It's my line...well, it's my blog, anway.

I am missing my work with Improv4Quarterbacks and Brown School comedians. I love improv and cherish the creativity it requires to think on the spot and in the moment, especially to make someone laugh. If you haven't seen the classic Who's Line Is It Anyway? with Richard Simmons, click the link to the left and laugh your butt off. What a quirky episode that was!!!

original tree faces

In Clarskville, Indiana, at an icecream shop, they sell concrete tree faces to dress your favorite bark to look like an Ent.  I'm proud of all the faces I bought for people around the world and even the fact I purchased one for myself before Walmart went corporate with a mock plastic version.

Trees have spirits and it is fun to give them a quirky identity to spark up the natural world.  Although this isn't the face I see everyday when I drive into my home, I do have one that is similar.  It welcomes me to my driveway and puts a smirk on my face that the dead tree out front actually has a daemon and can look over my property while I'm away.

Why? Why not?

The Cicero North Syracuse Northstars Varsity team arrived home to Central, New York, last night as National Champions. Outscoring 115 other guards in their division, they accomplished the NCAA World Series of their event. It is a warm bit of news in a blustery, cold April. Congratulations!

Judy Freiberg

Yesterday, my department of Reading and Language Arts hosted Judy Freiberg who has been a writer for Sesame Street since 1975. She worked with Tony Geiss on The Land Before Time and An American Tail. It was nice to have a Syracuse connection with the show. After all, in my own textual lineage, I recognize that Sesame Street taught me to read. A Syracuse graduate has had a national influence, and if she didn't visit with our department today, I'm not sure I would have known who she was.

 It was an honor to have lunch with her and to hear her wisdom. I'm always thrilled to learn behind-the-scene tales of writers and the multiple ways they work within systems. Sesame Street is a product of many people - it has a life of its own. Yet, behind the curtain are those who make it work...most of these individuals go unnamed and unknown. Elmo and Big Bird are in the vernacular of kids all around the world, but names like Judy Freiberg, are not. I suppose this is the power of writing. Our creations become our Frankensteins, which is both beautiful and tragic. Beautiful, because life (even when it is textual) can be gorgeous. Tragic, because it's hard to control a beast when it takes on a life of its own.

Sesame Street, without a doubt, is a life on its own. I can't imagine this world without it.

And for this reason, I'm thankful for Judy Freiberg and the other 'puppeteers' who script the world that changes the lives of children and adults everywhere. The power is omnipotence, indeed.

In need of April bug zappers

The thing about coaching little league in Cicero is the proximity of wetlands and swamps that breed mosquitoes. Last night, as we learned to ground balls, bat and pitch with 8, 9 and 10 years olds, we also practiced swatting mosquitoes that were overly ambitious to feast on our ready-to-appreciate-the-warm-sun skin. There are very few things I despise in this world as much as the blood sucking bugs that come with warm weather. They aren't as annoying as the deer flies of Vermont, but they are mutually as pesky. We are a quirky breed of mammals who love our outdoor sports, but we must endure the joys of summer vermin, too.

A Day Late for Fools.

It's April 2nd and Dave's Birthday. Best wishes, buddy!

Freak Shows

Bob Bogdan spoke to my class tonight and his conversation and slide show was very interesting. For over thirty years, he studied freak shows on midways and the portrayal of disabled individuals in American history. His conversation, designed through a photograph slide show, was very educational, especially in light of what constitutes a freak and the politics that go with it. Historically, the way shows put individuals on stage is a sign of a cultural period. At one time, it was status, so much so that Asian siamese twins bought property in the south and owned slaves - They were high society.

Times change, however, and then they don't. If we look at Octo-mom, one could say that our society still pours cash on those who create notions of abnormality. I think paying attention to how we display one another - whether normal or abnormal - is a great place to challenge our definitions quickly placed as truth. As it's been pointed out again and again, a supermodel - who is supposed to epitomize beauty - is actually quite freakish and odd. Yet, she's placed before the masses as an ideal. Quriky insight for a Wednesday.