Some Fun For Monday

I know I was going to take time off from blogging, but we had such a good time at the Nite of Comedy on Saturday at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, and I wanted to share some of the pictures and videos. I love working with this talented group of Young Players, and we had help from a few selected adults doing some music. First up is a video of The Peckerwood Junction Band  with Doc Davis.

Here are some of the kids doing Improv

More Improv

First we had to have the rules for improv. Somebody had to be the boss, so Nona took charge. (I do love taking charge and also absolutely love being Nona. She is such a great character to play.)

"Do bee stings make people cranky?"

"YES!! Now please just get the stinger out."

The improv grande finale.

Monday Morning Musings

Heading into a busy week for me. Later today I will be visiting with some writers who want me to share my series "bible." That term is most often used for television series, and a bible for screenwriters is a reference document that is used for information on a series' characters, settings, and other elements.  I have developed my own version of the bible for my Seasons Mystery Series, using 5-subject notebooks, in which I keep track of character names and other information that is important for me to reference from book to book.

Folks much more computer savvy than I am, do remind me that there is great software available for doing the same thing, and some day I might consider trying that out. For now, however, I do like the process of picking up a pen and making notes. Maybe because I started out eons ago writing longhand in notebooks. I love notebooks and have way too many of them. (smile)

This coming weekend, I will be near Austin at the Georgetown Public Library. There is an Art and Author Fair on Saturday, May 10 from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, sponsored by the Central Texas Authors organization. If you live in or close to Austin, come on by. It would be so much fun to meet some of you in person. I love what they are calling the event, "Look in the Book." Clever, don't you think?

My daughter made this new banner for me to use for my flyers that I hand out at events. She does such a terrific job, and most of those book covers are her designs.

See the larger images on my Amazon Author Page

Yesterday I met with my troupe of Young Players at the Winnsboro Center For the Arts to plan the Nite of Comedy. This is an annual event we started a few years ago, and many of the kids who have come through the Summer Drama Camp are part of the troupe. They are a talented group of kids, and we have so much fun putting this all together. Here is a picture from a rehearsal last year,

The Nite of Comedy kicks off the year of theatrical productions at the Art Center, so I will be busy from now until December, with only a week or two in between closing a show and holding auditions for another.

Now to start your week off with a chuckle, here is a joke:

How much deeper would the ocean be, if SPONGES didn't grow in it?

Now it's your turn. How is your week shaping up?

Book Review - Done With Men by Shuchi Singh Kalra

Done With Men
Shuchi Singh Kalra
File Size: 803 KB
Print Length: 159 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Indireads Incorporated (December 16, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00GO3H88Y


The central character in this romantic comedy is Kairavi Krishna, a travel journalist who has had a series of disastrous relationships with men and decides she is done with them. She even has a tattoo put on her wrist that proclaims that to the world.

However, fate has another plan for her.

She is sent to Goa to do articles for a magazine, and she takes her best friend and flat mate Baani with her. The friendship between the two young women and their banter is quite fun, and so is the way Kairavi, Kay, talks to herself via her Thought Bubble.

In Goa, Kay is sure she can get her articles done, spend some time at the beach and avoid any contact with men.

That plan goes awry when her ex, Ricky, shows up with another woman. Then Kay drinks too much vodka, has an accident and ends up in the hospital with  a broken collarbone. There, she is taken care of by the handsome Dr.Vivian D'Mello, and she feels an immediate attraction, an attraction that seems to be running both ways. So what is she to do? Forget her vow? And is she sure about the attraction he seems to have to her? He is giving her mixed signals.

That is all sorted out in a typical romantic manner, and I loved her reaction when she first saw the doctor:

The Pain was almost gone. Could this be God? I'd always imagined God to be an oldish man with white facial hair, definitely more Dumbledore than Clark Kent.

This was the first book I've read by an author from India, and it was nice to get a feel for that different culture. I questioned some of the things that happened in the hospital as they were so contrary to what could happen here in the United States, but I realize the medical world could be totally different there when it comes to the way patients can move around in the hospital.

If you like a light romantic read and don't mind that a few of the situations are a bit forced, you will enjoy this story.

Shuchi Singh Kalra is a writer, editor and blogger based in India and Done With Men is her first book.  She has freelanced with popular magazines such as Femina.in, Good Housekeeping, Home Review, Parent & Child, Vista, Investors India, Dogs & Pups, Women's Era and Time 'N' Style among many others. her short stories have found a place in anthologies such as Love Across Borders and New Asian Writing's upcoming collection (to be published in 2014.

Shuchi will be my guest this coming Wednesday, so please try to come back and meet her.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Tomorrow is the day. The Nite of Comedy plays on the stage at the Winnsboro Center for the arts in Winnsboro, Texas. If you are nearby, consider coming by and supporting the talented Young Players. 

200 Market Street - Downtown across from the Depot

I noted this past week that one of my favorite Dallas Morning News columnists, Jacquielynn Floyd, had issues with the spelling of her name on documents when she was going through airport security. Apparently the spelling on her driver's license did not match the spelling on her boarding pass. Long before this, I could have told her there would be problems. I never can spell her first name correctly when I mention her in a post and have often wished she could just be Jackie, or Jack, or maybe even Mary. All simple names to spell, right?

I'm rather fond of the simple spelling of my name. What about you? Is your name difficult to spell?

"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us." FDR.

That quote caught my eye when I saw it at the top of a recent column by Alex Rose in the Dallas Morning News. She has spent several years in the Texas Legislature and wrote about how we can have our voices heard over those of lobbyists. Her message was that special interests groups do have significant influence in federal and state governments, but that does not mean that voters cannot have influence if they band together and speak up.

I won't argue the second part of that message. We do have to keep speaking up, even when it seems like our words are blown back in our faces by the wind of big businesses that have the biggest lobby groups. And one of the major things we need to speak up about is a drastic change in the political system, so businesses don't have the kind of power they do now.
 
Now for some fun from the comics.

This first one is from B.C. and Wiley's Dictionary: The definition of "Lip Service."

"Regular botox injections."

This one is from Baby Blues. The family is in a pet shop and Darryl says, "A puppy wouldn't be that hard to train Wanda."

She says, "O, really?

To which he responds, "It just takes patience. Look how well-behaved our kids are."

Then there is a loud crash and Darryl says, "Okay bad example."

Hammie runs up and says, "We just bought a tank of guppies." 

 I had to include that one as it reminded me of taking my kids to the grocery store - not something I did often, especially after one of them knocked down one of those towers of canned goods that stores used to have.

Do you have a favorite story of taking your kids to the store? Feel free to share it. And don't forget to leave your e-mail addy if you would like to be in the drawing for my Birthday Gift that I mentioned in Wednesday's post.

Monday Morning Musings

I am really behind in keeping up with some of the news. For instance, I did not know there are thousands do "fan girls" who feel sorry for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man accused of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Really? I thought it was a joke when I first read the news item.

Why are so many young girls, and grown women, attracted to such bad boys? According to one columnist, Charlotte Adams, "women are chronically attracted to the bad boys because they want to reform them, or minister to their wounds, or be the healing presence they've never had - but mostly because they find them sexy."

Sexy? What does that say about our society?

On a much more positive note. We are in the last week of rehearsal for our annual Nite of Comedy at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, where I have had the pleasure of working with some talented young people. The group has brainstormed and written some funny skits, and we will be doing a bit of improv, as well.

Hey, Dude. You are too happy to be singing the blues.

I love working with these kids and look forward to the Summer Drama Camp which will start on July 8th. Some of these young people took the stage for the first time at the camp, and it has been such fun watching them grow and mature as actors. The only problem is, they do grow up, graduate from high school, and then go away to college.

That said, I think you will understand why my posts over the next couple of weeks will be short, and hopefully sweet. There are lots of admin things to take care of for the show this coming Saturday, as well as the drama camp, and I do need to slot some time for working on my next book. Not to mention the big family gathering we will have on the Fourth of July as I celebrate my birthday and the birthday of the U.S.A.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Keeping it short today - was going to say this morning, but it is almost noon here in Central Time, USA. Somehow the morning got away from me, as Friday mornings often do.

Today has been busier than ever because we have dress rehearsal tonight for the Nite of Comedy that I directed and produced at the art center here in my small town. I used to be involved with theatre groups that had full production staffs, and that was so much easier. The director simply had to direct. There was a stage manager, a producer, a house manager, and a tech manager. Here, I do most of this with some help from my stage moms - what would I do without them - as well as some help from other volunteers at the center. However, it is still my responsibility to coordinate most of that.

So this morning I have been distracted with little jobs that still need to be done before we can open tomorrow night.

The upside of all this is the fun I have with the actors, especially my young players who are so creative. They wrote some of the skits for the show and keep coming up with ideas to add another layer of comedy to one of them. Watching them reminds me of when my kids were young and would put on shows. One idea would spur another and another, until they had something fun and entertaining.

Here are a few shots from last year.

James Monk Ryann Williams and Kennedie Williams (standing)

My grandson, Justin. Awesome actor if I say so myself. LOL

L-R: Hunter Williams, Ashton Cantu, Cassia Rose

Me and my talented son, Paul Miller, singing some of Grandpa's silly songs.

Enjoy... I'm signing off to do the playbill for tomorrow night.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Talk about super sensitivity. I know we do have to be respectful of other people in how we act and what we say, but this recent item made me wonder if we have gone too far.  Texas State Representative Rafael Anchia  demanded that a candidate running for the Texas congress apologize for calling a rival candidate an "errand-boy" for big county employers. Anchia said, "Describing a 41-year old African American male as a boy in any context is unacceptable and offensive."

First of all, the word "boy" in that context does not have the same meaning or implication as when it was used as a derogatory term when white people said that to black people out of bigotry. Secondly, being called an errand-boy is equally insulting to any successful white, brown, black, purple person in the world. If we keep nit-picking like that, pretty soon we won't be able to say anything without fear of being called out for insulting some group.

"My endorsement evolved," says Herman Cain in explaining why he is now supporting Mitt Romney as the eventual GOP nominee for president after his earlier endorsement of "the American people" and Newt Gingrich.

That makes a good soundbite. And apparently a number of political PR people are on the same page as we have heard lots of "evolving" from lots of politicians, even the president whose stand on gay marriage "evolved." However, the bottom line is that "evolving" is simply a way to do what is most beneficial politically. In the case of Herman Cain, should Romney win the nomination and then go on to win the White House, think of the favors  owed back to Cain. So much for the concern for "the American people."

And now on a lighter note. We are preparing for the Nite of Comedy at the art center where I am the Theatre Director. I work with an incredible troupe of actors, and my young players are terrific. Last night we had a brainstorming session to write some skits, and the kids came up with some great stuff. It made me think of those neighborhood shows my friends and I used to put on in my basement and how much fun we had doing that. Remember those?

Our show will include one-liners that the players will pop on stage and deliver - "Laugh-In" style for those who remember that show. Here are just a few:

If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?

 What was the best thing before sliced bread?

 Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?

Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

How is it possible to have a civil war?

 If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged in a place crash, why isn’t the whole airplane made of that stuff?

~~~~~~~~

Have a great weekend.

Friday's Odds and Ends, Obama, Gay Marriage and More

This has been a crazy upside-down day for me. Instead of being in my office first thing to do my blog and take care of other writing-related tasks, I was headed to town to do some publicity for a show coming to the Winnsboro Center for the Arts at the end of this month. This is the first theatrical production that I have not directed or had a role in, although I might do tech. Since I am so technically challenged, I'm holding out for other volunteers.

The Out-of-Pocket Players from The Pocket Sandwich Theatre in Dallas is taking one of their shows on the road, and Winnsboro is hosting the debut performance of "The Attack of Killer Mutant Leeches." Here is a link to a review of the show when it played in Dallas. This is just silly stuff in the vein of Animal House, and has no pretense of being great theatre. Just fun, and we all need to just have fun sometimes.

So now it is mid-afternoon and I am just now getting to my blog. I almost just posted an excerpt from my humor book, but then I decided that I just had to comment on the latest nonsense in politics.

First the media challenged Obama to make a statement about his stand on the issue of same-sex marriage following Biden's comments last weekend. Before Obama finally held his press conference mid-week, the question bandied about on the news waves was what was he waiting for? Was he refraining from taking a stand for some political reason?

Then we finally got the word from the President himself, "I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," and now pundits are all over him like fleas on a dog for using this as a political maneuver.

Maybe if the media would just stop all this speculation, except in editorials which is where speculation belongs, and politicians would talk about what they are going to do if they get into office instead of the endless attacks on opponents, the average Joe could make an informed decision.

A local political ad from Tom Leppert, who is running to represent Texas in the Senate, is one of the most absurd I've seen in a while. He goes through a rack of suits, all the while talking about each of his opponents and their shortcomings. Then he gets to the last suit and pulls it off the rack saying something like, "And we all know what happened the last time we sent an empty suit to the White House." All the suit coats have campaign buttons, and the last button reads "Obama."

This ad tells me nothing about Leppert's qualifications to represent our state in Washington. It does tell me he has a less than stellar campaign manager who came up with this "empty suit" of a campaign ad.