Let’s go Giants!

I can’t pull for the American League.

This secret identity is killing me.

No Nicholl Fellowship finals for me this year, but happy enough to finish out with a Top 30 note. That’s the .475% percentile if you want to get all mathematically anal about it. Plenty of other distractions in the mix right now, Hopscotch was completely off the hook. So rock and roll. Everyone please remember not to buy cheap rum just because it comes with a free shot glass. Can’t wait to hear next year’s lineup. Baseball is in the home stretch now, if the Cubs could just...

Spaghetti time.

...

Poetic facestabs.

In Arlington we lay to rest our bravest and our very best. We send our children off to war defending what we soon ignore. “You’re free to worship,” so we say. “But if you’re muslim, go away.” Is this what they were dying for: Intolerance, and nothing more? Must one be christian to obtain the liberties that we proclaim? These soldiers died for liberty. They didn’t die for bigotry. So look upon this hallowed field, not only crosses are revealed. For you’ll see stars and crescents...

Hang in there, Rog.

Mad Men is oh-so-slick. Sunday’s “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” was yet another shining chapter in my favorite rich ensemble show and a particularly revealing episode for Roger Sterling. I like to describe the enjoyment I get from this show as similar to watching a slow motion car crash, as each character’s storylines cycle through discovery and personal tragedy. And Roger, god love him, is my favorite character. Sadly, I think there’s a real sense...

Reached the age where everyone keeps dying.

Previously, I guess the Grim Reaper just seemed a more sporadic guest, frequenting generations far-removed and occasionally surprising tragic unfortunates and kamikaze weirdos. This year though, he’s around every corner. I don’t spend time reading the obits, and definitely don’t like to dwell on personal loss, but when a performer, artist or writer who has given me something moves on, particularly if they’re not big names or recognizable faces for most people, I feel...

R.I.P. Maury Chaykin

“The police… shall receive… no sandwiches.” Sad to hear that Maury Chaykin, one of my favorite character actors and the brilliant avatar of my most favorite fictional detective Nero Wolfe, has passed away. I was always pleased to see him turn up in such an eclectic range of shows like Eureka, SG-1, Due South, Entourage and the great films of Atom Egoyan among many others. He always brought a production up a notch or two in my esteem. He will be dearly...

What a 2010 Nicholl Quarterfinal script looks like**

I had the idea that if I pulled all the notes and drafts together that it would somehow make a substantial and impressive photo, but it turns out to be sorta measly-looking. **Not pictured: three years of brilliant feedback and suggestions from my workshop mates and friends. Thanks for listening to me rant about robbing the Federal Reserve! I should probably burn these satellite photos, power grid specs and floor plans...