Just like a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerfherder

Sorry I missed so many of you while you were home on break - hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving. And you're feeling better (Katie). And you all had a decent trip back to your respective schools.

Our holiday was nice, we spent the day in pajamas. Made a turkey (Jay gets one from work every year), ate much, slept much, read much - it was all good. Oh yeah, lest I try to make myself think otherwise (again) next year - I hate turkey. Really. The taste has never sat well with me. That's why we usually don't do a "traditional" dinner - I think next year we're donating the turkey to the food shelf and going with something else. (although, mini-confession: I like fruitcake. especially the really rich stuff that you can only have a few bites of at a time.)

Then on Friday we went and saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is my favorite movie so far. I don't want to spoil it for any who haven't seen it yet (and we saw it on IMAX - wheeee!), but let me just leave you with the impression that this movie is what the storyline for a book adapted to movie form should look like. Gone were the extra subplots that really don't move the whole story forward, and in their place were the polished bits that you need to continue the core story along with a few fun flourishes (I LOVE Snape in this movie). Anyway, go see it - this one is fabulous!

So, what's taking up my time and energy now? I'm glad you asked! Star Wars - or rather, the next library trip to Boston to see Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination this Saturday. The plan: Leave at 6 (am!!) go to the museum and see the exhibit (YAYAY!), have lunch, hang out in the general exhibit, go to see "Special Effects" at the OMNI-IMAX 180 degree screen (WHOA! - I hope no one has major height or moving sickness issues...), then leave, stop for dinner, come home around 7:00 pm.

Then on Sunday I've got a read-through of the Vagina Monologues for which I have a tentative casting. I'm going to call everyone back and try to read-through the monologues with everyone cast in their tentative roles and then we'll see how it goes.

Otherwise, things are going along swimmingly...although I am looking at another week where I'm not going to get home any evening before 9. Next week should be better.

And now that I'm at the end of November National Novel Writing Month I can share my word count (a la Microsoft Word because I'm not posting my novel anywhere it could be read right now!): 25,322. I think I've got a pretty good story going right now actually. It needs a lot of fine tuning, and I need to re-write some parts (lots of parts....) but I've got a solid, unique story.

I've got some fun stuff to share:

I used to think it was just the stores that were shoving Christmas down everyones' throats right around Thanksgiving, now I see the houses are just as decorated. It is kind of nice to see the pretty lights, but we're not putting anything up yet. Perhaps when we do we'll follow this cat's guide to tree trimming (with pics!!).

Did the Jedi have it coming? I love this essay. It's a fun, little piece of geek-flavored, brain candy.

Coraline is going to be a movie!!! *squeeee*!!!

I saw this as an email in the early 90's - how funny to stumble across it now.

Throw rocks at boys. No, not for real.

You must have speakers to click here. Turn them on first.

I love Calvin & Hobbes. Really. I own all the books and I bought the new collection and I've read it so many times since that, well, I still love them. Enjoy a few. Watterson is a genius.

What I'm Reading: I've been on a Christopher Moore bent the past few days. I can't explain it other then to say that it all started with Good Omens. And then I reluctantly finished that (twice) and still wanted more silly. I didn't happen to have any Terry Pratchett on hand. Instead I came across The Stupidest Angel, which has my favorite first line of all time:

Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing; dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.

Well, after that I decided to visit the character Tuck and Roberto (a giant, talking fruit bat) in Island of the Sequined Love Nuns. And then, oh, what the heck, it was right next to it on the shelf. I continued my silly little marathon with Lamb: The Gospel According to Bif, Christ's Childhood Pal. Yes, in case you are wondering, these are the type of books that grace my personal collection. I'm proud of that.

Where would one go after finishing those? Why, right back to the shelf to reach out blindly and grab........Fluke: Or I Know why the Winged Whale Sings. Go me!

What I'm Watching: I'm tired, it's late, I'll write about more at another time, besides you know I saw an awesome movie.

Mini-edit: WICKED!!!!!! (All shows sold out)

Crowley, An Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards

Have we ever had a Thanksgiving that wasn't plauged with "weather woes"? I mean, really, people (at least some of you...) we live in Vermont, which is, I believe synonymous with "weather woes". Regardless, I really don't care about the weather (for myself anyway) except for Friday when it better be gorgeous and clear for our trip to see Harry Potter on IMAX.

So, tomorrow there will be no school. However, the library will be open until 5, so what the heck, I made calls and said "how about a D&D day?" We'll see who shows up. And point and laugh - NO, I'm kidding!! Really! Tsk, how could you think I could mean that? ...point and laugh....like I would! All stupid one-sided conversations aside, yes, D&D day Wednesday. And glass painting a Thanksgiving centerpiece (votive candle holder) at 3:00.

The Vagina Monologue auditions are over and I've got a show!!! Altogether I've got about 33 women cast - YAYAYAYA!!!! Everyone that auditioned was pretty good - I mean, some were amazing, some were great, and some were better than others, but overall, what an amazing turnout of women! The plan now is I'm going to do a "tentative casting", do one call back to have a read-through and see how it goes, and then hopefully have it cast. Then just background work until January (we purposely scheduled it to skip any major production during the holidays).

A couple of fun things I've found:

This is very cool - I had a tangram thing behind the desk but one piece went missing, and, well, you can't do a tangram with a missing piece.

I so want to see this British comedy!!

Apparently, in their spare time some geeks devise clever chipmunk traps.

A classic! A short, brilliant toon for those who think Italy might be just like Europe, from Bruno Bozzetto: Europe vs. Italy.

Speaking of classics......try this.

What I'm Reading:

I have been working on a "storytelling" collection at the library for all the literature students suddenly appearing as well as the sudden interest in them. And they are really interesting! The one that I'm reading now is called "Once Upon a Galaxy". See, many of the stories, fantasy and sci-fi, that we enjoy are derived from archetypes found in mythology, folklore, and legend. This book chronicles some of those iconic archetypes in one collection that is broken up by the archetypes they represent: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek, for example. Very, very cool collection.

Good Omens....Yeah, so, I'm reading it AGAIN....and, so what if I finally bought my own copy. I just love this book. It's another one of those hilarious, brilliantly clever gems that I wish I'd written.

What I'm watching:

Well, for anime Hannah got her wish and we watched Yami no Matsuei and then they got to watch the first few episodes of Neia Under 7. The series is rather interesting. Full of the bishies that the girls so love to watch, the story revolves around almost a noir Shinigami plot.

I haven't really had time to watch or read much.

So, Happy Thanksgiving!! I don't know if I'll be posting much until next week - hopefully I'll run into a few of you during break.

Wootness

The first round of auditions last night went ever so well! We had women show up that I had never met before. It was a smaller group than I think we'll see on Sunday's auditions, which I expect to be packed.

Other than that, not much newsworthy has been going on. I contacted Vermont Pubic Radio about the Under Milk Wood radio performance and am going to see about getting the performance broadcast there as well (wouldn't that be cool!!).

The library is as fun as ever - I'm glad to be back there AND downstairs! Just a heads-up for those visiting from college during Thanksgiving: there is no D&D the Friday after Thanksgiving. Instead we (Jay, Me, Allegra) and Joe and Sam are going to go see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Clearasil on IMAX - yayay!!

So, since that's all I really have to share, how about some fun diversions:

Do I really have the knowledge to evaluate this argument? No. Am I going to suddenly get interested and start looking things up. Naaaah. Regardless, I've heard that quote so many times - you know the one: "people only use 10% of their brains" that I, too, had accepted it as fact. Reading something like this makes me think that I should evaluate that "fact" a little more closely. Besides, who would really want a fully realized brain? I mean, having to be aware of each muscle, nerve, twitch, cellular respiration, heart beating.....nope, give me a good brain with a decent filter any day.

The makers of the Librarian Action Figure and the Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure now bring you: The Avenging Unicorn Play Set. WTF??? Lest you think it's all dark and morbid, they do also offer the Jane Austen action figure (c'mon, you strongly suspect that you would indeed enjoy such a thing).

This bouncing ball game is rather amusing....and time consuming.

Short stories online - cool! Speaking of stories, I'm about 24000 words into my novel - I'm feeling quite proud of myself even if there's no way I would let anyone read it in the shape it's in right now, which is why it's not on the NaNoWriMo website...I just can't bring myself to put it there where it could be read until it's a bit more polished. Oh well, I know what I've done!

Once upon a time, in a part of the house where grownups rarely visited, there was the Land of the Stuffed Animals.

It was a happy place where all the animals got along (as their hearts were as plush as the rest of them).

And so begins The Tale of the Plush Cthulu. This is really, really funny if you're a Lovecraft fan or just want to impress the geek next to you.

The cheap way to burn games and DVDs with copy protection (no, don't actually do this *sheesh*).

Bad Cookie - giving fortune cookies a bad name.

Yes, it's true, I am enough of a geek that I get the jokes and think this Matrix spoof is quite funny. Speaking of The Matrix...only 2 good things came out of that mess (IMHO!), the first Matrix movie and the Animatrix, which you can now watch the first part of here.

A little comedy. Go on, you need the funny!

What I'm Reading: Well, I had an order with some new graphic novels come in, so that's what I've been reading.

First Spiral-Bound, a new graphic novel perfect for younger readers (about Allegra's age) that I just loved. The story follows a group of characters through one summer as they each go to camp, get a job, and/or try something new. Turnip, the elephant, goes to an art camp where he learns that he is a wonderful artist. Anyway, the whole story is tied up in the abandoned pond where a supposed monster lives. One of the friends finds herself writing for the underground (quite literally) newspaper and right smack in the center of the mystery of the monster. The story is sweet, and nice, and interesting, and different. The artwork is rather good. All in all - I'm pleased to have this book in the collection.

Next, Queen Bee, another entry in the "Mean Girls" genre. Haley was tired of being unpopular at school, so when her mother got a new job and they moved away she reinvented herself for her new school, where she becomes the most popular, despised, and generally lousy person. Then someone else shows up (plot thins here as its clearly her sister separated at birth), dethrones her, fighting ensues, then she realizes she doesn't want to be that person. The one twist: she has psychokinetic powers - as it turns out, so does the girl that that shows up. The artwork looks straight off of the Disney channel. The plot is thin, old, and tired. However, the middle school clique is a popular genre right now and I think lots of the "tween" girls will really like this one.

What I'm Watching: NieA Under 7 HOLY HELL THIS ANIME IS HYPER!!! I mean, hyper-hyper!! It tries to be cute and interesting, but c'mon who hasn't had an alien living in their closet making UFOs out of trash? Ok, it's funny enough, but meh. I wasn't in the mood for it.

I missed Madagascar when it was in the theaters, but I'm glad I caught it now. What a cute movie - and rather interesting how they managed to take the Tex Avery style of cartooning and translate that in a 3-D setting.

No, really, I insist

Under Milk Wood was fabulous! Whenever we do these kind of smaller, ecelectic theatrical pieces there is always the fear that we're going to have more people on stage than in the audience. I'm pleased to say that it did not turn out that way at all. We did both shows last Saturday, one a 3 and one at 8, and although the afternoon matinee did have a much smaller house we can boast that at least there were more people watching than performing.

And what a show!! I absolutely love this piece of work. Thank you for the well-wishes! The show, intended to be performed for radio, has been recorded and is just as awesome on CD as live (in fact, probably better since you're not faced with the distraction of watching the actors - most people in both audiences just closed their eyes and listened). So, if you'd like me to send you a copy of the performance on CD, let me know. (My favorite sections are still in act II when I get to sing Polly's lines)

So, hopefully, those of you going to Wicked got my email with details and questions - if you didn't, say your spam filter chucked it - let me know and I'll re-send it.

Now I can focus on the next big project: The Vagina Monologues. Auditions are coming up this Wednesday and Sunday and I am getting really excited about this project! Given the buzz and the amount of audition pieces that have been handed out, I think that this project is going to have a huge presence, and that I'm not going to be short actresses at all. Ideally I'd like to cast it at no less than 20 women, but I think I can expand it to have up to 40. So, that's next.

I'm good - after a week to let my brain turn to mush, I'm back feeling refreshed, reenergized, and interested in all that's going on.

I haven't really had much time for internet stuff this past week, so I've only found one thing worth sharing: I was loving this comic strip, dark, funny, and, well, dark.

What I'm Watching:

Here's a bare outline of the story: The old king, wrapped up in politics and intrigue realizes that the only way peace can be achieved is by offing himself and leaving a note to his son telling him to make peace with his enemies, avoid his brother (the boy's uncle), and protecting his sister. However, the evil uncle finds the body first, makes it look as if instead of suicide the old king was murdered by the same enemies that the boy is supposed to make peace with and conspires with his crony friend to send the boy off on a chase to hunt down the enemy for revenge, kill the sister, and take the throne. Meanwhile the boy prince, outside the boundary of his castle, gets an eye-opening about the evils his royal family has committed, falls in love (with the enemy, of course), and realizes what must be done. Anyway, that's just the beginning of the story. Here's the catch - it's acted out with marionettes. In fact, the old king commits suicide by cutting his head-string - the idea of marionettes connected by strings is a huge part of the story, which is suprisingly beautiful and graceful for a puppetry medium that I've always found choppy and forced. The movie: Strings. I highly recommend it.

Creature Comforts - from Aardman studios, this independant collection of shorts first appeared, to me anyway, on Atomfilms a few years ago. I'm glad to see that they've made it to a DVD collection.

And since I missed it at the time: Happy birthday, Laurel!!

stuff about stuff with some more stuff

I have had the headache to end all headaches the past few days. I've never had a migraine before, but I've never had a headache quite like this before - I'm kind of thinking that is what it might be.

Can you believe my vacation is over? Just about. I go back to work in two days. It's pretty good, I was kind of getting bored of all that sleeping in, reading, going out for latte, knitting, watching movies, writing, cooking, and generally slacking off in all regards. *heavy sigh*

I found what looked like an interesting self-help article on procrastination. I figure I'll put it here that way I'll remember to read it later.

I've got my performances of Under Milk Wood today and I'm rather excited! My voice is mostly back completely, and only cracks occasionally, which isn't bad considering how it sounded at the beginning of the week.

OMG - the 12 worst cosplay of all time. And they even followed the list with "Lightning bolt! Lightning Bolt!" How perfect.

This cute little game about viking monsters invading England has a cute little toon intro and is fun, although the monsters always get through on my watch.

Mini-rant: Pseudoscience. The kind of science and claims that should be setting off bullshit alarms everywhere. Instead, it seems like, the good herds we are, people don't question them near enough to protect their own best interests from these scams. Case in point: Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About; this book, the title, the way it's been marketed, the reviews, everything should warn people that this guy is a total fraud. Consumer safety and consumer interest groups around the country have unveiled this book for what it is: a ploy to get more money from gullible consumers who feel that the drug and medical industry is suspect (I have a healthy skepticism for the medical profession as well, just not going to the point of hurting myself). So, in keeping this rant short instead I'll share a pretty good list of signs that something should be scrutinized very closely before being accepted as fact: signs of pseudoscience. Oh, what the hell a second list of signs of bogus science with an even longer, better list.

Serious or not?

The Complete Lovecraft search engine - yes *punch air*!!

The English to 12-year-old-AOLer translater. For hilarious results translate one gorgeous, concise Jane Austen paragraph into 12-year-old-AOLer.

We do stuff. This site is hilarious - read carefully through this one.

I've decided that levitation would be a cool trick for me to pull off at my desk.

What do I find so funny about this? I used to sing along too.....

What I'm Watching: I have now finished the entire available animated series to Fruits Basket. *sniff* we're watching the last one on Monday and I think I'll have some hot chocolate made up for when we finish the last.

you've got a plum on your back

Vacation is going along wonderfully! I'm doing all sorts of things that I don't usually get to do, like lie about the house, remain completely useless, reading, writing, knitting, watching movies; I realized that I've watched Office Space about 3 times since last Saturday - I love that movie. I actually got dressed today. So, yeah, vacation is sitting well with me. It's now Wednesday and I felt the first stirrings of "I'm kind of bored", so I think by next Monday I'll be ready to roll back in to work.

The novel writing continues. I stopped writing on the computer, because I tend to get distracted, send a few emails, and next thing I know I'm on Star Wars Galaxies killing fuzzy animals on Kashyyyk. So now I've got the giant bound journal-type book out and am writing down in the book. It works well for me, because then I can start seriously editing when I type it into the computer.

Obviously, that's not what I'm doing now. Instead I decided to pop on, say hi, give a mini-update from the great slacker, and a few amusing distractions.

My reaction to this was wtf? Apparently you click on stuff to make other stuff happen and then you get to lists of stuff. Neat lay-out if completely incomprehensible.

It turns out that my reaction speed on the mouse is pretty darn good. Test yours by shooting sheep. (I made "Rocketing Rabbit")

The Whiny Goth Kids page. OMG I was laughing at this one. I love the dark artwork. The poetry reminded me of "Pallain's Emo Diary". It turns out that 'yes', other people can write that horrifically on purpose.

Yup, kinda disturbing, but funny.

So, you've decided to be evil?

What I'm Reading: Oh, I've got a bit of a list here:

MirrorMask (graphic novel) - we all know that waiting is not my strong suit. It's not that I don't have patience, I just have a stronger desire to know. So, I read the Mirror Mask graphic novel (Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean) and I'm left sputtering with the awesome coolness of the graphics and story combination. I heard this movie described as a "Family Film" - the kind of film that everyone in the family can watch and come away with a unique appreciation of, not the kind of "family film" that means you can plop down your spawn and not have them exposed to any ideas. Based on what I read I have to agree. I cannot wait for this movie to either come out or be shown around here!!

Son of a Witch - it's not that I meant to re-read it, but it was there....I was there.....it made sense at the time...Look, these things happen sometimes. (I loved it just as much as the first time!)

Pride & Prejudice - need I explain why I love this?

Happy Bunny: Life, Get One - for the 5 minutes I spent reading this I was laughing the whole time. Thank you, Happy Bunny.

The Penderwicks - I've been meaning to read this one as it's been sitting on my table for a while. And it's good, a very sweet children's book, reminiscent of children's books from earlier generations. In fact, I think this book would make a great grandparent type gift for their younger grandkids, as this is more the type of book that they would have had when they were kids. The story was enjoyable on several levels and will definitely be appreciated at the library.

What I'm Watching: Well, as I said earlier I've watched Office Space a few times this week. Not that I really relate to the character on a personal level as I really love what I do, like my boss, and generally enjoy my colleagues - plus I like working with the public. Regardless, I just love this flick. Before being in the library I worked in IT at just about the time that the internet bubble popped - about when this movie is taking place. Everyone getting laid off, moving to other companies - reminds me of what it was like when I left that field altogether and decided to be a librarian when I grow up.

I've also re-watched the first three volumes of Fruits Basket because I just got in from Netflix, like 3 minutes ago, Fruits Basket volume 4 (THE LAST!!). I hope that a second season follows!!

Speaking of Netflix I also just got Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Weeeee

Mad Hot Ballroom - this was actually Allegra's pick. She did well. She's having me make a copy of this so she can take it to her gym teacher and ask him if he would ever do a program like this at school.

taking care of business

I accomplished nothing this weekend. What a nice change! Vacation has officially started, and so far I have just a few things I need to do, but that's ok. They're the fun parts! I get to put the program for Under Milk Wood together, and send out a mailing for Wicked, I have rehearsal tonight, all things fun!

So, what the's the problem with McDonald's, General Electric, Nestle, The Gap? Lots.

Where did all the time go?

Gee, now I'm inspired to go and get my daughter another American Girl doll! Why they should choose to focus on one narrow-minded, extremist, and so specific a reaction is, well, typical of American media. It's so much easier to show outrage than to show myself and others like me that support this act by the American Girl company.

And because I'm still working on my novel...a series of actually helpful and interesting articles on writing from the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers of America.

I guess it's time for PETA to get some competition.

The worst superhero costumes of all time.

I've decided common sense is anything but common (else I'd see more people using it - myself included), instead I shall now refer to it as "good sense". So, here is a listing of some good sense.

Remember when we used to hang out at my desk and watch movie trailers. Good times. Good times....

Just because I found it amusing: Man enough to knit, strong enough to purl.


What I'm Reading: Catching up on a few Shojo Beats that I've had waiting for me. Fruits Basket Volume 6 - (the one with Momiji on the cover) loveitloveitloveit! Down the Rabbit Hole, which turned out to be a fun, juvenile mystery.

What I'm Watching: I enjoy good horror - an interesting story, characters I can care about - or not, as the case may be, some effects but not totally reliant on effects. And not so much gore as to render the show completely stupid - I mean a little is fine, but, really, slasher flicks hold little interest for me. So, this weekend I saw a newer J-Horror and an indie piece. First the indie: Boo! The title was stupid, the premise was well-worn (kids decide to skip the planned haunted houses on halloween and instead go to the abandoned hospital that has rumors of being haunted just to find out, whoa, this place is haunted), the dialogue was stilted for the most part. Surprisingly the characters, although cardboard stock cut-outs, did develop a bit, at least the interesting few (about half), and the twist in the ghost story (who was doing the haunting and why) was rather interesting. Unfortunately, the movie took a few easy, standard-horror-movie-fare, plot directions that cheapened the whole thing. Overall, it wasn't too bad for what it was.

The other movie was a newer entry to the J-Horror genre, Premonition. This movie was fascinating on many levels. The story is that of a young father who sees newspaper articles that foretell death and doom, and is, in fact, based on a 30 yeard old manga "Newspaper of Terror". A quieter horror movie, well except for some mild histrionics, and a departure from the logical horror movie in favor of a more fantastical, emotional structure, Premonition is a worthy addition to the genre.

good behavior

Vacation!!

After this morning's baby story time and a day of cleaning out my desk to prepare for everyone else that will be there next week, I will have a week to myself for vacation! Not that it's as easy as that. Since I'm staying home, less than a 3 minute walk away from work, it will be interesting to see if I can really stay away the whole time. I do have two theater rehearsals next week in preparation for the Under Milk Wood performance next Saturday, but otherwise, I have successfully managed to keep my week off perfectly free from responsibility so that I can get in some much needed R&R.

After Under Milk Wood I can start directing all of my extra attention to my next big project. I'm directing "The Vagina Monologues" for a V-Day benefit next February. However, with the holidays coming up and winter weather inevitabilities I'm getting started on that sooner rather than later. I'm holding the auditions on November 16th and 20th, and hope to have the show cast, the parts handed out, the rehearsal schedule set as near in stone as I can make it, the budget completed, and, well, as complete a plan as I can by the end of November. *twitch* Yeah, I can do this. Actually, I'm rather excited about this project. I think that the reputation the Monologues have already will bring a much larger audition pool than I would get for any of the other eclectic pieces that we do in this theater company. And I'm really thrilled to be somewhere near the center of a group that is going to get women's issues discussed locally. I've joked that the scary "V" word has probably turned some people away, but I hope to change that: If you can't say the word, how can you have an honest discussion about what's being done to them.

The local women's crisis center is gathering local statistics for me about the work that they do and what they know about the community. But, from my own position in the community I am aware of a lot that goes on in this area that never gets discussed, always stays in the dark passing from one generation to the next. So, this benefit is to address that.

As part of V-Day we are donating the funds we make to organizations that are in a position to actually do something. We can get a larger audience talking, but it's these other people that are out there, doing the work. We're donating to the Woman's Crisis Center, which holds a main office in Brattleboro with an office in Bellows Falls, New Beginning's a crisis center in Springfield which also serves Rockingham, and Making the Most of I, a women's reeducation program that deals with self-esteem issues, identity, education, all the pieces of reconstructing a woman so that she can leave violence and abuse. It's really easy for me to say "well, she should just walk out", but for many women it's not that easy - they don't see the options the I do, which is where Making the Most of I is a really valuable program.

And then as something running alongside the production there will be an art show "On the Subject of Women" at the Exner Gallery - that Nancy of Making the Most of I is organizing. Actually Nancy has been really interesting to work with, I think she's going to do very well with the art show - and she did get us a major sponsor! Alyson's Orchard is going to pay the theater fee for the production (we hope to be the first theatrical production on the main stage at the newly finished Bellows Falls Opera House, aka the cinema - a tentative setting, but we're hoping it all works out), and the fee for the gallery show.

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you watch "V-Day...Until the Violence Stops" it's a look at the V-Day movement, how it started, and how it continues to this day making a difference. The movie follows some communities around the world as they host their own V-Day event and even after seeing it as many times as I have, there are some parts that I cannot watch without tears. It was, in fact, this documentary that inspired the show. A friend of mine (that has since moved away, and is greatly missed) saw the documentary and was telling me about it one day at the library, while her daughter played, and she mentioned how wonderful it would be to do something like that here. My reply was "well, why don't we?". And that started it, she and I started brainstorming how it might look, what we might do, and who we should get involved. Then she held a screening at her house and I and a few friends came and watched and afterwards began discussing how it would happen. I got my friend and partner in theatrical-crime, Jeanie, involved and it all started taking shape.

But, in typical Sam fashion, I'm also thinking ahead to the next thing that I want to do. I'm loving directing. Of course, I still love to perform, but I also am really enjoying orchestrating events. So, I've found a show that I would love to direct!! Mostly, it's the kind of show I would love to see! Let's Murder Marsha, I mean even the title screams "perfect show for you!!"; it's the kind of eclectic, funny, little theater piece that I love. So, yeah, I think that I would like to do that at some point in the future.

Just a couple of fun things today:

Lite Bright!! I like this web version becaus I know the pain of stepping on the little pieces in the middle of the night.

Another classic, the Gamers' Manifesto; they're right on with so many points.

And speaking of gamers, this is a rather nifty little shooter game.

What I'm Reading: Under Milk Wood - more of, and loving it. It's such a fabulous play. The use of language is unbelievable. And well, ok, yeah, I guess I did go on a bit long about the characters already, but still - I just love them, and this play.

*ah*ah*ah*....CHOO!!

I went home sick yesterday, that was just horrid. What started out as a little sneezing and a scratchy-ish throat, over the time I was at work, turned into a torrent of *HAH-CHOO*, a pounding headache, and the inability to breathe...much. Thankfully, Jake covered the desk for a half hour and Doreen was dispatched to run the Youth Department for me.

As soon as I got home, I was asleep. Now, it's morning, and I'm up and I'm actually feeling much better. The whole stuffed head thing is super annoying, but the headache and chills broke and now I can be pleasant again. I just can't breathe.

However, I'm supposed to have rehearsal tonight, and I think I'm going to just bow out. The last thing I want to do is strain my voice while my throat is still scratchy - I need to be able to sing by next weekend and damaging things is NOT a good idea! So, it looks like I'm going to be able to go home on time tonight.

And next week is vacation!!!!!! YAYAAYAAYAYY!!!

Anyway, some randomness to get through the day:

Someone sent me a link recommending this game: The Sandbox of God. The title evokes the image of Calvin playing in the sandbox....

Now who wouldn't want a Law & Order coloring book?

And why not follow that up with some classic propaganda.

What fun would one of these posts be without a little ranting? Especially about stupid, oversized, ridiculous, status-conscious, gas guzzlers??!

I was having (probably too much) fun reading through Anxiety Culture gems like "How to Avoid Responsibilities (Don't Read this if you're a responsible member of the community)", "Lazy Person's Guide to Power", and "8,000 Years of Anti-Social Behavior".

Well, ok, so maybe they have a point, but couldn't they find a more effective way to make it?

Excellence Through Guesswork! (I admit, I didn't spend much time here, just found their tagline perfectly charming.)

Play Castelvania. Really, you should. Go! Play!

Easter Eggs banned in bird flu scare (Goverment denies overreaction).

And just because I'm in the mood for a classic 8 bit D&D.

Here's a little balance to the OED: The Foolish Dictionary, which includes wonderful entries like this one:

AFTERTHOUGHT A tardy sense of prudence that prompts one to try to shut his mouth about the time he has put his foot in it

or

NOSE A prominent member of the face family, usually a Greek or Roman, who owns the shortest bridge in the world. He is often stuck up in company, but frequently blows himself when he has his grippe. Principal occupations, sniffling, snivelling, sneezing, snorting and scenting, intruding in the neighbors' affairs, stuffing himself without permission and bleeding for others.

Anyway, it's amusing.

What I'm Reading: I was able to keep my eyes open for a half hour and read through this interesting tale: The Old Country. The story has the feel of classic folklore with a modern pace and taste for adventure. When young Giselle looks too long into the eyes of a fox she trades bodies with the animal. The animal, always wanting to be human runs off to join the girl's family. The girl, now trapped in fox's body runs from the war that creeps closer - that has already claimed her brother. Giselle is guided by a forest sprite back to her family and humanity, and when she finally gets the opportunity to reclaim her life, faces a susprising choice. Although I rather enjoyed the book and can think of a few patrons that will also really like it, I do think that it will have more a long-term place in language arts curriculum than in recreational reading.

What I'm Watching: After I read the book (ok, the last chapters might have been skimmed just for detail - I could barely keep my eyes open!!), Allegra came in and watched something that I caught a few moments of. I think it might have been Barbie Rapunzel. I didn't mind sleeping through it.

off the hook

It's ok, really, you are all so busy, I do understand, so please don't feel guilty, or like you need to make excuses, but I'm still going to go on about it for me. (How was that for a horrific use of the comma?)

I started my novel thingie. They closed the library all morning yesterday because of the paint fumes making the upstairs staff sick, but they weren't able to get hold of me in the morning, so Devik drove in to tell me when I came in to work. However, I have story time Tuesday mornings and I have a developmentally disabled woman (and her care person) that volunteers at storytime by helping me prepare the crafts who was already there, parents were coming, and so I stayed open for storytime. Then I just stayed at the library afterwards and I had until 1, plenty of time to get a good start on the novel.

I was rather pleased at how it all worked out.

I had my Small Group Ministry meeting last night (from the Unitarian Universalist church). I've grown to think of it as more of a philosophy group - sometimes we cover the existential intangibles, sure, but it's a nice balance between that and other discussions. The subject last night was "play". I love to play and have managed to incorporate play into nearly every part of my life. Something that I was aware of, but thought that perhaps it was just something I did quietly. However, my opinion of that changed after the opening words were read and I found eyes upon me, expecting me to be the first to speak up on the subject - as some sort of expert on the subject of adult play. So, ok, yeah, I play - and it's most excellent! It keeps me energized, young, happy to be alive - that I've been able to make it a part of my work and volunteer life means that I love what I do.

Anyway, (this was far more articulate in my head and I don't feel like making the effort this morning to pretty it up) just a reminder to go play. Whether it's knitting, reading, playing D&D, video games, blogging, surfing the net, whiffle ball, flinging leaves, theater, whatever - go make some time to do it!

And, Jess, I saw the thing about your D&D group - um, that sucks. Unquestionably. Look, I'm done with the module that I used with your group - it's based on Eberron, but, well, you know how the story goes (I didn't deviate that much - except at the end), and if you'd like to use the module and run that game let me know and I'll send it to you. "Haphazard D&D" should be my middle name.

OH!! Before I forget, a small announcement that I can now make (because I promised not to say anything when he told me last week, but now that it's done I'm free to post it) Kyle had his rat tail cut off. Yup, that little piece of hair that *some* of you have threatened to do away with is now gone. Apparently he was tired of people pulling it - fine, if that's the excuse he wants to go with, then I'm good with that. :0)

And speaking of D&D there is now a change in the schedule that I am responsible for. And happy about (although *shifty eyes* I might have come across some grumblings....). Can you believe we've been meeting every Friday for the last 2 years!!! Jake and Kyle are planning some sort of D&D party to mark this momentous anniversary. That's a lot of Fridays. Plus, there are some people that have been DMs for nearly all of it that are feeling like they're not getting a chance to play and have begun resenting Fridays - forgetting why they liked D&D in the first place. So, I wanted to give them a chance to play. However, I did not want to be at the library on another night that late. So, now the first Friday of the month is DMs game, that way the DMs can play - have fun with the game, stay interested in DMing, and I can plan for Friday night downtime, which I rather need right now.

And speaking of play....my next play is coming up!!! I'm performing in "Under Milk Wood" a staged reading on November 12th - 2 performances, one at 3 and one at 7 at the basement stage in the town hall. I just love this play. It's one of the last things poet Dylan Thomas wrote before he died (in Chelsea House for those of you that read Sarah Vowell's essay).

It was written as a play for voices for the BBC. It is a slice of life in the Welsh fishing village of Llareggub" (which is "bugger all" backwards - in fact, when unsure of what Thomas is getting at with the poetry in this play, it's simply the best idea to assume the worst most perverted interpretation); starting from morning with the various private dreams, desires, and thoughts of the town, to the morning and the day when the town goes about it's business, and into the night when it all winds down ready for the next day.

And the characters are hilarious, lively, and interesting!! One of my dream things that I really want to do is be a voice over actress - not necessarily for an anime, I'd be perfectly happy being the lead in any Disney or Dreamworks feature animated film. However, I'm realistic enough to know that this play for voices is probably the closest I'll get. And in this play I get to perform as several characters - my favorite is pretty Polly Garter, who sings nearly all of her lines, who is something of the town slut, everyone in town talks about all her babies and the various wives spread gossip about who saw her where with whom - great fun! And her song is a beautiful piece that I just love (ok, the lyrics are a little, *ahem* questionable), but it's just gorgeous and I get to sing it completely a cappella. Anyway, as I was saying, the characters are a hoot!! There's Mr. and Mrs. Pugh; Mrs. Pugh described as a "stalactite nag of a henpecking wife" and Mr. Pugh who in the course of the play recieves a book called "Lives of the Great Poisoners" (which he tells her is "Lives of the Great Saints") , all the while dreaming of how he's going to kill her. There's the postman Willy Nilly and his wife who steam open all the mail, read it, and not only do they tell the person to whom they're delivering what's in it, they tell everybody else what is in everyone else's letters and packages as if some sort of small town news crier. There's NoGood Boyo who really wants to be a "Good Boyo". And so many more.

It's almost worth reading first, because there are some great pieces in it that are very easy to miss. For example, in the very beginning, the night sequence, there is a description of P.C. Attila pulling out his helmet and using it for a chamber pot, a mean voice whispers in his head "You'll be sorry for that in the morning.", it's so quick and so easy to miss a set-up that later on in the morning when he runs out of the house putting that same helmet on his head and swashes out of the house you might not "get" what has just happened.

Or Mrs. Dai Bread one and Mrs. Dai Bread Two!! I love this image, see Dai Bread has two wives. One of them does the begging for the family and the other is a one-legged, fortune telling, pipe smoking gypsy. And Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard is just hilarious - the only husband she can tolerate is a dead one.

There are some sad moments as well. Captain Cat a retired, now blind, sea captain spends a lot of his time listening to the dead - hearing the voices of his ship crew talk to him asking him what it's like to be alive when they've all died - including the one woman that he loved. Even Polly Garter is quite a sad character, all of her songs are about remembering the one person she loved while other men use her.

This is my second time performing in Under Milk Wood - and I love it, just love it. Thomas had a compassion for the small dramas of the everyday and a belief that is that which is commonplace that unites us all.

Between the play and the novel I've no time to read anything at the moment.

Min-edit: Do you other bloggers know about the RSS feeds? If you look at the bottom of my blog (especially if you've got Firefox - I'm not sure about Internet Exlporer) you'll see an orange square at the bottom of the screen. That tells you that something is available as an RSS ("Really Simply Syndication"), click on it and you can put that site on your toolbar as an RSS feed. Then click on the title in your toolbar and you'll see if there's a new entry for that site. It's rather handy a tool.

Second-edit: Holy crap! Have any of you noticed how many times I use "anyway" in these posts. I just pulled out about a dozen from this post alone. *sheesh*

Third-edit (I've really got to stop this) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAITLIN!!!!!

30 days hath september, april june and .....

You know what time it is right? Remember? You know, that thing I was going on and on about? C'mon, I mentioned it for whole posts in a row! *sighs like an annoyed tiefling*

November? November is?

I give up, really. *sheesh*

Anyway, National Novel Writing Month has arrived and my first thought is: 'what the hell was I thinking? Writing a novel - like I have a little thing called 'time'?'

But I signed up! I will....start! Yeah, that's what I will do. I even received my first inspirtational email from the organization today. Offering such time saving hints as:

Let the dog walk itself. Empower your kids to drive themselves to school.
Nothing instills character in a child like operating a piece of heavy
machinery. Cooking? Bah. A host of local fast food chefs stand ready and
waiting with a wondrous array of largely edible delights.

Pizza is brain food, after all. And you have more important things to do
than cook. You're going to be busy building universes and forging lives.
In November, we spare no moments for drudgery, devoting our limited hours
instead to frantic typing, long, bookish walks, and soulful glances out
the window (which serve as restful interludes between prose creation and
much-needed practice for our future book-jacket photo shoots).

Yeah, that'll be helpful. I'm still going to try and start today, right after the philosophy group thingie tonight, and dinner with friends, and spending a little time with the family - or at least making sure they get fed. And sneaking chocolate from Allegra's trick-or-treating stash (important things, all).

What I'm Reading: Son of a Witch. It's excellent. No, really, it's excellent. I had a difficult time getting into Wicked the first time I picked it up (not the first time I read it, I had to revisit it to finish it), this one, I picked it up and was hooked. The characters are at once eccentric, colorful, and charming (in their own special way). The pacing is excellent and the suspense is lushed out to just the right point. I enjoy, quite a bit, the political commentary and notes on religious institutions that Maguire has peppered throughout the story. Anyway, I highly recommend it as a worthy continuation of Wicked.

What I'm Watching: Computer screens, notebook paper, and my own scribbling as I start my novel writing. Which apparently needs to be started by first procrastinating on my blog, but there you go.

Mini-edit: Forgot to mention this wonderful new edition for those of us in the habit of collecting awesome books that cost an arm AND a leg: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes