Mockingbird Photo

I can't believe that I was so lucky to work with such talented people. There were many people in the play that were extremely good, but I think that most were in awe of the job that the youngsters did in handling their roles with poise and grace.
Starting from the left: Drew, like me, was in the Ensemble with a small speaking part; Cody was Jem, that's me in the red shirt, Emily was Scout (young Jean Louise), Traci was the grown up Jean Louise (narrator), and James played Dill.
I have seen these kids in other productions and their skill never ceases to amaze me.
Recently, my daughter has begun taking some drama/acting classes at the DCT. This weekend they had their end of session recital where the students acted out scenes from various comedies. I knew that my daughter was working very hard at studying her scene. I was very impressed with her poise and ability to carry off a comedy scene. She made people laugh in the right places. I believe she is ready for some auditions, too.
I had a ball, and I hope I get to do this again sometime.

Mockingbird ends its Run

The run of "To Kill a Mockingbird" has finished its run at the Denton Community Theater. Over this weekend, we played to two full houses (Friday and Saturday) and an audience of over 200 people Sunday afternoon (the Campus Theater is about a 280 seat capacity). Thus ends my stage debut.
There is nothing like the feeling of standing in front of an audience who appreciate that people have worked hard entertain them, and I have to say, these audiences were wonderful. There was no doubt that they were paying attention to every aspect of the play.
It was fun, but alot of work, too. I have new respect for the the people who participate in those plays regularly. I got to observe how the director works to keep this thing organized. Just seeing how he broke the play down into manageable pieces to help everyone memorize their lines and blocking was amazing.
Everyone worked hard rehearsing the play and helping with the set, props, and wardrobe.
We were there for nearly two hours yesterday after the last show. Apparently, it is common practice for the cast and crew to "strike the set" immediately after the last show to get ready for the next one. We had to take down all of the scenery, dismantle the platforms, put away all props, and account for all costumes before we could leave. I got a few pictures yesterday that I will post later this evening when I get some time. I know I should have been quicker with the camera. There were alot of shots that I did not get.

Thanks everyone involved, I had a very good time working on this project. I hope we get to work together again next season.

Sick at Home

Stayed home from work today. Looks like I have a sinus and bronchial infection. It was probably a secondary infection from that mutant cold virus that ran rampant through rehearsals for the last five weeks.

Other things:
Even though I was battling a cold the whole time, doing the play before an audience was even more fun than I thought it would be.

I finally got me an Ipod, and this is the greatest thing since the laptop computer.

Opening Night of "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Last night was Opening Night for the play. It was sensational. Everything came together, and we had our best performance by far. Everyone caught their cues, and the parts were played with all of the emotions that come with someone's life being on the line. I will say more about it later. If you have a chance, you should come and see the play. I am truly enjoying this experience.

Your tax dollars being misappropriated by the Government

THE PRESIDENT: "In recent weeks, many have expressed concern about the significant increase in global food prices. And I share this concern. In some of the world's poorest nations, rising prices can mean the difference between getting a daily meal and going without food.
To address this problem, two weeks ago my administration announced that about $200 million in emergency food aid would be made available through a program at the Agriculture Department called the Emerson Trust. But that's just the beginning of our efforts. I think more needs to be done, and so today I am calling on Congress to provide an additional $770 million to support food aid and development programs. Together, this amounts to nearly $1 billion in new funds to bolster global food security. And with other food security assistance programs already in place, we're now projecting to spend nearly -- that we will spend nearly $5 billion in 2008 and 2009 to fight global hunger." from "The President Discusses Food Aid" as released by the Whitehouse press secretary on May 1, 2008.

Those of you with charitable hearts will have them warmed by this kind of talk coming from the Whitehouse. After all, few things are sadder than watching pictures of starving children in foreign countries. I want to make a short statement concerning what goes on in these countries to starve the citizens and children.

I think it is well documented that a great deal of charitable aid sent to many of these countries ends up lining the pocket and furnishing the palaces of the ruling person or group. Very little actually filters down to the lower classes to help with tools and education for these people to learn to care for themselves. That is why those starving masses continue to starve while their leaders live in palatial mansions, ride in the finest limo's, and enjoy all of the finest acoutrements of life.

A few years ago, after the Tsunami tragedy in southeast Asia, the private philanthropists of our country raised and contributed $225 million to aid those hurt or left homeless by the tsunami.

Gratuitously, the President seized $350 million tax dollars and sent it overseas as a charitable contribution by this country. So, the nearly $600 million sent by the United States alone (along with amounts raised by the good hearted citizens of other nations of the world) could not get those people back on their feet. The other day, I heard a television spot stating a need to raise more money for these people.

Now he wants to seize over $700 million of your hard earned tax dollars to send more charitable contributions to the third world.

Charity is not the business of the Government. The business of the Government is to take care of the citizens of the United States.

Remember that tax money is money coerced from your earned income. If you do not pay it, you will face serious sanctions or punishments from your Government.

The taxes are for running the government, raising the armies for our protections, and building roads.

Forcibly reaching into another man's pocket in order to hand the money to another is theft plain and simple. It may be legalized theft, but it is theft nonetheless.

Your government forces you to contribute to charity all the time: welfare (free money to people who don't work), social security (the government's forced retirement plan), and big business bailouts (that is a topic for another time).

Past Presidents have refused to engage in this type of behavior. Theodore Roosevelt, when pressed to give money to aid another country, said he could not because the Constitution does not give him that authority. Grover Cleveland did the same thing.

President Bush is usurping authority outside of the constitutional powers of his office.

I like President Bush. I am proud that he has taken measure to protect us from the terrorists. The fact that he has not had Jimmy Carter tried for treason and hung is a tribute to his patience and patriotism. This forced charity, no matter what it might be called or no matter who it might be intended to help, is wrong.

I object to the seizure and misuse of our tax dollars. To restate one of my favorite columnists, Walter Williams, Economics Professor at George Mason University: to reach into one's own pocket for charity is laudable, to reach into another man's pocket for charity is reprehensible.

Mockingbird Saga

Dress rehearsals start Monday. They gave me a big, old pair of overalls and a shirt to wear in the lynching scene. Underneath, I will have a shirt, tie, and slacks on. After the lynch mob scene, I pull off the overall and the big shirt to reveal my "Link Deas" persona. It is getting close to opening night. It looks to me like everyone is getting their parts down really well.

No Country for Old Men

What can I say? It was an excellent movie. I do not disagree with the Academy Award for this movie. It's all about randomness of life and the total lack of control we have over the circumstances or events that may happen to us. This theme carries throughout the movie. It was a wonderfully written story in that the theme is never lost. So many movies start powerfully and get lost on the way to the end. This movie did not. I enjoyed the experience.