So… I get to go back to Testify next month to tell another story (it’ll be my 4th time). This one I’m particularly excited about. As part of their Brush with Fame theme, I’m going to dredge up a story about the time I spent a week-and-a-half working for the son of a Hollywood legend...
Continue readingCategory: Random LIfe Bit
Marshmallows, Mustard Gas and Historical Roots
My uncle turned 94 the other day and was given a (mostly) clean bill of health from his doctor. He has a little trouble hearing things now and then, and suffers a bit of wheezing when he breathes, but other than that, he shows no signs of slowing down (well, he’s slowed down some...
Continue readingThe Value of Attending Play Readings
I had the opportunity to host this past Sunday night’s monthly ScriptWorks salon where we heard a terrific reading of a new full-length play by Squid Night contributor Raul Garza. The actors were top-notch and maneuvered through Raul’s dialogue like Olympic slalom skiers. I’ve been to a lot of these monthly readings and, frankly,...
Continue readingNapervillains
This is another long-term project I’ve been collaborating on for some time with my friend Jen in L.A. We’ve worked on and off on this family-friendly series about a bunch of monsters who get rounded up internationally and dropped into Naperville, Illinois, where they’re sentenced to doing assorted tasks at a temp agency under the...
Continue readingClose Calls
Over the past six months or so I feel like I’ve had a number of close calls for writing and publishing opportunities. I had an essay accepted for publication in a compilation about parenthood (but then the publisher subsequently closed its doors); I had a couple of literary agents tell me they’re interested in...
Continue readingListserv City Planning Play Brainstorm
At some point I had written down a bunch of thoughts about how we might do a neighborhood listserv play, but I’m not sure where that is. So here are some notes/thoughts from what I remember/think: One easy thing to stage would be to have a selection of printed out (likely fictionalized so as...
Continue readingRemnants of Squid
Yesterday the exhibit we had up at Ground Floor Theatre finally came down; this is the one by artists with autism that I’d worked with Dr. Becker to get up for the November 19th show. He’d been going back to the gallery on a regular basis before other performances the past 5 or 6...
Continue readingOh Goodness, it’s a Squeaker!
Three days left of voting (I think?) and within striking distance. Still don’t think it’s gonna happen, but until the Republican primaries in February, this is about as good as percentage-watching gets (for me)....
Look’d, Hook’d, Book’d, Cook’d
Summer of 2016! Train across the country from Dublin to Killarney, on to Kerry and Dingle (yep, Dingle). If it sucks, you’ll hear about it. (oh, and if Shane, Glen, Imelda or even Andrea ask me to plays drums in their band, I may never come back…)...
“Oh man! My dad sucks!”
So my son’s teacher handed me an essay he’d written about someone he admires today during their end-of-year holiday party. The essay starts: Have you ever thought “oh man! My dad sucks! I hate my dad! I want a different dad!” Boy, that is a rough start to an essay. Who knows where it’s...
Continue reading