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The Guest More from Seattle Diane's fridge: Diane loves cats; she has a lot of cat magnets.
Someone suggested I add a discussion board, so I have. If you have anything to discuss, go to this link. Feel free to start a new discussion on anything. I'm gone--but you guys chat amongst yourselves, please! WHAT I'M READING... also
WHAT I'M WATCHING... Nothing...working tonight That's it for today!
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OH TO BE IN ENGLAND.... 5 May 2001 ...which is where we are headed. In just a few hours. Today has been a roller coaster of activity for someone who hasn’t even begun to do any planning at all for this trip until today. I didn’t want to rush things. First, I had all that work to finish up (didn’t quite finish, but made a sizeable dent; the docs will have to use their fill-in transcriptionists to finish it all). Then there was getting things ready for Ned and Marta to move in to take care of the house, the dog, the mail, the newspapers, and keep the dust bunnies corralled while we are gone. And stocking the larder with dog food for Kimba. I also had to run the new computer back to the repair shop to see if they can fix the CD burner while we’re gone. I talked them into looking at it without my having to pay an up front fee. I’m not completely certain that the problem is as a result of something they did, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it, if it will save me a diagnostic fee. The trickiest part was figuring out what to pack. Walt is taking a large suitcase, a carry on and his bum bag (we call ‘em fanny packs, but Peggy got me used to using the Australian term). Mike and Char are just doing carry ons and backpack. I’m managed to get everything into two carry-ons (one of which I’ll check), my camera bag and my very large purse (and the bum bag, of course). My carry on is actually quite large, and if I don’t spill a lot of stuff on myself, necessitating lots of laundry, I should be OK. Black pants are very versatile. In the middle of this, I got email from David Gerrold, who told me his new book, "Bouncing Off the Moon" (the sequel to "Jumping Off the Planet," in which I appear briefly on page 272 et seq. as one of the characters), was now in bookstores and I should get a copy to take with me on the plane. Ever obedient, I ran down to Borders, found the last copy, and bought it. Just what I need--a hardback to carry. I also got to the supermarket for dog food for Kimba and taco fixings for us so we can commemorate Cinco de Mayo tonight before we leave the country. I even remembered to go to most of the Yahoo groups that I belong to and switch them to "read on the web" so if I do get to pick up yahoo mail, I won’t get a flood--just personal stuff and the usual spam. This is entirely too organized for me! At this time tomorrow night, we’ll be on an airplane headed toward London and off on another adventure. I’ve set up a journal page in case I am able to write something about our boating experiences, and another page for our week in London, but right now they are just shells, with a few pictures, awaiting my finding a cyber cafe. So keep checking back. I’m sure I’ll be writing something eventually. One of the fun things that has me chuckling as we prepare to leave town is a wonderful editorial by the entertainment editor of the paper. This is a pretty small town and the local theatre scene is sometimes ridiculous. There has been a firestorm regarding the recent review of West Side Story. The reviewer made the mistake of mentioning to the director at intermission that the production seemed under-rehearsed. He said "well, we only had 3 weeks to rehearse." (Three weeks? For West Side Story???? For a community theatre that’s not very good to begin with???) Before the review ran, the costume designer called the editor of the paper, and then the entertainment editor, to get the review quashed. When the entertainment editor suggested she wait until the review was printed before she got upset, she told him "you’re just as unpleasant as you’ve always been." She hadn't even read the review yet. After the review ran. there were several letters attacking the reviewer, both for her review, and in one case the reviewer personally. (One letter even attacked me for my negative review of Tommy.) Finally the entertainment editor got mad. He has been putting up with this kind of shit from people who are part of this theatre company for years now. He finally wrote what amounts to about a half page editorial blasting this particular company specifically. I wish Paul were here. He'd love it. He and the producer of the company were often at odds, because Paul managed the theatre where they perform and they were at loggerheads most of the time. The editorial pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. It specifically refers to the producer/director’s ridiculous "under-rehearsed" excuse and points out how much money patrons are paying to see what the director himself agrees is an under-rehearsed show. I remember before I became a critic. A negative review had been published, and someone who was in the production wrote a whining letter to the editor saying that it was "unfair" for a critic to come to opening night when the show "wasn’t ready yet." I answered that letter with my own letter to the editor pointing out that since they don’t give discounted tickets for opening night patrons, they had darn well better be "ready" on opening night. Tonight’s editorial talked about the other community theatres in this area (there are several--at least four, and possibly more), who put sufficient rehearsal time (months in some cases) in on a production and don't whine when they get bad reviews. The editorial is going to ruffle a lot of feathers that have been needing ruffling for a very long time. I'm really sorry I'm not going to be here to read the letters to the editor next week! But I’m going off to England giggling. Are you an organized traveler? Or do
you put things off till the last minute, like I do? One
Year Ago: and I'm
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Some pictures from this
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Created 5/3/01 by Bev Sykes |