Letters to Holly

Friday, October 20

Third 5k

There's something quite manly about running in the rain on a fall evening. I didn't plan to run that route; I left the house thinking I'd run another, shorter path. I had my little reflecting vest on, and I had left my glasses at home. But I got to the bottom of our street, and I decided I should stick to the sidewalks, and that took me on my regular run, and forty minutes later I was done. It felt good. The big hill is still a bitch to climb, but I didn't have to pause immediately afterward. I have to contact the Chamber of Commerce for the race details (what time we show up, the course, etc.). Your Sister got home about an hour later, and we ate pub food. If I run 3 miles, I deserve a fat burger. And right next to us sat Angry Dad. We had small talk with him and his wife about running. It went smoothly, and I was unnecessarily polite to him. I must put up Halloween decorations this weekend and get me a running costume.

Just got an email saying the local comic convention will serve as a publishing party for the Halloween comic I'm a part of. This is the day after the midnight race. It'll be murder waking up for it, but I gots ta go. I might even sign autographs or do sketches for the kiddies.

Picture of the Day
See how closely the 300 film follows the comic. You can view more side-by-side comparisons here.


In the News
There may be no worse time (or, if you will, no later a time) for the administration to admit Iraq is the current version of the Vietnam War. We've lost 70 troops this month alone. NPR analysts say the GOP admits the House is lost to them, but their Senate control can be retained if they keep two seats in Missouri, Tennessee, or Virginia.

+ + +

They're still finding 9/11 body parts in New York City.

+ + +

Ebert's review of the new Marie Antionette film is so well written, it almost makes me want to see it. But I won't. I didn't dig Lost in Translation, the previous film by Sophia Coppola. By the way, Ebert is back from a summer cancer surgery, and it's good to see he hasn't lost a step.

Thursday, October 19

Run Management

I hit the treadmill Tuesday on a gym date with Your Sis. I have eight days til the race, and I'm not sure how to manage the exercise before then. I'd like to run 5k twice before next Friday, but I worry about burning myself out. I may run tonight and then run Sunday or Tuesday. I mowed the lawn last night at lightspeed to make it a form of exercise. Then I made stir-fry.


My Stir Fry Recipe
Two Chicken Breast Fillets cubed
One diced yellow or red pepper
A small can of pineapple chunks
Half a jar of hoisin sauce
Sprinkles of Mongolian Fire Oil
Dashes of Garlic Powder
Dashes of Szechuan Seasoning
Healthy squirts of Lime juice
freshly ground black pepper (I like a lot)

Put it all in a big Ziplock bag and in the fridge of about 20 hours. Stir fry it enough so the sauce reduces and the chicken cooks thoroughly. You're essentially boiling it. Put over rice and devour.


I still need a running costume.

We watched "Six Feet Under," "Lost," and "The Nine." OK, she watched "The Nine," and I read an article on mass elephant insanity.

Picture of the Day

Monday, October 16

I'm Gonna Audition

I finished Cat on A Hot Tin Roof last night. In case you haven't seen it, here's a quick synopsis: Margaret and Brick are childless because Brick is depressed over the death of his football-buddy Skipper who professed his love for Brick before dying of heartbreak. Brick's father is dying and will surely leave his huge estate to the first son, Gooper, and his horde of ill-bred kids. But the family isn't telling Big Daddy that he's dying of cancer and have in fact told him he only has a spastic colon. Daddy confronts Brick over his alcoholism and relationship with Skipper, and Brick retaliates by telling him of the cancer. Hilarity ensues.

Now I don't think I can play Brick. He's got to be athletic, and I'm slightly too slight for that. But Gooper is a snake in the grass trying to manipulate his mother into securing the estate to him. He's smart, but desperately unsubtle about his aims. It's a good role. It's the kind of role you can steal the show with, and that's what I can do with him. But it would be a small miracle for me to get that role. It would be too similar to what happened with Greenville Little Theatre. I auditioned for the first time and get a good supporting part in a Williams play. Gooper's a fine part, though. Too good to not try. I told Your Sis about it, and she OKed it. Auditions are in three weeks. I could memorize the part in that much time.

I discovered that, as with Glass Menagerie, Williams rewrote Cat. His first version is just about perfect, but he wrote another third act to accomodate director Elia Kazan, and I don't know which the Asheville company will present. Gooper doesn't change too much in the second version, but everyone does lose some power. The writing's clipped and rushed. The first ending is stronger, and I hope that's what they use.

Picture of the Day
Just one example of clever ads from around the world


In The News
I attribute North Korea's sabre-rattling to Condi Rice's Asia visit. No, I'm not blaming her, but she's to whom the recent comments are targeted. Her reactions and ability to weave together the support of Korea's neighbors are key.

+ + +

The NYTimes reports Bush met with several talk-show hosts (registration may be needed) to organize talking points. A picture shows Mike Gallagher, Neal Boortz, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Michael Medved listening to Bush make his policy detials clear. The administration is concerned that conservative radio and TV shows are drifting away from their once solid policy support. The above-mentioned hosts go to great lengths, as does Limbaugh, to say they are conservative before they are Republican. Others say they are neither and are independent, yet they often side with the administration. They hope to play the role of an unaffiliated voter who happens to agree with the administration to make those policies appeal to moderates and undecideds. I don't begrudge them for jumping on the conservative talk bandwagon. It's the easiest show to syndicate to small-town AM radio, and small-town radio needs syndicated shows to get local advertising money. If you want to see someone who clearly jumped aboard, look at Dennis Miller. His schtick switched from cynical to conservative about three years ago. But the hosts' loyalty wavers when the poll numbers drop as evidenced by this come-to-Jesus meeting. The administration needs those shows; they are the unofficial conservative-government media and crucial for the upcoming elections. The hosts may want to appeal to the administration (and score interviews with the big guys), but they must listen to their callers and sponsors. And those two are swaying away from blind support as the administration sloughs its conserative ideals of minimal government and fiscal responsibility.

Second 5k

We watched the high-school homecoming Friday night but left before the third quarter ended. It was cold. We were tired.

I got up Saturday morning and ran another 5k. There was still frost on the ground, and the cold air made breathing tricky. I've got to get used to it before the midnight race at the end of the month. The big hill continues to kick my ass. The effects of the exercise are apparent. I've gone down a few belt notches, and my shoulders (of all things) are more developed.

We grabbed a late lunch at a local sports bar and killed time before heading to a wine tasting. The downtown culinary store hosts one of these every few months or so, and we're on the mailing list because we bought so much kitchen stuff there during the move. This time there were four distributors with their own table and labels. We liked the Vampire Merlot from Romania, and Your Sister dug the Gewurtztraminer. A college buddy of mine dropped into town during the event, and she hadn't been to a tasting before. We showed her the ropes and let her loose. We then hit the pub for a late and slightly buzzed dinner.

The next morning, we tried to eat at the college cafeteria, but it was Fall Break. We instead went to Huddle House, a close cousin of Waffle House. Minus the jukebox, unfortunately. She wanted to see Connastee Falls, and we took the very short trail to the official waterfall viewing area. Then we noticed a natural rock staircase off to the side and hidden by the trees. We shambled down it, left it, continued down the slope, and found ourselves at the middle of the falls. We then shimmied back up and only then discovered the sign forbidding us to use this path. But it wasn't for us, I'm sure. It was for drunken morons who try it at night. We then followed another trail until we noticed what appeared to be a faint path down the mountainside and next to the river. We carefully slid down the side (and we're talking about a 50-degree slope), locking our feet against roots and trees. We indeed found a fantastic spot next to the river at the foot of the falls. And then we struggled back up the mountain. It was a lively bout of inadvertent hiking. We got back to my house around noon, and she had to head back home, but not before dishing some gossip on my ex.

Your Sis and I got groceries and made dinner for Travis and Kathy who were making their return to our place for the first time since Anna Claire was born. Unfortunately, as I was putting away my clothes, I noticed that my closet rod anchor was falling out of the wall. Seems wood-and-metal hangers doubles the weight. I had to clear out the closet and rehang the pole with a screw anchor, a necessary item the previous owners didn't install. That took longer than it should have. I reassmbled the closet and started on the salad just as the pair and baby arrived. We had homemade spaghetti and Blitmore Sangiovese. It was a wonderful. We shot the shit for hours and polished off some blueberry wine made by a local teacher buddy. The baby was again a quiet companion, and the cats didn't bother her too much. Kathy borrowed the first season of "Lost" on DVD and watched the beginning of the third season as it aired this month. We had to straighten out some confusion that caused without giving away too much. Travis said he's still up for the 5k race.

I'm halfway through Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, a play that not only pummels you with its title throughout the script (I've counted six times the phrase is used so far), but features an harrowing two-person first act wherein the lead woman will not shut up about the crushing expectations of Southern gentility. The second act picked up well once the father and son start hashing it out, but that first act is enough to give me second thoughts on auditioning. Williams is an acquired taste but also a community theatre staple. One of my Odd Couple compadres was just in Cat within the last few months, and I'm sure he knocked that role right out of the park. I think I'd rather see him do it than try it myself. At the very least I should audition. Get my name out there.

The NFL
Her Teams
New England (4-1), NY Jets (3-3), Oakland (0-5)
Philly (4-2), Detroit (1-5)

My Teams
Miami (1-5), Pittsburgh (2-3)
Philly (4-2), Carolina (4-2)

Picture of the Day
This is the view you get when you bypass posted danger signs.


In the News
Of course the most pressing concern after the Hawaii earthquake is that it not disturb the shooting schedule for "Lost."