I just wanted to say a few words about Urinetown and its amazing cast. They are amazing. Those who know me know I rarely go into such a panegyric; I could go into detail about each of the cast members but let’s just say that I am honored to be working with such a talented, hard working, dedicated, wonderful group of people. We may be exactly one week before opening and some of us are worried about lights, costumes, props, and all those tiny details that round out our show into what would otherwise be a staged reading, but I know that we can and will pull it all together to have an amazing opening and an amazing run.

I speculate that some of the momentum behind the latest organics movement in consumer products is motivated by a counter culture reaction the preponderance of technology permeating our everyday lives. True there are those of us who believe in preserving the Earth’s biosphere for future generations and the survival of humankind but I propose that most American consumers do not consider this when purchasing. The corporation’s interest in organics and renewable and sustainable products can only be motivated by corporate self-interest and policy and only to the point of self-sustainment for said corporation.

I felt like mangling Paddy Chayefsky’s quote because I’m sick of USC. Sick, sick, sick. They make me angry. It’s been over a year now and I STILL DON’T HAVE MY FRICKIN’ DIPLOMA. Sorry, FUCKIN’ DIPLOMA! I took all the courses, passed all the courses, but because of some stupid little paperwork error I haven’t yet received my blasted diploma. I think I’m going to call them once a day every day until this matter gets resolved, because this is just ridiculous. Prospective USC students: the film school there is great, but bring a knife sharp enough to cut through all the red tape.

Scorsese rocks. I liked the film. I didn’t notice how long it was until it was over. And it was long. Vicious and brutal at the end. You could say gruesome. Nicholson was not the “cuddly” Jack as Roeper put it. More like an older, larger version of what we saw in The Shining with a bit of a Boston accent. The rest of the cast was great, too. Damon and DiCaprio worked well opposite each other even though they were (almost) never in the same scenes. And Mark Wahlberg had a small but memorable role as a polite, refined police sergeant.

I got this e-mail forward from a member of my family today. Included is the text of the e-mail and my response to it: Dallas ATC: “Tower to Saudi Air 911—You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R.” Saudi Air: “Thank you Dallas ATC. Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel’s runway 9R—Allah be Praised !!” Dallas ATC: “Tower to Iran Air 711—You are cleared to land, Westbound on runway 9R.” Iran Air: “Thank you Dallas ATC. We are cleared to land on infidel’s runway 9R.- -Allah is Great !