hurt someone who was either just starting out, or an indie artist.

So, thank you again You Tube, for being a pioneer in a brighter online future!

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta can be reached at: maryannechristiano@gmail.com.

She is the author of the following books:

“Be (Extra)Ordinary: 10 Ways to Become Your Own Hero” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback or Kindle version, visit:Be (Extra)Ordinary

“I Don’t Want to Be Like You” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback, Kindle or audio copy, go here: I Don’t Want To Be Like You

Her fiction book “Love Cats” second printing is now available, under the pen name Krystianna Mercury, from Pink Flamingo. You can purchase it here: Love Cats

And Just Like That… Nicholas Was Gone

Nicholas Gray, the beautiful, magical cat

Recently, “And Just Like That” — the “Sex and the City” reboot — debuted. So many viewers were upset over the death of the character Mr. Big. (The actor Chris Noth is still alive and well, it was the character that was killed off).

Mr. Big died suddenly of a heart attack. Many of us who watch the show are in our 50s and know how precious life can change in an instant. During the pandemic, I’ve lost quite a few friends to death, but only one to Covid. My best male friend had a heart attack and died instantly just like Mr. Big. Life is so precious and we realize this more and more as we grow older. It’s wise to not take anything — ANYTHING — for granted because in a heartbeat it can all change.

For example, my happy little life with my husband. We are childless by choice, but have three beautiful cats. One of our favorite things to do is to just chill, listening to records in the living room surrounded by our kitties, who we call our “babies).

Saturday morning my husband, Dennis, woke me up saying, “I can’t find Nicholas.” Every day the three of them greet us. We feed them, then spend quality time with them before going about our day.

I said, “Maybe he doesn’t feel well and is hiding.” Cats do that. I had Happy Jack as a teenager. He was missing . My grandmother thought he got out and was lost in a snowstorm. We were terrified, but two days later, I found him hiding in a closet. He was A-OK. I also had a ferret who was gone for a day or so. I was worried sick. I thought she got out too, but she was just hiding.

But as time went on, we realized the devastating truth, he’s not in the house. How could this happen? He never wanted to go out before. The few times before that he got out (running past one of us when we opened the door) it was just to sniff the flowers, then he’d let us pick him up and take him back in. He had no interest in being outside. He loved us. Whenever we went away, he’d turn his back on us as we left the house with our travel gear. He always wanted to be groomed, pet, and snuggled. He was a big ‘ol mush. And we called him The Magic Cat because he was so smart. He did back flips in the air when we looped his fish toy. When Chewy packages came, he knew they were for him. He was much more appreciate of toys than the other two. So why would he sneak past us when we opened the door? It didn’t make sense. The only thing we could think of, there was a female cat lurking around our house. Even though Nicholas is fixed, he is still fascinated by other cats. When they are out there, he runs from window to window, even though he has two other kitty playmates in the house. That’s his nature.

Still – how could this happen to us? We tried not to beat ourselves up. It was an accident. Dennis looked at me and said, “And Just Like That…Nicholas was gone.” For the next day and a half, there were many tears.

I tried to give Nicholas a happy ending. I said, “He’s a smart cat. He’s just going on to his next adventure. He’s like Street Cat Bob. We had our time with him. Now he is moving on to something different.”

But Dennis thought the worst. That he got killed by a car or a coyote.

Not knowing was killing us. And we were thinking about cancelling Christmas. How could we celebrate? Losing a pet is tragic. Our hearts were broken to pieces.

Saturday I had quite a bit going on. I had my art class in the morning and later that afternoon I played a mom in a rap music video. My mind was elsewhere though, and two very creative, rewarding experiences are now just a cloudy memory. My mind was on Nicholas, as I just went through the motions. We looked all over the house and even drove around the neighborhood. Nothing. We called the cops. We called the local animal hospital. Nothing.

We had a sleepless night. The next morning I said, “I remember hearing that if you put a piece of clothing outside, the cat will smell your scent and come back.” We did that immediately. Then my husband spent three hours out in the cold searching for Nicholas. I posted his photos on a Facebook page that helps people find lost pets.

When my husband came back the second time, he just happened to look at the window and he screamed, “That’s him!! I just saw Nicholas!” He ran out the door. I saw him by the window motioning me to come out. “Put your jacket on and come outside!!”

I grabbed my jacket and slipped on my boots without even zippering them. I dashed out the door. Nicholas had run into a shed near our house. We got into the shed and there he was, peering out from us, hiding behind a box and mewing.

I went back to the house and got treats to entice him. The poor little thing was frightened. Dennis reached out to him and Nicholas snuggled his little head against my husband’s hand. “Come on, baby” we both said, gently. “Nicholas, it’s Mommy and Daddy.” And, “Nicholas is a good boy.” And, “Nicholas is beautiful. Nicholas is so handsome.” All the positive things we’ve always said to him, so the familiarity would comfort him. Sure enough it did. Dennis was able to grab him and bring him back home!

WELCOME HOME NICHOLAS!

When we got him in, he seemed confused. We gave him so much love and attention, within minutes he was purring loudly and was soon back to his happy little dumpling self, prancing around the house, tail up!

Our conclusion was, he got out Friday night while my husband took the garbage out. Perhaps something spooked him and he got lost and had a hard time finding his way back. Once we put the jacket outside, he found his way to the shed.

We got our baby back, and Christmas is on! In a matter of days, we’ve experienced The Nightmare Before Christmas and A Christmas Miracle.

Hug your pets today, and don’t ever take them for granted! Life can change in a split second.

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta can be reached at: maryannechristiano@gmail.com.

She is the author of the following books:

“Be (Extra)Ordinary: 10 Ways to Become Your Own Hero” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback or Kindle version, visit:Be (Extra)Ordinary

“I Don’t Want to Be Like You” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback, Kindle or audio copy, go here: I Don’t Want To Be Like You

Her fiction book “Love Cats” second printing is now available, under the pen name Krystianna Mercury, from Pink Flamingo. You can purchase it here: Love Cats

The Sigma Female

Maryanne Christiano Mistretta

I am a sigma female, the rarest form of female.

Honest and sharing, but also mysterious. There are things even the closest friends will NEVER know about me. I’ve been told by a few, “I can’t figure you out.” Sigmas are also independent leaders who prefer working alone, loyal (we make the best friends), emotional, and intimidating. We thrive on alone time and people can drain us.

Other female personality types include: alpha, delta, beta, and omega. What is yours? Google if you are unsure, lots of info out there)

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta can be reached at: maryannechristiano@gmail.com.

She is the author of the following books:

“Be (Extra)Ordinary: 10 Ways to Become Your Own Hero” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback or Kindle version, visit:Be (Extra)Ordinary

“I Don’t Want to Be Like You” is available on Amazon. To get your paperback, Kindle or audio copy, go here: I Don’t Want To Be Like You

Her fiction book “Love Cats” second printing is now available, under the pen name Krystianna Mercury, from Pink Flamingo. You can purchase it here: Love Cats