My big brother and my son facing off at chess. I am outclassed!

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Preview of “The Fantasticks” (thanks, Tribune-Review, for covering the arts community)

For Luisa, Jerz’s character, “the world is still a magical place, full of epic characters and situations and — above all — romance.” She says the audience should like Luisa and care about her, not wanting the world to hurt or change her. A fun show to perform “‘The Fantasticks’ music is uniquely beautiful, and…

The Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre Factory)

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Man enough to sew my own computer bag. Insecure enough to seek validation on social media for doing so.

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Come see Carolyn as “The Girl” in The Fantasticks, Oct 18-27.

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I have two scenes in a horror film. My head appears in a third scene.

During Fall Break, I filmed my scenes for the horror indie The First Night of Summer. My character is a cheesy dad who’s trying too hard to engage with his sullen teenager — played by my daughter. While coaching us on the set, director Mark Sciubba described the dynamic he was looking for, and asked…

Let’s conſider ſome ſurpriſing old type: “Did you ever hear ſuch a wind-ſucker, as this?”

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A Matter of Honor (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 8)

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Riker accepts a temporary assignment as first officer of a Klingon vessel. “A Matter of Honor” offers a thoughtful, enjoyable dramatization of differences between Federation and Klingon culture, and a good B-plot in which Wesley helps a visiting officer adapt to routine operations on the Enterprise. It’s a nice touch…

The dress we ordered for the “girl next door” role in The Fantasticks… vs the dress that we received!

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Two stunning hugs end Amber Guyger’s murder trial on a merciful note

Chants of “no justice, no peace” drifted from the hallway into the the 204th District Court, and then Botham Jean’s 18-year-old brother stepped up to the witness stand Wednesday. This was Brandt Jean’s chance to tell Guyger exactly what he thought of the former Dallas officer after she was sentenced to 10 years in prison…

Love This Headline: “He took a date to the park where he was gored by a bison, figuring it wouldn’t happen again. He was wrong.”

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Studying STEM Isn’t The Career Boost We Think

Turns out, getting a STEM education may help you get a good job early but if you want a good career, you’re better off in liberal arts lane. In other words, even if you’re only measuring money, a liberal arts education is probably worth a ton more than most people may think. […] [B]y the time…

Unnatural Selection (ST:TNG Rewatch Season 2, Episode 7)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. Tension mounts between Captain Picard and Dr. Pulaski as the Enterprise encounters a rapid-aging disease. I rather liked how Picard, who just last week quoted part of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, is in his ready room reading a book when Troi reminds him he wanted to…

The Schizoid Man (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 6)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. In his final hours, an arrogant, crotchety cybernetics genius takes a liking to Data. After the genius dies, Data starts acting arrogant and crotchety. Hmm. This early in the run of TNG, we’ve already seen the trope of a brilliant, older professional man supported and…

You, Too, Can Have a Viral Tweet Like Mine: Demystifying Poetic Meter

Saving for the next time I teach “Intro to English Study.” It’s all well and good to sing “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” to the tune of “Hallelujah,” but why can’t you do it the other way around? For that matter, why does it work only when you limit yourself to the first two lines…

Loud as a Whisper (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 5)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. A mediator who communicates via a telepathic chorus is a warring planet’s only hope for peace. While the episode isn’t perfect, nothing made me want to facepalm. I cared about Riva (the mediator) and his romantic (but at the same time respectful and professionally empathetic) interest…

The Outrageous Okona (TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 4)

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. A pony-tailed pirate-shirt-wearing pile of charisma steps out of a Renaissance Festival sideshow onto the Enterprise for a silly low-stakes caper. Meanwhile, Data tries stand-up comedy. I cringed when the guest star put the moves on the pretty transporter technician (played by a before-she-was-famous Teri…

My Review of the Charlottesville Tryout of “A Few Good Men” 30 Years Ago

A librarian at the University of Virginia kindly scanned and emailed the review I wrote, as an undergraduate student journalist, of the pre-Broadway tryout of A Few Good Men, in September 1989. I was prepared to cringe, but I was actually kind of proud of the lead, which applies equally to the professional production now…

My son teaching chess to a young pupil

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Overwhelmed? Start a new to-do list with “1) Breathe; 2) Make ‘to-do’ list”

Felt momentarily overwhelmed by the day’s tasks. Made the following list: 1) Breathe. 2) Make “to do” list. 3) Post blog entry about “to do” list. 4) Go to lunch. 5) Prioritize to-do list. (Break up the intimidating tasks into smaller steps.) 6) Do first important item on list. (Repeat as necessary.) I’m…