Finally, I have decided on a show:

Pride and Prejudice

(For those that don't care much about the goings-on of my theatre group, you are free to skip the rest of this entry.)

So...why did I pick this particular show? A "girly" show from an author I've never read, and a book that's been turned into countless film adaptations?

I spent most of today going through all of the shows I've done for Limelight over the past six years, and I kept going back to Little Women, of all shows. Time and again I've felt that that show was one of my favorite shows to do, for many reasons. And as I went through my list of possible shows I could choose to do this summer, Pride and Prejudice just felt right to me.

I'm always attracted to stories with strong female characters, especially those that appear during period pieces where women's rights weren't all that great. I suppose that's why I like Little Women: Jo March always seemed a 20th Century woman unfortunately born during the wrong time. And while I don't really read chick lit, I am smart enough to know a good story when I see one, regardless of whether or not it's considered to be manly or not.

So maybe Elizabeth Bennet will be the same type of character as Jo March: intelligent, and unwilling to live within the rules of her society. Or so I've read. I'm no Austen expert, but I hadn't read any Alcott before doing Little Women four years ago, and that show turned out pretty well.

There are other, more practical reasons to do P&P as well: it has a lot of female characters, which is always necessary in my business; and it is somewhat "known", which helps when trying to get people to come see your show.

I'm not deterred that there was a recent film adaptation of said show; in fact, I think it will only help, since it gives the actors and the audience something to use as "background" material before experiencing the show. After searching around, I discovered there are countless theatrical groups around the world that are doing P&P this year, undeterred by Kiera Knightley's take on Ms. Bennet.

And it's not like it was one of those shows that everyone saw and entered the public consciousness; this was why we didn't do Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last summer.

Plus, it's English, and it's historical, and these are things that interest me, and I have to do a show that interests me, or else there's no point showing up.

Ultimately, Pride and Prejudice feels like a show I would have done a few years ago, and I want to get back to that type of show I used to do. I spent a couple of hours writing down detailed reflections on every show I have done for Limelight since it started, and I came to the conclusion that the past couple of years have been inconsistent and not as much fun as it was a few years ago. There have been good shows, and good moments, but I've pretty much been on auto-pilot lately, and it's high time I turn that off and let myself steer the ship again.

So, for all you Limelighters out there that read this thing, let the debate and chit-chat begin. Do the show, don't do the show, it's entirely up to you. I'll hopefully see you at the big meeting on the 18th and we'll get ready to do this whole thing we do once again.

Take Your Daughter to the Revolution Day

Allison over at The Fencepost recently protested against the circus coming to town (caged animals and whatnot) and lamented the effectiveness of public protests these days. Case in point: all those worldwide protests that occurred during the buildup to the Iraq War didn't do a heck of a lot of good, did they?

The government and the police forces of the U.S. have done a thorough job of sanitizing and neutering the once-powerful force of public protest by, among other moves, creating the "free speech zone", a secure area where protesters can wave their signs, shout their slogans, and even do a cage dance if the mood strikes them. The movement gets to make its statement, and the right to peaceful Assembly is being honored, but when it's kept so far away from those who need to hear the message the most, it's pretty much radical masturbation. You're doing it just to do it, but no one else is getting anything good from it.

That's why I tip my hat to the the thousands upon thousands of Mexican immigrants (legal and illegal) who are planning a huge work stoppage and mass public protest on May 1st. They plan to take a day off of work to clog the streets of America's largest cities to get as many people as possible to notice them and to hear their concerns.

Many businesses are closing down for the day or are allowing their workers to participate in the protest without penalty, which is wonderful, and allows a very necessary component of this protest to happen: The Day Without a Mexican.

It's one thing to see a lot of Mexican immigrants waving flags and banners and demanding recognition in the streets of Los Angeles and Chicago, but it's another thing when it's your neighbors, people you work with, or students you teach.

I think the American people need to see those empty desks or absent workers in order to see the "illegals" as they truly are: members of our society who deserve to have their voices heard.

A great change is coming our way, and the face and the idea of What America Is is about to be put to the test once again. And it's exciting, and scary, and wonderful all at the same time. This is one of those rare opportunities for the President and for Congress to do the right thing and to remember what our country is really all about: the granting of the greatest number of freedoms to the greatest number of people. Time and again people forget that and start thinking that "America" is this rock-solid Anglo-Christian bedrock that shouldn't be messed around with, lest our "values" become corrupted.

So I hope that next Monday, on May Day, on Loyalty Day, the streets fill with students and gardeners and teachers and lawyers and secretaries and factory workers and farmers, that the streets fill with Americans and those that wish to be Americans. And I hope that the Powers that Be don't fall prey to election-year scare tactics and realize that they have the ability to do the greatest good for a great number of people.

Director Wes Anderson reunites with Jason Schwartzman in an American Express commerical he directed:

Anderson is of course my favorite director of the past ten years, and his current project is The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a Roald Dahl book that I have not read. I think it's about a fox. And I think I remember Diana saying she enjoyed it.

By the way, YouTube is the Greatest Thing Ever. You can find practically anything on it.

From the fine folks at Cubs.com comes this story, and an interesting dilemma when thinking about protesters and their right to protest. Whom do you find more heroic in this scenario? For all my anti-war sentiments and belief in freedom of expression, I gotta say, my hat's off to Rick Monday on this one:

Monday's act heroic after 30 years

Outfielder recalls protecting country's honor from protesters

By Ben Platt / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- It was 1976, a fun year for America. It was the country's bicentennial, the war in Vietnam had ended a year earlier and everyone really wanted to put all the problems from the 1960s, Watergate and Vietnam behind them and just enjoy the country's yearlong 200th birthday party.
On April 25, the Chicago Cubs were visiting Dodger Stadium for a three-game series. Playing center field for the Cubs was Rick Monday, the first player taken in the amateur draft that was created 11 years earlier. Monday was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., so playing in front of his friends and family was always special to him. On this day, fate would hand Monday a moment that people still talk about with reverence 30 years later. Monday recounts the moment in his own words.

"In between the top and bottom of the fourth inning, I was just getting loose in the outfield, throwing the ball back and forth. Jose Cardenal was in left field and I was in center. I don't know if I heard the crowd first or saw the guys first, but two people ran on the field. After a number of years of playing, when someone comes on the field, you don't know what's going to happen. Is it because they had too much to drink? Is it because they're trying to win a bet? Is it because they don't like you or do they have a message that they're trying to present?

"When these two guys ran on the field, something wasn't right. And it wasn't right from the standpoint that one of them had something cradled under his arm. It turned out to be an American flag. They came from the left-field corner, went past Cardenal to shallow left-center field.

"That's when I saw the flag. They unfurled it as if it was a picnic blanket. They knelt beside it, not to pay homage but to harm it as one of the guys was pulling out of his pocket somewhere a big can of lighter fluid. He began to douse it.

"What they were doing was wrong then, in 1976. In my mind, it's wrong now, in 2006. It's the way I was raised. My thoughts were reinforced with my six years in the Marine Corp Reserves. It was also reinforced by a lot of friends who lost their lives protecting the rights and freedoms that flag represented.

"So I started to run after them. To this day, I couldn't tell you what was running through my mind except I was mad, I was angry and it was wrong for a lot of reasons.

"Then the wind blew the first match out. There was hardly ever any wind at Dodger Stadium. The second match was lit, just as I got there. I did think that if I could bowl them over, they can't do what they're trying to do.

"I saw them go and put the match down to the flag. It's soaked in lighter fluid at this time. Well, they can't light it if they don't have it. So I just scooped it up.

"My first thought was, 'Is this on fire?' Well, fortunately, it was not. I continue to run. One of the men threw the can of lighter fluid at me. We found out he was not a prospect. He did not have a good arm. Thank goodness.

"Tommy Lasorda was in his last year as third-base coach before he took over for Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. Tommy ran past me and called these guys every name in the longshoreman's encyclopedia."

"A lot of people don't know this, but he beat me to the flag," recalls Lasorda. "I saw Rick start running over from center field to left. I didn't know what it was, but as soon as I saw him start, I took off and I ran out there, and of course, by that time, Rick had picked up the flag and continued running. When I got there, I see these two guys and I told them, 'Why don't one of you guys take a swing at me?' because there were 50-something thousand people in the ballpark and I only wanted them to swing at me, so I could defend myself and do a job on them."

Monday continued, "Doug Rau, a left-handed pitcher for the Dodgers at the time, came out of the dugout and I handed the flag to him. The two guys were led off the field through the Dodger bullpen.

"After the guys left, there was a buzz in the stands, people being aghast with what had taken place. Without being prompted, and I don't know where it started, but people began to sing 'God Bless America.' When I reflect back upon it now, I still get goose bumps."

The Rest of the story can be found by clicking here.

Today we celebrate Will Shakespeare's birthday, and so I thought I'd talk about theater a bit.

The summer season for Limelight is coming up, and I need to decide what play I want to do.

Well, there's what I want to do, and then there's everything else.

Can't do Shakespeare this summer, because we did Romeo and Juliet last year, and so I have another year to wait before doing another one of his plays. It's a shame, because I could honestly do Shakespeare every year and be quite happy doing it. Unfortunately, no one bothers to come see the Shakespeare shows. I get more people in the seats when I write one of my goofy shows.

And I'm taking a break from writing, mostly because I haven't had any good ideas for a while, and we really don't need another "original" show from me.

Peter Pan has always been on my short list of shows to do, but aside from the fact that the musical department is doing Beauty and the Beast this summer, the cost for the flying effects just isn't in our budget right now. Now that we're using the new auditorium, we can't afford to get too fancy.

I had planned to do M*A*S*H, but after reading the script I just couldn't go through with it. In short, it was really, really bad.

I need to be interested in the show I'm doing, or else I don't want to do it. And I just can't find a show to get passionate about.

I can't wait for school to end and to have a new cast and crew gather together for another summer of rehearsals, set construction, and nervous opening nights.

I just need to find a show.

I have a wonderful community of actors, directors, and parent volunteers, and I want to be able to provide them with a show that will entertain and challenge them. They are the best group of people to work with in the world, and I don't want to disappoint them.

Oh, by the way, I've lost almost 20 pounds, thanks to exercise and healthy eating. I rule.

In Cold Blog

Heard about the Oklahoma dude that killed a ten-year old girl?

Did you know he had a blog as well?

Tony Pierce discussed this at length, and I suggest clicking here and here to read his reports on the matter.

It's sick and it's disturbing as only the murder of a little girl can be, and the fact that the guy was a "blogger" became a strange little milestone in the history of the blog.

We've had average-joe blogs, celebrity blogs, and now we have the murder blog. Days after the arrest, you could still go to his blog and read through his entries.

(Just so you know, I'm not going to print his name nor provide a link to his blog, but you can find it through the other links I've put in this post.)

So now we have the blog-as-artifact, as potential evidence in a murder case. And we have the blogger/murderer, the first(?) of its kind, but sadly, probably not the last.

You know that old Halloween joke? Show up at a party without a costume, and when people ask what you're dressed as, you say: "A serial killer. They look just like you and me."

Well, apparently now they blog just like you and me.

So what does this mean for the online communities that have gathered here, there, and everywhere? How will this change the relationships among a bunch of people that purport to "know" each other, but really only know a version of each other.

I believe in this silly thing called the blogosphere, and consider people like Della and Mark "friends" even though I've never met them.

And as we tell our stories to each other, and put up pictures of ourselves, our friends and family, our vacations and our parties, all in the name of sharing our lives with each other and finding comfort in our connections, we believe that there is a sort of trust that exists between bloggers and readers. That we're all in this together, and we're all a part of this great new thing that is growing every day.

And now it feels like that trust has been chipped away a bit, and this world feels a little bit darker and more dangerous.

Bush won't rule out nuclear strike on Iran

By Edmund Blair
Tue Apr 18, 11:36 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Bush refused on Tuesday to rule out nuclear strikes against Iran if diplomacy fails to curb the Islamic Republic's atomic ambitions.

Iran, which says its nuclear program is purely peaceful, told world powers it would pursue atomic technology, whatever they decide at a meeting in Moscow later in the day.

Bush said in Washington he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities with China's President Hu Jintao this week and avoided ruling out nuclear retaliation if diplomatic efforts fail.

Asked if options included planning for a nuclear strike, Bush replied: "All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so."

Speculation about a U.S. attack has mounted since a report in New Yorker magazine said this month that Washington was mulling the option of using tactical nuclear weapons to knock out Iran's subterranean nuclear sites.

(Full article can be found by clicking the above text.)

When did it come to this?

When did the use of a goddamn nuclear bomb become part of the arsenal of freedom?

Is this just talk? Is President Bush just threatening to use to bomb in order to get Iran to submit to UN/US pressure? Were past presidents part of the class of Threaten-to-Nuke 'em High as well, and I just don't remember?

Or is this just one more thing, along with state-sponsored torture, that our dear President has added to his dirty bag of tricks?

This really can't be happening, right?

Started off Easter weekend by packing a small bag and heading down I-65 to see my sister's family and their new home. After years spent in Texas and Florida they have finally returned to the Midwest.

Lots of time spent with the neices, lots of good food and lots of walking in the sunshine. After a sad start to the week, a wonderful way to end it.

Now that they're back in the area it makes me feel extra-guilty that I'm working towards a move overseas. While it's the thing I want more than anything in the world right now, I just don't see how I could ever have to tell the girls that Uncle Rock (long story) is moving far, far away.

But as Sunday came and the weekend ended and that familiar feeling of work-related dread emerged, the fun times were over and I hopped back into my car and headed north by north-west towards home.

The music blared, and the Indiana fields rolled by at 80 miles an hour, and I pondered the choices before me.

Everyone seems to be wondering where I've been, so I guess an explanation is in order.

My Grandpa John died last Friday morning, and so the last couple of weeks have been spent trying to enjoy the last remaining time he had, and then of course the preparations for the funeral and all that goes with that. We had a lovely service yesterday for him in my old hometown church, and it was a beautiful way to remember the man and his many accomplishments.

John was a student at Bradley University (my alma mater, by the way!) during World War II, one of the few people in the country studying nuclear physics. The government plucked him out of Peoria and put him to work on the top-secret mission known as the Manhattan Project. Yep, he helped build the bomb.

Grandpa John never looked back on his role with regret, believing that more Japanese would have died had we not chosen to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, he traveled around the world promoting the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

This post isn't really about John and the Bomb, and there's not point debating the pros and cons of nuclear energy while we mourn his passing. His government asked him to do a job and he did it, to the best of his ablility. (Though, I do like the irony that I have a grandfather that built Fermilab, one that met Enrico Fermi, and a third that used to take me to Fermilab for fun.)

I only got to know him later in life, after my mom met Dave, and I was lucky enough to have another set of people to call family. He was extraordinarily kind and thoughtful, and cared for his family deeply, and I am glad I was able to call one more person grandpa, even though I mostly just called him John.

A few months ago he and I spent an afternoon driving through the countryside, looking for geese, filling my car with gas, and had a quiet dinner together, where he urged me to find a good woman and marry her. He didn't want to see me grow into an old, lonely man, a situation he found himself in the last two years of his life after the death of his beloved wife Emily.

And so I've spent a lot of time thinking about John's life, and his achievements, and what he leaves behind. The historian in me is of course fascinated by his role in the war effort, and his overseas adventures (he met the Shah of Iran, for crying out loud!), but what I really have been thinking about is his life as a husband, father, and grandfather.

Those are three roles that I am more or less terrified to take on, mostly due to the failings of my own father. "The sins of the father..." and so forth. It's something that you just never really get over, no matter what you do.

So it's amazing to look at someone's life, The Life in Full, and see someone who did it right, and the lessons of fatherhood that he passed on to Dave, who is more of a father to me now than my own "real" father.

And then I think that maybe I'll be okay, that I have had a lot of great "fathers" in my life, and that when the time comes, I'll remember things that Uncle Doug said and did, and things Jim and Bob learned from their dad, and the lessons learned from Dave, and Grandpa John.

Another reason why The Office is the best thing on television right now:

The More You Know

"Never, ever, ever tape yourself having sex."

I found out recently that Ryan the Intern (B.J. Novak) and Kelly the annoying Indian chick (Mindy Kaling) are writers on the show. Novak wrote the great "Diversity Day" episode from season one, and Kaling wrote the one where Michael burns his foot on his George Foreman grill.

Season Two is almost done, and NBC hasn't fucked it up yet. But you know it's coming: the annoying voice-over guy announces the very special episode WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!!! And they beat the whole Pam-Jim will they or won't they???!!!! shit into the ground and our souls get stolen by Big Media once again.

Because of course a show hasn't really Made It until it becomes primarily about two people we want to see Do It. I don't think NBC will greenlight a show unless there are two attractive people who work/live/pal around together, but really just want to have TV sex with each other.

See Cheers, ER, Friends, all those crappy shows about single women living in New York. and of course Law and Order.

Lennie Briscoe had it goin' on for Jill Hennessey.