Go 'Stros part 2

So, the White Sox won the World Series, and they won it in 4 games. That is a little disappointing. It would have been nice if the Astos could have won at least one game.

Even though it was a 4 game win, it was a hard fought series, yes? Let us not forget the one game that went until 2am! And it was longer than the 18 inning game in the penant race!

One thing I was glad to see is the amount of fans, who, in the end, were still proud that we were in the World Series. This is a new age of Houston fans. In the past, losing would have made the team persona no grata. Houston fans used to be so fickle. Our fans are maturing I suppose and truly developing team loyalty over the we love 'em when they win but despise 'em when they loose mentality.

Better luck and a closed roof next year!!!

Go 'Stros!

I was born in Houston and lived the first 9 years of my life there (and the last 13). That makes me an Astros fan. Even at 9 when I moved to Western Mass. and had my choice of Boston and NYC teams to support, I stayed loyal to the Astros. That is just the kind of fan I am.

I am not a big follower of sports. I am alwasy interested in how the home town team is doing, and start to follow closely as things get big. This does not make me a fair weather fan though. I don't abandon them in my thoughts when they lose. I feel sad and hope for better things in the future.

Well my friends, the future is now! We are in the World Series! Yippie ki yi yay m*&%*# f#*&@!

Now my friend Hugh is a Chicago fan. I think his primary interests belong to the Cubs, so I don't know what he thinks about the Sox.

Now it's time for a little smack talk . . .
The Sox suck man! They gonna looooooose! Go 'Stros!

Annoying Republicans

By request of Eva--

When my latest neighbor moved in on my living room wall, I introduced myself. Because I have bad ears, I sometimes have to turn the TV up a bit more than most would and told her to just let me know if it ever was a problem.

Then, one night I was watching the extended version of LOTR:TFOTR and the sound effects are MUCH louder than the dialogue. This was especially true during the battle in the Mines of Moria. I kept adjusting the volume as the sound spiked, but dang it, I wanted to know what they were saying!

The next day I had a note on my door that seemed a little pissy. After I got over sending a pissy note back, I wrote a very nice note of apology and asked her to call me any time it was a problem again, and gave her my number.

Not heard a peep from her since, though she is less than friendly if we do happen to pass in the parking lot.

Even though I had my needs, I was feeling empathetic until I noticed on her small SUV a W sticker.

I am not much for drawing lines in the sand when it comes to politics, but with everything else, she seemed the perfect target for my liberal, independent disdain.

Of course, this Friday, I was pretty sure she was gone and watched the film with full surround sound glory!

Hail to the Cheifs

I know only two or three people read this blog, but I have something that I want to say.

I want to thank the city leaders of the East Texas coast for the absolutely stellar job they did during Hurricance Rita. I know a lot of people are going to start complaining about this and that, especially the traffic problems with evacuation.

Yes, there were problems, but this is the first time that such an evacuation was attemepted. Don't forget that A) there was a plan and B) when things got problematic, the state and cities responded as quickly as possible.

Most important, buses were provided for those with out transportation ahead of the storm, and pets were not treated as chattel, but as part of the family which they are.

Thank you Mayor White and the team in Houston and Harris County. Thank you Lyda Ann Thomas and the team in Gavleston.

I think I love you Lyda Ann ...

I do have gas!

For those of you that might be worried, I do have plenty of gas. I happened to need gas on Monday evening. A full tank will last me 10 - 14 days of normal use. Right now I have about 3/4 of a tank.

What this means is I won't have to wait in long gas lines at one of the few stations that have gas. This also means that no one will wave a gun in my face to make me let them in ahead of everyone else!

And you thought Road Warrior was just a movie!

There's Got to Be a Morning After

It is now just after 8am. Overnight I don't know that I got a lot of rain, but apparently enough wind to blow down a small, decorative, tropical fruit tree. This tree always bothered me a little any way. They have popped up around the property and they seemed to come out of nowhere. The "fruit" is pod like. Almost like real chubby, oversized bananas. Who is to say they aren't alien in origin, waiting to snatch our bodeis and take our places?

I still have power, which you think may be obvious from my posting. Of course, my laptop is fully charged, so I could be using that, but I am not. Tower computer is on.

I had cable until about 7am when it went out just before a local press conference. I pulled out the rabbit ears and now have Channel 11, the CBS affiliate. All affiliates in Houston are dim chicken littles, but 11 is the worst. Oh well ...

Blow High! Blow Low!

Who new Carousel would have such apt song lyrics!

Thankfully, for now, Rita has turned more to the east and the center of Houston is currently not in the cone of probability. I think this means tropical storm conditions, and from the clean side of the storm too. This is good. I pray for the people who now are getting the storm as well as continue to pray that where ever it lands, it lessens before landfall, lessens quickly when it does and keeps moving through. No stalling! Stalling and turnarounds created the conditions where I flooded.

I will spend the day checking on the weather and watching Lost on DVD. I will move on to a LOTR marathon at some point. With the annoying republican who doesn't like loud movies gone, I can enjoy the surround sound!!

Should the winds get bad and scary, I am pretty prepped. I have plenty of water. I have a couple of used bottles refilled and in the freezer as well as stock piling ice.

One radio that plugs in and one radio that has batteries. Flashlights in the living room and bathroom and a yellow flashlight by my bed that was sent to me by the Queen of Florida. I also have candles in each location.

Before I go to bed I will try to fill the tub. There is a worry that if we lose power, water won't flow. I only just learned that the water in the tub was for toilet flushing!

When you walk through a storm hold your head up high!

I can not believe that I just taped my windows. I JUST TAPED MY WINDOWS!

I never thought I would do that.

Another problem of a theological one. How do you pray that the hurricane will continue east with out wishing harm on those who live there? I suppose you can't.

So, I just pray that where ever hurricane Rita goes, anyone in its path is kept safe and that whatever blows over my head, I am kept safe as well.

I am riding the storm out. Some neighbors are here as well. I had an offer to go to my brother's and ride it out with them as well as to College Stataion, which is farther inland.

I don't think I get to College Station any time soon. Plus, I really do feel safer in Houston right now. All my needs, assuming availability, are in walking distance. Hospital, food stores and pharmacies. Plus, if I do have to make a run for it, I know how to get out from here. I would be totally lost at my brother's.

Wish me luck and safety as we go!

What sign are you?

Everyone knows their sun sign, but what is your rising sign?

Your Rising Sign is Cancer

You are compassionate and kind - and the one who gives security. And while you sometimes tire of it, people always turn to you for advice. Emotions are your domain, and you use tend to use them for good. But you've also been know to be very manipulative when you need to be. You're quite loyal to those you love most - friends and family. For everyone else, you tend take time to build up trust.

What is Your Rising Sign?

This might explain some things about the relationship with my best friend the Queen Mother.

Over Eating

An Empty Plate will leave you satisfied
By Lee Williams

Published: Thursday, September 15, 2005

Michael Hollinger's An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf, now running at Main Street Theater, is a most unusual comedy. Wildly ambitious, this play, set in Paris in 1961, invokes some of American literature's most familiar images. Ernest Hemingway, a Parisian cafe, a lonely suicide, a bloody bullfight, impotence and existential angst all play a part in this 100-minute one-act about a man who wrestles his psychological demons during one long and lonely night in Paris. But revered as they may be, many of the motifs running throughout this script feel oddly out of place. They come off as over-the-top melodrama, seeming almost quaint against the backdrop of our current consumer-driven world. On the other hand, there's so much wonderful clowning by this story's collection of quirky characters -- who come to dazzlingly hysterical life with the help of director Rebecca Greene Udden's wonderfully capable cast -- that it's hard not to come away from this peculiar play feeling strangely satisfied.

The premise spins around an expatriate American newspaperman named Victor (Charles Tanner), who shows up at a cafe one night with a most unusual request. He wants simply to tell his life story while he slowly starves himself to death. "I've lost my appetite," he announces. "I've decided to not eat till I die." Over time, we learn that he actually owns the cafe and that he bought it with his inherited millions so that he can be its sole patron. There is no menu, as the cafe is always ready to serve its only customer whenever and whatever his heart desires. To that end, Victor has employed a staff of clowns who live to serve him. They are deeply disturbed by their patron's last desire.

There's Gaston (Robert Leeds), the chef, whose genius in the kitchen is surpassed by only his knowledge of the ghastly effects of starving oneself to death: "It makes your eyes start to jiggle in your head!" Lovely Mimi (Celeste Roberts), dressed in black-and-white waitress attire, thrills when she gets near "Monsieur" and gushes over his stories about his travels. Mimi flusters about trying to make Monsieur change his mind about starving, only to be enraged by her husband, Claude (played with fabulously scene-stealing gusto by James Belcher), the cafe's manager, who barks orders to everyone in the place. While insisting that Monsieur must eat, Claude is trying to teach a young and bumbling trainee named Antoine (Andrew Ruthven) Table Waiting 101. But Victor ignores Claude and instead turns to Antoine, who fails at everything until he starts taking down Victor's story in careful dictation on his waiter's pad.

It's unclear exactly what has gone wrong in Victor's life, what has gotten him so down that he wants nothing more than to end it all. But we do know that he's got an unhealthy attachment to the suicidal Hemingway. Victor is constantly quoting the granddaddy of modern American literature. And we know that "Mademoiselle," a mysterious woman who always accompanies Victor, is strangely absent this night.

Nothing his staff says will change Victor's mind about not eating. But he does acquiesce to one strange request: He'll let them tempt him with a make-believe dinner. They bring out empty plate after empty plate, describing the dishes they wish they were serving in so succulent a verbiage, it's impossible not to come out of this show hungry as a bear. It's "a feast of adjectives and adverbs," as one character says. From soup to salad (eaten last in this cafe), the dinner of rabbit soup, vodka-tomato sorbet and roasted pheasant is talked about in deliciously sensuous poetry. The tomatoes are "buxom," the oil "virginal."

As head waiter, Belcher enjoys every minute he spends curving his lips around syllables as though each were a bite of manna. He leads the terrific cast of foppish staff members as it comes to light that they're every bit as troubled as Victor. Love has run amok in this place. Everyone is in the throes of unrequited lust. One has thought long and hard about his own suicide. A gun appears, as do other means of death. And it all crescendos into a re-enactment of a bloody bullfight, red cape and all.

Frankly, Victor and his troubles sound narcissistic when held up next to those of his sadder and funnier staff, which undermines some of the possibilities of Hollinger's tale. It's hard to feel much sympathy for a man who's so rich he can pay four people to do nothing but listen to him whine about his sorry life all night long. And Tanner's slow and measured line delivery doesn't add much urgency to Victor's conflict. But to be fair, Tanner doesn't have much to work with, even at the bitter end, when Victor finds out that things aren't what he thinks.

It's the staff who has the real problems. Happily, their struggles get as much time on stage as Victor's, and they make for a sinfully tasty treat.

Empty Plate a bountiful feast

Empty Plate a bountiful feast
By EVERETT EVANS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The empty plates dictated by its intriguing premise notwithstanding, An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf serves up a feast of fine theater.

In Main Street Theater's well-done Houston premiere of Michael Hollinger's "tragic comedy in seven courses," director Rebecca Greene Udden and her able cast savor the delicate flavors of Hollinger's literate, witty and ingeniously plotted script, with its rich undertones of ironic humor and rueful philosophizing.

Set in Paris on a summer evening in 1961, Empty Plate takes place at an unusual restaurant. The owner, a wealthy expatriate American publishing magnate, is the sole customer. The establishment is always open, the staff ever ready to prepare for "Monsieur" (as they've been directed to call their boss) anything he desires.

Yet on this night, Monsieur arrives from the bullfights in Madrid disheveled and morose. He demands the one thing the staff never anticipated — that he be allowed to starve to death at his table. Despite his promise that he has provided for them in his will, they are distraught. Serving him has become their sole purpose. The headwaiter proposes that they prepare a seven-course dinner — but leave the food in the kitchen, serving only the empty plates and descriptions of the dishes. Monsieur agrees to just that, though the staff members clearly hope they can ultimately tempt him into accepting more than just descriptions.

As the "dinner" progresses, Monsieur reveals the circumstances both long-past and recent that robbed him of his appetite for food (and life). One factor is the suicide of Ernest Hemingway, whom Monsieur idolized and regularly quotes. Another is the absence of Monsieur's mistress, who usually accompanies him. But what has happened to her? That is just one of the mysteries tantalizing the staff.

Hollinger balances his key ingredients of nonchalant absurdism, zany comedy and serious reflection on desire and apathy. He seasons his plot with the often volatile interplay of the staff, particularly the marital hostilities of headwaiter Claude and his dissatisfied wife, Mimi. He injects much clever wordplay, despite one or two moments when he strains a bit for effect.

Naturally, he has fun with the culinary descriptions, the "winsome shallots" and "buxom tomatoes." But there's ample food for thought, as well. The ending is satisfying, hinging on a surprise worthy of Guy de Maupassant or O. Henry.

Besides bringing a light touch to the material, Udden has cast the play felicitously. As Monsieur, MST veteran Charles Tanner exudes world weariness and the ashen gentility of burnt-out passions. Yet he remains aptly enigmatic.

James Belcher manages the neat trick of making headwaiter Claude aggressively servile with Monsieur, and just overbearingly bossy with everyone else. Celeste Roberts is even better than usual here — bringing an ideal blend of poise and passion to the fiery, frustrated Mimi, with islands of understanding amid her seas of tempestuousness. And she looks great in her "I'm leaving you" suit.

Bob Leeds likewise rises to the occasion as eccentric chef Gaston, amusingly miffed at being squelched by Claude, beaming with pride at his culinary creations, with a peculiar way of making bizarre non sequiturs sound reasonable.

As Antoine, the stammering new waiter, Andrew Ruthven is innocent and docile as a lamb. Leslie Maness brings grace and warmth to a role best left undescribed; she's part of the set of surprises that end the play so effectively.

If you're hungry for fresh, sophisticated theater, this Empty Plate delivers.

AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF

• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 16. Additional show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. No show on Sept. 16

• Where: Main Street Theater, 2540 Times Blvd.

• Tickets: $20-$30; 713-524-6706

When idiots have a point

A friend of mine sent me this article with along with the copy of the tirade she sent him. Article

With all due respect to my New Orleans Resident friend, this man does make one or two points and
asks one or two good questions. Then he follows each one with the most
moronic jaw dropping comments.

First of all, if you are writing this article now, you are not pitching in
and helping.

Second, you can't compare New Orleans and Katrina to 9/11, NYC and
Washington. I would be horribly shocked if people in say, Washington
Heights started looting after the Towers feel. Or Houston for that matter.

If Katrina blew through and ONLY took out the Superdome turned shelter, then
you might be able to compare.

Those of us outside of these events may feel the same shock and sadness, but
the person who lived through the dust storm of the collapsed towers and the
person who lived through the flooding of New Orleans after Katrina blew
through are feeling things very differently. They are not the same thing.
You can't even compare Pataki and Blanco's reactions. It's just not the
same thing.

And his comment about building below sea level is laughable. I suppose from
now on, all cities should be built on a hill, all buildings should be one
story and all communities should be self reliant. That would be utopia I
suppose. But then Bush would live in that city on the hill. I will live in
the unsafe, pestilent valley thank you.

The levees were "century-old". That is bad? Then most of this country
should be raiazed and rebuilt. How old should they be? Well, the Towers
were only a few decades old, so let's start there. Rebuild NYC, Boston and
Washington DC. Hey, aren't parts of these cities' subway systems below sea
level? Who's idea was that? My abode is more than 15 years old. Maybe
they should tear that down and build the new crap they are building now all
over Houston.

All right. I am now madder than when I started what was supposed to be a
short note of valid points lost in a morass of idiocy.

Take care and God bless New Orleans.

After all, tomorrow is another day ...

So, an electrician was able to come and asses the damage today. He was positive and said he thought we could be up and running by the end of the week. That maybe wishful thinking, but even if he is overly optimistic, it must mean that we aren't looking at lots of lost time!

Keep those lovely thoughts a comin'!

The Show Must Go On!

It is Saturday night and An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf is beginning its first preview for the first show of Main Street Theater's 30th Anniversary Season!

The show is sold out, happy patrons are sitting in the audience amusing themselves with trying to pronouncee the name.

Finally, the lights go down, cell phones are dutifully turned off and the play begins. After a few baubles with lines, the cast gets into a groove. I, having taken up the Baritone Horn for the role, get through my first playing of Lady of Spain respectably. The first big dramatic moment in the play happens, and then it all goes to pot.

Lights start flashing, horrible popping and zapping noises can be heard from the booth. "Oh, great!", I think, "One of the light circuits is shorting out."

The director comes out on stage, stops the show and asks every to step outside. The actors all progress to the dressing room. The audience applaudes.

I, thinking shutting off the dimmer pack will arrest the situation, go into the booth to do so. While completing this feat, I see that it is not the dimmers or circuits that are sparking and smoking, but the meter box where the power enters the building!

SNAP! I shut off power to the stage lights. Still sparks and noise. BEAT IT! I turn and exit the back of the building.

That is when you hear that the horrible noise has also joined you outside the theater. You see over the roof of the one story building, flashes, hear snaps and pops and booms as one transformer blows. The people at the front of the building in the lobby are all of a sudden at the back of the building. Then another transformer blows.

No one is panicked. All is calm. I turn into the Company Manager and great people as the come out, warning then of the step off as they reach the property line and enter the parking lot for Buffalo Wild Wings.

"We are so disappointed!", they say.
"Me too!" I say.

"You were doing a great job!"
"Thank you so much!"

"We hope we can come back and see the rest of it!"
"So do I!"

In due time, firemen and power company personnel show up and do their jobs. The theater is cleared of smoke, the building is disconnected from the power grid, and a dark lonely theater is locked up. Everyone got out safely. No real damage other than the electrical juntion occurred that could be seen that night. We don't live in the Astrodome. These are blessings.

The fate of the theater and show are unsure. Today's preview is cancelled. An electircian was called and hopefully will asses the situation today. We have some room to push the show back. We also can possibly move the show to our other location, and perform on a disguised version of the set for Alexander Who's Not, Not, Not, Not, Not, Not Going to Move. Not my first choice, but you do what you have to do.

Keep Main Street Theater, Houston Texas in your happy, positive, thoughts today!

As Seen on TV ...

So, last week sometime I see a report on The Today Show. They are doing a feature about this Terri woman and something she calls the Grocery Game.

Terri is this woman who developed a system of time management to match up store coupons with in store specials, maximizing her savings at the store. She took this obsessive/compulsive, but highly thrifty skill, and spun it into a web site called The Grocery Game. Now, for $10 every two months, you can get a copy of her list making these matches.

As I watched the report, Terri and some went volunteer shopping and she was able to take a $450 shopping bill and knock it down to $50! Amazing, yes?

Now, I know this woman was buying for a family, and she probably stock piled certain items I would never buy, but I still thought, "Dang!"

So I checked out Terri's site and signed up for the $1-4 week trial. I also bought a Sunday paper and clipped coupons I thought I would use and matched things to the list.

I must say the list was handy. Much easier to read then a store circular, being just a list of items, and it clearly showed what regular price was, the sale price and what, if any coupons, could be used. Finally it showed what you ulitmately would pay.

So, with its help, I made a list, gathered some coupons together and went to the store. After careful comparision, I went to the check out and rang up $41 and change. Just like TV, I ran my store discount card. That saved me $6.47 which included a peanut butter stock pile I knew was on special becuase of the list. I wouldn't have gotten PB otherwise.

Then I ran my coupons for another $4.50 in savings. I saved nearly $11! And I have to say, it was fun to see that price go down! Now, $11 isn't $400, but in this day and age with gas what it is and everything else, $11 is $11.

Some of my bigger savings:
Two tubes of Aquafresh $5.98-$2.00 in store sale-$2.50 coupon=$1.48 or $.74 each.
Bottle of Fructis Shampoo 2-1 $3.29-$.79 in store-$1.00 coupon=$1.50
20 ct. Advil $6.39-$2.40 in store-$1.00 coupon=$2.99

Now, I haven't found a shampoo that is "perfect" so know loyalty there and I have decided to give up brand loyalty on tooth paste (come on, 75 cents!) but hey, you gots to do what you gots to do. And those savings were from only one week's coupons. I have some to carry over and more every week!

I see it as this, the paper costs $1.75 on Sunday. The Grocery Game is about $1.30 every week. If I only save $10 a week, that is still a net savings of 6.95. That's a lunch I can buy out instead of making it. And I don't have to buy toothpaste or peanut butter for while ...

Anyhoo, I know there are friends and family that might REALLY benefit from this, so check out The Grocery Game. If you clip coupons and can remember to turn it off before the 4 weeks are up, what do you have to lose?

If you wanna drive me car ...

So, I was all ready to get on Hugh's case about Hummer's and Michigan, when I double checked his blog and it was a lack of Hummer's in Wisconsin that he lauded in June.

So, here I am in Houston, TX, when I pull up behind a Hummer with Michigan plates. I was, "A ha! A Michigan Hummer! I have to blog about this and get on Hugh's case!"

In retrospect, I suppose people in Michigan are obligated to buy what ever Detroit puts out, but Hummers really just don't make sense. Especially now!

In the mean time, I will be on the lookout for a Wisconsin Hummer so I can be all, "A ha! A Wisconsin Hummer! ..."

Until then ...

All were children like your own ...

I have been on vacation the last few days. I started the trip in New York City. One of the best cities in the world. To quote the ad campaign, I love New York!

Anyway, I visited ground zero yesterday. They still refer to it as the World Trade Center on the subway train that took me there.

It was very moving and mind boggling to see the site. In the many years that I have visited NYC, I have never been further south than 34th street. It just blew my mind to not only see the vast open space that is left, but also to try and imagine what awesome buildings once stood there. Buildings I never saw in person but from a distance. A lump stuck in my throat the entire walk around the site and Deborah Boily's voice singing Jacques Brel's "Sons of ..." rang in my head.

But sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies
Sons of true love or sons of regret
All of the sons you cannot forget
Some built the roads, some wrote the poems
Some went to war, some never came home
Sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies...
So long ago: long, long, ago

...Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own...
Like your own, like your own

The path lead me through the World Financial center, so I went out on to the Esplanade in Battery Park to take a gander at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. As I walked around to Broadway and worked my way back up to St. Paul's Chapel, I took a close look at the buildings still standing in the area. What was it like for the people looking out of those windows? What was it like for the person cutting up to this alley that lead to a Starbuck's? To witness this, to see the fall, to hear it, feel it, live it?

Of course the answers to those questions are incomprehensible for someone like me. I was only a witness thanks to live mass media. I lived it at arms length. They lived it as it swept around them.

I kind of felt a little cheesy deciding to go down to the WTC. Someone was complaining today on TV that it had become a thing for tourists to gawk at. I would have to disagree. It was a profound experience to go down there, witness the area myself and think back on that day. Too think, it wasn't so long ago that we thought only Dec. 7th, 1941 would be the only day that would live in our history in infamy.

To sleep, perchance to dream ...

I had a sudden onset of insomnia last night. I woke up about 1:30am and could not get back to sleep. It was terribly frustrating.

To make matters odder, all I could think about was high school. Who were my teachers, where were my lockers, why didn't we hang out in the courtyard off of the band room more in the spring and fall?

After about an hour, I decided to search out my school on the web to see if they had a web site. Sure enough, Mt. Greylock RHS has a site. It did answer some of my questions. I couldn't remember the names of two of my English teachers. Mr. Dodds and Mr. Norton. Every time I tried Dodds, Dailey popped in, and that was Mrs. Dailey my AP US History teacher. For some reason, I though Mr. Norton started with a W. Also, because of a stained glass project, there was a map, and everything was pretty much exactly where I remembered it.

Oddly enough, I knew better about where my junior high lockers were more than senior. 10th, 11th and 12th are a blur. I know one was just outside the cafeteria though. That I do remember.

Before 4am rolled around, I did remember all my teachers but two. Mr. Stovall was either 9th or 10th grade history. Can't remember who the other might have been. In 8th grade, I had one teacher who was homeroom, English and Social Studies. You would think I could remember her name! I do know it wasn't Linda Terrel, one teacher who knew me well from the winter musicals yet never taught me in a class.

Please release me, let me go

Do you ever just leave the TV on for background when you are toddling around the house?

On the weekends I tend to leave TLC playing. I am a sucker for most of the shows they repeat at that time. Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, and Clean Sweep. And then there is the occasional What Not To Wear.

Clean Sweep sometimes can be the most fascinating. I get a bit cluttery at times. Not as bad as the people featured on the show, but I do certainly understand how they got that way. It is amazing what we as people can hold on to with out really thinking about it. . .

Somewhere in my youth or childhood ...

So, as physical maturity begins to settle in (the only form a maturity one can not resist), I find myself playing RPG games again!

Why such a regression. Well first of all, why not? Second, my good friend the Queen of the Dweebs has become an ultimate Star Wars fan and wanted to take a foray into the RPG world. I don't know how long it will last, but being that all of us playing are experienced theatre people, it should be a blast.

I have created a new blog, Daxter's Datalog to create a chronicle of this experiment. We created characters at our last meeting and this weekend we begin our adventure. Woo-hoo!

RPG holds a special place in my memory. The Queen Mother (no direct relation to dweeb royalty) is my closest and most trusted friend. There was a time in history, not quite 30 years ago, when we were bitter enemies, arch-nemeses, not worth the grubby snow on the bottom of each others goulashes. But theatre and Dungeons and Dragons changed all that. And because of that I have a special relationship with the Queen of Florida. (Who I still owe a fantastic belated birthday present. Where does the time go!)

When you read this, you may think, "Gee, he sure has a lot of Queens in his life!" When I think about it, you have NO idea!

Oh the places you'll go!

Go this from Hugh's Blog. Looked like fun!

States in which I have lived:

1. Texas (birth to 9, 9 years)
2. Massachusetts (9 to 18, 9 years)
3. Texas (18 - present, 19 years (you do the math!)).

Countries in which I have lived (save the US):

Zip!

States in which I have spent significant time:

1. North Carolina (many a summer)
2. New York (many a visit to that great CITY)

States that I have visited:

1. Louisiana
2. Mississippi
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee
7. South Carolina
8. Virginia
9. Maryland
10. Vermont
11. Hew Hampshire
12. Maine
13. Connecticut
14. Ohio
15. Illinois
16. Arkansas
17. California
18. Missouri
19. New Jersey
20. Pennsylvania
21. Indiana

Districts and Territories
22. Puerto Rico
23. Washington D.C.

Everything Old is New Again

One of the newsy bits (and I use the term "newsy" loosely) on the Today Show this morning was a commentary piece about how the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes affair could have helped the opening of Batman Begins. They then went back to last weekend and threw Brad and Angelina and their film into the pattern.

They do know this isn't new right? They do know this kind of hoopla, real or imagined, is old school publicity, right?

Um ... does anyone remember the studio system? Long before actors were working for themselves and 10% for their agents, they worked for the movie studio. And the studio made you work for it.

It was not uncommon for the studio to set its stars up on dates to go out and "be seen" to promote an upcoming film. You belonged to the studio. You did the movies they told you too and you were constantly made to be seen out and about in an attempt to bolster ticket sales.

This control was infamous. Studios would trade and lend actors like professional sports players. One famous power play was MGM's "Wizard of Oz". MGM wanted Shirley Temple, who, at the time was most appropriate in age for the character of Dorothy. 20th Centruy Fox wouldn't give her up. So MGM went with one of their stars even though she was too old for the character. In the end, MGM won out with Garland, but she was the understudy who wins hearts on opening night thanks to the studio system.

What you believe or don't believe about Tom and Katie isn't important. Are they really in love? Is he really gay and it's all fake? Don't matter. The use of this kind of relationship, real or manufactured, is nothing new. Its just now you have actors who are independant players. They don't have the studio bankrolling their movie star assent. They have to make themselves and maintain themselves as stars. It seems this May/September romance (he is not quite December yet Ms. Today show reporter) certainly keeps them in the news.

I got it!

You are now looking at the proud new owner of a Toyota Matrix, and it is totally awesome!

I got a great deal I think, but I let them make a little money on me in financing.

First, I was told that the Matrix (along with other Corolla based vehicles) are among the top 10 stolen, so I got Lowjack. The good news is I got a great insurance discount because of that, and over the term of the loan, Lowjack will pay for itself!

I also did an extension of my warranty that covers labor costs on various repairs. I know this usually is a rip off, but I with my experience with my Saturn in Houston traffic and weather, I think it will be worth it. I totally burned through my A/C in less than 5 years, and alternators went quickly too.

And Cosmic Blue is totally awesome. I was a little scared about getting a light blue, but it rocks!

Zoom - Zoom - Zoom!

Nice work if you can get it

Blogging is tough work. I only follow two or three blogs, and I just spent an inordinate amount of time catching up with them. I posted like crazy on ThreeBedTwoBath. Such charged topics!

Anywhoo, I have been doing a children's show for almost 5 weeks now, and we are going into the home stretch! Woo-hoo! I am pooped, and who knew doing three shows a day six days a week would be SO stressful! It is making us all a bit grumpy and some a bit emotional. One rollercoaster ride.

It is a fabulous job to have, but I am defintely looking forward to the break from the stage over the summer. Plenty of managerial work to do at the theater. Plus, we are doing at least two fundraisers this summer. Each have a performance aspect. I would hope I would be involved with at least one. But I am not going to be needy or greedy about it. Save that for later ...

An Awfully Big Adventure

So, I saw the farewell tour of Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan this week. My friend the Wendy-lady had seen a previous leg and highly recommended it. Since she is the expert and I had free tickets, how could I say no?

I had seen Rigby play the part years ago but had no specific memory of her performance. Then I watched some of the A&E special when they taped a "stage" production. It was absolutely horrid. I was forced to turn it off half way through the nursery scene. Michael and John were still asleep! Thus, I went to the current production with great trepidation.

I was pleasently surprised. Rigby was as good as my friend said. She embodied the soul of a pre-pubescent boy quite well. It may not have been a landmark performance, but certainly capable. And the pirates were quite enjoyable. There seemed to be one pirate from every corner of the world, including one in a kilt. How could you not enjoy a pirate in a dress?

Finally, Rigby's curtain call, which involved her flying out over the audience and practically landing in the Gallery above, was worth it all. What a magical moment. Yes, you know she is on a wire, and you can even see the guy in the pit yanking on the rig set up on the outside of the proscenium, but you just don't care. Peter Pan was flying through the house sprinkling fairy dust over everyone. Who couldn't believe in that?

I do believe in fairies! I do! I do! I do!

Spring Cleaning

I did a little spring cleaning this AM. Cleared off two chests in the bedroom, gave them a much needed dusting and freshened them up with a little orange oil.

Then, only put back that which should live there. The challenge is, of course, to only put the proper inhabitants of the chests on top of the chests. To be avoided are lunch receipts, coffee receipts, any receipts of any kind actually that are not reimbursable. And let us not forget assorted pocket dwellers that get dumped every day.

I give it a week ...

I did it!

Well, I did it! I put a deposit down on a new car! Toyota Matrix CUV base model. Cosmic blue in color.

It won't be in for a couple of weeks, so I still suffer in good old Bartholomew. Poor thing, he is almost 12 years old!

To be honest, I don't really know what I paid for it though. By the end of negotiation, we were talking deposit and monthly payment. Since I got both that I can afford, I am not going to worry to much about it, but I do think I got them to knock off about a $1000, which probably included the $400 recent grad incentive.

Oh, and I caved a bit on power. They were really pushing it, and keyless entry was just too cool! Again, I go back to getting what I could ultimately afford.

Zoom - Zoom - Zoom!

(Okay that is Mazda, but who cares!)

Book Meme

You are stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book would you be?
I must admit I have never read this book, but I know what the title refers too, and I think I know the basic premise based on Lemming's answer.

I thought about this long and hard. I decided to go with Little Women. It is one of my all time favorites. And it has just about everything for everybody. My second choice was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. That is my favorite HP book (thus far), mainly for the development between Harry and his Godfather. I am a sucker for family.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. I originally fell in love with her in the Canadian mini-series, but then read several of the books. Windy Poplars is told through letters to Gilbert Blythe, her intended. I would imagine they were written to me at times.

What is the last book you bought?
The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone.
Fun new children's book series. Not quite Lemony Snickett, but fun, and quick reads too!

What are you currently reading?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I am actually only "reading" it for the second time. I have listened to Jim Dale read it on tape two or three times, but I thought I would do the work myself this time.

Also Superfudge. Research believe it or not.

Just finished The Da Vinci Code and 3rd Degree (by James Patterson). Lots of fun.

Five books you would take to a deserted island
I always dread this question. So many to choose from and I have the same Harry Potter problem!
Not considering that and the fact that Lord of the Rings has been published in a single volume...

LOTR Single Volume
Little Women (even if I do have it memorized!)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or maybe The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul)
HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I hate to copy, but I would have to go with Swiss Family Robinson too. I have a very old copy my grandmother gave me. You really can't read it anymore it is so fragile, but methinks I should get a cheap version and revisit the island!

And now I throw this out to Karen, Bob and Natalie. For those not bloggers, you can do your answer via comments to mine I suppose, or maybe an e-mail list? I don't know meme rules ...

To her Royal Highness

And while I am on the mountain top of the internet, I don't think I ever truly thanked the Queen of Florida for her lovely birthday gift of entertainment. And also to the Queen Mother for her gift of nourishment. Most appreciated!

Thank you, your Majesty, and say hello to the dolphins for me when you see them next!

:)

The Plea of a Heartless Boy

I am a horrible person! I should be flogged, drawn and quartered, tarred and feathered and rode out of town on a rail.

A very good friend of mine, known as the Wendy-lady, was more than kind enough to remember my birthday, and sent a thoughtful and interesting gift. I picked up said gift from the office just after my birthday, which happened to be Easter Sunday this year.

Now, I have been meaning to thank the Wendy-lady almost everyday since then for her thoughtfullness, but unfortunately, I have been habitually absentminded when I am home, and have failed to send off a missive to her thanking her for said gift.

Dear Wendy-lady, I am so sorry to have been so negligent! I am a sloven. There isn't much of an excuse. You are yet another victim of the blankness that covers my mind when I walk in the door. Yes I am tired, working hard and fast, but I am plenty clear headed while enduring the city traffic. Thanking you, dear Wendy-lady, is usually on my mind when I am winding my way homeward at the end of any given day of varying lengths. But do I plop myself down and do it when I get home? No! My mind just fades away, nothing gets done, including a very belated thank you.

So, here I stand, as it were, open to the world, expressing my thanks and begging forgiveness for being the heartless boy it is so easy to be.

Your very on Pan

Spring Cleaning

I am a horrible house keeper. That is one big thing I am VERY lazy about. Fortunately I am not a particularly messy person, but time eventually takes care of even that.

Today, I did a home chore! I was cited ... sited? ... no cited for having an untidy patio the other day ... week? ... no month. Today I finally took care of it. Of course, it now looks tons better.

You would think accomplishing a thing like this would make one want to keep up with it and tidy up other areas. Mentally it does, but I usually don't accomplish much in that end. Ultimately, I am still a lazy home body. A curse that must be lifted with a spell of will power. Ha ha ha ha ha!

But I am inspired to plant the freshly cleaned flower boxes.

Your opinions

I am in the market for a new car! I am leaning heavily towards the TOYOTA MATRIX in cosmic blue.

So, I have some questions for you.

1) To power or not to power? I avoided a power package (windows, locks, etc.) in the past because if they DO break, they are expensive to fix. But then, I think how nice it will be to roll down all the windows when the weather is nice to save on A/C and gas. And yes, I know the car is less aerodynamic, but in the city, I would bet there is gas savings there as opposed to the highway.

2) Does anyone know what the difference between speed control and cruise control is? Vladimir, the Russian Toyota Sales Guy, said they were the same thing, but the price indicates they are not. Obviously speed control is missing something that makes it cheaper. But what?

Thanks!

Gurgle Gurgle!

So I get a message about this terrible thing happening. A local actor that is fairly well known loses just about everything in a house fire. He was not home, but pretty much only has the clothes on his back.

People have organized to give him a benefit to help "rebuild."

Um ... I don' t mean to belittle his lose or sound bitter or anything, but where the hell was my benefit? I was a struggling artist and grad student when Tropical Storm Allison flooded my apartment. Where was my help? Where was my benefit? Why am I up to debt waist deep that I have worked hard to get lower this year only to have my car totalled and all but putting the pay off at a stand still?

Mmmmm?

Happy Birthday to me!

Today I am 37. When the hell did I get so old??!

Geesh, three years to 40! Well, being 40 doesn't really bother me. By the time I get to the big numbers I seem to have dealt with the issue, or at least locked it away somewhere that it can be ignored.

But 37 is tough. For some reason, late 30s sounds old. Mid 30s did not. Early 30s most certainly not, but LATE.

As an actor of my general type, and being male, age doesn't scare me. I am too short to be a typical leading man and too tall to be a typical character man. BUT, once my look starts to catch up with my age, I will be just about right for husbands and fathers. Older brothers too. I should have been rife for younger brothers, but they have been few and far between and someone else always gets them. Damn them!

Oh, and being an actor with a relatively young look helps me with the whole locking away thing. I am still reading, knock on wood, 10 years younger. Of course it was only two years ago that was 15 years younger. At that rate, I might look 40 when I get there!

Cheers from a near future Ingé-not-so-nue!

Wake me when its over!

What a horrible couple of weeks I have had! Nothing real pithy to say either.

1) Crew come and go so quickly here!

The theater I work for has a show opening this week. Last week was tech. Getting crew for the show as been a farce. Sound Borad ops have been a revolving door, which ends up with me doing it. AH! Well, I can use the money for a down payment ... a small down payment on a car ... teeny tiny, but a payment none the less.

2) Stoppard by any other name wouldn't smell like Stoppard.

I auditioned for a Stoppard piece this last week too. I didn't get cast. Usually I take a day, MAYbe two, to mope about that and move on. This one hit me hard and made me go through the serveral stages of actor denial. The director is a fool, the other actors suck, I suck, why put myself through this, I should quit, oh look, something shiny! (i.e another play I can audition for!)

I think the main reasons were, A) I was just exhusted. I dosed through Robots on Sunday. I never sleep in movies. B) Ever since I saw Arcadia, I have wanted to do a Stoppard. Any Stoppard. I would be good in it, I know!

Anyway, that week is over and life moves on. I am not so depressed and unhappy as I was, though recovery on this one is slow, but I am getting some sleep and working a children's show. And, a dear and necessary co-worker, whom I shall refer to as The Brain, is returning next week from a sojurn up North. 4 weeks, and she has been missed!!

The Brain? Well, I sometimes think of her as the Brain to my Pinky. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Cruel tricks!

So, you are a multi-millionaire who is determined to fly around the world non-stop.

You build a special plane, curl yourself up into it and are stuck in this position for days and days until you accomplish your goal.

The real trick, uncurl yourself from this stationary, near fetal position and balance yourself on the top of a tiny step ladder.

Now, tell me, do you think that is fair?

What's a meme?

As a new blogger I am discovering these fun things called MEMEs. I guess because they are little things you do that are all about me. Me!

I have done many road trips to and from Texas and Massachusetts, so I took care to only include the states that I specifically stopped in, like the Reebok outlet in Pidgeon Forge, TN. This as opposed to Pennsylvania which I have only ever driven through to get somewhere else, food stops not withstanding.

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're currently living in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Ten things that I've done that you probably haven't

Inspired by Lemming and Three Bed, here is my list of 10 things:

1. Waited table on Christopher Reeve

2. Ran into Stephanie Zimbalist and her dog while hiking with my best friend.

3. Toured US and Europe in a chorus, singing in St. Patrick’s and Notre Dame in the same month.

4. Created my first iPod play list with Wicked (OBC), Green Day, Avenue Q (OBC) and Kelly Clarkson.

5. Played the part of 11 year-old Peter Warren Hatcher at age 37.

6. Worked a short New Year’s Eve wait shift and made more money in tips than the very perturbed staff that had been there all night.

7. Directed and choreographed a workshop musical about Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov.

8. Locked a suite mate in the bathroom hall between the rooms freshman year. Silently unlocked his side and “disappeared.”

9. Drove from Massachusetts to Texas non-stop with an Icelandic citizen.

10. Explained to a Waffle House waitress in Alabama that Iceland wasn’t in a state, but an actual country between the USA and Norway. You know, Norway? Europe? Very far a way in the Atlantic.

Jews and Children

I might have made a boo boo last night. A friend, Miss B. we call her, brought her realatively new beau to the party. It came down to one of the documentary categories, and I started chanting, "Jews and children." After repeating that about three times, I hit me, there is a Jewish man in the house who hasn't been around long enough to understand!

I say Jews and children always win the documentary categories for one reason. No matter how many films are made about the Holocaust, it will never cease to be the most shocking and horrifying period in our history. You just can't help but wonder how man could be so horribly cruel to fellow men. It is beyond the hate of Muslim extremists and the USA. It is beyond the hate of Israelis and Palistinians. It is beyond belief.

The same goes for children. Children in general are cute. So you either have cute children living sad, horrible lives or you have cute children living cute, adorable lives. Whether they make you cry or make you laugh, the kids win! Unless they are up against Jews. Jews always win. Especially Jewish children. Cute just can't beat the shame one feels as a human being when one is reminded of that period in history.

So, when I say "Jews and children", I mean these stories are unbeatable. And I was right. I voted for The Children's March. Looking back at the list, I see that another film dealt with homeless children on the Moscow subway (cute children living horrible lives). But March is about children in this country, specifically the South during the civil rights movement. Our own shocking history wins every time too.

Unless there are Jews.

Surprise ... Surpirse .. No surprise

First of all, I am so happy that Cate Blanchette won! Yippie! I thought she should win and she did!

Best director was probably the biggest surprise. Every one kept saying Scrosese, its his turn. I don't think it should be about turns. People don't make good movies by turn. Comparing Aviator and Baby, Baby was defintely the better directed film.

When it came down to it, I put Baby down for picture too, for the reasons I think a picture should win. Even though I don't think it had all the best individual pieces, it did have the best whole.

Jamie Foxx's and Hilary Swank's wins were boring, but Foxx did give a real moving speech.

And Freeman did edge out Owen. Interesting!

It's ... A ... Wonderful evening for Oscar! Oscar, Oscar! Who will win?

Best Picture
This race is pretty much up for grabs.

My pick is Finding Neverland. If you have not seen this film, I suggest you drop what your doing, hock whatever you need to if you need a baby sitter and go see it.

Sideways has a good shot as its leading actor apparantly got edged out of nominations by Eastwood and it is the surprise of the season.

The Aviator - Grand, sweeping, period epic about Hollywood legend.
Ray - Ray Charles' death has caused a semitmentl sweep of most minds.
Million Dollar Baby - Gritty, "real" tragedy.

The voters like all that. Who knows.

Best Actor
This is a three way race between Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland (SEE IT!), Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator and Jamie Foxx in Ray.

Foxx is the favorite. The whole Ray Charles thing really applies here and he has won most, if not all of the other awards.

DiCaprio won the Golden Globe for drama. Foxx was in the musical/comedy category. Leo really grew up with this film. His protrayal of Howard Hughes might give him the gold.

My pick is Depp. He is nominated for the second year in a row. Last year it was for Jack Sparrow, a comic lead in a summer action comedy. The academy doesn't usually reward that, but following it up with J.M. Barrie might do the trick. Barrie is the type of role that gets rewarded. Depp's portrayl ran the gamut from heart breaking to joy and wonder.

Best Actress
This is a two horse race. Annette Bening and Hilary Swank.

The pundits say Swank for Million Dollar Baby, but I hope not. She has already won for playing a tough gritty role with a tragic story. Boys Don't Cry. Then, she beat out Annette Bening's turn in American Beauty.

Being Julia was a wonder. Bening plays a woman her age with great abandon and no apologies for her age either. Who could forget "I feel twice my age which makes me 90!" And then there are responses like Jeremy Irons. As Bening rants about being a horrible bitch, Irons takes her hand tenderly and says, "Never the less." Please be Annette Bening!

Best Supporting Actor
Who knows!? Church could win for being Giamotti's partner in Sideways. Foxx could win for Colateral as a nod to his Ray work while giving that award to another. Freeman could win for Million Dollar Baby because he was wonderfully understated and he is a multi-nom that has never won.

My bets are on Clive Owen. He has been winning so far, and Larry in Closer is the kind of ranging dramatic role that gets noticed. Don't be surprised if Morgan Freeman slips past though.

Best Supporting Actress
I have heard the least buzz and seen the least films in this category.

Natalie Portman seems to be the front runner, and I hear she is wonderful in Closer.

I wouldn't mind seeing Cate Blanchett win though. She was spot on in The Aviator as Kate Hepburn. A real portrayl. Not once did you feel like it was a caricature or put on. Go Cate!

We shall see tomorrow!

And he'll have fun, fun, fun til his Daddy takes the T-bird away!

So, the big auto decision was made today. After a brief discussion with the insurance agent to see if there was anything they were holding out on me, I decided to keep the car and take the $1000.00 offer.

What I am not doing is A) spending one more dime on Bartholomew, my Saturn and B) not buying a new car until July.

My inspection runs out in July. I would bet Bartholomew would not pass. For one, neither horn button works now. My license fee runs out in August. I don't want to pay that only to lose the benefit in the fall. He has served me well for almost 11 years. But with the bad trunk, no horn and no A/C, retirement is over due.

I know Sept. would be the best time to buy, but I will just weasel a fall deal out of them in July. By then I can pay down some bills to where I can comfortably manage them with my salary and start paying and banking for car payments with my creative earnings.

One thing I also won't be doing again is visiting Demo's automotive in the Village. There body shop guy was a total jerk to me. He either didn't listen to a thing I said about the options I was trying to figure out, or he just couldn't be bothered with me.

I felt funny about going to my Dad's shop after he had called in and did an advance recon for me. I already agreed the night before to go into them before making my mind up. The Demo's people probably saw me as a "rich kid" being bailed out by dear old dad. What they don't know is that when it comes to dad, ole Drewster's bails himself out, no matter how deep the water is in his apartment or his trunk.

Beware of Greeks who don't shake hands

I don't know how long these articles live on MSN, but this was great one on Starbuck's and its success.

Starbucks' genius blends community, caffeine

On a realted note, I hear Donald Trump does not shake hands. They say it is a grem thing. Maydbe he's carrying a blade.

Now that would make Trump cool!

What does that have to do with the success of a coffee corporation? Read the article and then get your nails done.

Please release me, let me go!

You know how when they made Scream, they gave us the rules of slasher filcks. Don't drink or have sex, don't say you will be right back, don't yadda yadda yadda.

Well, there should be a list of rules on how to survive a terroist threat over a 24 hour period.

Rule #1, never, NEVER leave CTU. When you get there, stay put. Handcuff yourself to a railing, tie yourself to a chair. Do what ever you have to do, but don't leave. Oh, and just in case, don't leave the main statistical area just in case there is a mole that will kill you when you stumble upon them doing secret bad things.

Rule #2, if you ignore rule #1 and do leave CTU, don't on any account be Jack Bauer's girlfriend, daughter or wife. In fact, it would be best if you make sure Jack hates your guts. That is the best way to ensure your survival.

In case you are reading this, on the verge of cursing my name because you are behind, I won't say any more than that.

You must have been a beautiful baby!

So, I just saw Million Dollar Baby. Good movie, but is Hillary Swank really going to win for that?

Don't get me wrong, she was good in the role, but the oscar? I don't think so. Annette Benning SO deserves it. Being Julia was one of the most delightful films of the year. Maybe only second to Finding Neverland.

Speaking of, Kate Winslet didn't get nominated for that film and she should have. She deserves the oscar before Swank for these performances.

But still, I suppose Swank will win. Whenever an actress plays a role that requires her to get a little dirty, a little gritty and cry out of pure misery, they usually win.

Charlize Theron proved she could really act behind that beautiful face of hers, but I didn't think she should have won either for Monster. I found the role lacked depth. It required lots that we hadn't seen from her before, but the character didn't seem to grow or change. Diane Keaton deserved to win last year. Something's Gotta Give was wonderful because of her. (Certainly not Jack Nicholson!)

Job and job

Funny, I just noticed I used job and Job in consecutive posts. THAT must be confusing!

Can you imagine if you were Job looking for a job?

After all, tomorrow is another day!

Well, I certainly have a brighter outlook today. I see solutions where yesterday I wallowed in the depths of despair.

I can actually see a plan where buying a new car might actually be realistic. I have some financing options to look into, but as long as I can continue to get acting and design work, then it is possible. Otherwise, I walk, bike or bus it.

What I really am hoping for now is that it doesn't rain over the next few days. At least not when I am out and about. It should only rain at night when I am home in bed. Like in Camelot!

What next?

So, I got the unofficial word today. The cost of repairing the damage to my trunk will exceed the total value of my car.

My car has been totalled!!!!

I will get official numbers on Monday, but they can either give me some piddling amount and I keep my car and look into getting it repaired, or they can take my car and give me a slightly less piddling amount.

I don't know what to do with all this. I don't have time to deal with replacing my car. Hell, I don't know HOW I can replace my car.

My change banks are pretty full, so I am taking them into the Coinstar and buying lottery tickets. Maybe I can win a million bucks and then buy any car I damn well please, pay all my debts and even get a better computer for my home.

Shoot, maybe I can get a home that will allow pets and bird feeders!

Oh, and I found that Far Side. Notice the resemblence to me and the guy under the piano.

Just call me Job

Do you remember that Far Side cartoon, God at his Computer? God is sitting at his computer. On the screen is a man walking under a grand piano suspended above him. God's finger is pearched over the smite button waiting for the grand moment.

I feel like the guy with the piano over his head! Last week, my lap top was stolen. Today, I get rear ended. Fortunately it was in Rice village and traffic wasn't moving in such a manner that anyone was hurt or that obvious serious damage was done to my car.

But, still, give me a break! All I can say is one good thing happened to me today. I get another chance to audition for ADV for a director whom I gave a bad audition too. It better be a series and I better get the part. That is all I have to say. Otherwise, I see bankruptcy on the horizon, yes sir!

ARGH!

Do you need a job?

One of the big news stories on the national news this AM was a shooting rampage that someone went on in a Best Buy.

They guy for ABC that was covering the story was standing outside the store early this morning. Over is right shoulder you could clearly see the Best Buy sign. Over his left shoulder you could very clearly see the banner announcing that Best Buy was "Now Hiring!".

Um ... were the producers not paying attention to this. Yes, sure, the Best Buy has probably been hiring for a few weeks, but to the juxtaposition of that sign with a rampage in the store seems a little obvious, don't you think?

Hiring? Of course they are ...

Mother F***ing Son of a B****!!!!

So, one of Houston's fine upstanding citizens walked into the theater today, took advantage of an unsecure, unguarded lobby, and walked off with my f***ing laptop!!

He just unplugged it from the network, unplugged the power and walked out with it. I can't believe it. What a gutsy mother f****er. I mean, as he was loitering in the lobby up to no good, our stage manger walked though. Unfortunately, we were expecting some community service help to show for the work that was being done in the back office.

"Are you community service?", she asked.
"Yeah!", he answered.
"They're in the back" she said and she continued on her way out the door to the dumpster with the load she had. That left him with the smallest of windows to take off with it.

Having to buy another laptop doesn't bother me too much. Hell, thanks to Tropical Storm Allison, I will be in debt for the rest of my life, what's another 12 hundred.

No, it is all the work that I had on the hard drive. Work that I should have been backing up weekly, but have been too busy and distracted to remember to do.

F****ing corn rowed bastard! I am so angry, I can't even describe it. It's just bull s**t. It is going to take me the rest of the season to recreate some of the work I had done. Ideas that I had about theater growth.

I hate that mother f***ing son of a b**** and I hope something really really horrible happens to him before he pawns my lap top, and then I hope he is caught and goes to jail, and then I hope something even more horrible happens to him there.

F***er!!!!!

The Amazing Race

Do you watch the Amazing Race? I do! I am a huge fan since season one. It is like the best reality show ever!!

So, Freddy and Kendra, the vapid models win the race. Kris and Jon, the most beautiful couple in the entire world. And when I saw beautiful I mean like real person beautiful with perfectly formed bodies and personalities to math, come in second. Ah! They so deserved to win. They were literally minutes behind. If it hadn't been for a train, the might have even had a chance to catch the winning team.

As usuall the editors of the show really knew how to put together a high paced, frenzied finale.

The best thing though? They already have a new one in the can and it premieres in three weeks!

YIPPIEEEE!!!!!!!!!

I suck at this!

Well, I hope you haven't been coming here for scintilating updates on my life. I can't seem to have a thought in my head when I am at a computer. Now, when I am driving around between theaters all day, I have plenty to rant and rave on.

Ah well, I guess I can't keep up with the youth of today.

I auditioned for my theater's next play, but it doesn't look I got cast. In reality, this is a good thing. I auditioned only because of the silly stupid actor thing called, "If I don't audition all the time they will forget me!". The show butted up against Super Fudge. I do a LOT in Super Fudge. I start the show and don't leave the stage for 50 mintues. So it is best that I get that show learned and open with out overlapping with another show.

Now, when Super Fudge is open, it will over lap with the last show on the MainStage will start rehearsal. If I am going to do two shows at once, that seems like a better situation.

I am just looking forward to the end of the season. I am actually thinking of taking a two week vacation to visit NYC and family up north. I am tired!

Hallmark Stuff

I am a big Hallmark Ornament collector. I couldn't afford membership this year, but luckily www.yulelog.com had people who could post links that by-pass the sign in. Here are dweeb related things for Friends of QOTD.

Gandalf and other Pop Culture
Pop Culture Link

Star Trek - Bleh!

Harry Potter and other Warner Bros.
https://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&tabOn=products&categoryId=47057&CatIDsList=-2;-104468;-107465;47057

Not a great pic of Harry, but really dynamic.

Disney Fans
https://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&categoryId=43558

Have fun!

Well, well, well ...

So did anyone else hear anything about this Vera Drake film?

It seems I must see The Aviator, Hotel Rwanda and Million Dollar Baby. It seems I will see them alone since all my friends went with out me!

I don't need to see everything, thank goodness, but I will try and see Closer (love them both) and I will need to borrow Eternal Sunshine from Karen.

Do we think Being Julia will be re-released? I may see Ray and will think long and hard about seeing Sideways. I just have no interenst.

And finally I still want to see Neverland again!

Ahhhhhhh!

The Oscar Noms

BEST PICTURE
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA
Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Jamie Foxx - RAY

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening - BEING JULIA
Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE
Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS
Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL
Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
Clive Owen - CLOSER

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney - KINSEY
Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS
Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA
Natalie Portman - CLOSER

DIRECTING
THE AVIATOR
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY
SIDEWAYS
VERA DRAKE

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
THE INCREDIBLES
SHARK TALE
SHREK 2

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
BEFORE SUNSET
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIESSIDEWAYS

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
THE AVIATOR
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
HOTEL RWANDA
THE INCREDIBLES
VERA DRAKE

ART DIRECTION
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE AVIATOR
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

COSTUME DESIGN
THE AVIATOR
FINDING NEVERLAND
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
RAY
TROY

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BORN INTO BROTHELS
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
SUPER SIZE ME
TUPAC: RESURRECTION
TWIST OF FAITH

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
AUTISM IS A WORLD
THE CHILDREN OF LENINGRADSKY
HARDWOOD
MIGHTY TIMES: THE CHILDREN'S MARCH
SISTER ROSE'S PASSION

FILM EDITING
THE AVIATOR
COLLATERAL
FINDING NEVERLAND
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
RAY

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
THE CHORUS
DOWNFALL
THE SEA INSIDE
YESTERDAY

MAKEUP
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE SEA INSIDE

MUSIC (SCORE)
FINDING NEVERLAND
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
THE VILLAGE

MUSIC (SONG)
"Accidentally In Love" - SHREK 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
"Believe" - THE POLAR EXPRESS
"Learn To Be Lonely" - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" - THE CHORUS

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BIRTHDAY BOY
GOPHER BROKE
GUARD DOG
LORENZO
RYAN

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST
LITTLE TERRORIST
7:35 IN THE MORNING
TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT
WASP

SOUND EDITING
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
SPIDER-MAN 2

SOUND MIXING
THE AVIATOR
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POLAR EXPRESS
RAY
SPIDER-MAN 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
I, ROBOT
SPIDER-MAN 2

I'm going to Scotland!

So, I am doing a bit of a redo of my web page. The place I ask people to go and start their Amazon.com shopping. Not a big request, right. All my friends and family should be right there shopping away, shouldn't they?

Well, I can only track one friend who uses it. Thanks Victoria! Is Hannah taking tap lessons now?

Anyhoo, one of the reasons I really need to get out of debt is I want to go to Scotland. My 40th birthday (yikes!) is not long off. I think of some of my friends when they turned 40 and what they did. Special parties and trips.

What did I want to do? Then it hit me! I want to go to Scotland! My Great-Great-Grandfather emigrated from Scotland to Canada. That isn't too many generations back.

Anyway, it is some of the most beautiful country in the world. It's my roots. And Hogwarts is hidden there somewhere!!

So that's the plan. So shop my page! drewsview2.tripod.com

Why are people stupid?

What is it with people? Why does everything have to be spelled out for them? No wonder we have 4 more years.

I just sold tickets to people at the door for the theater at 7:30. Now, when we do advance sales over the phone, we always warn people to be on time as there is no late seating. But when you sell them at the door, the people are there, right?

These people must have gone next door to get a drink or play in traffic or something. They show up almost 10 minutes late. We have already held for 5 minutes to be safe, and then we still seat people during the overture, but once the character of C.C. Baxter makes his entrance, that's it. No more seating.

So, these people come waltzing in from God knows where just as the overture is ending. I tried to get them in, but as the usher was going in, out came Joel, the actor playing Baxter.

They were absolutely astonished that they couldn't get in. They were only 7 minutes late. It wasn't like they were 20 minutes late. And I didn't tell them there was no late seating. Of course, if the looked even a minute at their tickets, it says it right there! And no other theater will do late seating if it is in any way disruptive.

Oh, but this is the first time we have been to the theater. It is just a horrible experience now.

Yeah, well, here's your 20 bucks. Good speed!

People are just children. Spoiled little children.

Was this neccesary?

Well, all I really wanted was to not post anonymously on the QOTD's blog. So here I am. So what now?