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Well, you've read the notes, you've done the Twist, you know what Foolish things are coming up soon, and you are therefore ready, willing and, above all, able to post until the cows come home.
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :) :o First Post is MINE! :) :o[/move]
Gotta run but want to wish everyone a wonderful day! Talk to you tonight when I get home from work!
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THE BOOT BUNGLER !!!
In the still, still, still of the night, someone broke into BK's and stole a boot?
BS's boot has been burgled?
::cue off stage voice::
"BUNGLE, you idiot, not BURGLE, BUNGLE!"
How awful! Someone burgled Bruce's bungled boot!
Nevermind.
der Bungling Brucer - almost a Crosby (Bing not Kim) reference
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Some internet friends of ours make the news:
Ordinary people vowing to marry
(http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/columnists/john_grogan/8300675.htm?1c)
(excerpts)
In many ways, they are a typical suburban couple.
They spend their weekends remodeling their tidy three-bedroom house, which sits on a quiet street in the Main Line community of Strafford. They enjoy gardening and cooking and spoiling their dog, Cybil.
They both come from large, traditional Catholic families, and they dote on their 17 nieces and nephews.
Now in their early 50s, they prefer quiet nights at home to going out on the town. They pay their taxes on time, look in on sick neighbors, and vote each election.
They are ordinary in all ways but one: Tim Dineen and Victor Martorano, a couple for nine years, are homosexuals. And that puts them squarely in the middle of the national debate on same-sex marriage.
...
But more important to the couple is what marriage stands for - a public acknowledgment of a couple's love and lifelong commitment. "Marriage is a stabilizing force in society," Dineen says, "and we want to be part of that stabilization."
After all, they consider themselves solid members of the community. And so do their neighbors. As Peg Schwartz, 73 and a registered Republican, told me later: "I can't say enough about them. They really could not be better neighbors. They are delightful. They're just nice, kind, caring people, and that's what you want in a neighbor." Having them next door has softened her position on gay marriage, she said. "If that makes them happy, then that's all that counts."
der Brucer (and, yes, Cybil is a Shepherd)
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DR Swishy: Good vibes to you ~~~~~~~
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. Best wishes to you and the families of the kids involved.
DR Emily: I thought everyone knew about maple syrup on a stick!!!!! Everyone needs to try it. It is the best!
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BK - Why didn't you warn me that the last 30 or so pages of KRITZER TIME would be so emotional that I'd be sitting on the subway with tears flowing (and making an occasional gasping noise)? What a wonderful book. I urge every DR who has bought the book and not read it to stop everything and read it and every DR who has not yet bought it to order it at once. Of course you should read the first two books in the series first. I shall be reviewing the whole trilogy and posting it on other sites as soon as I have time. How does one submit a book to the Pulitzer Prize committee?
A very busy weekend so I'll make my comments brief. PARDON MY ENGLISH (Encores!) immediately goes towards the top of the list of great score-awful book shows. The Gershwin score is a mixture of familiar songs and songs even Ben Bagley had never revisited. The book, however, has gone through many revisions since the original production's out-of-town tryout and still is almost unplayable. The plot makes no sense and the jokes are mostly bad puns (I won't print an example because groaning is not allowed at HHW). However the cast and the Gershwin songs were enough to make it worthwhile, and I'd rather see Encores do a rarely-produced show like this than shows everyone has seen several times. By the way, Kitty Carlysle Hart took part in the discussion group. I'd hate to see the picture in her attic. She is 93 but looks much younger and her legs are still beautiful.
I'd always liked SWEENY TODD on CD and Video but seeing it in person for the first time (NYCO) was a wonderful experience. The production featured Elaine Page as Mrs. Lovett and I can't imagine anyone better. The same with Timothy Nolan as Sweeny who is doing half the performances yet for some unknown reason is getting none of the publicity. The supporting cast was good but I had trouble understanding some lyrics (although there were Supertitles). And unlike last year's NIGHT MUSIC, Hugh Wheeler was given a program bio this year.
The highlight of the weekend --- actualy of the last several months --- was FANNY (Musicals in Mufti) Why is this hit from 1954 never done any more? To begin with, it is Harold Rome's most beautiful score and like nothing else he wrote before or since. But the book is every bit as good as the score and was so strong that when it was filmed it was done without songs. The only semi-name in the cast of 12 was Matt Bogart, but everyone was perfect. It was also back to standard Mufti format after last week's over-produced BEST FOOT FORWARD (highly entertaining but not done in the Mufti style). I'd urge you all to see this except that it only played a limited run. Maybe some producer will have seen it and realize that this show needs a full scale revival a lot more than many shows that have received them.
Tonight is is a concert of William Finn music with Betty Buckley, Raul Esparza, Stephen DaRosa and Jessie Tyler Ferguson.
It's a busy day at work today so I have to go. But no matter what I am doing at 11:00 I have to log on to Carnegie Hall's website as that's when tickets go on sale for Kristin Chenoweth's concert in September. Another night her WICKED understudy will get to go on.
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The sad news about Swishy's friends:
15-Year-Old Driver Crashes, Killing Two Teens (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32307-2004Mar29.html)
By Michael Amon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 29, 2004; Page B06
Two Loudoun County youths were killed late Saturday when the 15-year-old driver of the pickup truck they were riding in lost control of the vehicle and it spun down an embankment, authorities said. The accident marked the second and third deaths in a week of teenagers who lived in Ashburn.
…
The three teenagers were good friends and students at Stone Bridge High School, where they were heavily involved in the drama program, said Principal Jim Person.
"They were all good kids," Person said. "It's just devastating."
…
Pendola, Cibelli-Mason and the driver were gearing up for a school production of "Kiss Me, Kate" in May, Person said. Last year, Pendola performed in "Grease" as the nerdy student council member, Eugene.
"His expert comedic timing and perfectly geeky image make him a memorable character in every scene," a student critic noted in an online review of the play.
der Brucer ('tis sad when Youth is its own victim)
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Peter Ustinov - RIP (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115464,00.html)
Actor Peter Ustinov Dies at 82
Monday, March 29, 2004
GENEVA — Sir Peter Ustinov, a brilliant wit and mimic who won two Oscars for an acting career that ranged from the evil Nero in "Quo Vadis" to the quirky Agatha Christie detective Hercule Poirot, has died. He was 82.
Ustinov, a renaissance man whose talents included writing plays, movies and novels as well as directing operas, also devoted himself to the world's children for more 30 years as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
He died of heart failure Sunday night in a Genolier clinic near his home at Bursins in Swiss vineyards overlooking Lake Geneva, close friend Leon Davico), a former UNICEF spokesman, told The Associated Press.
"He was a great man. He was a human being. He was a unique person, someone you could really count on," said Davico.
….
der Brucer (still hunting for some happier news)
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vibes to swishy, laura and your entire communities
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Bk, I am glad that you enjoyed the haunted house, twisting, dancing, singing Bhoot Bungla! I feel it is my duty to spread the joy that is Bollywood!
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Remember when JoseS spoke of "eye candy" on stage in "Children of Eden"?
(http://www.stanbarouh.com/fords/ivo/images/DSC_8204.jpg)
(Pic from Stan Barouch)
der Brucer (worried about retinal diabetes)
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Yes, I had read earlier this morning about Peter Ustinov. As EVIL UNDER THE SUN is one of my favorite mystery films and Ustinov plays Poirot so charmingly in it, I'm going to miss him.
That said, it's always been a mystery to me how he won a second Oscar for TOPKAPI. The movie's great fun, and he and everyone else in it does just wonderful work, but I've never found anything outstanding with his performance, and as he had won his first Oscar in 1960 for SPARTACUS, winning a second a mere four years later still to me is something of a shock. I suspect I would have given it either to Stanley Holloway for MY FAIR LADY or John Gielgud for BECKET.
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Worst boss? Well, I worked at the same school for my entire 30 year career, and I had only three principals during that time. The worst, by far, was the last one. He would never listen to any advice from experienced teachers about spontaneous schedule changes with no prior warning, and he was terrible about calling all the staff into a meeting and criticizing us for something only one or two people were doing that he didn't like. In short, he had the backbone of a jellyfish and the common sense of a grain of sand, and I NEVER had any respect for him.
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Sarah, so much has happened to you and I don’t think there I have enough words to express how I feel for you. I’m sorry this has happened. I wish I could give you a big hug. My heart hurts for you, your friend Nik, for Tony, Adam & their families & friends. My deepest condolences.
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Anbody else having trouble finishing the Radio Show? I got about halfway through and it won't play anymore. I'll come back after lunch and try again but it has just stopped. I was at clip 17 or 18 I think.
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For more on Peter Ustinov:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/29/obit.ustinov/
TCB-Angel is beautiful and Czar Nicholas III is very handsome.
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Might be able to take part in chat tonight since it's an hour earlier than usual. If I remember! Senior moments come quite often nowadays (a CHICAGO reference).
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BK - Why didn't you warn me that the last 30 or so pages of KRITZER TIME would be so emotional that I'd be sitting on the subway with tears flowing (and making an occasional gasping noise)? What a wonderful book. I urge every DR who has bought the book and not read it to stop everything and read it and every DR who has not yet bought it to order it at once. Of course you should read the first two books in the series first. I shall be reviewing the whole trilogy and posting it on other sites as soon as I have time. How does one submit a book to the Pulitzer Prize committee?
Thank you, WEL! I don't know the answer to the Pulitzer question, but I'd love to have it submitted. I would say of the thirty books that got shipped to dear readers about five have read it and a couple are in the midst of reading it and a couple are catching up with the second book before reading it. It's a bit disheartening that everyone else is just letting it sit there like so much fish, but what can you do? I look forward to reading your review, which I hope you'll post on amazon and barnesandnoble as well as right here at haineshisway.com. Now, may I just say - fifteen posts? Where in tarnation IS everyone?
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I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, Sarah. My best wishes to you and everyone who loves Nik, Tony, and Adam. My deepest condolences.
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Remember when JoseS spoke of "eye candy" on stage in "Children of Eden"?
(Pic from Stan Barouch)
Yep. I saw pretty quick that he wasn't talkin' about pouring maple syrup on snow.
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Sarah, again you and your community will find their way into my prayers. I hope that you are all helping each other to pull through this very difficult time.
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It's a bit disheartening that everyone else is just letting it sit there like so much fish
I warned you, a while back, that I'm an extremely slow reader when it comes to fiction. I'm smack dab in the middle of the first book right now. I'm enjoying, savoring if you will, slowly.
Also going slowly is the writing of the new musical, but a little bit gets done every day. Last night I had the revivifying experience of teaching a seminar on songwriting. I talked about the old buildings on the banks of the Harlem River, quoted Alan Jay Lerner extensively, and played songs from Berlin & Gershwin to Janis Ian, Hairspray, Craig Carnelia and Katz.
Very tempted to go to that Finn thing, which we just heard about this morning. It's part of a series of three musical theatre concerts: the other two are devoted to Charles Strouse and new works "Bound For Broadway." I had the honor being included in last year's Bound For Broadway, which shows you how much of a misnomer that is. (They did do an Avenue Q song, A Fine Fine Line, which didn't work so well sans puppet.)
I'm too upset about the deaths of Sarah's friends and acquaintances to say anything, et.
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Good afternoon/morning to one and all!
18 posts by 12:30EST? Scandalous! Horrific!
I guess I have to do my part to increase our numbers... :D
I sitting in the computer lab writing a paper on representativeness (yes that IS a word even if Microsoft Word's dictionary doesn't recognize it as such) in Western European legislatures based on their electoral systems.
*Yawn*
My Worst Boss Ever:
Well... I haven't had any truly god-awful bosses yet (really I've only had two) but my last one was kind of annoying. He would call me and the other younger-ish females working there "sweetheart" whenever he wanted us to do something for him as a favour (like getting his eye medication prescription filled on our lunch hours, or running half-way across the city on public transportation to pick up his suitcase after he forgot it at a meeting). He also was well known for stealing other people's food. He never ate lunch he claimed so he never brought food with him nor scheduled in time for himself to go buy himself something. But around 2 in the afternoon he would get peckish and swoop down on the kitchenette the office had and basically take anything that was there. Even if it had someone's name on it. So... if there is one thing I learned about management techniques from that boss it's this: lunch is sacred - touch someone else's without asking and you might get a bottle of glue 'accidentally' spilled on your computer chair (we forgot to tell him about that BEFORE he sat down too... oops)
:D
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Emily-LOL. Did you really do that? My approach would have been more dramatic-get really sick, in front of him, because he ate my food and faint as a result.
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Emily-LOL. Did you really do that? My approach would have been more dramatic-get really sick, in front of him, because he ate my food and faint as a result.
Well yeah... actually we did do it - but not initially on purpose.
I was using his office for something (I can't even remember) and as I was clearing away my papers, a bottle of white glue he had sitting on his desk fell on his chair. The cap must have been loose because the glue splattered all over it.
I went to my supervisor (and co-conspirator) and told her what happened and asked what was the best way to get glue off of an upholstered chair. A light went off in her head and she basically told me to leave it and get ready for a laugh.
And laugh we did :D
(btw - we were both excellent employees ;) )
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Very tempted to go to that Finn thing, which we just heard about this morning.
What's to debate? The guy's brilliant and the talent line-up looks great. If it's anything like the "Infinite Joy" event a few years ago at Joe's Pub that was released on CD, you'll have a wonderful time.
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(btw - we were both excellent employees ;) )
I'm sure you were.
I had very few employers I liked. My last employer kept complaining I was spending too much time going to the bathroom. Before you laugh, I was pregnant. Now if she had ever had children she might have realized, compared to other pregnant women I hardly went at all.
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I had trouble accessing this site earlier; perhaps that has something to do with relatively few posts today?
Worst Boss:
Hard to pick a worst boss (kind of like choosing the grittiest grain of sand on the beach), but...
*My first boss spent the interview trying to peek down my top and asked me "what's the WILDEST thing" I'd ever done, as if that were a standard job interview question. I was 16.
*Then there was the assistant manager who was carrying stuff and had to open the door, but his hands were full...could I get the keys out of his front pocket? I was 17.
*And who could forget the optometrist in his 60s who made it a habit to come up behind the girls in the office and give them involuntary shoulder massages? By that time, I was an old lady of 20.
The moral of this tale? Before girls and women venture into the work force, they should become well-versed in the martial arts.
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DR Jane & Emily: I think after seeing him sneak your food, you simply should have said, "Oh, my gosh, I feel extremely SICK, it must have been something i hate" :)
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Thank you, WEL! I don't know the answer to the Pulitzer question, but I'd love to have it submitted. I would say of the thirty books that got shipped to dear readers about five have read it and a couple are in the midst of reading it and a couple are catching up with the second book before reading it. It's a bit disheartening that everyone else is just letting it sit there like so much fish, but what can you do? I look forward to reading your review, which I hope you'll post on amazon and barnesandnoble as well as right here at haineshisway.com. Now, may I just say - fifteen posts? Where in tarnation IS everyone?
Well, since I'm behind the Pulitzer for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, I know the answer: the Pulitzers are handled by the Columbia University School of Journalism. I believe the office has its own phone number, and they can give all pertinent information on deadlines, entry fee (which was in 1984 amazingly inexpensive), and requirements (for SUNDAY, it was author profiles, recording, libretto and score, as I recall). I've done it once and won, so I'm not doing it again! But I think my dear friend BK deserves a nomination and I wish any submitter the best of luck.
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Lulu I have known plenty of other young women who have had similar experiences with bosses. I did get lucky & escape that problem.
It is a beautiful day here but the wind is blowing me away, and I’m inside.
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Well, someone submit me, for God's sake. There does seem to be a dearth of postings, doesn't there?
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Second page dance :o
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http://www.pulitzer.org/
it is surprisingly easy to enter (but you only win $10 000 if you become the big P-Litz in "Letters"... how cheap is that?!? I could have sworn it'd be more that!)
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DR Jane: your smilies aren't dancing :(
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Well, someone submit me, for God's sake. There does seem to be a dearth of postings, doesn't there?
Make up mind!
Do I research getting you a PP or do I do more of my "what ever brought that up" posts.
You want more shaggy dog stories?
Shall I pontificate on guns (and butter and roses)?
der Brucer (nominating BK as "hardest" web master for whom I ever posted )
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DR Jane: your smilies aren't dancing :(
I thought that makes you dizzy-it does me.
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :D :D :D :D :D :D :D[/move]
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
How do I make the second row move in the opposite direction?
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http://www.pulitzer.org/
it is surprisingly easy to enter (but you only win $10 000 if you become the big P-Litz in "Letters"... how cheap is that?!? I could have sworn it'd be more that!)
Bur then you can put that win on the cover of your book and sell lots more copies. :)
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I how I wish I was there!
(excerpts from an AP Story (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115474,00.html))
Mass. Gay Marriage Ban Would OK Civil Unions
Monday, March 29, 2004
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Legislature adopted a new version of a state constitutional amendment Monday that would ban gay marriage and legalize civil unions, eliminating consideration of any other proposed changes.
The vote came at the opening of the third round of a constitutional convention on the contentious issue, as competing cries of "Jesus Christ" and "Equal Rights" shook the Statehouse outside the legislative chamber.
…
After each intonation of "Jesus" by gay rights opponents, gay rights advocates tacked on "loves us." The two opposing sides then shouted "Jesus Christ" and "Equal Rights" simultaneously, blending into a single, indistinguishable chant.
"I'm just here to support Christ," said Olivia Long, 32, of Boston, a parishioner at New Covenant Christian Church. "We love all people, but we want to keep it like it was in the beginning."
Next to her, Eric Carreno, 26, of Somerville, held a sign that read: "Christ does not discriminate. Why do Christians?"
(end excerpt)
Had I been present I would have walked up to Ms Long and said: "Madam, I wholeheartedly agree. Let us keep it like it was in the beginning. First, we both get naked as God created us."
der Brucer (with clothes still on)
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I talked about the old buildings on the banks of the Harlem River, quoted Alan Jay Lerner extensively, and played songs from Berlin & Gershwin to Janis Ian, Hairspray, Craig Carnelia and Katz.
Which Katz? Katz Music (http://www.katz.us/KatzMusic.htm) lists the following:
Musical Katzes
[/b]
Katzes Sing, Swing, and Rock
·
.Mickey Katz, Borscht Belt legend.
·Joel Grey, actor, born Joel Katz, son of Mickey Katz, Academy and Tony Award winner for his role in Cabaret.
·The Bruce Katz Band, jazz and blues.
·Steve Katz, Blood, Sweat & Tears.
·Sharon Katz, South African folk singer
.
·Sydney Swing Katz, Australian swing dancers.
·Richard D. Katz, bagpiper.
·Mike Katz, bagpiper.
.Kalle Katz, keyboards, rock group Creamstar, Finland.
·Randi Katz, lead singer, rock group Better Than That, Montreal.
·Keuka Katz Band, Finger Lakes area, New York.
·Bill Katz, singer, R & B group Dauphine Street Blues.
(http://www.katz.us/index.5.jpg)
der Brucer (waiting with anticipation to read the lyric containing the word "revivifying")
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YES DR Jane: the floating smilies make me dizzy.
But I was gonna make an exception for you since you wanted to do the page two dance!
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DR Jane: if you click on the M, and change the "left" to "right" it will go the other way, I think.
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :) :)[/move]
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Jennifer-LOL I was only doing the page two dance to make Bruce happy with more posts. Aren't we both so nice.
Hey Bruce, I hope you are appreciating this. ;D
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I sitting in the computer lab writing a paper on representativeness (yes that IS a word even if Microsoft Word's dictionary doesn't recognize it as such) in Western European legislatures based on their electoral systems.
Well screw ignore Word's Dictionary - Merriam-Webster says:
4 : of or relating to representation or representationalism
- rep·re·sen·ta·tive·ly adverb
- rep·re·sen·ta·tive·ness noun
- rep·re·sen·ta·tiv·i·ty /-"zen-t&-'ti-v&-tE/ noun
der Brucer (who would opt for representativity - easier to say after a three Martini lunch)
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Bruce are you having any more problems with AOL returning emails as if they were spam?
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DR Jane: if you click on the M, and change the "left" to "right" it will go the other way, I think.
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :) :)[/move]
The US Political Dance
[/b]
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Democrats[/move][/color]
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Republicans[/move][/font]
Hey, it works!
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Of course I'm appreciating it. I haven't gotten back any e-mails recently, so that's good. Who will be watching the Heidi Fleiss movie this evening?
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And we really haven't had many worst boss stories, have we?
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I'd find it quite amazing to learn that there is one bagpiper by the name of Katz, but to discover that there are two has me completely agog.
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I've done it once and won, so I'm not doing it again!
Well, I've certainly uttered those words a time ot two 8)
Since you never do anything twice (a Sondheim reference) could you advise as to whether or not (in your HO) multiple submissions (nominations) would be of value. Maybe the Pulitizer's work like American Idol and we need to set up a barrage of Kisses Kudos for Kimmel letters.
der Brucer (loves conspiracies)
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Thinking it might be time to watch LOST IN TRANSLATION tonight. Then, I'll know what all the "shouting/swearing" was about!
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And we really haven't had many worst boss stories, have we?
I thought being told I couldn't use the bathroom a rather good, worst boss story. ;D
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :D :D[/move]
But how do I change it from left to right. That is the part I don't understand. :-[
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Which Katz?
(Raises hand sheepishly) Um .... me.
Here's some of what we managed to do in 3 hours:
Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (Irving Berlin)
talked about the sheet music industry before WW1.
in response to question about song pluggers, played
I'll Capture Your Heart Singing (Irving Berlin)
Setting lyrics to music, and where one should rhyme:
Someone to Watch Over Me (Gershwin)
I Talk to the Trees (Lerner & Loewe)
On the Street Where You Live (Lerner & Loewe)
Wouldn't It Be Loverly (Lerner & Loewe)
I Can Hear the Bells (Shaiman & Wittman, from Hairspray)
The Wedding Night (Noel Katz)
composing from a title:
Time After Time (Cahn & Styne)
creating harmonic interest:
Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
The Man I Love (Gershwin)
"Stealing" chord progressions:
A Simple Love Song (Noel Katz [at age 14])
A Ship Without a Sail (Rodgers & Hart)
Sondheim's criticism of Hart:
I Could Write a Book (Rodgers & Hart)
Counterpoint: improvised trio about baseball season
Advice From the Bridesmaids (Noel Katz)
Mine (Gershwin)
Tradition (Bock & Harnick)
forms other than AABA: Verse/Chorus and strophic:
The Long and Winding Road (Lennon & McCartney)
The Grey Goose (traditional folk song)
Jimmy Crack Corn (traditional folk song)
Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Lennon & McCartney)
The Picture in the Hall (Craig Carnelia)
We ended with Barbara Cook's recording of
Stars (Janis Ian)
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I'd find it quite amazing to learn that there is one bagpiper by the name of Katz, but to discover that there are two has me completely agog.
Oy! There they stand - farpitzs in their fershlugina plaid shmattas blowing their pipes.
der Brucer (imagining little Abie Katz lugging his intrument from Brooklyn to Manhattan for his bagpipe lesson - on the subway!)
Do orthodox Jewish Bagpipers wear plaid yarmulkes?
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DR Jane: do you see when you click on M, it says left.
Just type in the word right (instead of left).
Btw, I don't think i get the Heidi F movie channel.
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I get it. Like when you change the size from 2 to 4.
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Thanks[/move]
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :D :D :D[/move]
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Now I am dizzy.
Off to the dentist. Poor Echo wants to go for a walk now that she is feeling much better today.
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I'll be watching Heidi tonight (not the Swiss miss). How could I miss such an incredibly guilty pleasure? I hope it was shot in Toronto.
Last night I caught an episode of SIX FEET UNDER that I had missed. So very very good. It was the one with the Turandot funeral. Anybody see it? Had me weeping at the end. That is SUCH a good show. Can hardly wait for the new season.
I've never really had a regular boss, except when I worked summers in college and high school. I suppose when I work for a Network, the execs are my bosses - but not really. I don't see them on a daily basis, don't have to report to work.
So - I'm my own boss and I'm terrible. For one thing, I don't give myself days off. And when I do take a day off or don't do good work on a particular day, I say terrribly rude things to myself. And I never write myself notes of appreciation or send flowers for a job well-done. Somebody should report me.
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I thought being told I couldn't use the bathroom a rather good, worst boss story. ;D
Now, dear Jane, you didn't say you couldn't use the bathroom, you said:
My last employer kept complaining I was spending too much time going to the bathroom. Before you laugh, I was pregnant. Now if she had ever had children she might have realized, compared to other pregnant women I hardly went at all.
I took that to mean that unlike most pregnant women, who take a "moment to refresh themselves" every 5 minutes or so, you, with the urinary constitution of a Camel, could hold out for fifteen. ::)
der Brucer (either way, he was still a stinker!)
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So - I'm my own boss and I'm terrible. For one thing, I don't give myself days off. And when I do take a day off or don't do good work on a particular day, I say terrribly rude things to myself. And I never write myself notes of appreciation or send flowers for a job well-done. Somebody should report me.
One hopes, that unlike poor Jane's boss, you give youself appropriate potty breaks!
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There is no way I am going to go into details about my worst boss story because it's something I put behind me years ago.
BUT...I was an active duty Chief Petty Officer (Journalist with both Broadcasting/Instructor specialties) on aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) homeported in Alameda. In my final year of a three-year tour serving as the Chief in the ship's Public Affairs Office (involving PA, TV and radio broadcasting onboard, working with media and tour groups and doing daily at-sea newspapers) (and having served with two outstanding Public Affairs Officers in my first two years), I, and my staff, were saddled with a third division officer -- a reservist returning to active duty, who distinguished himself on a Western Pacific cruise by having the ship's executive officer call him and the ship's Administrative Officer into his office and tell them, in terms so blunt they could not possibly misinterpret them, that nothing in Public Affairs would be done "without the Chief's knowledge, without the Chief's input and without the Chief's consent" or they would find themselves looking for new careers.
The reservist PAO remained on active duty and cleaned up his act over the years. Some years after I left the carrier, the Administrative Officer, at another duty station, was tried, found guilty, and is now doing hard time in a federal pentientiary for child molestation (his adopted son!!).
Karma rules!
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Who will be watching the Heidi Fleiss movie this evening?
Well, Heidi Fleiss is on out here at 6:PM your time - is there anything else I should be doing then?
der Brucer (always open to suggestions)
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I have Bhut Bungla, bought on MBARNUM'S recommendation and find it every bit as fascinating/bizarre as Mr BK. NOTHING however for music and drama can top PAKEEZAH!
My worst boss....oh my....when I was working as the Purchasing Agent for the Indiana School for the Deaf, we got a new Business Administrator who would get requests from the Asst Superintendent for reports at least a month in advance and then pass them along to us the day before they were due....EVERYTIME!!! I never turned in a report for even the biannual budget that I had spent sufficient time on.
I tried to keep everything up to date so that I would be prepared, but he always asked for something extra or in a different format that would take hours!!!
A few years after I left, I saw him on the news packing his stuff into his car. He had been "let go" for viewing x-rated sites on the school computer, though he claimed he was doing it only to find a way to block such sites from the students!
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Btw, I don't think i get the Heidi F movie channel.
We are not surpised that Montreal does not carry the USA channel. (And do you really want to watch Madam Makes Merry?)
der Brucer (who misses Madam - a Wayland Flowers reference)
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Well the 2003 Pulitzer Prize Winners will be announced on April 5. We have until November 1, 2004, to submit any book published in 2004.
The requirements and forms can be found at www.pulitzerprize.org and the requirements include, a biography and photo of the author, four copies of the book, and a $50 handling fee. Sounds simple enough to me.
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Since you never do anything twice (a Sondheim reference) could you advise as to whether or not (in your HO) multiple submissions (nominations) would be of value. Maybe the Pulitizer's work like American Idol and we need to set up a barrage of Kisses Kudos for Kimmel letters.
Well, I may have picked and submitted a winner, but I have no idea how the Pulitzer judges vote. I think one submission is all that's allowed per item. You'd do better to contact the Pulitzer office than to ask this moron.
Now, about bad bosses: I think good ones are the rare ones, and out of all the many I've had, I can only think of a few good ones. I've had several mediocre ones and two really awful ones. One was a local politico from my hometown who ran an office supplies company and who was a total moron and jerk; the happiest day of my life was returning to Ohio for a family visit and finding that his company had gone belly up. The other ran a performing arts book shop under several rules I found offensive:
1. as soon as the employees figure out the rules, change them
2. a month before Christmas, start nitpicking, find reasons for employee misdeeds to justify giving no Christmas bonuses
3. regularly change health insurance and screw any employee's chances of holding on to a doctor or dentist
4. pile on the guilt
Thank God for the good ones! They're rare.
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No, I wouldn't have watched the Heidi F movie. But I like having the option! I'm gonna watch the OC (on here on mondays too).
Not sure if anyone here gets USA network.
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Btw, do I dare tell DR Jane what changing "left" to "up" or "down" would do? :)
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Of course, chat will be happening at five, so I'm taping the Fleiss movie.
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When it comes to Worst Boss, I’ve had a few who have been game enough to try for the title. A few were at the insurance claims office where I spent twenty-three years, and from which I finally retired. There was Benny, the world’s biggest cynic. If anyone had presented him with a glass and asked if it were half-full or half-empty, he would have pulled out a hammer, smashed it to pieces and said, “That settles that question.” But he was just hard to get along with.
Regina was a bigger problem. I was in charge of the supplies for the office at the time; she was my supervisor, and not doing too well in the company’s view. Neither was I, for that matter; the job had me stuck back in the stockroom all day, and I'm enough of a social person to need other people around if I'm to do my work well. Regina took advantage of this situation, and tried to pin her own failures on all the time she “had” to spend supervising me. She nearly got me fired with her manipulations, but a couple of others in the hierarchy knew that something wasn’t right with the scenario and got me transferred back to the file room where I had started.
For me, the change of environment was like switching on a light; everything fell back into place, from my attitude to my production. The situation didn’t work nearly as well for my replacement as stock clerk; Regina really did manage to get him fired. By this time, the stock clerk du jour was the only person she was supervising, the rest of her duties having been transferred to other, more capable hands, and Regina herself was regularly getting reports written on her performance. She did wrangle me back into the stock room one day, to help with some heavy lifting. The office bosses found out about this, took me aside, and told me quite firmly, “You are never to go in the stock room again, for any reason!” They definately had theirs.
A few weeks later, the ax fell, and she was terminated. The results were on the spectacular side. Upon receiving the news, she fainted and reportedly went into convulsions. An ambulance was required to take her to the hospital. Her attorneys filed a workers compensation lawsuit, of course, based on "stress and strain." And that would have been that, as far as I was concerned, except for an interesting encounter a year or so later.
Der Brucer and I had met after work that spring night at a gay bar and restaurant in Orange County called Ozz. It was a regular hangout of ours at the time, an easy place to get together before driving the rest of the way home. On this particular night, as we were heading to der Brucer’s car, a woman with short, curly blonde hair came up to me in the parking lot, asking “Don’t you recognize me?” It was Regina, with an addition of peroxide. She quickly informed me that she was meeting some friends for dinner inside, but that she was so glad to run into me. “You know, they really fired me because I’m a lesbian. That place is so homophobic! And we have to stick together, to fight this sort of thing.” I nodded, and excused myself as der Brucer was waiting impatiently by the car.
“Was that Regina,” he asked as we pulled out of the parking lot. I nodded yes.
The next morning, I did something I had never done intentionally before, and have never done since. I went to talk with the claims adjustor who was handling Regina’s case, and told her about the encounter. Dorothy, a long-time friend, raised her eyebrows. “Regina is gay?” she asked. There was nothing in the file about this; I was outing Regina in reporting the conversation. But, I told Dorothy, if the management of the office was indeed homophobic, it made no sense for them to keep me on staff, and fire the closeted Regina, since I had been out of the closet for years. Wouldn’t they have fired me first, as the obvious target? Dorothy made a note in the file, thanked me for the report, and that was the last I heard of the business.
But Regina was far from the worst boss I’ve ever had. That had happened years earlier, at the historic Alex Theater in Glendale. And that’s another story.
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Do I research getting you a PP or do I do more of my "what ever brought that up" posts.
I think that I'll just leave that comment sit there like fish. TCB?
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Of course, chat will be happening at five, so I'm taping the Fleiss movie.
Oooh, sounds like Fleiss in bondage!
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DR Panni, SIX FEET UNDER is perhaps my favorite of all of HBO's series. Interesting, deep, and meanigful characters facing an unending series of fascinating situations surrounded by the complexity of running that mortuary with the possibility of the entire world coming through the doors for their services. Amazing series. I remember the TURANDOT episode and also remember shedding tears profusely.
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*And who could forget the optometrist in his 60s who made it a habit to come up behind the girls in the office and give them involuntary shoulder massages? By that time, I was an old lady of 20.
The moral of this tale? Before girls and women venture into the work force, they should become well-versed in the martial arts.
I've never had a boss come up behind me like that, but I have had people I don't like at all do it. I just turn around sharply with a kick and an elbow, and then appologize profusely with "Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought I was being attacked or something!" Der Brucer saw me do this once to a mucky-muck in the political field; it was all der B could to to keep from laughing while the mucker stammered about how "dangerous" I was!
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And we really haven't had many worst boss stories, have we?
Maybe too many people are at work...with said bosses lurking over their shoulders!
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Well the 2003 Pulitzer Prize Winners will be announced on April 5. We have until November 1, 2004, to submit any book published in 2004.
The requirements and forms can be found at www.pulitzerprize.org and the requirements include, a biography and photo of the author, four copies of the book, and a $50 handling fee. Sounds simple enough to me.
If BK supplies the four copies of the book, we can get four other DRs and me to each contribute $10 towards the fee. Then maybe there will be more kudos for Benjamin Kritzer.
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I've told my boss story before. She thought I was wrong when I defined cows as "neat animals," when she thought it should have been "meat animals," since she grew up on a farm and knew that cows were anything but neat. Had she looked up the term, she'd have seen I was right. Luckily I changed my transcript back to "neat" so I didn't look like an idiot.
I walked into the office one morning and was introduced to my replacement, because as she put it, "No one wants to see a pregnant court reporter."
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I am happy to supply the books.
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That's a lovely new avatar, Woody!
A very busy weekend so I'll make my comments brief. PARDON MY ENGLISH (Encores!) immediately goes towards the top of the list of great score-awful book shows. The Gershwin score is a mixture of familiar songs and songs even Ben Bagley had never revisited. The book, however, has gone through many revisions since the original production's out-of-town tryout and still is almost unplayable. The plot makes no sense and the jokes are mostly bad puns (I won't print an example because groaning is not allowed at HHW). However the cast and the Gershwin songs were enough to make it worthwhile, and I'd rather see Encores do a rarely-produced show like this than shows everyone has seen several times. By the way, Kitty Carlysle Hart took part in the discussion group. I'd hate to see the picture in her attic. She is 93 but looks much younger and her legs are still beautiful.
I do believe that we were in the same audience for "Pardon My English"! Ms. Hart looked terrific and it was fascinating to hear her show biz anecdotes, though I wish the moderator had allowed her to speak longer. I thought that the show itself was incredibly fun and enjoyable. Yes, the plot is silly, but I think that the book is hilarious and well constructed, considering how little the creative team knew about the original book, plot, and production. The staging is adorable and it is certainly well choreographed. I agree that Encores should produce more obscure musicals such as this instead of, say, "Bye Bye Birdie" which they are doing next. A concert production of "Bye Bye Birdie" is entirely unnecesary.
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Put me down for $10.
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THE OTHER STORY
One of my first jobs after college was as Assistant Manager at the Alex Theater, before it became the Historic Alex Theater, home to theatrical experiences extraordinaire. Back when I worked there, it was just the plain old Alex Theater, a movie palace of old that had become shabby and tired, showing shabby and tired movies. I’d been hired by one manager, who was a pretty decent fellow, still young and trying to get a family started. When said family was on it’s way to becoming a threesome, he realized that he would need a larger income, and that managing a theater that was part of a chain was not the best means of providing same. He left, and that’s when the new manager, Richard, arrived.
To say that Richard was a skunk was to put it mildly. The man’s moral odiousness could have overpowered the fumes in an oil refinery. He was given to calling me in on my days off, because he didn’t want to work that day himself. I was on a regular salary, not on an hourly wage the way the rest of the staff was paid. The extra time, according to him, was just part of the job. Uh, right.
Was it part of the job, however, when he started asking me for sexual favors? I politely but firmly told him that I didn’t think it was a good idea. He didn’t care for that.
It was part of the job for me to work behind the concessions counter. And I can understand being the only one behind the counter when there was no other staff to help. But there were a few times when I was trying to keep up with the crowd, while he was standing next to the fellow taking tickets, laughing his head off while I kept getting in the weeds. Yes, he could have sent the ticket taker over to help out, but he was having too good a time. (This was after the sexual favors incident.)
And it really shouldn’t have been part of the job the night that I was on duty, with two usherettes, and…well, it was Richard’s night off. All of a sudden he appeared, told Denise, who was in the box office at the time, to take a break, and then a few minutes later left. At the next hourly check of the night’s take, Denise was twenty dollars short, and in tears. Just to see what would happen, I took twenty out of my own pocket, so that Denise wouldn’t take the blame for the “miscount,” and added it to the till. She was grateful, and Richard was strangely silent when he went over the receipts the next day.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was let go not too long after that, for “insubordination.” I also shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that he quickly replaced me with someone the remaining staff referred to as “Richard’s new boyfriend.” What was surprising was to learn that said boyfriend started ratting on Richard to the chain’s management. Richard didn’t last long after I had left. By that time, I had discovered I had some talents in the clerical field, and never returned to the Alex until years later.
For some time the theater had been boarded up, an eyesore on Brand Boulevard, but the city of Glendale had decided to renovate the place. The terrazzo in front of the theater was repaired, the old box office rebuilt, fresh coats of paint and new neon tubing applied. The inside was fixed up in tones of muted gold and dark blue. Der Brucer got us tix for the New Year’s Eve Gala Re-Opening, and we were dressed in our tuxedos as we joined the sold-out house to be entertained by Robert Guillaume. The old place didn’t look the same. The old memories didn’t connect.
Thank God!
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That's a lovely new avatar, Woody!
Thank-you, Jenny! You can't really tell, but the foursome have me completely wrapped up in their leashes. If we got them to work together in a Jewish bakery, I bet they could braid some great Challah!
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Hello, everyone!
Yup, I'm back from the Cabin in the Sky in Wisconsin, and about to prepare din-din, so I'll make this brief.
First off, I did very well in the Scrabble tournament. I even got into the first round of the finals, but then played someone who outclassed me...big time. Still, I gave him a fight, and only lost the game by seven measley points.
Second off, the few days by the river were wonderful, and I'm relaxed as all get out.
Third off, I read Kritzer Time...in one sitting. Hopefully, I'll be posting a picture of my reading this tome, once the film comes back from Ritz Camera. Then, you can see the surroundings in which I read the latest, greatest and last volume of the Benjamin Kritzer saga. Which I loved without hesitation or equivocation.
Fourth off, bye-bye for now...!
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woo hoo - I just reached page six of my paper!
huzzah! yippee!
(only *gasp* eight more to go!!!)
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Even I am impressed with one sitting! Post your thoughts here or on the Kritzer board. And also amazon and barnesandnoble.
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I've just read that the Heidi F. :-* story was indeed shot in Canada, but not in Toronto. Would you believe Calgary?
Also read that my old colleague Saul Rubinek (Daphne's jilted lawyer fiance on Frasier) is playing her dear old dad. All the more reason to watch.
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All you smart engineer types out there...
I posted a few days ago that my daughter, Rachel, was sick, feeling light-headed, dizzy. The medics told her it might be dehydration (she'd just returned from Europe) or some bug she picked up. She felt better yesterday, is not feeling great today. BUT - she's just discovered that another girl on her floor in the dorm went to Emerg the same night with very similar symptoms. And this morning her roommate woke up with a sore throat and swollen eyes; and several other people are not feeling well in the dorm. I'm wondering - could there be something in the ventilation system?? ...Thoughts?
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One sitting, Robin! Very impressive!
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Dumb question, but when does the daylight savings thing change? Or did it already?
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Whar'd everybody go? Chat in a mere hour and twenty minutes.
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Right now I'm trying to figure out what to serve for dinner.
Ponder ponder ponder ponder.
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Probably because I come to English from the outside, I abhor bad spelling and grammar. There's a surprising best-seller in Britain, titled EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES.
The book deals with bad punctuation, the premise being that a misplaced comma can be deadly. The title stems from the following joke, which I love:
A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots, wounding the bartender in the arm and just missing a nearby drunk.
"Why?" asks the bleeding bartender as the panda heads for the exit. The animal produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."
With his good arm the bartender turns to the relevant entry and all is revealed when he reads:
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
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Also read that my old colleague Sol Rubinek (Daphne's jilted lawyer fiance on Frasier) is playing her dear old dad. All the more reason to watch.
And my dear friend, Ryan Shore, excellent orchestrator, composer, and nephew of Oscar winner Howard Shore, wrote the score to the film. That's my reason to watch!
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DR Laura - No such thing as a stupid question, just a stupid answer.
Daylight Saving Time always begins the first Sunday in April - this year that would be at 2AM on April 4.
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Technically, it is the Giant Panda that is black and white. China is also the home to red pandas, who aren't black and white but are red all over.
See illustration. (http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/panda.htm)
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Technically, it is the Giant Panda that is black and white. China is also the home to red pandas, who aren't black and white but are red all over.
See illustration. (http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/panda.htm)
Interesting! I've never seen a red panda before. IMHO the black & white is much cuter.
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For more on Peter Ustinov:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/29/obit.ustinov/
TCB-Angel is beautiful and Czar Nicholas III is very handsome.
Thank you, Jane. I have passed along your compliments to the kids.
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Good evening all! I hope you had a nice day.
Very sorry to hear about the new tragedy, DR Emily. Such a pity to read about such young lives cut short. On the other hand, I am also very sorry to hear about the passing of a GREAT actor, Peter Ustinove passing away. He was one of my very favorites.
I’m still reading KT. I’m not sorry that I’m taking my time because I’m enjoying it.
Worst boss story. Let’s just say that when I have a nightmare, it usually involves one place and one man. It took a lot of years for me to get past that place/him but I found I was right. When I went to a temp agency when I finely left there, I learned the company (and him) were “black listed”by several of the local temp agencies. They wouldn't even send someone there to work. Not to mention the people I’ve met that have heard of him and that place. No one has a good word for either.
Poof–such a smell of sulfur in the air. Let’s talk about pleasant things.
Scrabble. I tried to make it connect to the net last night to try it but the version I have is an old one. I would gladly buy the new version if you guys would like to play. It sounds like such fun! To bad there isn’t a version of “Careers”. I would like to play that one again.
I would LOVE to try that Maple stick. I don’t always get them (and now with the diet–well) but I do go to a local shop every once in awhile to buy the Maple candy shaped like the maple leaf. I would still also like to try some snow. Dirty or not.
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As long as he's a colleague of yours you might spell his name correctly - it's SAUL
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Standard Time converts to Savings Time on the first Sunday in April, each year.
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It's Here! It's Here!
My autographed (by 28 cast/crew) TROTK poster is here, complete with COA.
Oh, joy!
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Chat in a mere thirty-eight minutes
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As long as he's a colleague of yours you might spell his name correctly - it's SAUL
I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. bk.
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I am still working on my worst boss story, but the topic reminded me of this work e-mail that I received from our Diversity Coordinator last week (this is not a joke):
Subject: RE: DEALING WITH DEAF AND HEARING-IMPAIRED CLIENTS
This scheduled training has been CANCELLED.
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I think that I'll just leave that comment sit there like fish. TCB?
Why does everyone always look at me???
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Thank you for the daylight savings time answer. We don't do that here, so I can never keep track.
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Now, dear Jane, you didn't say you couldn't use the bathroom, you said:
der Brucer (either way, he was still a stinker!)
True but that is how I felt when I was being watched. And I could wait for a couple of hours in-between trips. She was just strange.
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Btw, do I dare tell DR Jane what changing "left" to "up" or "down" would do? :)
LOL-so that is how you do it!
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Chat in a mere ten minutes.
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Nine minutes
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Chat is now open and I must tell you - there is nudity.
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I walked into the office one morning and was introduced to my replacement, because as she put it, "No one wants to see a pregnant court reporter."
Sounds like grounds for a lawsuit. Not that I would have done so.
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Robin I will be watching for the photo.
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Yet another live chat that my evil computer won't allow me to enter...:(
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Chat is wonderful - very naked tonight. Jenny we must be able to do something! You've tried IE? You've tried AOL?
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Why does everyone always look at me???
Because you're so effin' cute. ;)
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Jenny we must be able to do something! You've tried IE? You've tried AOL?
I dont think I have because I'm not certain how I'd go about it! I don't want to miss the oh-so-naked chat!
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Jenny, go to start at the bottom of your computer, and click on Internet Explorer. Type in our haineshisway.com address and try it that way.
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Still no luck. :-\
M'thinks it's time to IM Mr. Bakalor...
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I dont think I have because I'm not certain how I'd go about it! I don't want to miss the oh-so-naked chat!
Jenny! I am here to save the day!
Click on the start menu.
Click CONTORL PANEL
Click on INTERNET OPTIONS.
Click on ADVANCED.
Under MICROSOFT VM be sure that JAVA CONSOLE IS NOT CHECKED. (if it is, merely Uncheck it)
Also be sure that the JAVA LOGGING is also UNCHECKED.
This should allow you into chat. . . .
Use Internet Explorer.
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Jenny, after you've applied those changes, maybe it would be seemly to restart your computer. . .
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Nothing seems to work. Thank you so much to all those who tried to help me access the live chat. Sadly, I think that I'm just going to give up. :'(
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Lovely to see so many Hainsie and Kimlets naked in chat tonight.
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WOW it is quiet here.
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:o
:o
:o
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[move=up,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :-*
:-*
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I did it! I made them go up & down. Now I never want to again.
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Goodnight.
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****DR OPINION POLL****
Here is a new Pic Jenny sent me.
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/3691292/49651971.jpg)
I think it should be her Avatar.
Opinions?
der Brucer (reminds me of Marlene Dietrich taking the stand in "Witness for the Prosecution')
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All you smart engineer types out there...
I'm wondering - could there be something in the ventilation system?? ...Thoughts?
Legionnaire's Disease is carried through venilation systems in hotels and the like. Also there are nasty molds whose spores can be carried in air ducts that can cause quite severe allergic reactions in some folks.
The Aussie Gov (http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/phd/legionnaires/thefacts.htm) tells us:
What are the symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease?
Symptoms are usually similar to a severe ‘flu’ infection and include: fever; headache (often severe); shortness of breath; muscle aches and pains and sometimes a dry cough.
From the time of infection with Legionella bacteria, it takes between two and 10 days for symptoms to appear. In most cases, symptoms begin after five or six days.
How do you get Legionnaires' disease?
Legionella bacteria are found naturally in the environment and thrive in warm water and warm damp places. They are commonly found in bodies of water, soil and potting mix.
People usually get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in Legionella bacteria in very fine droplets of water called aerosols.
Man-made water systems sometimes provide environments that let Legionella bacteria increase to large numbers. These man-made systems include showers, spa pools, fountains, and also cooling towers associated with air conditioning and industrial cooling processes.
der Brucer (rising to the defense of engineers)
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It shore IS mahty quiet 'round these here parts. We need us some denizens with nimble fingers which can tap out brilliant thoughts for all of us to see.
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Well, no brilliant thoughts here! LOL!
I missed chat! A naked chat! I got home late tonight...had to run errands :(
TCB, I also meant to tell you what splendid looking pussy-cats you have! Freddy enjoyed looking at the photos too!
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It shore IS mahty quiet 'round these here parts. We need us some denizens with nimble fingers which can tap out brilliant thoughts for all of us to see.
Are people on the "C List" still permitted to post?
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Good evening!
Good preview tonight.
Opening tomorrow night.
And then a day off!
My first full day off in 16 days!!!!!!
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... And god help it if it's a train!!!! ;)
*And if anyone would like to come see Children of Eden at Ford's Theatre - we're running until June 6 (we're hoping we extend!) - please feel free to contact me for tickets. I can't arrange comps - my family gets those - but house seats are not a problem.
-And I'm not sure I wanted DR Jay to share my "eye candy" comment. ;)
-And Sarah and Maya - you can always try HotTix for 1/2 prices ones. The $10 seats at the box office are obstructed view.
DR Panni - That episode of "Six Feet Under" is also one of my favorites. So many things said in that episode. So many truths. So many things that hit close to home and the heart.
My condolences to the families, friends and classmates of the two teenage boys who were killed. It can always seem that it is "too soon", and when in high school, it truly is.
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I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...
Do not, I repeat DO NOT, walk toward the light!
der Brucer (who needs Jose around to pick upon)
(I gave up trying to get rid of that ending preposition)
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***HAINESHISWAY ANNOUNCEMENT***
Thanks to expanding technology, DRs will soon be able to log on to HHW at 30,000 feet.
Do so, and become a charter member in the "BK MileHigh Club"
FNC (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115571,00.html) reports:
Monday, March 29, 2004
ATLANTA — Time and productivity are integral parts of doing business, and for business travelers the time spent flying from one city to another had always been closed to live, real-time Internet and e-mail access.
But changes are happening to keep passengers connected at 35,000 feet. Starting in April, travelers will be able to fly and surf the Web at the same time on international Lufthansa flights.
der C-Listed Brucer
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****DR OPINION POLL****
Here is a new Pic Jenny sent me.
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/3691292/49651971.jpg)
I think it should be her Avatar.
Opinions?
der Brucer (reminds me of Marlene Dietrich taking the stand in "Witness for the Prosecution')
Jenny has lovely legs, and great fashion sense too! ;D That is one cool dress!
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***HAINESHISWAY ANNOUNCEMENT***
FNC (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115571,00.html) reports:
Monday, March 29, 2004
ATLANTA — Time and productivity are integral parts of doing business, and for business travelers the time spent flying from one city to another had always been closed to live, real-time Internet and e-mail access.
But changes are happening to keep passengers connected at 35,000 feet. Starting in April, travelers will be able to fly and surf the Web at the same time on international Lufthansa flights.
Now let me see if I understand this derBrucer, if I want to fly from Seattle to LAX, and I want to surf the web, I will need to fly Lufthansa and take the.... double polar route?
Thanks, MBarnum, I am glad you liked the photos.
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Now let me see if I understand this derBrucer, if I want to fly from Seattle to LAX, and I want to surf the web, I will need to fly Lufthansa and take the.... double polar route?
Trust me, double polar is mucho preferable to bi-polar.
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****DR OPINION POLL****
Here is a new Pic Jenny sent me.
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/3691292/49651971.jpg)
I think it should be her Avatar.
Opinions?
der Brucer (reminds me of Marlene Dietrich taking the stand in "Witness for the Prosecution')
I like the pic very much. The only thing I don't care for is that it doesn't show Jenny's smile.
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Well, I've not been here today because I've been in rewrite Hell all day. But I did take a break to go to the opening night party of the French Film Festival (WGA is one of the sponsors) City of Lights, City of Angels at the Directors Guild.
I have been going to this since 1996 when the Guild sent to me to Cannes and later for a conference in Beaune. And even though I'm no longer on the board, they still send an invite each year. How nice to rewarded because I got to take pleasant vacations in exotic locales at the expense of Guild, so I could sit on a panel and bullshit about my career before adoring souls.
And this particular event is an a chance to eat and drink my dues. The lovely wife and I have often seen most of the films. But the lovely wife is in Kentucky and I am in re-write Hell, so I only stayed for the party from 6-7:30. And what a swell party it was (Cole P. reference)! Much better than last year when the Bush economic pall took its toll on the festivities. But we had several food and drink sponsors, so the grub and booze was fine. Or at least the grub and the champagne was fine, which is what I swilled all night.
Right off the bat, I met Mr. Jack Valenti in a bright yellow shirt (his shirt, not mine; I was wearing a bright orange dress-T under a yellow jacket) and was re-introduced to him by former guild president Del Reisman (though Jack and I have met before at Beaune and, at this first affair, he himself introduced me to Jackie Bissett). I also met several journalists pals I know from the Reporter, Variety, LA Times, and Premiere Magazine.
I then met Mr. Randall (director of Grease) Kleiser. It was he who introduced me to the lovely Jacqueline Bissett this time. And she is still lovely. And if she has had worked done, it's very good work because she looks like a strikingly beautiful woman of her approximate age...not afraid of a few lines and wrinkles or less than taut skin. Mr. Kleiser and I reminisced about how we had tried to do a remake of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE & later THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE. He claims that Mr. Spielberg put the kibosh on the former because of his asteroid picture, but personally I think it died (at least with me) because I wasn't all that interested...or had bigger fish to fry. I don't remember why THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE sort of stagnated. Anyway, Mr. Kleiser has always been very nice and cordial to me. I also saw director Dick Donner (who once called me the most disrespectful writer he'd ever met) and his wife producer, Lauren Schuler Donner. I later ran into Lauren on her way to the loo and we exchanged pleasantries. Other people I caught glimpses of were Howard Hesseman and Peter Bonerz who come every year.
The lovely wife is having a lovely time in Kentucky being feted as the alumni celebrity she is at our old theatre department and she may extend her trip another day or two. She just called. She's staying till Thursday.
Now back to writing...or a champagne collapse in bed.
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Jenny has lovely gams - or gam, since we can only see one of them. But let's have a photo of that smile, too, o ye photokeepers. Just watched Something's Gotta Give about which more later.
This has been one of the all-time lowest weekdays ever. O, the errant and truant - I'm afraid they will be moving to the C List.
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...I also saw director Dick Donner (who once called me the most disrespectful writer he'd ever met) and his wife producer, Lauren Schuler Donner.
Now there's something interesting to put on a resume. "I used to produce wives for people, for a very reasonable fee. It can be so inconvenient to be without one, you know."
Here's hoping rewrite hell doesn't last too long!
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Well, I joined in the sparkling live chat for awhile earlier, but all the various and sundried had clothed themselves by the time I arrived. As for Kritzer Time, I am one of those in the midst of reading it. However, like DR Noel, I'm move through books fairly slowly, so it'll probably be awhile still until I finish it.
Bosses... haven't had all that many, and have had pretty decent ones most all of the time. If there was one I'd put upon today's list, it'd be the doofus who was the manager of the family fun center I worked at one summer (I ran the bumper boats... far and away the worst job I've had). And he wasn't really all that bad, just a total doofus.
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Thanks for the info derBrucer. I don't think it's Legionnaires' Disease, but they're going to be checking the vents in the building.
I couldn't last through the Heidi F. movie, so I have nothing to report about it.
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I have returned from Lady in the Dark. It's an interesting piece, to say the least. The story is about Liza Elliott, a successful businesswoman who, overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety, seeks a cure for her ills by visiting a psychiatrist. LitD opened in 1941, so I imagine placing psychoanalysis at the center of a play--a musical no less--was rather startling at the time. Over the course of her visits to the doctor, Miss Elliott describes several surreal dreams. These dreams--and one flashback--are depicted on stage and serve as the primary musical numbers in this vehicle.
The book is by Moss Hart and, to be kind, it is talky and arid. Complicating matters is that it was quite apparent that the lion's share of Musical Theatre Guild's extremely limited rehearsal time went to the musical numbers, so the long stretches of book were staged in rather static fashion and there was heavy reliance by the actors on their scripts. I yearned for the talking to stop and the dream sequences to begin.
These sequences, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, are rather complex musically. Since they are surreal, there are jumps in style and Gershwin had the chance to create some wild lyrics here and there. The best known songs from the the show (to me, at least) are "My Ship," "The Saga of Jenny" and "Tschaikowsky." I never heard "This is New" until tonight, and why it has not become a standard I cannot fathom, as it is a beautiful song.
The performances ranged from OK to good. Miss Eileen Barnett, as Liza Elliott (a role originated by Miss Gertrude Lawrence) came off stronger in the musical numbers than she did in the book sections. Mr. Richard Israel, whose character sings "Tschaikowsky," was no Mr. Danny Kaye. (Mr. Kaye sang the song in the original production and this play provided him his big break.) There was an on-stage eleven-piece orchestra that played well.
Musical Theatre Guild announced their 2004-2005 season tonight: My Favorite Year, Redhead, Roberta, Sail Away and the LaChiusa The Wild Party.
The degree of success of the productions at Musical Theatre Guild can vary wildly, in terms of the quality of the properties being mounted and the on-stage performances. When they hit their mark, as they've done in a number of shows I've seen there, it makes sitting through the "misses" worth it. With Reprise! doing the glossy work they've been doing for a while now, MTG serves an excellent purpose in the world of musical theatre here in Los Angeles.