HBD
A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my sis, Kathy.

NATURAL

Amazing Adventures
I finished reading Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay last night.

The fascinating story of two comic book-creating cousins spans from pre-WWII through the 1950s and takes place in Prague, New York City and Antarctica. It's a good read that radiates warmth and humor as the characters' creativity and determination shape their lives and relationships over the years.

Unconscious Mutterings


You say ... and I think ...

  1. Elastic::stretch
  2. Intervention::intercede
  3. Risk::danger
  4. Junk food::unhealthy
  5. Arrogance::ugly
  6. Responsibility::duty
  7. X::Files
  8. Marshall::Randy Moss' alma mater
  9. Kill::terminate
10. Brother::sister

Draft
After two days and 17 hours, 255 college football players were selected in the 25th annual NFL Draft. And at the end, when he was asked what team he thought had the best draft, who did Mel Kiper, Jr. (ESPN's expert analyst for NFL draft coverage since 1984) single out?

The Minnesota Vikings.

Yeah, baby!

Ultimate Sacrifice
It's hard to describe the sadness and pride surrounding the combat death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, who turned down millions of dollars to join the Army Rangers along with his brother Kevin, in part because of the 9/11 tragedy. Arizona Sen. John McCain said that Tillman refused to speak publicly about his decision to leave the NFL, but "viewed his decision as no more patriotic than that of his less fortunate, less renowned countrymen who loved our country enough to volunteer to defend her in a time of peril."

Pat Tillman's priorities and patriotism made him a hero. His service and sacrifice confirmed it.

JUNK

The Law Won
I can hardly wait to hear if ESPN's Chris Berman comes up with a new nickname for Ty Law after the New England Patriots player ran away from the police and then when he was caught told the officers not to touch him because he's a professional athlete.

DVDs
Recent Netflix rentals:

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (with excellent Special Features)
The Rundown
Mona Lisa Smile
Dark Blue
Identity
Spellbound

Unconscious Mutterings


You say ... and I think ...

  1. Virginia::Slims
  2. Soft::Hard
  3. Carol::Burnett
  4. Vanity::Ego
  5. Feminist::Activist
  6. Alias::Jennifer Garner
  7. Coward::Noel
  8. Beer::Guinness
  9. Chance::Possibility
10. Honest::Truth

SELF-PORTRAIT

Sticker Shock
Three bumper stickers I've seen within the last month:

1) What Would Jesus Do?
2) What Would Wellstone Do?
3) What Would Scooby Do?

Rocket Fuel
Here's just one example of skyrocketing gas prices:

On Monday morning I bought gas at a neighborhood Superamerica for $1.75 a gallon.

On Monday afternoon, the price had gone down to $1.71 a gallon.

By Tuesday afternoon, the price was $1.89 a gallon.

Mac Write
MacCentral, Macworld's New Service posted a nice article today about screenwriters using Macs.

I wonder if playwrights are the same.

Unconscious Mutterings


You say ... and I think ...

  1. Boxing::gloves
  2. Lewis::and Clark
  3. Bodyguard::protection
  4. Burnout::slacker
  5. Cruising::driving
  6. Easter::Bunny
  7. AA::batteries
  8. Research::and development
  9. Redemption::recovery
10. Snickers::candy bar

Friday Five


1. What do you do for a living?
    Part-time administrative assistant and freelance theatre director.

2. What do you like most about your job?
    Working with Macintosh computers.

3. What do you like least about your job?
    People we work with who expect us to solve all their problems
    and who don't have the same attention to detail as we do.

4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____...
    I wasn't able to clear off my desk by the end of the day.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in?
    Acting teacher and author.

DISCOVERY

Teach 'em Young
Here's a great story about the Amnesty International School for Human Rights.

Unconscious Mutterings


You say ... and I think ...

  1. Condemn::doom
  2. Promiscuous::careless
  3. Pro-life::advocate
  4. Mona Lisa::Smile
  5. Crown::England
  6. Mumble::lazy
  7. Hack::cough
  8. Diet::food
  9. Introduction::meet
10. Latin America::South America

It's a Small World, After All...
At the last performance of The Glass Menagerie, which I directed at Northwestern College, I was told during intermission that somebody wanted to speak with me.

I went to the lobby and a young man introduced himself and said he had graduated from Augustana College (my alma mater) last year and during his senior year he had been in Augustana's production of The Glass Menagerie. Both he and a friend (who had also been in Augie's show) were now living in the Twin Cities, had seen an announcement about Northwestern's production, and decided they had to go see it.

At the time, they had no idea who I was or that I had graduated from Augie's theatre department myself. And if that wasn't enough of a small-world coincidence, imagine their total surprise and amazement when they sat down to watch the show at Northwestern, opened the program and read my Director's Notes, in which I had written:

     Twenty years ago I was a junior at Augustana College and a very special professor gave me the opportunity to direct a full-length play for the first time. The professor's name was Gary Reed and the play was "The Glass Menagerie".
     I have been blessed and extremely fortunate to have directed almost 25 plays since that first production of "The Glass Menagerie". This is actually the third time I’ve staged Tennessee Williams’ classic American drama and I hope it won’t be the last because its themes of unfilled dreams and unrealized hopes are so universal, its characters are so interesting, and its story is so compelling and emotional. It is truly a fascinating examination of human behavior and exceptional piece of dramatic literature.
     Tennessee Williams calls “The Glass Menagerie” a “memory play,” which is true not only in terms of the story, but for the participants in the production as well. Mr. Reed passed away soon after I graduated from Augustana, and the theater where I first directed "The Glass Menagerie" has since been torn down, but I will always carry with me fond memories of that particular production, the people and the theatre.

The three of us had a nice chat after the show, and since it was the final performance of the play at Northwestern, it nicely brought everything full circle and rekindled my memories of that very special opportunity I was given twenty years ago.

Somewhere Gary Reed must be smiling.

Elvis
I read Robert Crais' The Last Detective last night. It's his ninth novel in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. Great characters. Great series. Great book.

All Around the World
Here's the full list of domains which have visited intermittent thoughts:

Advanced Research Project Agency, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Companies, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Networks, New Zealand, Norway, Organizations, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, US Armed Forces, US Educational Institutions, US Government Entities, Yugoslavia

ATMOSPHERE

Nice Wheels
Warner Bros. has posted two pics of a very rugged, military-style Batmobile on its Batman Begins website.

Minnesota Blogs
intermittent thoughts is now listed on Twin Cities Babelogue, City Page's list of Minnesota Blogs.