Friday's Odds and Ends

One thing I've learned this week, don't get sick half way through the summer drama camp. One of the other camp leaders said wouldn't it be wonderful if we could schedule being sick. "Let's see, I'm not doing anything from August first through the seventh. How about the flu then?"

Actually, I didn't have the flu, but I had a serious infection which took forever to respond to meds. Hopefully, I will be ready for the weekend when we open "Phineas Peabody's Magical Musical Circus," which the kids wrote and produced with the assistance of a few of us adults and teen helpers.

Anyway, the awesome camp leaders took over and this may be the best show we've had from the summer drama camp. I wonder if there is a message there? LOL

Here is a picture of one of the girls who has been at the camp for three years now. She is a terrific piano player, as well as being great on stage, and she is so much fun to work with.

Next up are some pictures of the chalk art the kids did on the sidewalk leading to the door of the art center, inviting everyone to "Come to the Circus." They did some great posters, too, as well as designs for the camp shirt and playbill cover. Drama camp stirs all kinds of creativity.

This last picture is from a planning session as one of the camp leaders and some teen helpers worked with the kids to brainstorm some of the story. The teen helpers have been through drama camp several times, and they have all continued to be active in the troupe of young players. I love working with the kids. And the lady on the left, Hayley, was one of the very first kids that I had in a show the second or third year I started volunteering at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. What a thrill to have her back as an adult, teaching the kids and directing the show along with Jennifer Zimmerman and George Gagliardi.

L-R: Hayley Morris, Kaitlyn Sullivan, Hunter Williams, Kennedie Williams, Thomas Hulme

While I go off to finish the last details for the show, I'll leave you with some fun from Pickles

Opal is in the kitchen opening drawers and calls out, "Earl! Have you seen Roscoe's toothpaste?"

Earl is in the living room and calls back, "Roscoe's toothpaste?"

Opal comes into the living room, holding a little doggie toothbrush. "Yes. You know. The special beef-flavored toothpaste I bought for him."

Earl answers, "Nope."

Opal looks at the plate on Earl's lap. "Wait just a minute...! What're you eating on those crackers?!"

He doesn't answer, and she walks off shaking her head. "Oh, for pete's sake. I can't believe you."

Earl says, "What? I was hungry."

another Friday post

I decided not to get all snarky today, although there is plenty going on in the world to be snarky about. Who besides me doesn't care a bit whether Beyonce lip-synced the National Anthem during the Inaguration ceremony? I could not believe that was the lead story for the following two days.

So let's forget about that, and not keep speculating whether she will lip-sync when singing at the Super Bowl halftime show. Instead, let's have...

...some fun with Pickles
Earl is sitting, watching Opal fold laundry and he says, "You know what I would really like to do?"

"No, what?"

"I would love to write a book about all my travels and adventures."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely."

Then Earl thinks a minute. "Of course, first I'd have to go out and have some travels and adventures."

Picture Courtesy of ShutterStock

 From B.C.

Wiley's DIctionary word of the day is "fandango."

The definition: "What to do when Dango gets heatstroke."

From Non Sequitur
Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden. Adam has picked all the apples from the apple tree, and Eve is giving him one of those looks that women have perfected from that time on. Adam says, "Yes, I took all of them. It's my invention called 'banking.'"

That one had me laughing out loud. I didn't say I couldn't share some snark from the funny papers. (smile)

Literary Lessons:
"Death walked like a man among men, and we fell like leaves, like dust around him. The Knight struggled against the Specyor, each one winning even as he lost."  Easy Rawlins, a character cereated by Walter Mosley, doing some deep thinking while watching a movie "The Seventh Seal." From the book Blonde Faith

Friday's Odds and Ends

This is the latest bad news regarding the XL Keystone Pipeline. Elizabeth Bast wrote in Oil Change International, "Emissions from tar sands extraction and upgrading are between 3.2 and 4.5 times higher than the equivalent emissions from conventional oil produced in North America.On a life-cycle basis, the average gallon of tar sands bitumen derived fuel has between 14 and 37 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than the average gallon of fuel from conventional oil."

Lorne Stockman,  research director at Oil Change International had this to say, “What we’ve uncovered is something industry doesn’t want you to hear: exploiting the tar sands and building the Keystone XL pipeline is even more damaging to the climate than has been previously reported.”

The problem is, despite all the protests and the research into the effects, the pipeline is under construction. I drive past a section of it every time I go to town and hate the devastation I see on two sides of the road. In one place, it actually comes within 100 yards of a home that someone had built out in the country so they could enjoy nature.

Okay, that's my rant for the day.

For a little levity, consider this from Pickles. Opal and her grandson, Nelson,  are sitting in the lving room. Nelson says, "I hope tomorrow is funner that today."

Opal says,  "Funner is not a word Nelson. The correct way to say it would be, 'I hope tomorrow will be more fun than today.'"

To which he responds, "The longer I sit here the more unfunner this day is getting."

Literary Lesson: "You don't pay for anything by being dead. That's when you stop paying for it." from Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley

Just For Fun

There is no book review for today, so I thought I would share a link to a terrific site that has book reviews: So many books, so little time    The most current review is of   The Dark Side Of Night by Cindy Dees  

The site is owned by a terrific lady, Lainy, and I have enjoyed her reviews a lot.

On the fun side of today's post, I have a few things that caught my eye in yesterday's comics section of the newspaper.

First off is a cartoon from Non Sequitur. Two ladies are sitting in a booth to raise funds for a charity. The sign reads: Help find a cure for egocentricity. A man stands in front of them and says, "Sure, I'd like to help, but what's in it for me?"

This is from Pickles - one of my favorites. Earl and Nelson, his grandson, are sitting on the couch watching TV. Earl says, "I rmember the day I got my first pair of glasses. I could finally watch the radio without having to squint."

Nelson:  "You watched the radio? Don't you mean the TV?"

Earl: "Nope. We didn't have TV. We all sat around each night and stared at the radio. Those were the happiest times of my childhood."

The next panel has Nelson walking away, talking to the dog. "That explains a lot about Grampa."

This last one is from The Argyle Sweater. Three cowboys are sitting around a campfire at night. The man in the middle looks decidedly uncomfortable. The caption reads: "As the distant cry of a lonesome coyote pierced the tense silence, Grady regretted asking if the Tucker boys were on Pinterest."