Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Nothing in Particular

I have nothing in particular to talk about today. I just felt I should post something because when I go to the blogs I read on a regular basis and there is nothing new I have a moment of dissapointment. It is not disheartening (my car won't start), painful (I just stubbed my toe on the chair leg) or frightening (the Supreme Court just got bombed and Bush gets to name a whole new batch). It is just a moment of "aahhh, nothing."

I am glad Seth got me started with this odd little electronic therapy. I am very curious how much it gets read, but I am not worried about the "popularity" of it. I enjoy the excuse to write "stuff." Unimportant stuff, silly stuff, self-important stuff, crappy stuff.......

To anyone who does read this stuff please add your two cents worth on the comments. I love the feedback and the fun of seeing what others think.

Question of the day: How does one loot 377 tons of explosives? This isn't a television from a storefront window in a race riot. I can't lift a box of books much less 377 tons of something.

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Extremists are fun

This is a great time of year for fanatics.

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees series has brought a huge number of irrational statements, not to mention fun baseball to watch.

The election creates fanaticism that is unparalleled. Both sides are guilty of this. I have been listening to Air America on the internet today. Liberal radio designed to combat the conservative radio talk that is rife on the airwaves. It is fun to listen to this after getting angry at Rush Limbaugh for years.

Everybody spins and distorts...

Be sure you vote what your head and heart tells you, but please use your head more than your heart.

You know who I miss ... all the fanatics saying that Harry Potter is demonic and makes children turn to Satan if they read them. My children can spout Potter trivia as easily as their names and address and I have yet to find a pentagram drawn in blood on their closet walls.

I wonder how the candidates feel about Harry Potter. My guess: Kerry liked the books, but wants to put a Potter tax on all Harry memorabilia to fund his liberal tax and spend ideas. Laura read the first book to W, but he didn't have the attention span for the longer sequels. Dick Cheney explained them to him and got a contract for Halliburton to supply the troops with hardcover copies, the books are in Farsi (the official language of Iran) and we paid $795 per copy, but if you wedge one in your shirt they stop many forms of shrapnel better than the flak jackets. Nader feels that the fact that book 5 was 870 pages was a threat to the rain forests because the number of trees to supply the paper can not be found elswhere. Michael Badnarik's Potter opinion, oh, who the hell cares what the Libertarian candidate thinks. I bet you didn't know he was the Libertarian candidate until the end of the sentence.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Are your humors out of balance?

A friend of mine gave me a "Personality Testing Instrument" the other day. I had a few minutes to kill while waiting for something so I filled it out. It was simple enough. There were forty rows, in each row there were four words. I was to chose the one word in each row that best described me. Twenty rows went under the heading "Strengths" and twenty under the heading "Weaknesses." What I found the most interesting about the test is that they divide the results into four categories: Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, and Melancholy, the four humors of Elizabethan times.

My question is:
If I think that I would rather be in a different category than the test slots me would a pair of peckish leeches fix things up?

In case you are wondering I was labeld a Peaceful Phlegmatic with slight Perfect Melancholy leanings. A few Popular Sanguine traits popped up, but the Powerful Choleric was nearly non-existent in this guy.

I would love to have a friend fill it out for me to see if others see me as I see myself...

Monday, October 11, 2004

The Meaning of Life

What’s it all about?

What is it that makes it all worthwhile?

For centuries people of great learning and spiritual strength have been searching for the meaning of life. Unfortunately the number of people looking has produced almost as many different answers to the question. There are similarities in many of the answers. Most religions have tenets that are comparable. Secular conclusions even have common elements to the religious ones. Read Joseph Campbell and you will see similarities even in cultures separated by greats gulfs of time and space.

Why do I bring this up? Because I think I may have stumbled on the actual proper answer. Go into a pre-school classroom and watch the children sing and dance to an age-old song.
The Hokey-Pokey is what it’s all about.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

Fred Allen Contest

As I stated in a added comment to the "Isn't Technology Grand?" let's have a contest. To all folks who can put a Fred Allen quote, reference, or bit of trivia on a comment attached to this blog you will win...congratulations and respect from your peers.

I'll start it:
"That ain't the way I hear-ed it. One feller says to the other feller Saaaay he says..." Old Timer from Allen's Alley

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Ha!

Laughter is a strange thing. It is next to impossible to describe why some things are funny and some other things are not. There are times that you can lose control of yourself when just the right funny thing happens. Who among us can say that they have never had a moment when they thought breathing normally may not ever happen as they laughed at something, often something that really wasn't that funny.

Making people laugh as an actor was great. The nuances I added that were not in the script gave great satisfaction. The laughs I got doing speechette for the shows I directed may have been more fun since they were completely my own.

Sometimes I wish laughter could be more quantifiable. I wish I was assured of always getting my Recommended Daily Allowance of laughter like I can have a Centrum to get all the riboflavin I need.

Thanks to Claudia, Emilyjane, Alice, George, Sarah, and Seth for making sure I laugh every day.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Isn't technology grand?

I am not a huge baseball fan, but I do enjoy it. Being a Royals fan makes it hard to maintain excitement. Each year I adopt a team or two to root for in order make it interesting throughout the season. One of my teams for the last few years has been the Cardinals. Well the Cards are in the playoffs, but I have to work so sitting in front of the television isn't possible (I don't have cable so I would have to find some place to watch anyway). Well, I have dialed the game up on the internet. And as an added perk I get to listen to the venerable Vin Scully do the game. Baseball is the best sport to listen to on the radio and Scully's voice means baseball.

Most people reading this will probably not get this reference but I think Scully sounds like the great radio comedian Fred Allen. I keep expecting him to say: "And now we'll leave the ballpark and head to Allen's Alley and see what Senator Claghorn thinks about the Pujols home run."

Monday, October 04, 2004

Home Sick

Alice has a slight stomach malady so she stayed home from school and I stayed home with her. Remember when you were a kid and stayed home sick? The "nest" that was created on the couch, with the moutain of pillows, the small glass of Seven-Up that eventually replaced the bucket, and the televison on all day long. I watched game shows and soap operas. Alice has much better technologies at her disposal. She is watching DVDs. My kids are a bit odd. She has watched a Shirley Temple movie and The Road To Bali with Hope and Crosby. My bet would be her next choice is a Marx Brothers movie.

I am trying to get a few more pages accomplished on the movie script. I would love to be a professional writer. I love the process of preparing to write. The comfy clothes, the computer set up just right with the proper snacks and the right CD on the headphones. Wouldn't it be great to have a career that allowed you to eat M&Ms, listen to The Blasters and wear ratty shorts and a baseball jersey?

Friday, October 01, 2004

Creating in Kansas

I went to the Depot Theater Company show last night. The work that everyone put into it was obvious. It was great fun and will be a very funny show through the course of its run. I often think about the talent level of the folks that have worked in the company over my years of involvement with it. One doesn't think of a town of 20,000 people in southwest Kansas being this rich in talent. I am not the most traveled of people but I have seen shows on Broadway and the West End of London. The people in our shows could hold their own there. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew.

Thinking about the show makes me think about collaboration. One of the reasons I didn't stay in Hollywood was that making movies was too collaborative. Too many people involved and the vision was too muddled. The collaboration I have enjoyed as a director in the Rep. Co. was very gratifying. My intent was always to be a facilitator, an encourager (is that a word?), and a guide. I had a great time doing it and I thank all those with whom I have ever worked. The joy that comes when people work together in a creative atmosphere is one of the best feelings I get.

I look forward to doing this with the Imum Pancy Productions team. Seth and Sarah thanks for giving me this avenue.