Update 8-12-03


Hi,

First of all, about California politics:  let's not talk about California politics.

Some other, more rational, news:

From Jerry Bittman:  I could never get angry with Fiveson.  He is too funny, and he and I e-mail each other frequently.  In last week's update, Fiveson said he would kill.  That is interesting because I've heard him say that he would kill in order to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  Also, is this a new concept -- buying drugs on line?  There is a guy here in town who sells all the drugs you need out of his house.

From Judy Peters Sylvan:  I don't recall anyone answering the burning question of "Which entertainer went under the name of Larry Love?" so I thought I'd give it a try.  If my memory serves me correctly, the answer to that would be Tiny Tim.  I have no idea how or why I know this, but I think I'm right.  Apparently, my brain is clogged with all kinds of useless trivia.

[And South's Janet Allweiss, Class of '68, was one of Mr. Tim's wives, possibly his last.]
           
From Ray Staley:  in answer to Jerry Bittman's question about two Queen albums named after Marx Brothers movies:  A Day at the Races and A Night at the Opera.  I just happen to have them both, and I am a huge Marx Brothers fan!!

From Tom Calise:  On this e-mail you can feel free to edit me as much as you want.  I truly don't know just what is going to come out of me.
      To Bob Fiveson:  You really are a great guy, and I miss you, believe it or not.  Remember when you visited my "mobile home" in L.A.?  That was really nice.  That was two wives ago.  Eh, whadda ya gonna do?  But, hey, I have a nice spread now in North Carolina on 11 acres.  Still a blue collar kind of guy, but, would love to have you visit again.  I'll get Ken Nolan here too, so, we can really do the Jewish/Catholic crap to the extreme.  Also, thanks for your take on the Bittman thing -- but, hey, Jerry, I just think you took me the wrong way.
      To everyone:  I am such a candy-ass when it comes to our past.  I love this reunion stuff.  It makes me feel good to listen to everyone again.  Well, almost everyone.  From out in these woods, it seems to me there are some people who could tone it down, just a bit.  (Rich, you can step in here if you want to.)  [Rich:  I did.]
      To Kenny Nolan:  Who the hell are you?  Do you think I just e-mail everyone?  I e-mailed YOU, and I expect a freakin' response.  OK?  ( Rich, stay outta this.)
      To Ann:  I am going to call you now.  I am coming up to New York August 22nd, and would like to figure out how we can marry, without having seen or spoken in 33 years.  And, Rich, when Ann and I set a date, I think I would like you as a best man.  [Rich:  I might just do that.]

From Robin Feit:  Hello all.  It is so wonderful to hear about you and the latest happenings of your children.  It is fun to share their adventures with one another!  As for me, my children continue to make me proud, and I have recently found out that my daughter, Lindsey, has decided to participate in the 22nd annual, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Western Connecticut chapter’s 2003 “Down to the Sound” MS Bike Tour to be held Sunday, September 7, 2003.  She loves to take part in charity events throughout the year, and finds this one to be most rewarding.  In 2000, she biked a 30-mile route in Manhattan and raised an impressive sum.  This year, she has taken on the daunting personal goal of raising $1500 and returning to the challenging task of tackling a 30-mile bike route.  The funds raised will help fight the battle against MS by supporting the chapter’s programs and services within Fairfield and Litchfield Counties.  Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable, and often disabling disease that affects the central nervous system with symptoms ranging from slightly blurred vision to complete paralysis.  It is often diagnosed in young adults between 20 and 50 years of age.  Chances are, you know someone with MS.  Along with programs and services, an important role of the National MS Society is funding research to find a cure.  The Society's research program is widely recognized as one of the most cost-effective and well-focused in the world.  Since its founding 55 years ago, the Society has invested more than $260 million to find the cause, treatments, and a cure for MS.  If you would like to support Lindsey, please feel free to e-mail her at her personal account, Linzsnoop@aol.com   Thank you for your support, and thanks for listening!

Finally, today's metaphor:  in and around getting a mess of things done this summer, and generally goofing off -- because it is summer -- I've gotten pretty good at computer Scrabble.  In fact, two days ago I moved myself up to the Champion level.
      Now this is no big thing, as there are probably 10 Champion levels, and I can barely win half the games I play at the very bottom one.  And I do that by dodging and feinting and blocking, while the computer continues to play elegantly, using Latin terms known only to first-year medical students.  But I am still playing at the Champion level, and it's better than four below it -- Expert, Intermediate, Novice, and Drooler.  Still, I just had a series of games where I got repeatedly destroyed.  I had terrible letters and kept losing by 200 points.
      Or I thought I had terrible letters.  But there's a feature on computer Scrabble that I never use, called Hints.  It gives you the best way to play the seven letters in front of you, and in the middle of another embarrassing defeat, I started looking at the Hints -- to see what the machine would do.  Half the time, it came up with more medical and foreign monetary terms, and I could dismiss them because that's just not the way I play.  But the other half, it came up with perfectly ordinary, easily accessible, English words that were right in front of me, and I was just too dense to see them.  Even worse, far too often, it was able to use all seven letters in every round, getting the 50 extra bonus points.
      Now here's where the metaphor comes in:  I'm a pretty decent scene designer.  I have strengths and weaknesses like all designers, and I've always kept myself working at the small college level, or at the lower, non-competitive professional levels, so I don't overextend my talents.  But after I've gotten a set finished, and I'm sitting in the otherwise empty theater evaluating my work, I'm always aware it doesn't really fly.  It just kind of sits there, looking back.  And I've always wondered what someone else, more talented, would do under the same restrictions.  Well, the computer just showed me.

The home page:   http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a


Rich