Okay, so the other night Jeanne and I went to see The Fog.

We sometimes like to see scary movies, and had hoped that this might be one.

Wrong. In fact, not just ‘wrong’, but ‘horrible, amazingly, what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you-people?’ wrong.

Okay, I’m just gonna rant for a minute here:

How the hell does someone get that kind of money, and make a movie that lousy? I mean, do you know the kind of stories I could tell with that kind of money?

Read the rant…or not, just don’t go SEE the friggin’ thing. SPOILERS, cuz it sucked anyway…

Man, working with good actors on a fun project is just the absolute best.

Day 3 of Jacob Marley rehearsals, and I’m really enjoying this process. It’s such an interesting animal, this play – we’re just beginning to really explore some of the staging and storytelling opportunities we’ve got with this one, but I’m very excited about it.

It would be very easy to overdo this show. Overcostume, overprop, or overstage. I’ll know SO much more in 5 or 6 days than I know now, and that’s a very exciting prospect.

The THING about this play: There’s so much narration as they do things. It’s descriptive narration, self-descriptions as they become some of the many characters they each play, or as they set up who the other characters are and where they’ve gone.

OR it’s letting us know what’s going on. Rather than just DOING the action, it describes a lot of it.

An Example, if you’d like to check it out.

So, life is still too busy…but this fun thing just had to be done!

Go to google.com and type “(your name) needs” Then pick the 5 funniest ones there.

Then copy and paste this into a new post with your answers filled in.

These are fun…I’ll let you guess which ones are eerily accurate…

Wow. So it’s been days since I’ve posted. I’ve missed it, too. However; sleep, work, kids, work, surprise parties, work, lovely wife, work…still, things are great, and the month is proving to be busy but wonderful.

SO. Catching up.

This weekend was great.
We threw a surprise 40th wedding anniversary for my parents this weekend. It was a TON of fun, and very touching. My sister, Gina, spearheaded the thing, and everyone pitched in. There were about 60 people there, my folks were totally surprised. Gina had set up a brilliant cover story, convincing my parents that we were having a surprise birthday party for Gina’s husband, Bill. It was great, because my mom made a bunch of food thinking it was for “Bill’s party”. My dad let us borrow his big stereo, thinking it was for “Bill’s party.” In fact, they took Bill out the evening of the party, thinking they were ‘decoying him’, while we were all setting up for their suprise party! My dad was the one calling me to say “We’re ten minutes away!”. It was very funny, when they walked in, and we all yelled “Happy Anniversary”, and ‘their song’ (Popsicles & Icicles by the Murmaids) began to blast thru the speakers.

More about the awesome party here!

Life’s too busy right now for long, meaningful updates – sorry.
(WTP Meetings. Teaching Class. Prep for rehearsals which start on Tuesday. Prepping for a big event this weekend which I’ll talk more about later. It’s crazy!)

In the meantime, however, I give you:

Now it’s YOUR turn! Click the pic and find out what your Monster Name is, and post it here!

A handful o’ items to write about.

1) Serenity, the movie. Go and see it. Even if you’ve never seen the tv show, or heard of it – the movie is quite good. I had a blast – it’s funny, action packed, and it’s actually about something and a bit emotional, too!! Really a great job by Joss Whedon and everyone involved in bringing this wonderful but short-lived Sci-Fi/Western/Action/Adventure show to the big screen. I’m already looking forward to buying the DVD, and hoping they get to make another movie or two! SO – check out the reviews, or just go see it! After, if you wanna borrow my DVD’s of the series, just drop me a line!

2) Things are moving along with the Williamston Theatre Project. Great meeting today, working on getting the building approved, a longer process than I want it to be, but I’m working on my patience, so this is a nice test. Yes. A nice one. Even still, we’re moving forward nicely.

3) Okay, this is too funny to NOT post it. Remember Andrew Dice Clay? Comedian who was popular for about 30 minutes in the late 80’s? This video is of an interviewer trying to interview him on CNN. (Why the hell Andrew Dice Clay is being interviewed on CNN is still beyond me, but I digress). If you’re not afraid of a little foul language, and if you like watching an idiot make an idiot of himself on National Television, please click here to watch this hilarious little piece of television history! After watching it, please tell me how, how, how you manage to not change the style of clothes you are wearing for 20 years. Oh, man, I love this kind of stuff!

4) Did I mention that you should go see Serenity?

Today we mourn the loss of a tremendous American playwright, August Wilson.

August Wilson, winner of both Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, died this weekend from cancer. He was only 60 years old.

Take a moment, and read about this fascinating man. It’s a horrible shame that he was taken so young – we’ll never know what else he could’ve written.

Some of his most popular, award winning works are: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences and The Piano Lesson. If you’ve not read them, or seen them, give them a try – even you non-theatre types will find them very worthy.

This article was in the papers today. Think it would work here in the U.S.?

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AP • Reuters • Photos

Witchcraft training gets tax break

Sep 28, 10:04 AM (ET)

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch tax authorities have allowed a woman to deduct the 2,210 euros it cost her to take a one-year course in witchcraft, an inland revenue official said Wednesday.

The 39-year actress and artist learned how to use crystal balls and prepare herbs, and also spells and other witchcraft skills at the course held in the country’s northwest.

“The woman used the training in order to start … giving workshops, so she used it to extend her professional knowledge,” the tax official told Reuters.

Margarita Roland, who gave the course and whose website (http://www.heksehoeve.nl/) shows her with a broomstick and pointed hat, said she teaches apprentices all they need to know to become a witch, using magic as a force for good.

“A witch is a wise woman or man who knows about the magic of life in general and the magic of the earth in particular,” said Roland, known as the “witch of Appelscha” after her home town.
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And THIS is why I’m in the entertainment industry. Next week I’m gonna have the IRS pay for me to take classes in astrology, telekenesis and astral projection! Why? Because you never know when I may be called upon to act in or direct a play where the character has to send his consciousness into another city to bend a spoon with his mind in order to fulfill his self-written horoscope!!

Okay, if you’re not watching Arrested Development on Monday nights, you are missing one of the most hilariously funny shows to hit the airwaves in years. It’s starting it’s 3rd season, and just start watching it, trust me. It’s on Fox, 8pm, Monday nights. If you have any questions you need answered to catch up on the show, ask ’em here!

Here’s the website, check it out.

If you get a chance, the 1st season is out on DVD, rent it or borrow it – I’m hoping season 2 comes out soon!

Watch this show! The writing is crisp and ridiculously funny – the cast is marvelous – the whole show has this acerbic wit, ridiculous situations that are just hysterical, and the slap you over the head stuff is matched with subtle things that make you laugh even harder. Many people compare it to the old show Soap, with Robert Guillaume, which was also very funny.

(The userpic for this post is from Arrested Development, incidentally!)

Okay, promo over. After watching it last night and laughing my butt off, I just had to spread the word.
Have a nice day, and set you VCR’s for next Monday, at 8pm, on Fox!

EDIT: Thanks to my friend Annie, I’ve been made aware of a website related to Arrested Development that’s hilarious. If you watch the show, or even if you don’t, click here to to go www.imoscar.com, where you’ll find the website/weblog from Oscar Bluth, who is the wrongly imprisoned twin brother of George Bluth Sr, the morally challenged patriarch of the Bluth family. His blog entries from prison are hilarious! You can also check out This Site for more AD fun!