Ohhhhh...boy.

My daughter had her first phone call from a boy, asking her out on a date, the other day.

...and so it begins...

(She wisely said, "No.")

Album art.

Sometimes I like record album art more than other times...

Running a mile.

My daughter ran in her first-ever track meet yesterday. She's in seventh grade and she ran the mile. She was incredibly nervous the day before, and all through the meet until her event started. She was the only middle school student in the pack of eleven and the only girl representing her school running that distance.

She came in 10th. She was in last place the entire distance and put on a burst of speed that I was very surprised at, with only about 1/3 track left to run, to pass the girl in front of her by only a couple of feet.

I don't know anything about track or running, but I was impressed with her ability to hold/maintain her own pace and not to try to keep up with the leading pack (as I surely would have done). She stayed steady on her pace the entire run, never dropping to a walk as I half expected (and also surely would have done). She found the energy to run full out at the end (as I surely would NOT have found). She beat the time her coaches had set for her as a goal -- just slightly, but a fantastic effort.

She tells me that she's running the 800 at the next event to see which she likes better.

Way to go!

The Late Late Show

I haven't watched a lot of television in the last few years (surfing the 'net takes a lot of time, don't you know), but recently I've been climbing in to bed just as "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" comes on.

Now ... I used to enjoy David Letterman but his one note went sour long ago, Jay Leno is just plain boring to me, Conan O'Brien tries a little too hard, and Jimmy Kimmel is, well, all about Jimmy Kimmel.

But Craig Ferguson makes me laugh. Out loud. Regularly.

Seriously, I have been enjoying Ferguson's humor SOoo much more than I thought I would. He's off the wall, full of non-sequitors, and he truly doesn't seem to care what the audience thinks, he just appears to be out there doing what he enjoys and what he thinks is funny. And so far, I've kind of been with him on that.

If you're up late enough, give him a shot. And then give him another chance the next night. He grows on you. You may appreciate his humor just a little more when he realize just how often he's being funny, and not just making random comments.

Another author finishes.

Jon Hassler passed away today.

I've only just discovered the joys of Hassler's books and recently attended the Jon Hassler Theatre in Plainview, MN were I saw some of the best theatre I've seen in recent years.

Hassler, just shy of 75.

The end.

Another ghost writer.

It seems that legend Arthur C. Clarke has given up the ghost. He lived an impressive ninety years.

I believe that the very first, real science fiction book that I ever read was Clarke's Islands in the Sky.

Peace.

Take the art and run.

What is up with art theft?! Just read this article in Bloomsberg on-line about yet another art theft, this one at a dealer's home. It's the second time the dealer was robbed at home. It must be a high-paying turn-around ... according to the article, the thieves left the scene in an SUV and then burned the SUV in the woods later. Burn the get-away-vehicle? Much?

There seem to have been plenty of art thefts in Norway recently, and now these in France. Who buys stolen art? It's not like cash, which can be used just about anywhere. I don't get it. I don't understand why or how anyone would find profit in stealing art.

Farewell to the Dungeon Master.

Gone the way of stickling? D&D creator, Gary Gygax, passed away March 4, 2008.

Thanks for the games, Gary.

Sex and the circus.

Okay, this isn't mine...but I chuckle every time I even look at that ... "Dating advice from Circus Performers."

Here are a few of the Q&As:

How can I pick up a circus performer?
You have to understand the personality of a circus performer. They are one part artist, one part jock, one part technician. There's a salt-of-the-earth quality to them. Just talk to them. Buy them food and booze. They like that. I like that.

How can I pick up a circus performer?
Use your knees, not your back.

How can becoming a circus performer make me better in bed?
Just say "TA DA!" after whatever you do!

How can I pick up a circus performer?
In a really tiny car.

You can read all the questions and answers yourself at Nerve.com.

David Groh.

I just read on MSN.com that actor David Groh died.

David was best known as Rhoda's husband, Joe Gerard, on the 1974-1979 television sitcom, Rhoda.

I spent nearly a year working with David on a play that landed on Broadway in 1993 (Twilight of the Golds). David was always the professional. He arrived on time, worked hard, always stayed in character, and was a pleasure to be with. As we toured and found ourselves in new cities, I got to see a little of the personal side of David. He was a wonderful, loving father of his very young son. He took such pleasure in playing with his child, and seeing things through his sons' eyes.

I will always carry with me one particular memory...

We were in Washington, D.C. -- the show was running at the Kennedy Center, our 'star' Jennifer Grey was dating George Stephanopolis, and so we had an invitation to tour the White House. Sadly, our tour took place the same day as a suicide of one of the Clinton staffers, so although we were given the tour, it was quite somber.

We were shown to the Press Room. The room in which the press sit and wait for the President to come to make special announcements. We encouraged David to walk down the long hall and to approach the press room as though he were the president. It didn't take much coaxing, and David came out of a room and walked the hall, nodding to staffers and security personnel as though he was, indeed, the President of the United States. He approached the podium and we bombarded him with questions. He looked the part, and he acted the part. But his eyes gave him away. I could see in his eyes the absolute delight he felt at playing the part of the president, IN the White House. Ah...a wonderful memory.

Thanks, David.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

#29

I was amused today to log into my Goodreads account and see that I'm "#29 top reviewer."

Cool.

Those fans at it again.

A few years ago I blogged here about fan-made films. I believe that I was referring to a Star Wars film which was a huge hit on the web and even reported on some major news services.

Now I'm writing about a Star Trek fan series.

Star Trek: New Voyages has become a sensation, apparently, even spawning their own fan clubs. This series is set in the Original Series' universe and time, with amateur actors playing the roles of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc. It's amusing to watch as some of the acting is even worse than Shatner's '60's performances. The attention to detail and the special effects have proven to be pretty incredible.

What has made this group of fans a bit more prominent, however, is their ability to draw interest from seasoned professionals! Bear in mind that to be a true fan film you can't be paying anyone for their work.

In their most recently released episode, George Takei (the actor who played Sulu in the original series) recreates his role of Sulu who has gone through a dimensional time warp and suddenly aged 30 years. And making a cameo is Grace lee Whitney, the woman who played Yeoman Janice Rand on the orginal series. The episode was written my Marc Scott Zicree, a professional author (I'm not sure he ever wrote for any Star Trek episodes, but I believe he was the lead writer for the new Twilight Zone series).

In the previously released episode, Walter Koenig (the original Chekov) recreated his role. Various original series guest stars have appeared, and an up-coming, two-part film was written by David Gerrold, who wrote the original series episodes with the "tribbles."

How do they do it? Talk about geeks with no life!

Still, it's been fun to watch. And based on their popularity, it shows that the fans out there really are more interested in the characters ... that they don't have to be played by Shatner, Nimoy, etc.

You can watch these on-line by clicking here.

Brilliant!

I was reading an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (what an odd name for a paper) and saw an ad for the Seattle Symphony which is having two performances of symphonic recreation of video game music. I think this is absolutely brilliant! What a great way to get youth interested in attending an arts event. I wish someone in this area would do something similar.

YouTube and me.

Occassionally I do a Google search on my name and on the titles of my plays to see what might be being performed (with or without permissions). Today I decided to check YouTube to see if anyone might be posting a video of any of my plays and sure enough, I found my comedy "Burglars, Bunglers, and Neighborhood Thieves" filmed by high school students, as a movie (not staged as a play). It's about what you would expect from high schoolers ... clumsy, uneven, but it was still a bit of fun to see it. It's posted on YouTube in four parts. I'm imbedding them here. My only real complaint ... why don't I get better billing?!

PART ONE:


PART TWO:


PART THREE:


PART FOUR:

Good job, boys.

We finally finished opening our Christmas presents last night. It was the only time we were all together since returning from Christmas and it not being too late at night.

My wife and I gave the family a Wii -- an interactive video game. Very popular, hard to find this Christmas. It is the first video game we've purchased for the kids. Of course they've been complaining that they are the ONLY kids in town without a video game.

In any case, they've been very please and excited and have ejoyed a good many tennis matches, bowling games, and even boxing with this new game.

Last night the boys got their final presents from us. For my ten year old, there was a large set of "Mars Mission" LEGOS ® and for my eight year old there was a creepy crawly maker (you know, you pour goop into a metal mold and cook it until it's rubbery).

Despite the desire for the Wii, I think the boys were MUCH more excited about getting these last gifts. They spent the rest of the night making goopy spiders and bugs and building with Legos.

I'm glad to see them playing with these, hands-on activities!

2008

Another new year. How is it that this one seems to have caught me off guard? No prepared resolutions; no "best of" lists for 2007. I just go with the flow.

I think part of this was the fact that the holidays were spent with the wife's family and our own traditions that we've built up were foregone. Without the traditions, one seems somewhat adrift. I'm still looking for land, and a chance to get back into circulation.

Reinventing the wheel.

I read an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this morning that has me reeling with disbelief. Some dude who works at Microsoft had a brilliant idea. With Netflix, he can get just about any movie he wants within a day or two of requesting it. Why shouldn't, he wondered, he be able to do that with books! Any book you want to read should be available within a day or two of requesting it, and then, once read, you should be able to return and get another. Brilliant!

And so, being smart Microsoft guy that he is, Dustin Hubbard went and created such a place. he calls it Paperspine. Don't take my word for it... read about it here: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/342386_paperspine06.html?source=rss

I'm thinking that this is indicative of Microsoft thinking. (No, this isn't a Microsoft operation, but he is a Microsoft employee.) 'Let's take something that already exists, for free, and do the same thing, but make people pay for it.'

It doesn't matter that more than 200 years ago Benjamin Franklin had the same idea except that Franklin wasn't looking at it as a profit-making scheme. And of course Franklin's idea was a rehash of ideas from other cultures.

What burns me most, though, is that people will pay for this. Pay money to borrow books! Yet most library systems could make vast improvements and offer the additional services people are looking for with just a fraction of the money Mr. Hubbard is likely to make.

Visit your local library, please.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Theresa!

Broadway in the dark.

The strike affecting some Broadway theatres is still going on.

It's been some time now, though not long enough for either side to panic, I suspect, but negotiations continue.

Although a union man myself, I am firmly on the side of the producers for this one. My feeling is that the union has it "cushy" with this contract, and there are plenty of people who are making a very comfortable living without doing squat!

Anyone who's listened to me tell my experience working a Broadway shows knows that it drove me crazy that our production had to hire two union men to open the curtain for the show. Two men! My 12 year old daughter could do it by herself! But in union tradition, you can't eliminate a job once it's been established, and at one time, MANY years ago, it did take two men to pull the curtain open. The fact that the system was upgraded means nothing. You used to hire two men, you STILL hire two men.

And that's just the tip of the iceburg.

I hope the producers hold out on this one.

#####

update: 11/29/07

I heard today that they reached an agreement and that shows will be back up and running tonight. I hope the producers held tough.