May 2009
1 post
Empathy for the Devil →
I’m catching up on posting old clippings. This one, from Buzzine hit me at the time and, as I reread it and reflect, I find it contains a great deal of truth:
Sympathy and empathy are also…
December 2008
1 post
Quote of the Day →
“An actor on the stage need only to sense the smallest modicum of organic or physical truth in his action or general state and instantly his emotions will respond to his inner faith in the…
November 2008
1 post
"I hear your voices, I need your help,... →
While, to a degree, I understand the concerns of some in the community of sportsmen and women regarding last nights election results, I post both the video and the full text of this speech not to…
October 2008
3 posts
A Confident Theatre →
Today much of what is produced in the theatre - especially that done at the community level - is presented to the public as an apology from apologists: “We’re sorry this isn’t a film, with one of…
Question of the Day: Should You Major In Drama? →
Isaac over at Parabasis posed an important question yesterday which I think deserves response: Should you major in drama:
I ask you dear readers to weigh in on this. I was a drama major, and…
DFW on Life and Education →
I’m reprinting this commencement address from Kenyon College in 2005 by David Foster Wallace for two reasons:
It has some profound truths in it which require digestion and reflection
Since this…
September 2008
6 posts
You & the Needs of Your Audience →
Another thought-provoking and relative post from Laura Axelrod, You & the Needs of Your Audience:
Some people might mistake my call for cultural relevance as an urging for agit-prop. Nothing…
Engaging Arts - In the Classroom →
I’ve been reading the excellent book Engaging Art - The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life, edited by Stephen Tepper and Bill Ivey, former head of the NEA. Though I’m only…
Money, The Arts Etc. →
David Cote touches on a tough subject: what happens to the arts in an economic crisis:
Obviously, the most direct impact will be financial. I was speaking a friend who works for an…
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf - First Read →
Technically this was my second read of the play since my first was back in the early nineties. The script has stayed with me through four states and countless moves, but when a list of seven…
Quote of the Day →
…if there are minor arts and major arts, the latter being the ones that contain the former, there will be therefore a sovereign art, which will contain all of the other arts and sciences, and whose…
Quote of the Day →
I am skeptical of artistic institutions and national artistic movements to call on us to create good theatre. Institutions are dedicated to self-preservation: Theatre is temporary. National…
August 2008
9 posts
The Butterfly Effect →
A neat and, in some ways, inspiring story from WaPo about a man and his…butterfly:
I decided to get the butterfly something to eat at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse across the street. My…
Telephones and Tootise Pops →
by Jonathan Clausen
This is a poem to my Grandmother, Vivian
who I have not called nor written on time
for most of these thirty-five years on this earth.
You’d wear purple someday,
that’s what…
Ranch Style →
by Jonathan Clausen
There is familiarity in this house,
as if I’ve lived here before.
It is perfectly imperfect
in its infinite impossiblity of glory,
yielding, instead, to a prarie-style…
Murmur to This Body →
by Jonathan Clausen
Breathe deeply of clean air
when you find it.
I must have it to turn
blue to crimson,
to bring life back to
dying members of this host,
allowing myself once again to …
Sonnet to An Old Flame →
by Jonathan Clausen
Even now as years provide me distance,
and thunder, bolts of lightning, are replaced
by new relationships, loves, lives and children
at times, I find my thoughts return to…
A Gift Rejected →
by Jonathan Clausen
Her heavy accent breaks my reverie,
my self-absorption gives way
to abashment.
She is a teacher in the old style:
herself, long ago, a fugitive
from a Holocaust which …
Publicity Hounds →
by Jonathan Clausen
Zebras get a great deal of free publicity. They are funny looking and who, off the tip of their tongue, knows of another animal that starts with the letter “Z”? They do,…
Puzzle →
by Jonathan Clausen
Deliver me in a box of many colors.
Empty this image atomized
to the pleasure of your gaze.
Inspect my jagged edges toward this
decoration of your achievement.
My garments…
End of Study Break →
by Jonathan Clausen
It’s as if I am aging in reverse.
Rekindled passions, dormant for many seasons,
speak to me now and ask questions:
was what once seemed right, instead
necessary protection…
July 2008
5 posts
The standing ovation is a filthy American habit →
Guardian Theatre blog, rails against an increasingly frequent occurrence in the British theatre: the standing ovation. Frankly, I agree:
The argument against the standing ovation is simple. If…
High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas →
If you have an half hour to spare for a good read, check out this fascinating article covering trials, tribulations, and even tragedies of the folks who spend their lives salvaging,…
20 Most Incredible Light Phenomena →
I caught a link to this photo-montage today. I’m always such a sucker for pretty lights in the sky.
Howard Nemerov said “Nothing in the universe can travel at the speed of light,…
Firefly Nights →
I don’t always find myself in agreement with Kevin Short or the opinions expressed in his blog posts from the Bassmaster tournament trail, but the latest article, Firefly Nights, from…
Barone: Through the wringer →
I haven’t been following the world of professional bass fishing as closely as I have in years past. Maybe it’s my better half’s pursuit of her PhD, my own foray back into the world of academia, or…
May 2008
23 posts
Link Dump and Blog Rescue - 5-25-08 →
I’ve been woefully absent from Lateral Lines for the last couple of months. Between work projects, going back to school myself, and my better half’s work on her PhD, my time related to matters of…
Full Rainbow →
Rarely do shots like this come around, much less with a photographer who knows how to make the most of them
This rainbow? was visible over much of the area and was noticed by many…
Reasons for the Day →
As you can see, we’ve changed the look of Lateral Lines in honor of the weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with family, friends - even a fish or two. Please take a moment or two to…
An astounding ‘Our Town’ hits home - hard →
Yes the high school theatre staple Our Town. Really. The Lookingglass has a version of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town on deck for this next season, but Chris Jones has found a version on stage in…
RSC Education Outreach →
Education outreach and interactivity from the masters of NFP theatre:
Now in its ninth successful year, the RSC’s Playback is a performance project that encourages students to devise a short…
You can’t have community theatre without a... →
From , A snippet to save for my ongoing fascination with the subject of “community” as it relates to theatre.
Participation is very much the buzzword in theatre at the moment - indeed, for…
McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare →
McCain’s YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
U.S. I.Q Levels, by state →
I created a regression formula for estimating state IQs based on infant mortality and life expectancy, as these two variables correlate strongly with national IQ.
DISGUSTING: Mike Huckabee Jokes About Obama Being... →
CNN is reporting that while speaking at the NRA this morning, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee responded to a loud noise offstage by making a joke about Barack Obama trying to evade a gunman. I…
Flashback: McCain once sought to push the NRA out... →
“I don’t think they help the Republican Party at all, but I don’t think they should in any way play a major role in the Republican Party’s policy making.”In Louisville, KY today, Sen. John McCain…
Junior High Sweethearts Get Engaged in Math Class →
And the two will become one…..a nice little story about people who are NOT celebrities.
Huge McCain Blunder: Says Reagan Didn't Negotiate... →
Once again, McCain has demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about foreign policy and American history. First he got confused over Sunnis and Shiites, now this. McCain seems to be forgetting…
Racist Obama T-Shirt Protest video. Store owner... →
Marietta bar owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he’s peddling, featuring a look-a-like of cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with “Obama in ‘08” underneath, are not meant to…
JOHN EDWARDS ENDORSES OBAMA!! →
In doing so he can now turn over all the pledged delegates he’s won to Obama.
Latest Clinton Ad Uses Newspaper Clipping on... →
Blogger berni_mccoy at the Democratic Underground uncovers a GEM of a story about the latest Clinton Ad. LOL!
Hillary's "white Americans" comment causing quick... →
In another bad sign for Hillary Clinton’s sinking campaign, the blogosphere is all over her racially divisive comments to USA Today about her white support, & the verdict is not good. The broad…
Hillary is 404 →
Quick and to the point.
Dad died saving his little girl →
With an out-of-control car bearing down, Joseph Richardson grabbed his 4-year-old daughter and held her up out of harm’s way.
Actor Tom Hanks Endorses Barack Obama →
Actor/activist who had given money to both the Illinois Senator and Clinton posts compelling video on his MySpace page explaining his choice.
Homer Simspon, drawn in CSS →
Homer Simpson, rendered using nothing but CSS. Very very cool.
My Uncle Was Murdered by the Illinois State... →
My name is Otis Grigsby and I play DE for the Minnesota Vikings. I’m not very known but I’m trying to raise awareness on a tragic situation that has hit my family. My Uncle Sandy (Lernard) Grigsby…
BBC exposes Facebook flaw →
Facebook Awareness…… you gotta be careful……. BBC exposes a fatal flaw in popular social networking program.
Floyd Inflatable Pig Goes Missing →
A reward has been offered for a giant inflatable pig which floated into the Californian desert during a concert by ex-Pink Floyd star Roger Waters. The pig was tethered to the ground with ropes and…
April 2008
51 posts
Bob Cesca: Have You Left No Sense Of Decency? →
The media is responsible for a lot of this…