After a short hiatus

It's just been busy, that's all. I thought after the play was finished, the pace would slow down, but not so. Anyway, it is Fall Break here on the campus and at least I do not have class to teach today. Most of the teachers in my office decided to stay home, but I think that since the university pays me to work full-time, I ought to be here. And it's not like I have nothing to do. The new online term starts in a little over three weeks and I have MUCH preparation to do. If I wasn't working here at the office, I would be working at home. Just thought that I would take a break and post something so you wouldn't think I abandoned blogland. Have a good weekend.

Four things meme

Rachel tagged me for this meme. Hope you like it.

Four Jobs I’ve Held:
Cabinetmaker
ESL teacher for foreign military personnel
Student minister
Professor

Four Films I Could Watch Over and Over:
Chocolat
Wait Until Dark
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Princess Bride

Four TV Shows I Watch:
Boston Legal
Mythbusters
Grey's Anatomy
Almost anything on HGTV

Four Places I’ve Lived:
Austin Texas
Nice, France
Aiea, Hawaii
La Jolla, california

Four Favorite Foods:
Homemade green chili enchiladas (with mushrooms and spinach)
Traditional Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, yams, etc.)
Any kind of fruit pie
Almost any French food like an herbed Brie cheese with crusty bread, um, yummy!

Four Websites I Visit Daily:
My institution's Blackboard site
Various blogsites
Gmail.com
[That's it for DAILY viewing. Every other website view is on a need-to-know basis. Really.]

Four Favorite Colors:
Sky blue

Red

Black

Soldier blue



Four Places I Would Love to be Right Now:
In my workshop at home
Any of the places I have lived before
Wales/Scotland/Ireland
Sydney, Australia (where it is turning spring)

Four Names You Love, But Could/Would Not Use for Your Children:
Nopadol Wongsaengarunsri (this is the name of a student that I had at UT Austin)
Margo
Palo Alto (OK, it's the name of a town, but I like saying it all run together)
Epaphroditus (name of the oldest ancestor I have tracked down)

OK, I now tag Phyllis, Songbird, Patti, and Carolanne. Write up your four memes now.

Another photo of the actors

Here is a shot for the newspaper. The idea is that Einstein is explaining his theory to Sagot, Germaine the barmaid, and Freddy the bar owner. This scene does not appear in the play, but there were only four of us available for photos yesterday. The painting behind Germaine's head is a copy of a 1906 Matisse that I did. Made the frame, too.

We will have a warm-up rehearsal tomorrow and then finish out the run Friday and Saturday nights. I am eager to present the play a couple more times, but even more anxious to shave off this little mustache and goatee.

This is my 200th post but it is not exactly earth-shattering. Glad you stopped by.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

I have been busy this last week. Our play opened last Thursday and we have been very much in rehearsals. So far it has gone well--lots of laughs, no major goof-ups. One night a gel (colored filter in a metal frame) fell off one of the lights and landed a couple of feet from one of the actors. He just looked over at it, said, "Hmph" and went on with his lines. The show must go on.

The photo is of some of the cast. The characters are, from left to right, Picasso, Schmendiman, Suzanne, Einstein, and Sagot. The set for this turned out fabulous, especially a five foot square copy of Les Demoiselles D'Avignon that was painted by an art teacher here. She did an amazing job and the cast sometimes just stands in front of it gawking. I will try to get a decent picture this week. We close on Saturday. Yesterday (Saturday 29th) one of the people in the audience was a cousin of Steve Martin (who wrote the play). He lives in Big Flat City south of us, had never seen the play, and decided to come up for the show. That was kind of cool.

The play has a lot of laughs, some immediate, some what the play itself refers to as "icebox laughs"--when you don't get the joke until an hour later when you are standing in front of the icebox. It has some poignant moments, too, when the actors are discussing art. The script reveals Martin's love for great artwork.

I am looking forward to four free nights before our next performance. If you are in Fake Cow Town this weekend, make plans to see the show.

The snacks worked!

At the suggestion of Mindy, I set out some peanut butter AND tortilla chips on the deck to see if the Mindybird would be attracted to it. Then I sat with my camera on a tripod and waited. And waited. And waited. Good thing I brought along a couple of crossword puzzles. Then it happened--the Mindybird flew to the railing and eyed the snacks. She looked me over carefully then dropped to the deck floor. I was able to get this photo before she snatched a chip and took off. Amiable little critter, but kind of shy.

Quit flittin' around!

The Mindybird has been out and about, but of course, when I see her, I don't have my camera at hand. I will try putting out some croissant pieces, maybe with a nice raspberry jam, and have my camera ready. Be patient--this could take a while. By the way, she is very colorful and flies extremely fast.