Twinkles for a Thursday...
Happy Birthday Robert DeNiro! He's 63 years old today. What do you think he's doing for his birthday? Leave your answer in the comments, please!
S. Korea wants people in 'smart' clothes 
(Apparently my Blues Brothers bowling shirt and Bullwinkle socks don't qualify. Bummer, dude...)
Almost the end of the week, y'all. At least the weather isn't so unbearable...I might actually go (GASP) OUTSIDE!!! I know this is a shock to your systems, folks...just walk it off and everything will be OK.
Again, not much to share from my end - maybe I'll be inspired by the weekend, ya think? If anyone is so desparate as to want to help me break my writer's block, PLEASE leave ideas for me in the comments...I need help, peoples (and not the kind of help that you're assuming, thank you very much)!
So, as far as the world at large...here's what I've noticed today (so far).
In the "Oh, no, he's not a freak..." department... After 10 years, JonBenet Ramsey's killer has been found. John Mark Karr was found in Thailand this week and has admitted to kidnapping the little girl.
Wow.
Here's the kicker...two quotes from the article just made me shake my head in wonderment and vague disgust.
1. Karr's visa has been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities were expected to take him to the United States in the next few days, Suwat said.
2. Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style hotel called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. The nine-story hotel offers rooms for as short as three-hour rentals.
Uh - any country that has travel agents catering to sex tourists that kicks him out for being "undesirable" is operating on a very interesting set of principles. Kind of like your average prison.
That picture of him doesn't exactly help matters either - that skinny chicken neck and spooky blue eyes? Eewwwww.
And he was a TEACHER? If he was my teacher, I would have asked my mom and dad if I could be homeschooled. Then again, if they took a look at him too, they would have readily agreed.
The next topic is from the "Why don't researchers ask the rest of US?" department...
Could it be that the public could get tired of Paris Hilton? God knows I am, and yet I am drawn to this topic like a moth to a flame.
Apparently not, according to this article. Between her TV show, her album, her lovely video debut (as in her sex video), low budget horror flick scream fests, and her inspiring tome about her insulated life as an heiress, she's in more corners than your average cockroach.
Here are two quotes from the article:
1. "There seems to be no saturation point in sight," said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University in New York state. "In an odd way she is the best representation of masterful manipulation of the entertainment-industrial complex."
2. "Here we are in the middle of a war and global unrest, and every time another of these stories breaks, you just have to take your hat off to her," said Thompson. "Business schools should take her as a model and teach semesters devoted to her."
I'm guilty right now of giving the little skank more press than she deserves, but she is indestructible - just like a cockroach - able to withstand the most brutal nuclear blast - just like a cockroach.
However, even though a cockroach can survive a nuclear explosion, you can still stomp on them and kill them. This is comforting somehow.
Hmmm...maybe the same method should be employed for her? How big a boot do we need for this project? Could an anvil or grand piano do the trick just as easily?
With my luck, if someone dropped an anvil on the fair maiden, she'd be dazed but then slowly get up, wobble around on her slutty stilleto heels, dust off her micro-mini skirt and walk away.
I hate nature.
In the "This should be interesting and if I don't go, I will be very disappointed in myself..." department:
It's been noted that a film version of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd" will be directed by Tim Burton and will star Johnny Depp as the murderous barber. It's been said that Depp really gets into his parts, and I sincerely hope that he will do the part justice - both in singing AND acting.
Let me tell you a story about how much I LOVE this show but also about how I could have fallen out of love with it.
Those who know me should know that "Sweeney Todd" is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals (if not one of my favorite musicals ever). It is on the repetoire list with the New York City Lyric Opera, and is really more like an opera than a musical...less talking, more singing.
The first time I actually saw it in a filmed form was on PBS the summer I was to go away to college. It blew me away...the subject matter was quite macabre, but the music was thrilling. I saw the version with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury, and I decided that if I ever got a chance to play Mrs. Lovett, I'd do it.
Many years later, I found out that a local community theater was performing the show. I don't really remember why I didn't try out, only that I didn't. At any rate, Ed (Hubby #2) and I went to see it.
Please note that I went in with an open mind regarding the show. Really. I did.
However, that night brought me closer to actually HATING the show - or at least, the performers I witnessed mangling it.
For example:
1. The gentleman playing the judge that put Sweeney Todd away so he could make the moves on Sweeney's wife was openly gay, therefore making himself the "swishiest" judge I've ever seen.
2. The guy who played Sweeney himself was a great singer, but stomped around like Frankenstein.
Let me re-enact this in text for you...
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
(STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP)
He served a dark and a hungry god
(STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP)
3. Mrs. Lovett's portrayer was very screechy and her Cockney accent kept slipping in and out.
I almost cried. Then I went home and listened to the cast album and reminded myself that it wasn't the MUSICAL that sucked, it was the actors. It is a very hard score to perform, but I had figured the performers in this community would have been up to the challenge. I was SO wrong.
So Johnny, don't make me hate you or "Sweeney Todd" ever again.
Finally, one more thing (I hear you all saying a collective "Thank you Jesus" so I'll make it brief).
"A river has no politics." - David E. Lilienthal, American public official (1899-1981).
"However, a river DOES have algae." - Sudiegirl
Have a good 'un!
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