While I'm posting links...

...Here's Tom Wolfe in a thought-provoking column from last summer's anniversary of the moon landing.  

What NASA needs now is the power of the Word. {snip} At this moment, that remains the only solution to recovering NASA’s true destiny, which is, of course, to build that bridge to the stars.

Gail Makes a Funny.

Gail Collins today in the NYTimes: 

"Really, for ultraconservatives, the last year has been one sign of the apocalypse after the other. Soon, the rivers will run red with Starbucks Raspberry-Flavored Tazo Passion Shaken Iced Tea. Owls will give birth to two-headed frogs who shriek the lyrics to Lady Gaga songs."

Don't know why I found that laugh-out-loud funny in Starbucks this AM, but there you go.

Let the haunting BEGIN!

Don't miss THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, my friends' amazing high-tech home haunt in Woodland Hills, CA, for which I had the privilege of writing the script.


Haunting tonight (Tuesday) through 10/31. (I'll be there myself on Halloween night.)

Seriously, this event is a wonder of art and technology: more spooky than terrifying, but endlessly fascinating.  Schedule and details HERE.

Puppet Pandemic!

WOW!  What a night.  I hope I'll have some pictures to post soon.  Best of all, I had the chance to see some amazing work, and reconnect with a whole bunch of fantastic people. Thanks to all of you who came out to support the show!

Meet Spike. And come see Ed perform next week!

Spike says howdy...

...and Spike REALLY wants you to come see "Puppet Pandemic" in NYC next weekend!

It's a benefit for the O'Neill Alumni Scholarship fund, and I am pleased as heck to be a part of it.  There'll be a lot of GREAT puppetry at all 3 shows.  

But as added incentive - at both shows on Saturday I (Ed, not Spike) will be performing my short play, "Alaska" from my 50-play cycle AmericaLand.  With me will be my original partners in crime from last summer at the O'Neill, Marina Tsaplina and Jones.

Three shows ONLY! (*Please note: I am only performing my short piece, "Alaska" at the two Saturday shows.)
Friday Sept 25th, 7:30pm - with hosts Jim "Nappy" Napolitano, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph & Lolly

*Saturday Sept 26th, 3pm - Jim "Nappy" Napolitano

*Saturday Sept 26th, 7pm - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph & Lolly

The Tank
354 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036

Tickets:  $10 online, $15 at the door.  Click HERE to buy tickets in advance!

Can't wait to see you there!!!

"This showcase of works developed at the National Puppetry Conference explores the infectious nature of puppets. Watch as artists redefine conventional notions of puppetry. From marionettes to papier mache mayhem, puppeteers breed new strains of creativity.   All profits from these performances will fund an Alumni Scholarship to attend the National Puppetry Conference, in order to continue propagating provocative theatrical works.  Like a pandemic, the passion for puppetry is spreading! The only cure: a prescription of puppet performances!"

Yay for Government-Run Single-Payer Health Care... in Iraq.

Oh, and one more thing: we already helped give the Iraqis universal health care. Single-payer, government run, universal healthcare is enshrined in the Iraqi constitution.

"Many US lawmakers opposing health care reform need to be asked why it's OK for Iraqis but not Americans, Mark Dorlester writes for the Huffington Post. Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution—made possible by the war, and hailed as a victory by the Bush administration—guarantees every Iraqi state-funded health care, a provision Dorlester thinks would be slammed as out-of-control socialism by right-wingers if it applied to Americans." (Emphasis mine - Ed.)

Here's the link to Mark Dorlester's article. Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution reads:
"First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions.
Second: Individuals and entities have the right to build hospitals, clinics,or private health care centers under the supervision of the State, and this shall be regulated by law."
Lately, I've heard a lot of people sneer at the idea that health care is a human right (here, for just one example. Plenty more out there.) And we can debate whether or not health care is or should be considered a right for every single citizen of the U.S. Obviously I think it is a right, just like food (though I've heard people scoff at that too - but food IS a human right, as declared in the UN's Declaration of Human Rights, 1948)...

...but you should know that universal health care is already considered a right for every single Iraqi. And U.S. tax dollars and American soldiers' lives have helped provide the Iraqi citizens with single-payer coverage.

Basic health coverage for all, and protection for the already sick

Yes, I know I was going to focus on writing, and on living the writing life, and art, and puppetry and theater and all, but...

Well, I've been thinking a lot about healthcare lately. (Wonder why?) So I'm posting this link to an article from Wonkette, which is a great takedown of the ever-snotty Peggy Noonan... and of the mindless (or is it heartless?) offensive being waged against making much needed changes in our health care system.

Money quote: "How about this: Basic health coverage for all, and protection for the already sick. There is plenty to criticize in Obama’s meandering inability to emphasize these simple goals, but if those two simple objectives mean nothing to you, or bore you — you, the political columnist whose job is to understand these concepts — then you are a sociopath. You are apathetic to the unnecessary and costly deaths of your fellow citizens under the current system, which even the most basic reform plans under consideration would do much to alleviate."

Urban Dictionary

Urban Dictionary is awesome. Awesome!

So I'll be here, sitting around in my Vurple sloth-cloth, typing on my Magic Toaster, unless I decide to go primitive.

But no finger guns. Brown chicken brown cow!

Thanks! And a new post!

Dear all:

Thanks for all the good wishes and compliments on the premiere of "Fly Boy!"! I was really touched to hear from so many people, and please know that it was a real thrill to get to share this episode with all of you. I wrote it so long ago that the gratification was long-delayed... and perhaps all the sweeter for that.

In the meantime, I have a NEW POST up at Extra Criticum, in which I write about the O'Neill Theater Festival of Puppetry (which I attended in June). This was an amazing experience for me - a real personal and artistic breakthrough - and I look forward to writing about puppetry a lot more in the future. Enjoy!

And thanks again.

RED ALERT!!! My first solo episode airs on Fairly OddParents Friday!

Hey, all! Some exciting news: my very first "Fairly OddParents" episode, "Fly Boy," premieres this week! It's showing on Nickelodeon Friday night (August 14). Nickelodeon's broadcasting it in L.A. at 6 PM, but please check your local listings to find out when it's showing in your area.

"Fly Boy" was sneak-previewed to a large and wildly appreciative audience at Comic-Con this year, and I'm now delighted to have the chance to share it with you. I'm really proud of the episode, so I hope you can tune in and check out my TV writing debut.

A Note on Mob Rule

Last hour on MSNBC's Morning Meeting, I heard Contessa Brewer state that "loud, angry mobs" were present at the conventions in which our founders declared independence and wrote the Constitution. (The implication being, I suppose, that, hey, shouting down your Democratic congressperson is just business as usual in America! The mobs did it in 1776, and that turned out fine, so no biggie.)

As a former history teacher, I have to cry foul! The founders were terrified of mob rule; that’s why they held secret, exclusive conventions in 1776 and 1789. Who attended? Not the general populace, but a select few representatives from each colony. To keep word from leaking out, they kept the doors, windows, and shutters closed, even in the brutal heat of Philadelphia summers.

These meetings were far from "mob rule;” they were organized to prevent yahoos with signs from disrupting and derailing the deliberations.

I wonder: if the founders HAD endured disruptions like the ones we see today, would they have ever taken the radical and (at the time) rather UNpopular steps of declaring independence from England, or of giving up some local colonial power to a centralized federal government?

Having your say is a deeply American value. Not allowing people with a different opinion to speak at a town meeting? Not polite... not helpful... and not a American value.

UPDATE: Check out the Democratic response. And yes, call the RNC and leave a message telling them enough is enough. (Phone number is 202-863-8500. Press 2 on the automated line, not 1, or you'll never get through.)

"Turn Around, Bright Eyes!"

OMG. Seriously, maybe the very very funniest thing I have ever ever seen. It's a video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - in which we hear the LITERAL version of what we're seeing... and what's undoubtedly going through Bonnie Tyler's blond feathered head.

I laughed, I cried. Almost pee'd myself a little.

Buy some adult diapers, take 5.5 minutes and get through it all the way. You'll be glad you did.

The Coolest Thing I've EVER seen!

Check out this homage to "Empire Strikes Back" - the Tauntaun sleeping bag. Complete with a lining designed to look like GUTS. Oh, man oh man. How cool is THAT?

Ok, ok: so it's an April Fool's Day hoax and it's not really for sale.... YET. Apparently the folks at the website had so many people attempting to buy the fake Tauntaun that the bloggers are now trying to get it licensed by Lucasfilm. So I still have hopes of sleeping cuddled up in a dead Tauntaun someday. Email ThinkGeek and tell them you want one, too.

Nitey-night, Young Padawan.

File Under "Things I'd Never Thought I'd Say"

Meant to tell you - the new "Star Trek" movie is AWESOME. (Yeah, I never thought I'd say that. I'm by no means a Trekkie, to say the least. I turned the show on a few times as a kid, thinking it was gonna be like "Star Wars" - and it so, so wasn't.)

But this movie kicks BUTT. I love that director JJ Abrams and screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci found an ingenious sci-fi reason to reinvent the nature of the characters and the relationships between them, and their very reason for being together. Now Chris Pine's Kirk is a hellraiser (and surprisingly funny, to boot!) and Zachary Quinto's Spock is the emotional heart of the movie.

Oh, there are a few quibbles here and there: Eric Bana's villain starts out strong and creepy and becomes almost an afterthought.

But I have to say: overall, it's a thrill to see this creaky old franchise from a fresh perspective... and it's a joy to see a summer blockbuster that's actually well-written, well-acted, funny, heartfelt, smart, and full of fists-a-flyin' action.

If you haven't already seen it... go boldly where, say, millions of moviegoers have gone before.

"The Creative Habit"

Hey, this post's for my dear friend Jenny, who is a fabulous choreographer - and an even more fabulous human being. But if you're NOT Jenny, you can read this post, too. (Please do!)

I've just started reading a fantastic book: The Creative Habit by noted terpsichorean Twyla Tharp (cowritten by Mark Reiter). And I want to tell you about it today.

To be honest: I'd sworn off buying or reading more productivity/self-help/creativity books, since I found them to be unproductive, unhelpful, and a waste of daylight hours. But Tharp's book is different (or at least, that's what I surmise from from the first couple of chapters, and from what I've skimmed).

Tharp offers tough love for those of us who want to be more creative and more productive. Some of the advice at the very beginning isn't terribly earth-shattering: for example, Chapter 1 is about making rituals of creativity, and clearing space for creativity to happen. But they're good reminders, and from flipping through the chapters and exercises ahead I know that there's lots more original stuff coming.

Bottom line: for some reason I'm really responding to the practical tone and the hands-on action Tharp brings to bear on the topic. For her, creativity is a habit to be fostered, a muscle to be strengthened, and a craft to be practiced. And she's not just writing for dancers (and I'm most decidedly NOT a dancer) - but for anyone who has creativity inside them that wants to get out. And that's all of us, really, isn't it?

I'll post more here as I read more. If you're interested in a fuller review by someone who has... y'know... actually finished reading the book, please check out this post at Self Reliant Film Blog. (That's where I heard about "The Creative Habit" in the first place.) And please post a reply if you check out this intriguing addition to the creative library - I'd love to hear what you think of it, too.

This post carries the Sasquatch seal of approval.

3-of-a-Kind's One-Acts: including my play, "SNOW!"

I'm delighted to report that North Hollywood's own 3-of-a-Kind Theater Company is producing

• My short play:"SNOW," in a production directed by Tony Christopher.

At a polar bear cage in a big city park… at the site of an unspeakable tragedy… a Mayor, a Cardinal, a Socialite, a Reporter, and an Activist gather to put their self-serving spin on events. But when a grieving mother finally has her say, will she force these Very Important People to move past their glib words to a far deeper understanding of life, death, and grief?

I've seen the rehearsals. Tony's doing fantastic work and we've got 8 powerhouse actors in this never-before-seen piece.

Also on the bill, two really wonderful plays by two really wonderful playwrights, directed by two equally wonderful directors. I am proud to be in their company:

• "FAIRYTALE WEDDING" by Ben Caron, directed by Corey Chappell
  
• "RE-UNION" by former Nickelodeon Fellow Itai Grunfeld, directed by Brett Erickson. (NOTE: this picture may NOT be safe for work!)
  

THE DEETS:
Secret Rose Theater / 11246 Magnolia Blvd / North Hollywood, CA 91601

FRIDAYS - June 5th & 12th @ 8PM
SATURDAYS - June 6th & 13th @ 8PM
SUNDAYS - June 7th & 14th @ 7PM
Sunday - June 14th @ 3PM

Tickets on sale now. Get 'em while they're hot! Call (818) 377-4379, or just BUY 'EM HERE!

PS: Check out the ice cave in the postcard for SNOW. If you squint at it juuuust long enough, it looks like a polar bear's face. (Which, in the context of the play, is chilling - in more ways than one.)

Disney - Oh My.

Well, THIS should make my next Disneyland visit more interesting!

(Seriously - just kidding. I would NEVER. But who knew rampant toplessness was such a problem that The Mouse had to hire Propriety Police?)

Malibu Saturday Afternoon, with Horse.

Well, if you DIDN'T hear my friend Louise's concert last night in La Mirada, CA, you really missed out!

Louise played the famous (and famously tough) Beethoven Triple Concerto with her father, Marlin Owen, on cello, and pianist Menahem Pressler. Behind them: the excellent Biola Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Shawna Stewart. I drove down with Lori to hear the concert -

MAN what a night! And what a triumph for Louise.

I had a whole day of cheering people on, in fact. Kerri, who I've written about here in this space, had her very first LIVE show taping yesterday for Nick Jr. - so I went up to the studio and watched the filming of the show (and the music video).

Now: concentrating on some writing of my own here at the Malibu Starbucks. Oh wait: just looked out the window to see... a HORSE. A big white horse with a shaggy equestrian, who must have ridden up the highway. Ok, weird.

I'm refocusing this blog on my own writing, as well. So you can check back here to read updates about my writing work and writing life - which is the same thing as my LIFE-life, of course, so I figure it's a legit catchall for pretty much anything.

But please do check back here frequently, for updates and changes. Expect a WHOLE lot of cool new stuff coming in the next few days and weeks.s

Suddenly Sunday...

Some new updates...
Went to the Getty with Kerri... And rolled down the hill! We decided that that was the start of a new chapter in our lives.
Now awaiting Louise and Jorge on JetBlue...
Plus: I am updating this post on my new.... iphone!!!!

Look for lots of changes in the blog, and lots of updates coming soon!

Script Frenzy!

As some of you know: last year I participated in "NaNoWriMo" - otherwise known as "National Novel Writing Month," in which a whole lot of people churn out a whole lot of words in 30 days or less. The goal was to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. And... I did it! I blogged about it at Extra Criticum, Part I HERE and Part II HERE.

Now, overcome by spring fever - and succumbing to peer pressure from my friend Deirdre, as I so often do (thank you, Deirdre!) - I have decided to partake in the next act of overwhelming pressure from the creators of "NaNoWriMo": it's SCRIPT FRENZY, in which writers commit to churning out a 100 page script in the month of April.

Oh, I know you're thinking: ED! How are you gonna manage it? Are you totally insane for taking this on right now?

And yes, honesty, I AM working on a stack of other writing projects, too: I'm polishing my pilot script, readying some TV show pitches, finishing the screenplay, the brief collection of avant-garde puppet plays... oh, and writing by day at my job, where we're closing out the writing season.

Well, luckily, this time around I won't be alone in my writing frenzy: I'm writing the Frenzy project as a team with my good buddy JIM, with whom I've reconnected after over a decade.

More on Jimmy later, but I'm sure some of you in NYC remember him from our last stunning collaboration, "Wicked Pudding: A Christmas Anti-Spectacular" - a revue which delighted literally six live theatergoers during the Christmas season of 1997. (OK, so four of them were my family, and two others wandered in by accident and were kind enough to stay, even though they didn't speak English very well.)

All joking aside, I'm proud of the script of "Wicked Pudding" - maybe as proud of that piece as of almost anything I've ever done - and I'm honored and excited to write with Jimmy again.

I'll post back here from time to time about how our Frenzy is going. (In all my free time, ha ha.) In the meantime: KITTY WIGS! Happy April.

Followup: Kerri's Obama Spot makes the Wall Street Journal!

As you may have read in my previous posts, Kerri's adorable Black History Month spot on President Obama was (and is no longer) up on the Nick website and was (and is no longer) airing on the network during February.

Well, surprise! This lovely, innocuous, and wholly apolitical spot attracted the snarky attention of the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Page. The WSJ's op-ed page is ultraconservative, and this author stays true to form: taking issue with the spot on Obama and accusing the network of indoctrinating impressionable youth. (Plus, the columnist seems confused: why didn't G.W. Bush get the royal treatment in a Black History Month spot of his own? Gee, I can't imagine...)

Anyway, check out the nonsense at the following link. And enjoy the full text of the Obama spot, printed in its entirety without attribution to Kerri. Perhaps the columnist thinks "shrimp linguine" is code for "socialism." Sigh.

One more spot from Kerri!

Check it out: Kerri's final Nick Jr. Black History Month spot premiered, and it's now my favorite one of them all. It features a certain 44th President of the U.S.of A. and his family. I think you'll find it lovely and adorable. (I especially love the red, white and blue color scheme the artists used.)

Click here for Kerri's Obama spot.

So, CONGRATS, KERRI! I am so glad you're sharing your words with the world.

Kerri's Nick Jr. Black History Month Videos!

Howdy, all - and happy February!

Please check out the 5 short and very sweet Nick Jr. Black History Month videos, with scripts written by my dear friend (and former fellow Fellow at Nickelodeon), the fabulous KERRI GRANT!

This year's focus was African American inventors and their inventions: Garrett Morgan (who invented the traffic stoplight), George Crum (invented the potato chip), Jack Johnson (invented the wrench), Lonnie Johnson (the father of the Super Soaker), and Alfred Cralle (inventor of the ice cream scoop).

Congrats, Kerri!

New Extra Criticum Post...

...in which I opine on The Thea-tuh. Check it out by clicking HERE.

(And while you're there, please check out the other thought-provoking articles - particularly those by my En Avant co-founder and one of my all around Favorite Persons on Earth, Kathleen Warnock.)

Tuna New Year

Alright, all you foodies. (I’m talking to you, Rob, and you, Louise.) You think you’re sooooo cool with your recipes and food posts and sexy sexy food photos. Well, make some room! You Top Chefs have some new competition – from ME, Ed Valentine, unlikely cook.

Why? Cuz guess what I made last night: Tuna salad. Did you hear me? TUNA. SALAD.

Yeah. I know you’re jealous. I know you want the recipe. But am I gonna give away my cooking secrets? Am I gonna share?

Oh, okay. You twisted my arm:

1 pack pre-packaged packet of no-drain Chicken-of-the-Sea tuna
2 tbl mayo
1 large apple, cored and sliced (peeled or unpeeled - I used unpeeled)
a couple of handfuls of raisins
1/2 cups of pineapple chunks.

Laugh if you will. It was good eatin’. (Plus, ‘cooking’ anything – beyond a microwavable burrito – is a significant achievement for me.)

Now if I can only get a photo of my chunky little culinary masterpiece....

Happy New Year!

Though I believe this New Year will bring many good things, I also have to say that 2009 comes with one huge dark cloud for the future:

What happens next New Year’s Eve, when we can’t get cool glasses with two zeroes in the middle?

‘2010’ just doesn’t seem to be as easily made into spectacles as ‘2009.’ And when the ‘2011’ glasses arrive, I’ll be half blind - like a pirate.

Oh well. I simply have to adopt a new ambition: I now plan to live till the year 3001, when I can once again get cool glasses with zeroes in the middle. Join me in the future: we’ll party like it’s 2009.