tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47194547293060167112012-03-06T14:39:03.384-08:00Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-90301056434504018742012-03-06T14:39:00.000-08:002012-03-06T14:39:03.394-08:00

I'm thrilled that the Theatre Communications Group is streaming their "TCG Playwrights in Conversation" programs.  Here's the URL: http://www.tcg.org/fifty/playwrights_streaming.cfm If any of my playwright friends aren't aware of this series, please do check it out.  Just finished watching Anne Bogart in conversation with Paula Vogel and Sarah Ruehl.  Evenings such as these energize hope for the

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-84506295738257463642012-01-25T18:21:00.000-08:002012-01-25T18:21:14.652-08:00

My friend, Professor Mondo, has some excellent observations connected with the SotU address and a response by an Atlantic commentator.  Check it out: http://profmondo.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/best-thing-ive-read-since-the-last-best-thing-i-read/ Something to think about.

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-51426702754749094042012-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:002012-01-14T14:48:43.089-08:00

Watched a live-stream evening of one-minute plays today.  I was struck by the paucity of human connection in the eighty or so one-minute moments that were dramatized.  The breadth of human experience was so limited that hysteria replaced genuine emotion and smug observations replaced genuine thought.  One might say that was the point, but if so, why not shorten the evening?  Fifteen minutes would

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-91693128156690841912011-12-22T13:43:00.000-08:002011-12-22T13:43:00.554-08:00

Professor Mondo shared an article today from the National Review on the slow destruction of rural property in central California--a disturbing account of the perils of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration.  http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286354/vandalized-valley-victor-davis-hanson?pg=1

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-27991688084239217382011-12-05T11:43:00.001-08:002011-12-05T17:13:43.178-08:00

Our beloved Tia died today.  A long-haired gray calico, she was the grande dame of our feline household who bopped young whippersnappers on the head whenever she thought they needed to mind.  As described by a dear friend, Tia was "a cool old soul."  That she was, indeed.  She started life as a shy, retiring cat, but after eighteen and a half years, she was the one waiting on the landing when

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-62677713707307398812011-12-02T12:24:00.001-08:002011-12-02T13:23:27.640-08:00

Thanks to a gift card, I'm eating breakfast at a Starbucks and drinking the Christmas Blend coffee they're serving up weeks before the holiday.  I just dropped off my geriatric cat, Tia, at the vet.  She's being hydrated at the moment because she's not drinking enough water, while all I want to do is drink even more coffee.  Odd, that twist.  Here's hoping she'll be back to her old self soon. 

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-9405064670306899412011-11-25T10:12:00.001-08:002011-11-25T12:00:08.986-08:00

A theatre friend is organizing a "Zombie Flash Mob: Occupy Black Friday" event.  Lots of gray face paint but no blood is the make-up strategy.  They'll walk up and down the retail strip, bags in hands, stiff-legging it as they groan: "shopping, shopping." To what end?  The fun of dressing up like zombies?  Yeah, I can see that.  To stop the mindless consumerism associated with the day?  Hmm...

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-66744411271084109382011-11-11T08:21:00.001-08:002011-11-11T08:45:07.944-08:00

On this Veteran's Day, I salute our vets and those currently serving in our American forces.  I'd also like to thank the men in my family who have proudly served here and overseas:  Major George P. Kniess, Captain Silas S. Jones, George P. Kniess, Jr. (Marines), Ronald J. Kniess (Army) and Walter J. Barkey (Army).   I'm truly grateful not only today but every day. 

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-42946524749552459782011-11-04T15:23:00.000-07:002011-11-04T15:23:27.244-07:00

The furniture cushions are gone.  Winterizing has begun.  That said, the happy lights will remain operational for as long as possible.  Snow is but frozen water--I can wade through it with a shovel.  A cat tunnel will be dug, to keep Maggie the Cat happy, and deck vistas will remain accessible, to keep me pondering--my simple, yet so soulful pleasure.  More to come, my friends, and I hope it

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-60249664087714470502011-09-21T09:04:00.000-07:002011-09-21T09:10:58.265-07:00

Hmm....it's been over two months since my last post.  I'd originally planned to make passing comments on the books and plays I've been reading/seeing.  (Yes, yes, I know--the best laid plans...!) Until a week ago, I hadn't seen a play all summer.  (Despite morning temperatures in the 20s, it still is, technically, summer.)  Come summer our city's stages go dark; for a few precious months Nature,

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-6381691194816569962011-07-04T08:51:00.000-07:002011-07-04T08:51:45.122-07:00

On this Fourth of July, as P. and I celebrate the Declaration of Independence from the deck, I want to raise my glass to not only independence but also union. It's an American holiday, but it's also my parents' wedding anniversary. Married in Germany 54 years ago (my father an American soldier, my mother a German bride), they are a wonderful example of how love can weather differences. And

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-435315473179078692011-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:002011-06-30T11:16:43.745-07:00

I just finished up Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman (that’s Nesbo with a slashed o). It’s a mystery thriller set in Oslo, featuring Detective Harry Hole as the bad-boy cop—an alcoholic, lustful, independent cuss but also a man with, of course, honor. He’s a noir prototype, and Nesbo doesn’t push the crime genre boundaries in his Hole series. When I pick up a Nesbo thriller, I read it to experience a

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-63786789699569676372011-06-15T10:29:00.000-07:002011-06-15T14:53:21.958-07:00

I don’t wish to bash the Tony awards from my deck chair, for awards can serve to recognize excellence (notice I say “can” instead of “do,” for nominating committees are not always savvy observers and thinkers). But if the New York theatre establishment wishes to remain Command Central for US theatre, the televised awards need to do more than the usual song and dance routine. Consider the Tony

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719454729306016711.post-58425581029227576332011-06-11T15:31:00.000-07:002011-06-11T15:31:42.383-07:00

The deck is now open for the season, thanks to a patio heater.  Observations therefrom are coming soon to the internet provider nearest you. 

Ditching The Partyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14513103835429079879noreply@blogger.com0