Danblog (Oct-Dec 2004)
Jerry: It's a baguette... with brie, and butter... I had six of these damn
things every day I was over there!
-- "Twin Peaks"
26 Dec 2004
This is weird. I notice that some of the Christmas-related
mail I've received lately has "Mr." in front of my name.
Have I finally become an old guy? I don't have the responsibilities
of an old guy. Or the craggy, distinguished look of an old guy.
(Work with me, people.) I'm sure it's meant respectfully,
although I can't imagine myself addressing mail to anyone with
anything other than their names. Not any titles. Interestingly,
anything I've received from anyone under the age of 38 just has
my name. You'd think the younger ones, if any, would be the
ones doing this. Maybe they don't see me that way. Maybe
everyone sees me as one of their own. I'm all things to all people!
19 Dec 2004
At first I thought this was just the drug store getting crazy.
But today I heard that they're moving all the decongestants,
at least the ones with pseudoephedrine, behind the pharmacy
counter because it's a new state law starting Jan. 1st! Thank
you, oppressive state government! Aren't there some states
that still let you buy benzedrine? But here they want to make
it more inconvenient to just buy decongestants. For our own
good, of course. Same way they make it more inconvenient in
all areas of gun ownership. Meanwhile, other states across
the land are making it easier for non-criminals to own guns
and carry them around. But not here. I suspect it's the
strong influence of the People's Republic of Chicago over
the powers that be in Springfield. Free your mind! And
your nasal passages!
17 Dec 2004
It's certainly a lot quieter without a show this weekend.
What really fascinates me, though, is that the kids really
seemed to enjoy it. My nephews were supposedly running
around singing my song. And my niece is still talking
about the show and wants to see it again. If only such
a thing were possible! :)
12 Dec 2004
Another show is over. Let the bittersweet nostalgia begin.
Five shows make a pretty busy weekend. And there I was,
sick through it all, filled up on decongestants, tylenol,
antihistamines, and throat lozenge after throat lozenge.
And even with all that stuff, I couldn't get the relief
I'd like. (Well, maybe that kind of relief will be available
in the not too distant future.)
But it's still better than a healthy day at work!
07 Dec 2004
Only 3 days before opening night of "Babes In Toyland" and
everything's humming right along. Don't miss it, Friday
and Saturday at 7 pm; Sunday at 2. It's only 5 bucks a person
at the Round Lake Area Park District Community Center, 814 Hart Rd.
I'll actually have 23 people there opening night, a bit more than
I'm used to. What an entourage! Or maybe it's a retinue.
Actually, it's a family.
03 Dec 2004
Wow, the people who did the extras casting for the new
Batman movie last August (well, the Chicago area-filmed
scenes, anyway) called about this
pilot being shot for Fox.
That would have been cool. Doggone it. But I can't
just miss 8 days of work. Oh, cursed fate.
28 Nov 2004
WHO AM I KIDDING??? Yeah, um, I do know the answer to that
one. Anyone got a mirror?
23 Nov 2004
It looks like I'm going to be the Prosecutor in
WCP's
next show, "The Runner Stumbles". In the 1979 movie, Dick Van Dyke
played the lead role, the priest. Well, I've never actually seen it.
The Prosecutor was played by someone who only has two acting credits!
Speaking of movies I haven't seen, what about all those "Babes In
Toyland" movies. That show's only a couple weeks away, in which
I'll be butchering the role of Barnaby. Let's see.
All the movies are most likely very different. But they all have a main
bad guy named Barnaby. The 1934 Laurel & Hardy
movie had Henry Brandon playing Barnaby. Ray Bolger played Barnaby
in Annette Funicello's 1961 version. In the 1986 TV movie starring
Drew Barrymore & Keanu Reeves, Barnaby was played by Richard Mulligan.
And, finally, in the 1997 animated movie, Christopher Plummer provided
the voice of Barnaby.
17 Nov 2004
There's not much that's humorous or pointed that I say which I'm not
copying -- or, "quoting" -- from someone else. But I think this is something
I came up with on my own. And I never get tired of saying it. "Tell us
about the 70s, grandfather!" Of course, it wouldn't be so funny
to say it to someone who's actually, like, you know, old. Older.
But at the right moment, it amuses me to no end to pop in with that
comment when the person is younger than I am.
15 Nov 2004
The first three shows I was in all had kisses of some kind or another.
And "Babes In Toyland" appeared to be continuing that tradition, which
was broken by "Rapunzel" and "Annie". But, no. We got to that part
of the show in tonight's rehearsal, and even though the script calls
for my character to plant a whopper on Mistress Mary -- while my
character thinks she's just some kind of giant doll -- I'm only
going to swing her around and start to move in for a kiss before
someone rushes in to break it up. The chick playing her is probably
relieved. But I say, the script's the script! Of course, the fact
that she's 16 in real life is probably an issue. I suppose
that'd make some people uncomfortable. :) I mean,
I can separate
a stage kiss from some kind of sordid, unseemly statutory relationship,
but, yeah, these are the times we live in. (Although, that didn't
seem to be a concern for that
NYU chick who was one of the
directors in IFC's documentary,
"Film School". Now *that* was questionable use of a minor.)
11 Nov 2004
It's always exciting to find out there's a new
Snooks Eaglin album. And what do you know, they sneaked
two in on me. One of them is clearly marked as a greatest hits
collection, although it looks as if there are a few songs that
I haven't seen on any other album. The other one is live,
and as such, it wouldn't have mattered that much to me if
it was filled with already released songs, but most of its songs
don't look familiar. How about that. It is insanely
expensive, though, 19 bucks at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Maybe it's an import, but it doesn't really appear to be. And
for some reason, it's kind of a combined album. The first 12
tracks are Snooks Eaglin. Then there are 4 tracks by Boogie Bill Webb.
04 Nov 2004
What a week! I won a game of
chess (and not with some stranger who might be
a ten year old kid, but against an actual relative),
Bush got four more years (or to put it another way,
that's four more years that the extreme liberal elitists will
be kept out of the White House), and I got me a
new job starting next Monday. Now I wonder
what terrible tragedy is about to befall me.
11 Oct 2004
I came across another park district community theater today which
doesn't include "park district" in its name. What are these groups
trying to hide:
Glenview Theatre Guild,
Deerfield Family Theater,
Highland Park Players (which does belong on this list; the
name of the town is Highland Park),
D.R.A.M.M.A. But there is one that gives it to you straight,
even if it is a mouthful: Round Lake Area Park District
Community Theater. Say it loud and say it proud.
04 Oct 2004
Well, I got the part of Barnaby in the (say it with me) Round Lake Area
Park District Community Theater production of
"Babes In Toyland". It may have gone through some revisions since
the original, but I think it's basically the same play. Now, how different
it is from the movie versions --
Laurel & Hardy in 1934 and
Annete Funicello in 1961 --
I definitely can't say, since I haven't seen either. Barnaby
is the "evil", and apparently megalomaniacal, villain who tries to force the
fair Mistress Mary to, um, marry him, even though her one true love is
Barnaby's nephew, Alan. That necessitates activities such as, well,
doing away with Alan. (And, somehow, Mother Gooseland and Toyland are
involved.) It's that kind of unvarnished family entertainment that
amuses audiences today as much as in 1903.
02 Oct 2004
If I don't get cast from today's audition at the Round Lake Area Park District
Community Theater for "Babes In Toyland",
I should probably hang it up. Well, I won't, but still.... I was the
only adult auditioning tonight (if by "adult", you mean someone out of high
school, even though the high schoolers compete for the same roles) and
there were supposedly only a handful last night. It's a delightful
musical tale taking place in Mother Gooseland and Toyland, first performed
about a hundred years ago -- in Chicago, I believe.
MOST RECENT ENTRIES
