Acting in a Nutshell

Last night my sister invited me to go with her to the acting workshop/mini class with the co-op I talked about a while ago. It was ever so engaging. They were talking about first read-throughs, and two of the more experienced actresses did a quick read through (with blocking that they came up with) of a scene from 'A Streetcar Named Desire', which they did quite well for a first read-through. After they were done, the teacher/director talked about how their characters related to each other and asked them each what they thought about how the other actresses performance compared to what they were expecting.

It was a real eye-opener for me to see so much fleshed out about a character from simple lines in a single scene combined with observations between the actresses about how their characters related to each other. It was a lot of fun, even though I had to stay up a little later afterwords in order to finish my reading for class tonight.

[In class we went into the dark room and developed prints of our negative sheets. I picked up my negatives from assignment 2 in downtown and barely made it to class on time because the traffic was so bad. The darkroom was a lot of fun. The teacher showed us everything we were not supposed to do and then let us at it. (Added 11/2/08)]

Jp

Saved by St. Comstock!

So I was going the wrong way on Highway 99. I was trying to get to Seattle Center, to drop off my film for professional processing before class last night. Unfortunately, I usually make at least one wrong turn when I'm in downtown Seattle, and somehow I ended up going north on Aurora Ave (99). So I spot this nice side street up ahead which would give me a perfect turn around in time before the highway became an expressway and dumped me off in North Seattle. And it's name: Comstock St.! Okay, I just had to mention it. I had no idea we had a Comstock Street in Seattle... And it's like, 6 foot, 5 inches long as well. LOL

From Broad St, I tried to take Roy all the way west, but you can't tell from this map that Roy is cut off by an impassible Highway 99. One can only turn north on it. Yikes! At least I know where to go when I pick it up before class on Thursday.

The presentation went really well last night. Also, class was fun! We talked about pictorialist photography. And next week is the first of two quizzes for the quarter.

Ah, adventures in downtown!

Jp

Photo Presentation

Mr. Capa preparing to jump into Germany, 1945

As I mentioned earlier, my four-person group in the history portion of class decided to do our presentation on Robert Capa. It's tonight in class, so we're pretty much all prepared. He's most famous for photographing the landing at Normandy. He went in with the First Wave with Company E at Omaha Beach. The lab technician dried the negatives at too high a temperature, causing the image to partially melt. He was in a hurry for the press services.

"The pictures are there, and you just take them." - R. Capa

After taking 11 pictures while on the beach, Mr. Capa left in a landing craft.
"I would say that the war correspondent gets more drinks, more girls, better pay, and greater freedom than the soldier, but at this stage of the game, having the freedom to choose his spot and being allowed to be a coward and not get executed for it, is his torture." -R. Capa

Wow. I could not imagine. As Mr. Ambrose so clearly described in his book D-Day, being with the first wave on Omaha Beach was not very plesant.

Jp

Phillies!!!!

Jamie Moyer won his World Series game!!!! He beat the Rays 5-4 in Game 3. I love that guy!

He became a Seattle Mariner in 1996, right after I started being a more-serious Mariner fan. Over the course of ten years with Seattle, I fell in love with his quiet change-up. I am so glad that he's finally in the Series! He deserves it like no other!!!

What I'm familiar with: What I have to get used to:

Glorious

There's nothing quite like a beautiful fall morning, where the light peach of the sunrise seamlessly blends itself into the pale dark blue of the night over the dark line of fir trees on the opposite ridge of the valley. Ahhhh. It's a beautiful morning!

Jp

This week

Whoa! It's been going by way fast!

I started a project at work, sorting and cleaning the rejected hardware cabinet downstairs. I'd been thinking on and off for both my years of working here, how to fix it, and I just realized lately that it would work to organize it by reject number instead of the mish-mash it was before. It saves time like crazy!

Photography on Tuesday was amazing! The three hour class periods just fly by as if they're 50 minutes. We talked about pictures of the West, including the one about the meeting of the rails in Utah, which I pointed out they just put on the Utah quarter. The teacher dug in her purse and found one, right after I mentioned it. LOL! I love Carla! She's so much fun! We then talked about the beginnings of photography that could capture motion, and it was extremely interesting, with the first study being on horse's movement, and then a rather in depth one of human muscle movement. That got a little wild. They decided they needed to have everyone without clothes in order to fully understand muscle movement. Euuuuu.

Our assignment for the technical side of things was portraits, so I took pictures during lunch breaks of my family during the week. We processed the film on Thursday, and mine turned out just fine after several attempts to load it onto the reel in the dark room. LOL! Gosh it is harder than it sounded! It turned out great though. I got to "agitate" the fixer. In photography that means gently rolling the canister back and forth so it doesn't over-develop parts of the film. My teacher said he had students shaking them over their heads and one girl who smashed it down on the counter (which cracked the counter) in order to "tap" the bubbles off of the film. LOL!

Anyway, I had a ton of fun in classes this week because I love my teachers. They're both very funny and very good at what they do.

I also got my camping gear from eBay this week. I got a brand new ruck sack, pair of shelter halves (commonly referred to as a "pup tent") and sleeping bag for outrageously good prices, compared to surplus stores. They're also much cleaner than the stuff I used in ROTC, so I'm very pleased. :)

The plan is to go camping sometime, probably quite a while from now, as it's cold outside, and do some photography in the woods. It sounds like fun to me. I haven't been camping in quite a long time, and we used to do it so often when I was a little kid. Sigh.

Friday my sister and I went horseback riding again (my horse is doing great with all this exercise he's getting!) and after taking a lot of pictures at the outlook for this weeks "landscape" assignment, we went off on a trail we hadn't been on before until it started to get dark (6pm). On our way back it started getting really dark (6:20) and when we got back to our friend's house, it was way too dark for riding. But it was a lot of fun! And very exciting as well! (no Scott intended) What fun!

Today, after trying in vain to balance my checkbook (grrrr) I met my class partners at the UW to work on our presentation for Tuesday's class. We have to talk for around 10 minutes (piece of cake! [again, no Scott intended]) about a photographer of our choice, showing some of their pictures and talking about them. We decided to work on Robert Capa, the famous photojournalist from the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Believe it or not, it wasn't my suggestion! LOL!

So that is going along just swimmingly, so we'll be doing fine.

That's roughly all the highlights this week. Taking a class makes it hard to find time. Where did it all go? LOL

Jp

Day to Day

Well, yesterday morning I made it to Jazzercise for the first Monday workout in a while. With all the rest I got this weekend, it's no wonder I made it out of bed alright. :) The ab routine was great! It incorporates Pilate's... so it's usually a killer, but it was just fine for me. I seem to be improving.

Work has been pretty slow for me lately, so it's pretty hard to stay focused. Today, however, all the ladies here at work went out to lunch to Coho's Cafe again, for a lovely time and a birthday celebration for one of our coworkers, and I had a delicious pesto pasta dish with prawns. I am a serious seafood fanatic. Yum!

So it's on to class again tonight! We've recently been talking about photography during the Civil War, so it continues to be intriguing for me.

Jp

Part Two for Today

I finished all my history reading for this week!
Well, that is something at least!

Last night, spurred on by discussions on WENNchat, my sister and I located episodes of Mathnet on YouTube, and we watched the bomb/bank episode and part of the car one. Between working on our various tasks today, we watched: the parrot episode. LOL! Gosh I love Mathnet!

We also watched the 3-part series of "Escape from Katrina", which I had completely forgotten until I was reminded by my sister who was and is looking over my shoulder. LOL I remembered being very scared when the little pony lost the ball down into the scary dark cave where Katrina (who always reminded me of Malifecent from Sleeping Beauty) lived, drinking potions and almost murdering her slaves. And Meggan tells me that it was my video. It says it was released in '86, so I would have only been at least 3 years old... But the scenes where the little ponies are going to bed and when Baby Moondancer gets the princess costume... yeah. It was fun.

It was truly a night of remembrances.

Jp

100th Post?

Holy cow. I suppose I'm enjoying blogging. :)

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty lazy today. I woke up feeling really dizzy, too late to go to church. It was because I hadn't and food or liquid in me for so many hours. I am also feeling like I need to not be so lazy about doing my school. I hate how I'm lazy! Maybe I don't hate it enough though.

Time to get going, now that it's 3 pm.

Jp

Saturday Morning

Well, I had a long sleep, and that was nice. Weird dream though. YKYBWTMRWW: JBL is in your dream.

I realized just a moment ago that I would have to leave in a half an hour for the football game, so I just decided not to go. I have a bit of reading to do that shouldn't be put off, and I should probably relax after going 100 miles an hour all day long yesterday. It's not like I'm 18 years old anymore. LOL

[Saturday Evening - I Forgot to Write]

[While doing a few errands with Meg, we stopped by Bartell Drugs because I needed some camera stuff done. I ended up leaving with that done and a couple presents for people and a Webkinz stuffed Buffalo. Yep. I actually got an internet toy. I shocked myself by actually going online and creating a profile. LOL! I do like it much better than the Neopets thing that my sisters do. I like the more real kind of stuff that you buy and the not so crazy games and things. Of course, I haven't explored very far, but what I've seen, I've liked. His name is Warren, and he's very cute. I just fell in love with him when I saw him. I hope my other stuffed buffalo isn't jealous. (added 10/20)]

Jp

Crazy Fridays

I have been running all day... I'm about to blink out, but I wanted to get this in today's column.

I woke up bright and cheery for Jazzercise, but managed to get there 6 minutes late (no biggie - all I missed was the warm-up song). Then headed off to work for 4 and a half hours (a half to make up for leaving early to make it class yesterday - Thursday traffic is always worse for some reason). In class yesterday we talked all about F-stops (which stands for Function - Stop Plates, BTW) and shutter speed. Our assignment this week is to take portrait shots on a whole roll of film and switch up the F-stops and see the results when we process it at the next class.

After relaxing for a moment at home which included eating lunch, playing backgammon and naming the new family car (my parents just got a new one too), Meggan and I headed out to Carnation to ride our horses. We had a lovely time and the horses had a great workout. We trotted and cantered quite a bit compared to what we usually do. We even persuaded them to cross a little creek (they are deathly afraid of stepping in water). It was great fun! I love feeling Roo's power when he canters. We also go very fast. :)

We got home about 7pm and then went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. From there I headed over to Seattle to play at the rally for the OSU game tomorrow. I needed to return 'The Women', pay Alex for the Mellophone shirt and pick up my present from Rachel, from her trip to Germany - a Reichsbanknote for 1 million marks, from 1923. The rally was good and the t-shirt is funny, but I wasn't able to get very excited about it, probably because I'm so tired. I suppose that's how it goes.

Anyway, 4 pm kickoff tomorrow. Homecoming. Oh Boy. I won't be too surprised if our record after the game is 0-6. Gosh. Even worse than 2004. I didn't think that was ever possible.

Jp

found this...

the other day... an article about Pittsburgh's leading radio personality. Sounds like an interesting guy.

I have a love/hate relationship with eBay. I love that I can find so many cool things - like patches for my patch collection (from places I've been where they either didn't have one when I was there, or I didn't think to get one) or really inexpensive military surplus gear - I want to go camping sometime - and it brings back ROTC :) - but I hate it that I can't stop finding so many cool things... (lol)

Oh, and my $3.49, cloth-bound, 1943 copy of Guadalcanal Diary arrived today! It's light green with a gold imprint of the Marine emblem on the cover. (big smile)

Jp

the women again!

After humouring my brother by watching the new Hulk movie with him and my family on his projector downstairs, and actually enjoying it - which was surprising, my mom and sis watched the 1939 version of "the women" with me upstairs.

At first I was disappointed with it, because everyone talked so fast you either couldn't understand what they were saying, or it felt like the characters didn't mean what they said very much. I was greatly surprised at the scene between Mary Haines and her mother, where Mary seemed like she wanted to end the marriage right away, whereas in the play, she was mortified at the idea from the start. I liked the play's version much better.

Also surprising was how much smaller of a part there was for the beloved writer Nancy Blake. She had probably four short lines in the whole of the movie. The actress that played her wasn't given a chance to say anything and we barely got a chance to know her at all, so it's very hard to compare her performance to Ms. Naughton's. In the play, there were at least 3 or 4 scenes where we got to see quite a bit of her character.

The lady who played Mary and the girl who played her daughter looked almost identical to the actresses in the play. It was uncanny. The acting of the little girl was so similar, that it could have been the same performance.

However, after the scene with her mother, I thought the movie did extremely well. I loved their rendition of my favorite scene between Miriam and Mary in the second half. I also liked the scene in the dressing rooms much better in the movie, although there were a few lines missing. Both the movie and the play were quite excellently performed, and it was fun to see it outside the constraints of the stage. But I am very happy that I saw the play first.

What enjoyment!
Jp

Classy

I'm proud to say that I actually finished my reading for today... last night! (small things excite me) Early photography is extremely interesting. I enjoyed the pitches for studios using the Daguerreotype machine: "Photography in all styles without pain." In describing a business practice: "A good dose of laudanum will effectively prevent the sitters from being conscious... you can do anything with them under such circumstances." And the Calotype was quite interesting as well. William H. F. Talbot produced the earliest process for creating positive prints from negatives in the 1830's.

You'll probably be hearing from me on the same subject in the near future.

Jp

Unusual Sunday

I started off the day by sleeping 45 minutes past my alarm clock. But it felt good. I flew out the door, because I was playing in my first non-football alumni band gig for a benefit race at the UW called the Dawg Dash. Alumni band is quite different than the regular band. I was the only mellophone, and there were no saxes (they usually have the similar part to the mellos) so it took a minute for me to adjust to playing with no-one else playing my part. A varsity band gig with this turn out would have been cancelled. We had one sousa, one drummer, one pic, two clarinets, four trumpets, three trombones and me. I sounded very... exposed.

I then hung out at the University Village and ate a very tasty bagel breakfast sandwich while I read a bit from my photography history textbook. I also found a couple things I had been searching for at Schuck's Auto Supply for my ride. The reason to hang out was the late opening hours of the camera store in downtown - at which I found everything I needed.

On the way home I swung by Fred Meyer for binder page holders for class, and found a couple nice tops for work at the same time.

When I came home, the family was over and Becky stopped by as well for a couple games and the viewing of "The Happiest Millionaire". My 4 year old niece Rebekah, watches the movie all the time at home and copies the dances and the songs with amazing detail. She was hilarious to watch. After the family left, we watched "Christmas in the Airwaves", and I wanted to cry at Maple's "it makes family of us all" line at the end. Gosh, I love that episode. The 400 elves and all.

Jp

updates

Well, the library issue got resolved. I suppose I'll just have to wait a few days before I go back to campus to check the stuff out.

Last night the family watched 'The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn' from Netflix. JBL is as great as ever; he has some pretty comical and meaningful scenes. It was filmed right after WENN in 1999.

On that note, 'The Last Confederate', from a few nights ago, turned out to be less than what I expected. It was very disjointed and had many emotional scenes that I was unable to connect to. (However, I enjoyed Bob Dorian's and Mickey Rooney's performances. They did fabulously) But I can't tell you much about the main characters beyond their names and very little of what they did.

Today, I have homework for the first time in over 2 years. Reality about schoolwork seems to be settling in just nicely.

Jp

Can't you talk to each other?

So, I got excited about being able to borrow the '39 version of "The Women" from the UW libraries tonight, after my first photo class with my second instructor (which was great), but my account is still expired from me not being enrolled for a year. Except I'm enrolled right now... so I paid money for a class... you might think they would update my library account for me. Nope. I have to figure out how to prove I'm enrolled myself. We may be living in the Information Age, but what I can't wait for is the Sharing of Information Age. :)

Jp

WWII Movies

http://www.wwiilectureinstitute.com/films/films.htm

Looks like a complete list with descriptions on most WWII films ever made.

Gosh! Complete with cover designs!

I just added the "Counterfeit Traitor" to my Netflix list. :)

Jp

oh, and...

My sister was desiring some Aceda-wenn-aphin last night, and after we discovered that the one she wanted to watch was currently at my other sister's house, I suggested "From the Pen", and we sat down and laughed our guts out. It's amazing to me how this can still be that funny. I must have seen/listened to this episode at least 85 times. Afterwards, I read her excerpts from the Casablanca Walk-Through and she laughed out loud, several times. We then went VERY slowly through the typewriter scene, and concluded that it most definitely had to be Comstock. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that she might have typed MRITSFRETBARGLE. Or at least 8 letters of it. HAHAHAHAHa

Jp

First Class!

I went to my first class for Photography last night at the UW. It's on Tuesday and Thursday nights, for 3 hours each class. It's a three quarter program, so I'll be doing this for the next 9 months. The grading is promised to be pretty laid back and everyone in the class is there simply because they love taking photos and they want to get better or understand what they're doing.

Tuesday classes are focused on the History of Photography this quarter; Thursdays will focus on techniques, beginning with film photography and darkroom work, and each are taught by two different instructors. I met them both last year at an information meeting, and the lady who teaches on Tuesdays was taught years ago by the guy who teaches on Thursdays. They're both very nice, fun-loving people.

Last night we started the history side of things, and I already learned a bunch. This is our textbook that I have to start reading now. She had a slide-show of photographs that we discussed, along with a few slides of text about the photographers, in this case, the people who developed the idea and process of photography as well as a few details on the processes and chemicals they used. We got to see the very first photograph, taken in 1835, if I remember correctly [1827!!!! 10/9/08]. The exposure time was 8 hours! They didn't have shutters; they would just let the light come in the camera and be exposed on a chemically treated plate, usually glass or metal, but later paper as well. There was a photograph of Trafalgar Square when Nelson's pillar and statue were under construction. There were no people in the photo because of the exposure time that was required, which didn't record any moving objects. I was the first to recognise the location of the photo! Anyway, I had a wonderful time, and I'm very much looking forward to future classes.

It was very strange to be back in class! I had to book it, since class starts at 6pm and I get off work at 5pm, and I have to cross the lake! I forgot to bring a notebook to write notes on, so I just used the back of my syllabus. When I got to my car to leave, I realized that I had forgotten a pen as well, so I stole one out of my dad's car (we work at Aerojet together). I think I will be slightly better prepared for Thursday. Hurrah for being back in school! Sort of. LOL

Jp

Flabbergasted

Again, I am utterly impressed with Amanda Naughton. Just watched 'The Diva that Wouldn't Die' and 'Behind Every Great Woman', with Becky last night. And after watching her in "The Women" this weekend, it is so clear just how good of an actress she is. Wow!

Just sent off a letter to her, and my expectations for a response are just as high as when I sent my fanfiction to Rupert Holmes. LOL! Much too high for reality. They are less likely to have "Rabid Remember WENN Fan" screeners at a theater in Southern California though! LOL!

I think I'm feeling a little silly.

Jp

WHAT?

Another play at the Old Globe?! Next summer!!!!
(on the OG link, click on the artist's tab)

I'll have to keep my eye open for just who will be cast in it.

Jp

Traveling the Old Globe

San Diego, California, Saturday, October 4th,

After signing off on my last post, I headed out into the wide world of San Diego, and I was slightly disoriented for a moment. Once I found the Old Town Transit Center, I stopped at a old-style diner for breakfast and then walked to the Old Town historical park to look around before my bus came.

Sea World was everything that I expected it to be. I enjoyed everything about it, except for the long line at the shark aquarium. My favorite thing was the dolphin show. It was my first time to Sea World, and it was just great. I arrived when it opened at 10 AM, and didn't leave until 5:30 PM. I came away with a stuffed Manatee and Walrus, both very soft and cuddly.

The San Diego transportation system worked extremely well for me. I was even able to take the trolley to Balboa Park for the play which set me in an excellent mood.

The Old Globe Theater was surprisingly small. The room was spherical, hence the name. And it had a small balcony as well, but I cannot describe that first hand, because my seat was almost dead center, in the second row! I had the perfect seat!

Since I left SW earlier than planned, I had time to stop for dinner at a ritzy place just a little ways from the Globe, called 'The Prado'. I enjoyed a mixed greens salad with avocado, a tortilla soup with a zesty flavor and several scenes of Julius Caesar. By the time I finished freshening up after dinner, it had decided to downpour. Right then I was glad of my waterproof coat that I had dragged around all day just in case this happened. So I arrived at the theater with everything dripping wet, besides my head and torso. It took me a moment to retrieve my ticket from my wallet with all my bags that I had with me from the day's festivities. My seat was between two older couples who were very kind and congenial. When I sat down and realized just how good a view I was going to have (Ms. Naughton would be only a few feet away) I admit that I smiled a bit. I was almost as excited as I had been at Owensboro, 3 and 1/2 months earlier, for the live, radio-theater Remember WENN play, but that excitement is hard to match.

(use this link to "The Women" for a synopsis and photos of the artists and the play)
[here is a review I just found]

There was a single microphone on a stage draped by purple curtains with a wall of glass behind it, giving it a flashy, glamorous, late 1930's look. I couldn't wait to find out how it would be used. And I didn't have to wait for long. One of the lead actresses entered from the back of the room and walked right past my seat (I was the third chair in from the aisle she used) and "The Women" began. She sang an upbeat opening number about someone in love with her, and then the entire stage rotated and we were introduced to other main characters, chatting about married life at a game of cards. Two of them were cynical and a little older, one was a naive newly wed, and to my delight, the other was Nancy Blake, a single, yet cynical, witty and experienced lady who wrote novels about the women she disliked. Her latest was entitled, "All the Dead Ladies". She had many clever, hilarious lines of dry humor that were greeted heartily by the audience with cascades of laughter. I do not say that simply because I admire Amanda Naughton, but because she was indeed a pleasure to watch. I was delighted when Nancy recited a line from Shakespeare in the very first scene. Unfortunately, I cannot recall which it was at this point, but perhaps I will be able to remember when I read the play.

[11-3-08: I bought a hard copy of the play (the library doesn't have it), and the quote was the famous "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds" from Sonnet 116.]

After the plot erupted with the news of the good girl's naughty husband, I was disheartened to learn that Nancy was taking a vacation to Africa. She had many lines already, but I didn't want her to go. Her last line before intermission was, "Nobody ever misses a clever woman". I wanted to shout that I would miss her, in an effort to make her stay onstage, but I'm afraid that would have been to no avail. LOL

Right before intermission, we were left with a very sad main character, and to close the first half, the lady who sang the opening number (and also played one of the leading roles) came out and sang a sad song while the sad, "good-girl" character sat on her luggage as she was leaving her house. The lyrics went: "There are so many things that I'm dying to do, but darling, not without you." Her rendition greatly reminded me of Patti LuPone's singing of 'Remember WENN', both in her singing style and her physical appearance. One of the ladies sitting in front of me had removed her glasses to wipe her eyes.

The costumes and hairstyles were exquisite and so well put together. There was a really lush, 1930's look to the whole production, everything from the ladies hats down to their period shoes. It gave the excellent acting a great backdrop, and let you believe that these people were for real.

During the break I started writing out in my playbill what I wanted to tell Ms. Naughton, if I had the good fortune to meet her afterwords. The gentleman sitting to my right asked me if I was a critic. I successfully stopped myself before I laughed, and told him that I was really just star-struck.

The second half opened with another song, but I don't recall any of the lyrics. It was a sort of "don't push me around" type of song. The first scene was set in Reno, where all of the divorced ladies were vacationing. It turned out to be just as hilarious as ever, with a running joke about "L'Amour". Thankfully, it was set two years after the first half, and Amanda... I mean Nancy, returned with full force.

I was very pleased with the ending to the plot and the play. Instead of one mike, there were two, and the lady that had been singing all night started a more light-hearted version of the same song that had earlier been so sad. However, the whole cast came out to sing this one, a few at a time, and Ms. Naughton had her own turn. She was fourth to sing, I think. And what sweet joy it was to hear her sing in person!

I went to the play completely unaware of the plot (beyond the fact that it was about back-biting women), as I have never read it, nor seen either of the movies (I think I will only watch the 1939 version - I don't think I could bear any modern day actresses over the ones I just watched). I was very glad of my ignorance, however, so I could be surprised with such a performance.

As a young, single woman, I found the play not only exceedingly entertaining, but also a little educational about communication between husbands and wives. I loved the "good-girl's" mother, who came in and gave advice after she had found out about the betrayal. All the characters were widely diverse and were very likable in their own ways, excluding the two antagonists, of course. Besides who I've mentioned already, I really liked the wised-up character who still loved her first husband, but had made a mistake by walking out and had to move on with her life (she was the lady who sang all the songs). Not surprisingly, I really liked Nancy Blake.

Unfortunately, I did not get the pleasure of meeting Ms. Naughton. She either exited before I had the chance to get outside, or she left through a door other than the main one. No one else was hanging around to get autographs, and I was a little surprised at that. I saw several of the actresses leave, but not our Betty. I just wish the receptionist hadn't built my hopes up so far. She told me it was very likely that she would exit this way. I was disappointed, but still elated from the entire evening.

When waiting to ask the manager where the actresses come out, a couple were complaining about the use of real cigarettes in the play. The woman was furious that she had to fan herself because of the smell, and to try to diffuse the situation, the manager told her they were nicotine-free and that he would pass along her comments. I didn't mind them so much, because they added quite a lot of character to certain scenes. As Hilary said in episode four, "They're props."

For added pleasure (and a faster trip), I rode the trolley back to the transit station near my hotel. A perfect way to end a perfect day. Here's to three-and-a-half hours of sleep and a direct, early flight to Seattle. I can't wait to return to San Diego in March to watch my little brother (who is 6 foot 5) graduate from Marine Boot. I saw the Recruit Depot from my airplane as we taxied for takeoff. It gives me goosebumps.

Jp

Here I am

sitting on my bed in my hotel, ready to run off to see Sea World soon.

The trip was uneventful for the most part. While waiting for my plane in Seattle, the very first person that de-boarded it shouted out "I'm here!" into his Bluetooth when he entered the waiting area. The place is rather open and silent, so it was quite funny to suddenly hear such a declaration. A few other people laughed about him as well as I when he had left.

I was quite wiped out when I actually got on the plane. After working for a moment on my fanfiction, and then reading a little of Julius Caesar, I fell asleep before we took off and didn't awaken until they were serving us crackers from our cruising altitude. It was the first time I had slept through a takeoff. It is one of my favorite parts about flying, so that was too bad.

The gentleman next to me asked me if I was studying for school or reading for pleasure, since I was reading Shakespeare and writing notes. It is so much more pleasureful to read if it's something you're really interested in. I don't miss that part of school very much either. But I have a read shocking little of Shakespeare, only the Tempest (for school) and Hamlet for fun, so I am trying to go through it, and so far I well understand why people have been reading it for centuries. I am grossly undereducated for a graduate of a university, but I suppose it's what you put into it, and anyone can continue their education at any time. Good thing!

My hotel is clean and comfortable, although it's not in the nicest of neighborhoods. Let's just say I was thankful for the bolt on my first floor door. There is way too much noise as well; somebody nearby took a shower at 4:30am and I woke up then and a few times after it. Ah, well. Good thing I didn't come here to stay in this hotel. I'm off to see the wizard!

Jp

Off we go...

into the wild blue yonder...

I'm off to San Diego! Hopefully I'll be able to report in either tonight or really late Saturday night. I don't know if the hotel will let me connect. I suppose we'll all find out soon enough.

Tomorrow, Sea World opens at 1o am, and the play starts at 8 pm. I'm saving money by taking the bus while I'm there (since everything is within a mile or two of each other, so I don't know what time I'll make it back to the hotel.

Goodbye, and Good Luck,

Jp

Books,Books,Books!

Last night I logged my books that I got at the book sale on Sunday, and couldn't help but start reading the bio I found about a Marine from the Pacific War, entitled "Goodbye, Darkness". The author's name is William Manchester, and he is well gifted with words. Although what he was describing was horrendous, the way he told it made me laugh with the irony. I think I will enjoy this one. I've found that personal biographies of participants in the World War have enriched my study of it. It's a good way to follow up after reading much of the overview of the battles when I was a teenager. A really eye-opening read was "Soldat", which I found on clearance at Half Price Books last year. I blew right through it. Bill Mauldin's "Up Front" is essential for any study of WWII. I'm biding my time until I get a hold of "A Life Up Front". Also good were "Farewell to Manzanar", "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo", "Rommel: The Desert Fox", "The Hiding Place", "Flags of our Fathers" and "Marine: The Life of Chesty Puller". By chance, I picked up a book called "GI Joe & Lillie" at a give-away at the grocery store. Though it was not very well written, the story was incredible. "To Hell and Back" is waiting on my shelf, along with a bio of a Japanese fighter pilot, called "Samurai". Oh, also waiting are "Guadalcanal Diary" and Ernie Pyle's "Here is Your War".

I've already started "The War" by Ken Burns, and I found it intriguing. I didn't get a chance to see the actual documentary on PBS, but I think I'll try and get in on Netflix. I don't know if I'll like it very much, since it jumps around from topic to topic so quickly. If anyone reading this has watched it, please "comment" on it. I'm sort of wary when it comes to WWII documentaries because I've seen too much of the History Channel. You start out watching something about the history of tanks, and then, all of a sudden you're plunged into Pearl Harbor, followed closely by a scene of Hitler shouting something with vigor.

After the books were logged and the introduction and the first chapter were read, I set about organizing my books more distinctly. The rest of my American history, including South America and Canada were moved downstairs to the library, while the extra shelf in my room could then be set aside for just fiction. I feel much better now, knowing everything is in order. It's also good to not have the big, fat stack of books sitting on the middle of the floor anymore.

Jp

Vehicles Shme-icles

Not a whole lot has been happening this week, but I did get my car insured on Monday, so I was able to drive it on Tuesday. The Salvation Army is coming to pick up Old Red at noontime today. I'm glad it's going to be of some use to someone! My goodness, Big Blue is fun to drive! It accelerates - Smoothly! Last night I went and got some Black Magic spray for keeping plastic surfaces looking spiffy, and also a steering wheel cover that matches my interior. It's grey with black embroidered dolphins on it (keeping with the Big Blue Wet Thing theme - I don't know how many of you have seen Muppet's Treasure Island, but I am quoting Fozzy Bear).

As a side note, Becky and I watched Bullwhip Griffin last night and then finished the evening with "Don't Act Like That". It was just wonderful to watch Roddy McDowell back to back! And at home on Netflix: "The Last Confederate, the Story of Robert Adams", starring Bob Dorian! Can't wait!

Jp