A Pot Pourri of Bloggery...

Ack. I have so much to blog about and apparently no time to do it. So, I figure I do a mish-mash of an entry that gives at least the major updates.

1. Estrogenious 2008 opens tomorrow! "My" week is October 8-11, but the whole festival is awesome. Come check it out!

2. Also check out [title of show]. It's fun, it's clever, it's original, it's on Broadway, AND it had its very first workshop production at Manhattan Theatre Source. So these folks have trod the boards in the very same place the work of yours truly has been staged. Heady stuff. I've seen it twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times and I just read that it's CLOSING OCTOBER 12TH, so hurry up and see it before it's gone!

3. Since January 2008, I have been a member of Manhattan Theatre Source's Writers' Forum. What started out as a handful of Source "regulars," has grown into a group of 30 writers, ranging from those just starting out as playwrights to award-winning and nominated writers such as Joan Tewkesbury (screenwriter of the Oscar-nominated film Nashville) and Joe Pintauro (Snow Orchid, The Dead Boy).

This past year, we were able to get the Forum on its feet via regularly weekly meetings and to launch our accompanying Saturday Reading Series.

Now we're ready to take things to the next level. The Forum members have chipped in to "buy" a month's production time at the Source to mount several PlayGround Development Series and full Mainstage Productions. What's especially exciting about this is that we've decided to do this as a collective, with the Forum serving not just as the writers, but as the producers, supporting each other as we get our works on their feet.

It's an exciting opportunity. But we need help. Although we raised the $8,000 deposit in under a week (while the economy was crashing, no less--yay us!), we still need to raise the additional rental and production costs. So, if you're feeling philanthropic...ANY amount is appreciated. And don't forget that the Source is a 501(c)3 organization, so your donation will be tax-deductible. You can make your check payable to "Manhattan Theatre Source" and send it to 177 MacDougal Street, NY, NY 10011, Attn: Jim Lawson (just include a note that it's for the January festival). Or, if you prefer, you can donate via credit card at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/store/931. (If you donate via cc, I'd love it if you could shoot me a note.)

4. Mini Cult Update - Lost 3 lbs this week. LOVING the Core Plan.

Ok, that's all I can think of right now.

The Real Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives

Yes, this is another TED talk. I watched it about a week ago and it really stuck with me.

I think it's a particularly interesting lens through which to watch all this election stuff...

Shameless Self-Promotion: Estrogenius 2008

Ok, folks, it's that time of year again...Here are the details for "my" week of Estrogenius.

The full festival schedule is available at http://www.estrogenius.org/estro.html



estrogenius festival 2oo8

presentsWeek 2 Short Plays

October 8-11, 2008

The Estrogenius Festival, one of New York City’s largest women’s arts festival, kicks off its ninth annual season October 1. Running through November 1 at Manhattan Theatre Source (177 MacDougal Street), the festival presents a diverse array of short plays, solo shows, dance, visual art, music, performances by teens and a benefit for girls’ education in Africa.



The ninth annual EstroGenius Festival is anchored by four programs of short plays. Program Two includes:


YOG SOTHOTH by Lia Romeo, directed by Meg Sturiano

Starring: Libby Collins*, Joe DiSalle*, Angela Funk, Stephen Alan Wilson*



FOREIGN POLICY by JJ Hunt, directed by Nichole Donje

Starring: Katherine Alt Keener*, Mami Kimura & Joy Seligsohn



MADRIGAL IN BLACK & WHITE by Patricia Montley, directed by Jessica McVea

Starring: Simone Harrison*, Corey Ann Haydu, Dana Monagan & Laurie Schroeder*



THE PERFECT PLAN by John McKinney, directed by Norah Turnham

Starring: William Allgood & Amelia Campbell



WAFFLES by Martha Garvey, directed by Angela Astle

Starring: Meg Loftus & Michael Wolfe*



Performance Dates: October 8 – 11, Wednesday through Friday at 8pm & Saturday at 3pm & 7pm

Tickets are $18 at www.theatresource.com or (212) 352-3101. For more information, visit www.estrogenius.org.



Co-Executive Producers: Tegan Meyer & Lanie Zipoy

Program 2 Producer: Jennifer Thatcher

Program 2 Asst. Producer: Helene Galek

Lighting Design: Kia Rogers

Sound Design: Joe Brent

Costume Design: Nicky Smith

*denotes a member of AEA. An Equity-approved showcase

Cult Update

Ok, loyal readers, it's been awhile, but I finally have something to report.

I do WW @ Work, which means I pay my membership fee in multi-month chunks. Today, I signed up for my 3rd "session" and have decided it should be my last (or, at least, the last one I pay for).

So, I've set my goal weight! It is 6.6 pounds below where I am today. Once I reach it, my total weight loss in the cult will be 21.8 lbs.

The way the cult works is that, once you reach and maintain your goal weight (within 2lbs) for 6 weeks, you become a lifetime member and can attend meetings/weigh-ins for free.

And for those of you dying for even more details, I've decided to switch from the Flex Plan to the Core Plan. The basic difference is that on the Flex Plan you track everything you eat and try to stay within your daily and weekly points allowance. On the Core Plan, you don't need to track anything that's on the WW "core foods" list, but you use your bonus points for anything that's not. Since my main problem over the past few months has been not tracking, I think this might be the way to get my weight loss rolling again.

And, of course, I've been poring over the Core Foods list and am actually excited by some of the things that are on it. For example, my world-famous pasta fagioli--which I haven't made in awhile because the flex point value is a little high--is comprised entirely of Core Foods. Yay!

I "Heart" Aaron Sorkin

Thanks to Abby for sending this my way.

Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet

A Little Levity for Thursday

The Onion explains how Disney grows their child stars...Really hilarious. Watch all the way through.


Disney Lab Unveils Its Latest Line Of Genetically Engineered Child Stars

Thanks to Laughing at the Pieces for finding it.

Post-Treatment Stages of Emotional Health

This was posted by a someone on the YSC boards the other day and I thought it was worth sharing. I'm not sure if I've gone through these in this precise order, but most of them resonate.

Stage 1 after treatment: What do you mean there is nothing else I can do? Let me do more chemo. I'm never going to eat sugar again and I'll eat flax seeds everyday. I've got to raise $10,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and ride my bike 200 miles in 4 days to help people with cancer.

Stage 2 after treatment: Shouldn't I feel happy? I'll cry at my post chemo party if I want to.

Stage 3 after treatment: I feel agitated and annoyed at everything and nothing. You mean that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not just for soldiers? Lack of sleep is not helping anything.

Stage 4 after treatment: I'm pulling out all my retirement money and doing whatever in the hell I want. I envy the mundane problems of everyday life but have very little patience when it comes to listening about them. No tolerance for bullshit and shitty family and friends.

Stage 5 after treatment: I have all the symptoms on the internet. I just know my cancer is back. If the cancer is not back, why do I feel this way? Am I a hypochondriac?

Stage 6 after treatment: Is there pink everywhere? I hate pink. Cancer follows me everywhere. I wish people would quit asking if my hair is naturally curly ..... no it's unnaturally (there is nothing natural about chemo) curly and it currently looks like a sheep's ass.

Stage 7 after treatment: I just need to get away from all this cancer stuff. Did all that stuff really happen to me? Maybe if I stay off the boards and stay busy I'll "get over it" faster. See ya everyone .... I'll be at Target.

Stage 8: The person looking back in the mirror looks and feels very different. I don't think things will ever be the same. The "old me" is never coming back (sniffle). How come everyone else doesn't realize it and why do they keep saying that I am back to normal?

Just Say No...to Palin

Passing this along...

Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce, the act of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become
the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably
benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here < womensaynopalin@gmail.com
> with a succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation. Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience. The greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.
*VIVA!*
Sincerely,

Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York , NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

*PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!* If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously.
Stranger things have happened.

The End of the World As We Know It?

In case you haven't heard, the world may be ending this week. And, no, it has nothing to do with the anniversary of 9/11, the Middle East, or terrorists.

The source of the potential cataclysm--as the source of so many cataclysms often is (i.e., the atom bomb, weapons of mass destruction, etc.)--is Science. In this case, it's the "Large Hadron Collider," a device built by physicists and engineers to smash particles together and see what'll happen.

At best, they'll learn more about the universe and particle physics.

At worst, they'll create a black hole that will swallow the earth.

I would be a remiss blogger (to say the least), if I let this go by without doing my bit to educate y'all.

So here goes.

In answer to the obvious question--what the heck IS a particle collider?--I recommend this TED talk:


For a lighter view of what it's supposed to do, I recommend the Large Hadron Collider Rap:


And, finally, for the layperson's perspective, I give you Gail Collins: Digging Ourselves a Black Hole

Keep your fingers crossed people.

Nailing Down the Palin Constituency

My friend SharonGR has posited that Palin was chosen because the GOP think that former Hillary supporters vote based on "the vagina content of their candidates."

When I told another, non-blogging* friend this, she said she was more concerned about "the Viagra vote."

So, dear readers, which is it: Vaginas or Viagra?


Oh, and if you have time, check this out: One Thing in Palin's Favor

*(ack! can there be such a thing?)

Did You Know?

Freakin' fascinating:

Happy Mon--I Mean, Happy Tuesday!

http://www.davidbessler.com/pulldown/pipecleaner_dance3.swf