A couple observations regarding Natasha Richardson's death.

Her freak skiing accident this past Monday and her subsequent death is just horrible. She was only a year older than me. But she's gone - and it's those she's left behind that I feel the most sadness for...her husband, two children, mother, etc. This song is for Liam and his boys, in the hopes it offers them some solace.

Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (Thats An Irish Lullaby) - Bing Crosby

Two things immediately came to mind upon hearing of Richardson's death. Her ordeal happened over St. Patrick's Day - the national holiday of her husband's - Liam Neeson - native Ireland. The anniversary of any death is bad enough. For Liam to have remember his wife's passing every St. Patrick's Day is ironic.

Secondly, I understand Neeson will take on the role of Abraham Lincoln in an upcoming movie. Lincoln's life was filled with tragedy - two of his four sons died, his wife suffered from depression and migraine headaches (she was later committed to a mental institution for a time) and he had to deal with the Civil War. A competent actor doesn't need to have experienced tragedy to play a tragic character. In his role as Lincoln, however, Neeson won't have to act.

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Hanoi Jane meet Pablo Pelosi. Or vice versa.

You know how things are fashionable one minute, then passe, and then they're suddenly in vogue again? Who woulda thunk that held true for being an American traitor.

Jane "Hanoi Jane" Fonda met with the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. In her attempts to better understand U.S. involvement in Vietnam, she sat in the seat of an NVA anti-aircraft gun, visited POW's and made broadcasts on Radio Hanoi. And when our POW's returned home, she called them "hypocrites and liars". Don't EVER bring her name up to a Vietnam vet. They hate her.

House Speaker Congressman Nancy "Pablo" Pelosi (D-CA) met with a group of mostly Hispanic illegals and legals at St. Anthony's Church in San Francisco Saturday as she's collecting petitions that ask President Obama to "stop the immigration raids and deportations that are tearing our marriages, families and children apart." There's a video link within the Pablo Pelosi article linked above.


















Pablo Pelosi said the raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were "un-American" and that "the raids must end". Pablo Pelosi also said to her audience - including the illegal aliens present, "You are special people. You're here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country's future. That makes you very, very patriotic."

Hold it. A U.S. congresswoman? Speaker of the House? What is she - 3rd in line for succession to the presidency? She's telling an agency of the federal government that its activities are "un-American"? And then she refers to illegal aliens as "very, very patriotic" - toward a country they're illegally inhabiting? Since when should illegal aliens take responsibility for MY country's future? Isn't that akin to inciting anarchy? Or something?

I despise Pablo Pelosi. And hate, too. Despise and hate. I've blogged about her resistance to E-Verify. If the decision were up to her, she'd grant amnesty to every illegal alien in the U.S. AND open up our borders to all illegal aliens. I emailed her via her congressional website today. I won't reprint what I said, but I basically called her un-American, a disgrace and a traitor. If I've suddenly "gone missing", it may be due to that email.

By announcing to illegal aliens that the ICE is "un-American", she's undermining the credibility and integrity of a federal agency right in front of the very people the ICE would confront (and should be arresting at the church) and, therefore, undermining the credibility and integrity of President Obama and his administration. This is one dangerous bitch who needs to be dealt with. What if the next batch of illegals taken in a raid put up resistance, saying, "I'm not going with you. You're un-American! Pablo Pelosi said so!" They resist, illegals get hurt and then sue the government?? It's already happening.

I'm not sure the Obama administration really cares because I don't think this administration nor any future administration wants to deal with tackling our illegal immigration problems. That is sad. And Pelosi's gaining power every minute she's in Washington. Remember when Michelle Obama's patriotism was called into question during the campaign? I consider myself to be extremely patriotic and I've been thinking, as of late, that America has become a push-over. The timbre that goes with saying, "I'm an American" isn't quite the same for me right now.

It's politicians like Pablo Pelosi - the same people who are supposedly representing their constituents - that are part of the problem. Not the solution. You want to propose anarchy, Pablo Pelosi? Fine...let's start with getting rid of you.

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AIG. Assholes Inneedof Garrotting.

Assholes Inneedof Garrotting. I took some liberties. I believe Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) was right the first time - his second suggestion, that is.

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St. Patty's Day. 2 p.m. PST. And still sober.

'Tis a cryin' shame, is what it is.

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Goat cheese, raspberry jam, & wine on our porch. Redcross. Co. Wicklow. April 2006.

Seems like I was just there, in Ireland with my friend, Justyna. Takes your breath away. The LAND, I'm talkin' about ya idgit. I need to get back there.

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I wanna live in this mill.

Looking down the Kings River at the old mill building in Kells, County Kilkenny, Ireland. I stole this off Bernie Goldbach's blog.

Bernie wrote a post today about being an Irish-American living in Ireland and celebrating St. Patrick's day. Lucky bastard. I don't care about Bernie. I just wanna live in this old mill. (Kidding, Bernie. I do want that mill though.)

There's another home I wanted in Ireland that I posted two years ago when I started this blog. With the soft house markets the way they are, I wonder if this guy will sell now?

I wanna live in this mill. I don't care if it doesn't have a toilet or running water. I'll use the outhouse - or dig one.

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From me muther.

"Remember: Your kilt should be short enough for dancing a jig, but long enough to hide your lucky charms."

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Trailer for "The Quiet Man". Erin go bragh!

Tonight for St. Patty's Day, I'll be at home with me Guinness, watchin' John Ford's classic, "The Quiet Man", starrin' John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Fine move - as good the 30th time as the 1st.

So watch this original trailer (you'll be wantin' to pause the jukebox at da top of this page first). And don't be callin' me or stoppin' by to say "hello" - unless you're a member of my family or ya bin to Ireland, right? Cause if you do, "you say three, mister, and you'll never hear the man count ten". Ha! Gotta love the Duke in this.

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Excerpt from "The Pipes at Lucknow".

"Dear to the corn-land reaper

And plaided mountaineer -

To the cottage and the castle

The piper's song is dear.

Sweet sounds the Gaelic pibroch

O'er mountain, glen, and glade;

But the sweetest of all music

The pipes at Lucknow played!"

- from "The Pipes at Lucknow", by John Greenleaf Whittier, an American poet from the 19th century. The Siege of Lucknow, which lasted from July 2 - November 16, 1857, took place during the Indian Mutiny in 1857-58.

I love the bagpipes.

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And on the 9th day (after a few pints and rest), God created "Irish Lasses".

I love Ireland. I love the Irish. And I love the Irish lasses - especially these lasses!


















My friend Maria McCann (left) - a very talented actress and mother of daughters, Grace and Gwyneth (my god daughter). She and her husband, Donovan, are my closest friends in California (seems I blog about them once a month, fer Christ's sake). Maria's father's parents came over from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Maria's the female version of me. Yeah - exactly. Thought that may help in knowing who you're dealing with. Kristy Mitchell's (right), a Scottish actress. Saw her in A Shot At Glory with Micheal Keaton and Robert Duvall. Yeah - I know she's not Irish. Close enough. My blog...my rules.

Jean Butler (left), the original lead in Riverdance. She's married now. Too bad. Born in New York but her mother is from County Mayo. I remember seeing the original performance on PBS in 1995, I think of Riverdance - might have been after they won the Eurovision Contest in 1994. I was blown away. Introduced it - Riverdance - to all my theater friends who hadn't seen it before. I DID! Ask Damon. He's a trendsetter in Cedar Rapids. And (right) Sinead Noonan, Miss Ireland 2008.

Maureen O'Hara, seen here in John Ford's The Quiet Man. Look at her. Gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. And one tough bitch. Still is. She LOVED John Wayne - great friends those two were. If you don't particularly care for "Duke", you should appreciate him just 'cause Maureen did.

Don't know who this is, but she's some pretty Irish lass from the Irish equivalent of Match.com.

The Corrs (minus their brother - 'cause he's a "lad") - Sharon, Andrea and Caroline. I remember seeing them for the first time on the TODAY show singing their big hit, "What Can I Do?". Still - my favorite song of their's. And sickeningly talented these three are...4 if you count brother Jim. But I'm not. 'Cause Jim ain't a chick.

And last but not least, Nina, my close theater friend from Cedar Rapids. She's a "McKinney" - her paternal grandparents are from somewhere in Northern Ireland (land of "the troubles", just like Maria). Fits her, it does. Nina and I go way back to the Cedar Rapids' Follies of 1994. Sweetheart. Her three boys love me. So does she. Whoo!

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Irish bagpipers. Proceed at your own risk!

Some people hate bagpipes. I love them. Some people say that all bagpipe music sounds the same. I say "KILL THOSE BASTARDS!"



And pause the jukebox at the top of the page. This film was shot at Lowender Peran Celtic Music Festival in Perranporth Cornwall, October 2008. Lowender Peran is the largest global clan gathering and Festival of the Celts, featuring Celtic Music, Dance, Poetry and Cultural events from Brittany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales, held annually in Perranporth Cornwall.

The film features Lord Edward's Own Pipe Band, which was founded in Narraghmore, Co. Kildare, Ireland, just over 90 years ago. You'll wanna skip the preliminary shite and go to the 1:20 mark.

I didn't want to go overboard on the pipes (but I do love them), check out this massed drums and pipes show at night from the opening of the August 19, 2008 Edinburgh Tattoo. It's pretty cool.

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Happy Birthday, Grandma Datka!

My maternal grandmother, Helen, was born today 102 years ago. Though she died when I was 13, I remember her well. She was kind and loving. She could crochet up a storm and cook like no one's business. She was small in stature but a tough women - she had to be, raising 9 children (my mother included) on a farm.

I wish she were here - like all my grandparents. So much has happened over the last 30 years. So much I'd love to share with her. Happy Birthday, Grandma.

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"Riverdance!" Original Eurovision footage.

This is the original Riverdance - the footage Americans saw for the first time (probably on PBS). I was blown away and immediately took the tape I had made of the show and made all my theater friends in Cedar Rapids watch it. Stars Michael Flatley and Jean Butler. You may want to pause the jukebox at the top of the screen, and if you want to skip the intro, Butler gracefully makes her entrance at the 1:40 mark, followed by Flatley.

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"PTSP." to perform at opening night of Seattle Erotic Art Festival!

"What is that a picture of? Is that a - it looks like....nooooo. It's a briefcase! Hahaha. Ha."

I've attended one erotic art exhibition and believe me, it's not a field trip for members of the Moral Majority, trust me.

So I just found out that my 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please." - which is already part of The Little Red Studio's (LRS) 2009 Erotic Shorts Festival, April 24-26 and May 1-3 - has been chosen from those 9 plays to perform on opening night of this year's Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF). Is that awesome or what?

The day before SEAF officially opens to the public, "PTSP." will be performed by the actors from Little Red Studio festival for all the SEAF artists in attendance. More information coming on the run at The Little Red Studio AND if you just so happen to be in the Seattle area the first weekend in May, check out SEAF's website.

"That dirty little play"...as Justyna refers to it. The "dirty little play" that could...

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And I thought I hated Suzanne Vega's "Luka".

Remember that song from 1987? "My name is Luka. I live on the second floor."

Still hate that song. But apparently not as much as Twenty Major, an Irish blogger from Dublin (one of the most popular). I check him out from time to time. And some people say I'M a curmudgeon? He's got a great writing style - if you read his posts out loud, you WILL sound Irish. No shit. My only criticism of Twenty Major is that he needs to curse more in his blog posts.

With him around there will always be someone who's more curmudgeonly than your's truly.

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Leave it to "ye French of old" to discriminate against thespians.

"The Actor of Stratford-upon-Avon" (Emil Kazaz, 1953 - present).

Throughout history, actors (like myself) have been callously labeled as immoral, amoral, lascivious, self-serving, self-indulgent, irresponsible, bawdy, vain, bacchant, lewd, excessive, permissive, promiscuous and any other "ism", "ite", "ive" or "ious" you can think of.

Now - ahh..."lascivious" I have never been. But that's neither here nor there. Actors will be actors, but the 17th century French crossed the line. Under French law, the French would not allow actors to be buried in the sacred ground of a cemetery. Just ask French playwright/actor, Molière, who was buried in the portion of the cemetery reserved for unbaptized infants.

Can you believe the gall (oddly enough, the "Gauls" later settled in France)? Molière's remains were later moved by the 18th century French and finally brought to rest in a proper cemetary by the 19th century French.

"Farce Actors Dancing" (Pieter Jansz, 1597-1665)

Look at those silly actors - dancing and playing flutes, all dressed in their frilly, dandy, actor garb, acting all....lascivious (remember, I don't do lascivious). Haha! Look at the wench actress! "I'll see you in the Green Room, milady." Damn those actors! Burn them! And don't bury them in the church cemetary! Why?! WHY?! Because we are French!

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53 days and counting.

Until my annual walleye fishing trip on the Rainbow Flowage in Lake Tomahawk, WI. Yaaahoo!

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Chef Cat Cora's a lesbian? I did not know that.

Did you know this? No one told me. But I don't watch a lot of network TV or cooking shows so...I'm a little disapponted. Not because of Cat's lifestyle choice, but - well, look at her. Dang. Off the market - for guys, anyway.

Cat Cora's website.

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Hey! Someone got my peanut butter and butter bagel right! I wonder if this is part of the "change" we were promised??

I hang out at Tanner's Coffee a lot in Culver City (among other coffeehouses). It's where I write (plays and blog) and can actually accomplish things. So this morning I order a garlic bagel with my calling card condiments - butter & peanut butter. Butter first. Add the peanut butter on top. Aside from this being an "odd" combination (or so I've been told), it's really a very simple task to perform. Travis the monkey could do it ("could" being the operative word). But not the kind, Spanish-speaking ladies at Winchell's Donuts (across the street from where I work). They've screwed up my order on at least four occasions. I won't bore you with the details - just look up "Winchell's Donuts" under my blog archive and you can read all about it.

Not this morning. The pleasant, attractive, Caucasian, English-speaking girl behind the counter (I said she was attractive, right?) handed me my order - done to perfection. Maybe it's because she could understand English. What a wonderful way to start my morning in sunny Californ-I-A. In the United States. Where ENGLISH is our language. Adios!

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GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons tells about his "Worst Case Scenario" In Playboy.

I know Bob Parsons. I used to work for him when he owned Parsons Technology, in Hiawatha, Iowa. PT was once a Fortune 500 computer software company that Bob started out of the basement in his house. He sold it to Intuit and later founded GoDaddy.com - a domain registration company that has registered more than 45% of the planet's domain names - 33.5 million names.

I've always liked Bob. Some people don't. He was a big supporter of Theater Cedar Rapids while I was performing there (and working for him) and, for that, I am appreciative. Ex-Marine. Tough. Chauvinistic at times. Misogynistic maybe. Outspoken. Whatever. In the April issue of Playboy, Bob wrote a column, "Worst Case Scenario", elaborating on his "credo" of sorts.

"...be flexible, not to accept what life gives you at face value and never to make decisions based on fear. You come up with something you think will work, the you put everything you have into it. When times get tough you judge what your worst-case scenario is, assume it's going to happen and get back to work. Anything you get on top of that is gravy, baby."

For Bob's "16 Rules I Try To Live By", check his site out here.

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Apparently writer/artist Edward Gorey dabbled in erotica.

Not Gorey himself. I mean through his writing. Check out the cover of the 1965 parody of etiquette books, The Recently Deflowered Girl.

Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre, sometimes wordless, illustrated books. His writings typically had Victorian and Edwardian settings and have a cultish following. He sometimes wrote under a pseudonym. You may remember his work on the animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery!

Browse here to see the book in its entirety. It's quite fun (I deflowered two women in the course of reading it - only takes a few minutes!).

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Erin Go Bragh!

This isn't my St. Patty's day post. No four leaf clovers or mentions of "The Quiet Man".

The recent murder of two British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland by the Real IRA has Ireland fearful of "the troubles" once again. This is a difficult topic for me to discuss as my affinity for Ireland and the Irish is strong. I don't condone the violence, but am empathetic toward those in Northern Ireland who want their independence from Great Britain. Sad - very sad.

Sappers (engineer soldier) Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London.

I don't know if you're aware of this but there was a sniper attack two days after the Massereene Barracks that resulted in the death of Stephen Carroll, a Northern Ireland policeman (PSNI) in Craigavon, County Armagh. This was the first murder of a police officer in Northern Ireland since 1998. The Continuity IRA claimed responsibility for this shooting and stated that "As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue". The Continuity IRA is different than the Real IRA - same goals, just different splinter groups of the IRA. Shit - there's so many splinter groups it's insane and would make anyone skeptical of a shred of ongoing peace there.

When I was in Belfast in 1989, the tanks and military that....well it was evident this was a police state. Whatever you wanna call it. When my friend Justyna and I were in Belfast in April 2006 (has it been that long?), it was completely different. I fear now things might possibly change. Did I mention how sad this is?

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Even the U.S. mortgage crisis won't muzzle the NAACP.

It's not looking for damages...it just wants the problem fixed.

So says NAACP CEO Benjamin Jealous. With the mortgage debacle in the thick of our country's economic crisis, one would think the two most important issues to address are 1) go after the lending companies who approved mortgages to people who shouldn't received them, and 2) go after the people who had no business applying for and getting said mortgages but did so anyway because they're greedy dumb asses.

But the NAACP doesn't care about that. Under subprime lending, people who don't qualify for lower interest rates can borrow money at higher rates. The NAACP is arguing that the companies gave subprime rates to African-Americans who qualified for better rates and gave better rates to white customers with similar credit histories.

Which is discriminatory, I agree. So go after the blacks and whites who had no business applying for a mortgage because they're greedy assholes and go after the lending institutions who approved the mortgages. Let everything settle down and get back to normal. THEN address the discriminatory bank practices. Why can't the NAADUMBASS just forget about "race issues" until we get everything straightened out? Geezus Christ.

And change the name of your organization already. "NAACP" offends me.

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"Stitches"...sans pain.

I talked about this show a couple days ago. I wanted the pain. I wanted the shock. Nothing. Not that the material wasn't shocking - a woman sewing up her vagina, abusive relationships, masturbating to nude pictures of Jewish women in concentration camps certainly qualify as shock value in my book. But I did some research about the play so it wasn't like I was caught off guard. I don't think I would've been shocked anyway.

Had fun with my friend Marisa though. I'm seeing her again in "Burn This" tonight in Santa Monica...which, honestly, was a better show than "Stitches". Meital Dohan, the female lead in "Stitches", is an apt actress, but she has a thick, Israeli accent and you can't help but miss some of the nuances in the dialogue. The Moor children murders in Britain that offended the world? Marisa missed the reference. I barely heard it only because I knew about it.

Oh - the reference to the concentration camp victims...totally lost in the play as it was the last line the male lead says as lights fade to black. Had it been part of an actual dialogue between the two characters it would have been more forceful. To that end, I can't figure out WHY it was so offensive to people - you barely noticed it.

After the show we talked to the male lead while waiting for Meital to come out (Marisa had done a radio interview earlier in the day with Meital.). Marisa and I sat in the theater and talked about relationships and how complicated they can be - why people stay with people they shouldn't. Good times.

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TGIF! presents...The Beatles' "Real Love"!

For John, Paul, George and Ringo. And Nick and Donovan & Maria.

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A boy and his dog.

My brother Jason and Molly.

"How had he forgotten that in the months after his father's death, she (his dog, Almondine) alone could console him, nosing him precisely the instant to break some spiral of despair? How had he forgotten that some day she'd saved him simply by leaning against him?"
- from "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle"

I'm reading this book and I was struck by this passage. It's about a deaf boy and his dogs in Northern Wisconsin in the early 1970's. If you own (or owned) a dog, I'm sure you'll be struck as well.

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Ed Cotter's Obit In "Variety".

Not as morbid as you might think, really. When you make the "obit" section in Variety, shows you were somebody. 'Course, Ed was "somebody" when he didn't appear in the obit section, so...

Here's the post I did on Ed a few weeks ago. I was the "Narrator" in the musical Ed directed, "Blood Brothers". Great show. And a great director.

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Bye, bye, Mr. Clownshoes. Bend over and say, "Be gentle."

Bernard Madoff, who scammed clients out of over $50 billion in his "ponzi scheme", pled quilty today in a New York U.S. District Court. Wanna read what he had to say? I didn't care either, but it's interesting to get into the mind of a criminal and gain insight his rationale for what he did.

Madoff is 70. He could get up to 150 years for the 11 criminal counts. So it's safe to say he's in jail for the rest of his life. I hope it was worth it, Clown. And I hope you get gang raped in prison. Repeatedly.

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"The Fern Pool".

My father, brother, Uncle Fran and I hunt and fish with Bruce and Dave Hranicka. Dave grew up with my Uncle Fran and has known Jas and I since we were kids. The "Hern's" are family. Our annual walleye fishing trip on the Rainbow Flowage takes place on Dave's property in Lake Tomahawk, WI. Good times, friends. Good times.

Anyway, Bruce and Jason used to shoot trap quite often in Wisconsin with a guy from Madison named Kurt Helker, who, unbenounced to me, wrote a fishing column for the magazine, Wisconsin Outdoor Journal. Bruce forwarded me Kurt's new blog, Errant Casts and Other Inkblots - and a story Kurt wrote a couple years ago called, The Fern Pool, originally published in Outdoor World Magazine (now defunct.)

It's one of the best short pieces I've read in a while. Riveting. You should read it. And you don't have to have an appreciation for fishing or the outdoors to appreciate this story.

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Obama's merit program has no merit with teacher's union. Duhhhh.

No shit. Saw this on the front page of today's Los Angeles Times. The teacher's union is nothing but a mafia-esque group of pigs who do nothing but keep tenured, ineffective teachers in classrooms while laying off thousands of young teachers who might possibly perform their teaching tasks more effectively. Teachers getting paid on "merit"?? Egad! Guess it's too much to ask that the teachers of "America's future" conduct themselves in anything less than a "meritorious" manner when it concerns their students.

Take, for instance, New York. You wanna talk about a fucked up school system? New York keeps "ineffective" and "questionable" teachers who are in the midst of disciplinary actions sequestered in hidden "rubber rooms"...collecting full paychecks while doing nothing. NOTHING. And no one seems to want to discuss and address this issue. More on "rubber rooms" in a later post.

The Los Angeles school board recently voted to send notices of impending layoffs to more than 8,800 teachers and other employees, adding to the 20,000 teacher pink slips already issued. Incidentally, according to a November 19, 2008 USA Today article, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked the United States 18th among 36 nations in secondary education, South Korea ranked 1st, with 93% of high school students graduate on time compared with the 75% in the U.S. And it's a downward trend for us.

Perhaps the teacher's union should find its own "rubber room" to hide in, eh?

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Everyone listen to what Supermodel Gisele has to say about marriage!

MSN is running this on their homepage. Gisele's been married to Patriots' QB Tom Brady for less than 2 months. Why would anyone give a rat's ass when it concerns her "thoughts" on marriage?

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Banned in Malta, it's "Stitching's" turn to shock me.

“Superb, often disturbing."
- The New Yorker

Kenneth Jones wrote in Playbill (5/16/08), ' "Stitching" follows the increasingly disturbing and inventive games the couple plays in order to connect. As they circle and test each other, they role-play with reality and fantasy to the point where even they don't seem sure what is real anymore.'

He also said "Stitching" 'would make Edward Albee's characters sit up and take notice'. That's "George" and "Martha" from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". You know the play, right?

Going to see "Stitching: A Twisted Love Story" tomorrow evening with my friend, Marisa. Looking forward to a rousing night of theater.

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Nickelodean's nominee for "favorite singer/alleged girl-puncher"...Chris Brown!

March 10, 2009, 11:19 AM EST - NEW YORK (AP) -- Nickelodeon says it has no plans to remove Chris Brown as a nominee for its annual Kids' Choice Awards, despite the singer's felony charges for allegedly beating up his girlfriend, Rihanna.

March 11, 2009 - Chris Brown takes his OWN NAME off the Nickelodeon nomination list.

I was ready to post on this yesterday but never got around to it. I was going to place a link in this post showing my "Got Milk" parody of Chris Brown. But I won't. You can find it on my blog on your own. And the reason I'm wussing out is I give Brown props for being a man, taking the initiative and removing his name himself.

On the other hand, the thrust of my original post was to rake Nickelodean over the coals for not removing Brown's name initially. 2,000+ signatures on a petition to get Brown off the show was being circulated. Shame on you, Nick.

The awards are scheduled for March 28. I will boycott them (wasn't planning to watch them anyway).

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Danny Gokey. Early Idol favorite to win.

I don't watch American Idol anymore. Haven't for a quite a few years. Love Simon. Randy's cool. Paula's a nutjob. And Ryan Seacrest is begging to be popped in the face. But if I were to put money on this year's winner, I'd go with Danny Gokey. Who just so happens to be from my home state of Wisconsin. I haven't seen the other contestants; this is the only song I've seen Danny sing; it's very early in the competition. But my gut is 95% accurate and it's telling me HE'S your winner.

I have to say that some of this is based on the reviews posted by my friend, Tony Clements, who blogs at "tuedays". You want Idol recaps - go to Tony's blog.

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A library that is F#%$KING AWESOME!! Shhhhhh!!

If you like to read or you like books or you like libraries, then you MUST read this post at The Avid Penguin. From there, click on the link "the Penguin" proves in his post.

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8,500 reasons to "Oink, oink". Obama approves $410 billion spending bill.

I won't get into a debate on whether or not President Obama should or shouldn't have approved this bill WITH its 8,500 earmarks ("pork", "bullshit"). I wanna discuss some of the specific earmarks for a minute...just to show you what a bunch of dumb asses we've got representing "our" interests in Washington.

A solar highway in Oregon? A pleasure taxi service in Connecticut? What about that Mormon cricket control in Utah? The study of pig odor?

According to the Western Regional Climate Center, Eugene, OR has 75 clear days, Portland has 68 and Salem has 77. So good luck with your solar fucking highway. Mormon cricket control? Buy a can of Raid and/or listen to the crickets...their chirping can be pleasant. The $1.7 million to study pig odor in Iowa? I lived in Cedar Rapids for 5 1/2 years. Can't be anything worse than the smell of Quaker Oats downtown. And by the way - pig odor smells like...shit. Moving on, the taxi service I found, courtesy of the Connecticut Post, is Congressman Jim Himes' (D), effort to provide access to waterfront for children of the poorest neighborhood in Connecticut's poorest city. The bridge that linked the beach to Bridgeport and Stratford burned down in 2006 and it would cost around $30 million to repair or replace. So what? Take a plastic pool and fill it up with water. Run through a sprinkler. It's what my brother and I did when we couldn't make it to a nearby lake. Asshole.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D), California, stated, “I want to help my state, otherwise why do I come here?” Not sure what Feinstein earmarked (I'm sure she did), but she needs to just shut the fuck up. First of all, that's a stupid comment. Secondly, are Connecticut's constituents in favor of Himes' pleasure water ride proposal? Were they even asked? Same could be said for most of the pork your elected officials have proposed to "help" your state. These expenditures would be questioned if our economy was on a rebound, for Christ's sake.

(My personal earmark's for the next year: Change my current living arrangements, get my WC check from Fireman's fund, get out of CA and have one of my full-length plays produced. Will the federal government do anything to help me get MY pork?)

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According to the Vatican...

...the washing machine has done more for women than the pill.

Huh. Is this what the Vatican's referring to?

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CA Dems Boxer and Feinstein vote against E-Verify. Dumb Bitches.

Sorry - my roommate's dog was ripping apart a doggy bed.

Live Election Tracking

Updated Tuesday, March 10, 2009 8:57 PM

Last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions proposed that his E-Verify Amendment (#604, read this post to find out more about E-Verify) be added to the Omnibus Appropriations bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kept the amendment off the bill, but was unable to secure enough votes to end debate and was forced to hold a roll call vote on Sessions' amendment. But in one more twist, Sen. Patrick Leahy motioned to table the amendment during the two-minute debate prior to Tuesday's vote, and the motion passed by a margin of 50-47.

Votes to Table Amendment #604

A "Yes" vote to table Amendment #604 is a vote against the extension of E-Verify for 5 years. Senators Boxer and Feinstein (CA-Dems) were among the "yes" votes. (Incidentally both Wisconsin senators (Dems) Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl vote "yes" as well.

I'm embarrassed for us all. E-Verify is a voluntary electronic system to verify employees' immigration status, and thus their right to a job. Even President Obama has called for it to become the law of the land as part of a comprehensive immigration overhaul.

This is what I think should be done with Boxer, Feinstein - might as well throw Nancy Pelosi in there, too. (I'll get to her in the next day or two with an interesting update on her "marsh mouse".)

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2nd American Revolution? Sign me up!

Do yourself a favor. PAUSE my jukebox at the top of the page. Every American citizen should watch this. You may laugh at first - but don't. Spend 6 1/2 minutes and become educated. And do something NOW!

SPEAK OUT! Rhetoric isn't just for liberals and Democrats. We ALL have a voice in what happens to our country. Our elected officials aren't representing your voice so it's time you speak out on your own. Call this Congressional number: 1-866-340-9281. It's free and you'll be put in touch with your state's officials in Washington. Tell them it's time they do their jobs and represent the MAJORITY - not the minority!

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"The L Word" series finale? Lez than fulfilling. Whoo!

I know - it's just a television show.

So was MASH, Seinfeld and The Sopranos. Seems "The L Word" creator Ilene Chaiken has pissed off millions of faithful viewers of her popular Showtime drama that made lipstick lesbians in West Hollywood chic for six seasons. And I don't blame them. The viewers, that is.

I missed Seasons 3 & 4 (I think...the whole Dana cancer storyline) because I didn't have Showtime, which sucked because Dana was my favorite character. The series finale was built up to monumental status..."Who Killed Jenny Schecter?" You were made privy to the fact that she died in the first episode and the rest of the season was devoted to "flashbacking" the events that lead up to Jenny's death.

The problem is that in last night's series finale, the question, "Who Killed Jenny Schecter?" was never answered with any finality. Quite frankly, all the characters had a motive to kill Jenny. I had a motive...Jenny was a bitch and I wanted her dead since last season. (The character turn that Jenny took was too sudden and unbelievable for me. I blame the writers for that.)

Everyone has their own theory on what happened, but no one really knows for certain. I, for one, think Jenny committed suicide. It was really the only honorable thing left for the bitch to do. And I don't think any of the other lesbians are "killers" in the purest sense of the word. The only for-sure clues the audience is given are the following:

1) Bette was the last person the audience SAW with Jenny - ripping her a new one on the stair landing where the railing was yet unfinished. This was during the day.

2) Alice was the one who entered the living room announcing Jenny was dead (floating in the pool). Where she was just prior to that we don't know. All the main characters were present in that room. There was no indication how long Jenny had been in the pool and it was evening out. Oddly, Chaiken's new pitch, "The Farm", is about straight women and lesbians in prison and the lead character is Alice. Why is Alice in prison? Could it be that in "The Farm" we'll find out she killed Jenny? Chaiken said that premise would not necessarily be the correct one. Odd.

3) Alice's girlfriend, Tasha, enters after Jenny's body has been shipped off to the morgue and the cast is sitting around in shock with the police.

4) Nikki (the actress) is found in the bushes near the pool by police. No - it's not even clear cut that she did it. She was on her way to the party, saw the cop commotion and hid. That's what she said anyway.

5) There's talk of an "L Word" movie, which may be another reason why the series (and the who murdered Jenny) were not wrapped up so tightly.

Here's the problem I have with taking a cop-out approach. On SheWired.com, Chaiken was asked why was Jenny Schecter killed at all? And Chaiken said, "I think the entire season is dedicated to answering that question. So I think that I would be doing the show a disservice if I were to answer it. I mean, really you're meant to want to know the answer to that throughout the entire season."

And yet, we didn't get the answer. I don't understand why writers and producers feel the need to be cute and mysterious? I don't mind "twist" endings (as a playwright) - at least there's some finality. I think it comes down to selfishness (creators) and greed ("The L Word" movie). It's akin to a guy manipulating marionettes - or puppets. Control and power - there's your answer. 'I created this series and I can end it anyway I see fit'. Chaiken even admitted on camera that had she known the public outcry over Dana's death would be so deafening she may have rethought that plotline. During the one-hour special leading up to the series finale, Jennifer Beals (Bette) and Laurel Holloman (Tina) were lauding the viewers about how that without "our" support the show would not have been possible.

Considering her "questioning" Dana's death, why then did Chaiken give all of "us" who helped keep "The L Word" alive such a bullshit finale, one she had to know would piss her core viewers off?

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My Old Spice ain't good enough for GQ?

According to the March issue of GQ, my Old Spice reads too much of "Dad". Well, my father uses Old Spice - has forever, and my brother and I both use it (among other colognes Jas uses). Matter of fact, Santa brings it to us every year at Christmas, Guaranteed.

My Old Spice. And I've never received any complaints from the ladies.

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3 Fresh Blooms in Tujunga.

Pansy.

Some other flower.

And another "flower" - my god daughter, Gwyneth McCann Glover!

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Still locked out of Facebook! Damn them!

Tried changing my email on Facebook yesterday, following all their instructions to a tee. However, my password didn't work and now I'm locked out of my Facebook account.

Amazing how you miss something when you don't have it. I'm always the last to jump on the bandwagon regarding anything technology-related. Last to get a CD player. And a DVD player. Last to get TIVO. Last to get a cell phone. Scoffed at Facebook but signed up anyway so I could keep in touch with theater friends in Iowa and my cousins.

I WANT MY FACEBOOK!!!

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