intermittent thoughts

Glass Apple in the Big Apple

Apple's new flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan opens tonight. With it's amazing glass-cube entrance, underground shopping, and 24/5/365 hours of business, it has leapt to the top of my must-see list for our next trip to New York City.

Photos of the new store on flickr:

Cube covered
Cube from above
Cube from the side
Glass stairway
Cube plaza
Cube at night
Cube logo reflections

Photo Friday: The Road

Photo Friday entry: The Road

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Michael J. Fox Writing Another Book

Michael J. Fox's Lucky Man is one of my favorite books. Not only does it cover his successful acting career, but it also details his life with Parkinson's disease. It's an entertaining, informative, and memorable read, and one thing that comes through loud and clear in the book is Michael's unending determination, sense of humor, and optimism. (An excerpt from Lucky Man is available on The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research website.)

And now, Fox has announced plans to write another intriguing book with a title that not only highlights his optimism, but also pokes a little fun at his short stature:

Michael J. Fox to Write Second Book

Always Looking Up, to focus on optimism, scheduled for publication in fall 2008

May 16, 2006

Michael J. Fox today announced plans to write a second book, to be titled Always Looking Up. The book, which will focus on optimism, is scheduled for publication by Hyperion in fall 2008.

With Fox's signature honesty and humor, Always Looking Up will address questions such as: Is an optimistic nature something we are born with? Is it genetic, environmental, chemical, spiritual? Are optimism and faith the same thing?

Fox will begin with the individuals who inspired him with their courage and spirit, and will seek out the most influential optimists (and pessimists) in the worlds of philosophy, art, science, literature, politics, and popular culture, past and present. He will weave all of his findings, experiences and adventures into a highly personal narrative, similar in tone and style to his bestselling first book, Lucky Man.

The announcement was made by Hyperion president Bob Miller, who said: "We're really thrilled to be working with Michael on this new book. There's no one better equipped to investigate the nature of optimism than Michael, someone who embraces life so fully and appreciates whatever it has to offer each day."

Fox said: "I'm very happy to be working with Hyperion again. This book provides an opportunity to reflect on my own optimism, and to view the subject through a wider lens. It's a lot to take on, but I'm, well ... optimistic."

I wonder if I can order a copy now.

500 flickr Photos

Yesterday I uploaded my 500th photograph to flickr, the online photo management and sharing application. As of this moment, those 500 photos have been viewed 16,844 times.

Click on the image to the left to see my 500th photo, or here to see my entire photostream.

2006 Tony Nominees Announced

The 2006 Tony Award nominees were announced this morning. And other than the exceptionally talented Sarah Jones, who is receiving a special Tony for Bridge & Tunnel, we didn't see any of the nominated shows or performances when we were in New York City a month and a half ago. Some of the nominated shows, like The Pajama Game, The History Boys, and Shining City weren't open at the time, and others weren't at the top of our want-to-see list. But, a couple of the shows that we did see, Red Light Winter and [title of show], did win Obie Awards on Monday night.

Wonderful "The West Wing" Windup

I thought The West Wing was great television when it debuted in 1999 and watched it through its entire run on NBC. Tonight's series finale showcased everything that was good about the show - exceptional writing, strong acting, and dramatic visuals. The final episode's story was full of nostalgia, humor, and memorable moments.

It was great to see one of my favorite musicians, Keb' Mo', playing himself and singing "America The Beautiful", and I thought the shot of Aaron Sorkin, the brilliant creator of "The West Wing", watching the fictional President Santos' inauguration was a classy move.

I was even more shocked and pleasantly surprised when an actor I've worked with before showed up near the end of the episode. As C.J. leaves her job as Chief of Staff for the last time, she is stopped by a man on the sidewalk and asked if she works in the White House. That man was played by Chris Bloch, who was in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts when I was a Production Assistant there in the late 90s. Chris also was in one or two shows at Children's Theatre Company when I stage managed there in the early nineties.

Those moments all added up to a fitting end for a wonderful television show. The intelligence and creativity of The West Wing will be missed. Hopefully, Sorkin's new effort, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, will be just as engaging and entertaining.

Happy Mother's Day

For Gloria, Erica, and Ma:

"When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk you'll end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."
-- Pablo Picasso

Lucas Davenport's Best Songs

I finished reading John Sandford's most recent Lucas Davenport novel, Broken Prey , last night. One of the subplots in the book (the 16th featuring the Twin Cities investigator) is about Davenport's attempt to compile a list of the 100 best rock songs ever recorded to put on an iPod. I decided to check Davenport's "Best Songs of the Rock Era" list against my own iTunes library and came up woefully short.

I only had seven of the 100 songs:

So, I went to the iTunes Music Store and found 21 additional songs from the list that I like:

It's great to have the songs, which are truly classics, but I think that's the first time I've paid $28.78 for a paperback book.

Photo Friday: Masterpiece

Photo Friday entry: Masterpiece

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On the Theatrical Horizon

Last night I accepted an offer to direct Pippin for Heritage Theatre Company, one of the local community theaters. Pippin opens in September and will be the sixth show I've done with Heritage, but the last one was in 2001, so it'll be good to go back and work with some familiar faces again. Another bonus is that Heritage performances are at the Maplewood Community Center, which is less than 10 minutes away from our house.

Pippin makes three directing projects for me in the next eight months.

In just a couple of weeks I'll be working on John A. Donnelly's short play, Bass or Soprano?, for Lakeshore Players' 2nd Annual 10-Minute Play Festival.

And in December I'll start rehearsals for an original comedy murder mystery by local playwright Michael Paul Levin called The Criminal Mind as part of Lakeshore's 2006-2007 Season.

Please Press 1

Teachers are underpaid, under appreciated, and constantly overwhelmed with things like increasing budget cuts, un-air conditioned classrooms, and inadequate supplies. But the most difficult thing they have to deal with on a daily basis isn't disrespectful or lazy students. It's parents. Demanding, defensive, derogatory, or uncaring and unhelpful parents. Which is why there's at least one teacher I know who would love to work at a school that used this as its automated phone directory.

(via Can't Keep Quiet)

Abrams' 5-Year Mission is Possible

J.J. Abrams doesn't need to worry about his future as a movie director. His debut effort, Mission: Impossible III, which I saw this morning, is a fast-paced, character-driven adventure that's reminiscent of his blockbuster TV hit Alias, including family members in peril, globe-trotting spies using cool gadgetry, an ever-shifting 'who's good and who's bad' mystery, and lots of implausible-but-exciting action sequences. With MI:III, Abrams has demonstrated he's capable of working on the big screen as well as he is on the small screen, and proves he's a good choice to resurrect Star Trek .

Photo Friday: Adolescence

Photo Friday entry: Adolescence

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Moussaoui's Fitting End

I think life in prison is the right punishment for Zacarias Moussaoui, who was formally sentenced in a Virginia courtroom this morning to six life terms without any opportunity for parole. His execution would have been justice based on vengeance and would have created an odd parallel to the Bush administration's misdirected and ill-concieved war on Iraq. Both actions were an extreme targeting of those who may, or may not, have only been peripherally involved in the 9/11 tragedies. Moussaoui's sentence conveniently robs him of the chance to be any kind of martyr for his cause, and since rehabilitation and a reintroduction to society are irrelevant in his case, he will spend the rest of his life contemplating his failure as a terrorist, a martyr, and a continuing cause celebre.

Solitary for 23 hours a day awaits Moussaoui

BY CAITLIN KELLY
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Twenty-three hours a day of solitary confinement.

One hour a day of exercise — alone in the small concrete-walled recreation yard.

Meals eaten alone in a cell.

Zacarias Moussaoui's new home is the Alcatraz of the Rockies, the nation's toughest prison, in the high desert of southern Colorado.

The complex in Florence, 90 miles south of Denver, is home to four federal prisons, including the Administrative Maximum, or ADMAX, prison. It is best known by its nickname, Supermax.

Inmates — a volatile mix of terrorists, murderers, drug dealers, street-gang leaders and Mafiosi — have their wrists cuffed behind their backs on the rare occasions when they leave their cells and always are escorted by at least two guards.

About the only place for them to go is the small concrete-walled recreation yard, where they can run laps or use fixed equipment.

Cells feature a sabotage-proof bed, a desk and a stool of poured concrete and a shower, with a spout in the ceiling and a drain in the floor.

A 12-inch black-and-white television in each cell pipes in closed-circuit classes on anger management and parenting. Literacy and religious services are played via video.

The prison is surrounded by scenic mountains, but inmates' only view from their 7-by-12-foot cells is a central courtyard.

No one has ever escaped from Supermax.

Moussaoui's fitting end was spelled out perfectly in this exchange between he and District Judge Leonie Brinkema:

"Every person will leave this courtroom, will go out and feel the sun, breathe fresh air and hear the birds," the judge said. "But you, when you go, you go to spend the rest of your life in prison."

"It was my choice," Mr. Moussaoui interjected.

"It was not your choice," the judge shot back.

"You came here to be a martyr," she went on. Then, paraphrasing the poet T.S. Eliot, she said, "But you will die with a whimper."

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Throw the Switch

Still haven't switched from a PC to a Mac?

Maybe these clever new TV ads from Apple will help.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane... It's a Cool Movie Trailer

Check out this great new trailer for Superman Returns, which opens on June 30.

Empire State Birthday

The Empire State Building opened 75 years ago yesterday and has been an New York City icon ever since. In an AP news story about the building's birthday, Richard Pyle includes some interesting facts:

It took only 410 days to build by 3,400 workers, many of them desperate for work at the height of the Depression. The work force was made up largely of immigrants, along with hundreds of Mohawk Indian iron workers.

The 1,453-foot tower opened on May 1, 1931, with President Herbert Hoover pressing a button in Washington to turn on its lights. Architect William Lamb, the chief designer, messaged New York Gov. Al Smith from a ship at sea: "One day out and I can still see the building."

Built of steel and aluminum and faced with granite and Indiana limestone, it was for 40 years the world's tallest edifice until surpassed in 1972 by the World Trade Center. It again became the city's tallest after airliners flown by terrorist hijackers destroyed the 110-story twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001. It now ranks ninth in the world, and second in the United States behind Chicago's Sears Tower.

We've been to the building's observation decks several times to enjoy the incredible views. Below are photos I took of the Empire State Building this past March looking south from the top of Rockefeller Center. Click on any of the pictures to see a larger image.

More NYC Photos

I've been slowly adding more photos of our March New York City trip to my New York City 2006 set on flickr. There are still a few more shots to be added, but there are already 25 in the set, so click over and see the recent additions if you haven't looked lately.