So I had a great trip to New York City last week, got some work done, saw some friends, saw some shows.  One of the shows was “Chinglish”, which was really terrific, and (among other things) centered on American-Chinese relations and how our language barrier really gets in the way.  I’ll post more on that later, but I mention it because it tied in nicely with another part of my trip – my visit with Molly!

My friend Molly (pictured below) is hilarious.  If you’ve not seen her website, check out My Precious Roommate!

Molly made a great find at a dollar-store near her – a Barbie knock-off named Defa Lucy:

Well, the marketing guys in charge of Defa Lucy were clearly translating from their own language to ours… (First off – “Defa Lucy”? What?)  The best part of the whole thing is how fun they make Defa Lucy sound!

Apparently, she’s got a big heart……because she’s just FULL of romantic.  (And I’m pretty sure her hair is blonde…but who’s gonna nitpick?)  And who doesn’t want a friend who is elegant AND naive?!

Still, Defa Lucy knows how to have fun – …there’s nothing like slowly dipping a nice cup of coffee after you’ve worn up your fashion clothes!  I may slowly dip a cup of coffee myself, later.

Some folks may say she’s a bit too much of a Party Girl…

But hey… That’s Lucy!

A nice day today!  This afternoon, Jeanne and the kids and I went to Williamston, where they have a nice tradition: The weekend of Halloween, all the downtown businesses give out candy on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours.  So, I hung out at the Williamston Theatre and gave out candy to a TON of cute costumed kids, while Jeanne and our kids wandered around and trick-or-treated downtown!
Then, we came home and carved pumpkins while watching spooky movies – first watched “The House On Haunted Hill” from 1958, with Vincent Price!  Then we watched several spooky episodes of the original “Twilight Zone”.  The kids loved seeing all the old black and white stuff!  (“Wait – this is from before man landed  on the MOON!?!”)  🙂

And – we had some great carving action! Here are the kids getting started…

Here’s a shot about 90 minutes later, after carving while watching the movie…

And, of course, the best way to view a Jack-O-Lantern is in the dark…

This is serious business…. note the Serious Spooky Faces when the lights go out!

NOW we’re ready for Monday Night!

Happy Halloween!

Draw a Stickman.

Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.
-Shakti Gawain

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
-Howard Thurman, American theologian, clergyman and activist

Okay, here’s the deal:

I’m a baseball fan. Football is there, and it’s interesting, but I love baseball, grew up in a family where it was baseball and hockey, really. (And, in truth, I was always too small to play football, but loved playing baseball, so that’s where my attention went!)

However, two things have recently come to pass – 1) The Lions are having a great season, for the first time in my lifetime, so that’s fun. And B) because of the Lions great season, lots of people are talking about it. Including 11-year old boys.

Well, MY 11-year old boy has been raised with a baseball-fan Dad, so he’s into the Tigers. But now that all his friends at school are raving about football and the Lions all the time, he’s feeling a little left out. “Left out” is an uncool feeling for an 11-year old.

So, I’ve decided that it’s time for a father/son crash-course in NFL Football. (I started with the Hank Williams song, because I WAS “Ready for some football!”, but apparently he made some stupid political comments and the NFL bagged it, so now I’m back at square one.)

My question for all you football fans is: Where’s a good place to start? Got a good book on football we should read? An online resource? Where can I get the scoop on why a Defensive Back is different from a Tight End and why I should care? (Yeah, save the “tight end” jokes, I’m making them in my head already.)

I’d appreciate any thoughts and advice you’ve got. This’ll be a fun project for Max and I to attack together, maybe launch a new fandom into our household, AND give us something to do after the Tigers win the World Series this year.

So, please – leave your ideas and suggestions in the comments below! Thanks!

The Rogue Critic had this to say about The Dead Guy, currently playing at the Williamston Theatre:

“Ultimately, here’s the incredible thing about the production: even with the outcome always in sight, Caselli and cast leave the viewer continually in anguish over what will happen. At first, it’s an intellectual exercise that parallels the themes of the fictitious show; Eldon’s intentions captivatingly zigzag from misplaced Robin Hood gestures to orgiastic excesses to hangdog resignation to naked contrition, and it’s smartly plotted by Coble. Yet what Caselli slowly unravels, with help from the supporting cast, is the division between TV’s Dead Guy and Eldon the person. Lewis-Bedz and Eilerson do fine work grappling with the disconnect between relating to their subject as a protagonist and as a human being, a development that helps gives the play a conscience.”

You can read the rest of the review here!

We’ve gotten a couple of great reviews for this show, (the other one was already posted, HERE), and a couple that enjoyed the production, but not the script.

It’s interesting, the piece takes some twists that make people uncomfortable. Just talking with audiences after the show, some folks love it, some are too bothered by it. I disagree completely, however, with the reviews that attack the script – in my opinion it’s a dark satire, a parable that says “Hey, we’re all having fun! But, oh, hey, look where we could wind up if we’re not careful…” But, hey, that’s just the way I approached it – everyone’s allowed an opinion! And in all fairness, if you’re interested, one of those opinions can be found here, where the New Monitor reviewer expresses his intense dislike of the script. Ah well, opinions… clearly they come in all shapes and sizes.

Always amazing how people can see the same show and come away with incredibly different understandings and interpretations of it. I’m looking forward to chatting and writing more about this, but it’s tough to do without giving away plot points, so I’ll wait until the show has closed! If anyone reading this has seen the show, though, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! Just try and keep it “spoiler free!” 🙂

So, this is the night we hope the Tigers get back in this series! And here’s a pic of my pal Chris Korte and I here to cheer them on!