sarameg- sometimes it is all about the rote memorizartion, but a lot of the times it can be about what makes sense for the character to say next/. I was a horrible memorizor, however, and really only achieved it by typing my lines on an electric typrewriter. Also, I don't know if Trudy is here, but much ~ma for you and Dallas. Also, my return does not seem to be working.

The only thing remotely resembling acting I ever did was skits we had to do for various foreign language classes. Oh, and this fucked up skit we had to do for junior english . We wrote it. Characters from books on the syllabus. All three of us were Not Please. So we took three screwed up characters and shocked our peers and poor doofy Mrs. Greenberg. There was Daisy from Great Gatsby, Katherine from East of Eden (omg, we wrote her fucked up. I think I was her. Incredibly bitchy) and I can't recall the other one. It was a royally whacko female character.

Anyway, me and theater don't speaking, really. Which is enormously amusing when I look at some of my college friends, who are steeped in theater life.

Sophia, would it help if I shoved all my furniture to the walls and had her act out, not just read/memorize? Or is that something they'll likely work on in their program? See, I don't know the steps for this. My stuff was all wrote memorization.

We did a film. Othello in Space. A classic, truly.

I can't remember if we had Daisy off herself or if Kate or whoever that other character was murdered her. Damn. It wasn't particularly artful, but it was satisfying. I wish I could remember. I think the girl who played Daisy is a teacher in mom's district, I could ask mom....uh, yeah. No.

I just watched last night's Daily Show. I * heart * Calvin Trillin.

For me, it was almost an overwhelming confluence of sekrit boyfriends. Calvin Trillin is not only one of the funniest people ever, but one of the great reporters of our time. He is the man who said that Iraq I was called "Operations Desert Storm" because it's hard to sell "Restore Oppressive Monarchy." He's the man who coined the phrase "La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine" to describe the sort of restaurant recommended by Chambers of Commerce in rural America. Y'all don't actually want to hear all the Calvin Trillin phrases I quote all the time. He also had, for many years, the best job ever, which was to write about anything he wanted to for The New Yorker.

I am the compleat Calvin Trillin fangirl.

Bay Area people: Calvin Trillin is going to be at City Arts and Lectures with Mary Karr on October 11.

I've had my eye on it, but also like the sound of October 17: "The Rejection Collection: Cartoons you never saw and never will see, in the New Yorker."

Thanks for the ~ma, Sophia. Best of luck with your kitty hunt.

The vet's office has flyers of kittens free to good homes. You could try a few vetrenarians.

I read somewhere (maybe the elephant crying book) about how a lot of the "animals just don't..." comes from Christian theology rather than actual research and over time it dismissing anthrpomorphizing came to be accepted as fact. That doesn't mean animals DO X, Y and Z, but its certainly worth researching.

Msbelle, I'm getting irritated at one of the people on Lala. I know he's gotten the CD, because he told me he did, but he won't acknowledge in the system that he has.

Sarameg-- give her the cues (the lines directly before her line). If she gets a word wrong, correct her, AND MAKE HER START OVER FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE LINE. Do that every time, and she'll get them down. You can also prompt her if she forgets a line, first try feeidng the first word only, then a hint having to do with the meaning of the line: "You're shocked and furious" for "How dare you?" No matter how many mistakes she makes, be upbeat and tell her she'll get them before the show opens.