Okay, we're back home and soon headed to Dan's parents house in the Valley for a New Year's party.

I gotta say, 2007 was a pretty great year. WAY better than '06 with its whole losing-our-house extravaganza. 2008 looks to be even better.

Below is a link to this year's holiday letter. Many of you already received it. In fact, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably already got it via snail- or email. If you didn't I either screwed up, forgot your email, or don't like you as much as you think I do.

I think it's pretty funny this year. Apparently last year's was my acme, proving true art comes from pain. Much of the reaction I've gotten so far has been "I don't get it." But I'm sure you're all way hipper than that.

Anyway ... here 'tis in PDF format. See you in '08!

Feliz Nozzledad

Well, we've had a great holiday. We head home today, sadly without the dog. I'll explain why when I give you all the big news in the New Year.

I really enjoy Christmas in York because I've always thought of York as the ultimate Typical American Town. Politically moderate, has a few local VERY American industries: Harley Davidson, York Barbells, York Air Conditioners ... tons of chain restaurants.

So I look to York for a representation of what lawn ornaments are popular for Christmas. A few years ago it was those little Christmas-tree shaped light spirals. This year it's definitely the big inflatable ones. We saw a few of them in LA, but they are HUGE here, both in terms of popularity and size. Some people in Doyne's neighborhood have ones that light up, that move. I saw one igloo that has a Santa and a snowman that pop in and out of the roof, alternatingly.

They're all cute and goofy, so even the overkill lawns are kinda fun. But the thing I don't quite get are the inflatable manger scenes. Santa, snowman, reindeer, polar bears, sure, I think whimsical inflatable versions of those are all good fun. But isn't there something a bit ... weird about an inflatable holy family being visited by the three inflatable wise men? Especially since ever morning I see lawns covered with puddles of deflated decorations. (Do these things need constant pumping during the day? Are you supposed to have reinflate them every morning?) Aren't we bordering a hair on the sacrilegious here?

I appreciate a creative approach to a cresh. In my secular home growing up we had a neat local crafts cresh with clothespins and so on arranged to stand in for the characters. I don't know if a believer would have had a problem with that, but I thought it was classy and dignified (really, much more than it sounds from my description). But surely someone must be a little irked by a Virgin Mary who looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

I heard the song "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket twice on the radio yesterday. Apparently I'm spending my Christmas vacation in 1995.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10

I know it's a little odd to see me quoting a Bible verse, but I really do love some of the verbiage in the King James. And this verse does seem to suggest that it's okay for me to celebrate today, even if I'm not a Christian.

We're in Pennsylvania right now. We flew in, with the dog, late on the 23rd. Why with the dog, you ask? Well, she's staying here for reasons I shall explain in the new year (yes, it has to do with those shots I got). But we're at Amanda's mother's house, presents are wrapped and under the tree. Bagels and lox will be followed by coffee cake, present opening, and later dinner at Amanda's cousin's house. Tomorrow we drive to New Jersey to see my family. The Manners family Christmas relocated there this year, following the sale of the old family home in Newton, MA after about fifty years.

Last night I went with Doyne to services at her church, which were very nice. Beautiful music and it exercised my need to sing some carols this time of year. It turns out I don't know all the lyrics to "What Child Is This?" ... but I still consider that the "Weird Al" song of carols. I don't quite know why I enjoy singing them so much. I never had a "gather around the piano" kinda family Christmas. We would occasionally sing in the car on the drive to Newton, so I knew the songs, but I didn't really do much caroling until high school when the Samonds would host the annual caroling parties. Oh, yes, we went door to door ... the whole schmear. We were remarkably wholesome for theatre people.

So I'm filled with some nice Christmas feeling and a good sense of belonging right now. As I've argued for some time now, Christmas is, in addition to being a Christian holiday, a great American secular celebration of light and love. This has been on my mind a lot lately because the screenplay I'm working on is about Christmas and deals with this human need for light at the darkest time of the year.

To this end I think I've decided my favorite carol is "Joy to the World," as long as it's sung really loudly and brightly. When you really belt it, it is a truly joyful sounding song, unlike a lot of carols, which, as pretty as they are, sound kinda mournful and dirgelike considering what they're commemorating. The only version I have on my iPod is from a Londonderry Singers album and it kinda blows it by singing it too soft and slow.

But really, is there a nicer way to sum up this holiday, a better wish? Not just happiness to the world or even peace. But JOY, that overwhelming feeling of excited bliss. I know it has religious connotations here, but I think we agnostics can be joyful, too.

So I hope you have some today. I know I do.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Merreve, all!

(That's pronounced merrEEV and I'm trying to copyright it)

Somehow we have reached the 24th and I didn't get to say much about Christmas. I meant to, but somehow ...

So here's some last minute Christmas THOTS. Except, not in that format ... a little more stream of conciousness.

We actually saw some real reindeer at Disneyland on Thursday. They've turned the rarely used Big Thunder Ranch area, which is behind Big Thunder Mountain rollercoaster, on the pathway from Fronteirland to Fantasyland, to a Santa Meet N Greet. This area includes an infrequently-open petting zoo, and houses the annual pardoned Thanksgiving turkey. Of course, when you look at that turkey, you can tell it never was anywhere near the executioner's axe because it was clearly not bred for meat. It's my understanding that modern Thanksgiving turkeys are bred to have so much breast meat that they can barely stand up straight.

Anyway, they have reindeer their, too. As I recall, these were not pettable, merely there for observation. They were very cute, though. Some had long antlers, some had none ... they fall off and grow back easily. I don't know where Disney got them, but, of course, there's not a lot that Disney can't get when they want it. I assume there are a handful of reindeer ranches around the country who breed the animals exclusively for use at Christmas time. Like trees. I often wonder what it must be like constantly to be working towards one big day like that, particularly Christmas. This question has been with me a lot as I've come to realize just how many freaking holiday specials Rankin and Bass made. Literally, one or two a year from the mid-sixties to the mid eighties. Yeah, they made other stuff, too, like "Thundercats" and that animated Hobbit movie, but there must have been some people who worked exclusively on holiday stuff nearly year round. I love Christmas, but I think that would drive me pretty batty.

Growing up, I really only recall seeing Rudolph, Frosty, and occasionally Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I caught some of that last one this year. My primary thought was "Wow, that Mouse is a massive douchebag, nearly ruining Christmas for everyone TWICE!"

But I never saw "A Year Without a Santa Claus" until last year, so I never knew what people were talking about when they'd praise the Heat Miser and Cold Miser songs. I think I might have thought they were talking about the Winter Warlock from "Coming to Town."

But anyway, reindeer ...

I was struck by how small they are. Apparently they are quite strong, but they're smaller than average deer, at least height-wise, not much bigger than a big dog. And I started thinking about the whole reindeer schmear ...

Are we certain that they reindeer fly in "A Visit From St. Nicholas"? Here's the relevant lines.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

Well, okay, right there, it says that they flew up to the rooftop. Yeah, but they flew UP to it. They apparently arrived on foot. This suggests to me that the reindeer are capable of short-term flight for rooftop access, but the sleigh is primarly a ground vehicle. Kinda like how KITT could only use turbo-boost once per episode.

The end of the poem offers a smidge more insight ...


He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

There you have, in two consecutive lines, Santa both flying and driving. But, why "flew" is also used to mean "move quickly," I've never heard "drive" used to mean "fly," y'know?

My other question is about the gender of the reindeer. I found this on Wikipedia, though it has since been removed, since it doesn't offer any source ...

Dasher - The first reindeer and the right leader before Rudolph came. He is the fastest reindeer.
Dancer - The second reindeer and the left leader before Rudolph was included. She is the graceful reindeer.
Prancer - The third reindeer and on the right in the second row. He is the most powerful reindeer.
Vixen - The fourth reindeer and on the left-hand side in the second row. She is beautiful, and also powerful like her companion Prancer.
Comet - The fifth reindeer and on the right-hand side in the third row. He brings wonder and happiness to children when Santa flies over everyone's houses.
Cupid - The sixth reindeer and on the left-hand side in the third row. She brings love and joy to children when Santa flies over everyone's houses.
Donner - The seventh reindeer and on the right-hand side in the fourth row.
Blitzen - The eighth reindeer and on the left-hand side in the fourth row. Though female, she is frequently portrayed as a male in American pop culture. Her original name is Blixem. She is known as the lightning reindeer because the word 'Blitz' is German for lightning, as is 'Bliksem', her original name, in Dutch.

Yeah, where the hell did this come from? For one, there is no way Cupid is female. Cupid as little fluttering cherub is, I think, a fairly new stereotype. The Cupid of "Cupid and Psyche" was a buff, ubermasculine sex machine. I suppose you could still name a reindoe "Cupid" but ... well, I don't approve.

Vixen is the only one with a blatantly female name. There's no way you name a buck "Vixen" ... that would be like naming a male dog "Lassie." My tendency is to assume Dancer and Prancer are does, too, though media depictions suggest otherwise. The other names are all pretty masculine, to my ear. So I doubt this is a gender balanced team of coursers.

This led me to think about the Rudolph song, of course. Now, this song has a famous recording by Gene Autry, but I think that version falls just short of being the definitive one, since we learn the song as a kid and the first professional recording of it we hear is probably Burl Ives in the RB special.

But there are certain Christmas songs that do have a definitive version, to the extent that, if they play somebody else's version on the radio you think "huh ... why not just play the REAL version?" These include:

"White Christmas" Bing Crosby
"The Christmas Song" Nat King Cole

and, um ...

Well, maybe Ives and "Holly Jolly Christmas" Eartha Kitt and "Santa Baby" (I've heard a lot of people slagging Madonna's version of that song, this year, but I find it pretty much the only bearable non-Kitt version. Look, it's a terrible, terrible song. At least Madonna had the common sense to make fun of it as she sings.)

Then there are some that ALMOST have definitive recordings ... "Rudolph" is one. Most people know the Frank Sinatra "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" even though the sadder Garland version is older and better. And I guess the really pop-y novelty stuff like "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Little Saint Nick" (to qualify for this status, there have to be SOME other recordings ... basically, the song has to be a semi-standard)

Okay, that's more than enough for now. Merreve everybody, talk to you on the day itself.

Why do audiences always applaud kick lines? Do they look hard? 'Cause they're not.

For a very wonderful reason, which I will be explaining in detail soon, I had to get five shots today. Yep, three in my left arm, two in my right. At the moment, it was no big deal, a little pinch and I was fine and dandy. Right now there are six (yes, one shot was a twofer) inoculations coursing through my veins and my veins don't seem to enjoy it. Oh, and I can't raise my arms. Ow.

Baggypantsandbravado Answers Your Questions About Popular Christmas Music

(Yes, many of these jokes are ... shall we say ... re-gifts)

Q- In “The First Noel,” why were the Angels singing to only “certain” shepherds?

A- Because the other shepherds were douchebags.


Q – If someone over the age of ten shouts out those “extra” lyrics while singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (ie “Like a light bulb!” and “Like George Washington!”) am I legally allowed to murder that person?

A- Yes, in 48 states. In Massachusetts and Wisconsin it is a misdemeanor punishable by a small fine.


Q- Why did the Little Drummer Boy think a percussion solo was an appropriate gift for a newborn?

A-He didn’t. He was still mad at Joseph over some shoddy work he did on a set of cabinets the Drummer boy had contracted him to make and wanted to make screaming baby Jesus keep him up all night.


Q- If it’s Christmastime when they go out singing, how do they “come a-wassailing among the leaves so green”

A-The song “Here We Come A-Wassailing is set in southern Georgia.


Q – If I don’t have any figgy pudding to give them, will these damn carolers ever stop wishing me a Merry Christmas and get off my lawn?

A- They will probably be hoarse and/or dead by Martin Luther King Day.


Q – Isn’t it a little arrogant that the song, written by Mel Torme, that starts with “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” is called “The Christmas Song”? Aren’t there, like, lots of Christmas songs?

A – Mel Torme can do what ever he wants, because he’s Mel Torme, bitches.


Q – Speaking of that song, the final lines go “So I’m offering this simple phrase/For kids from one to 92/Though it’s been said many times, many ways/Merry Christmas to you.” But what about my Grandfather who just turned 93?

A – Nat King Cole is telling your grandfather to go fuck himself.

Potter Pouri

Hey guys. So a few months ago I wrote some trivia questions for a website and made a little money for it. I put together a second batch, this time all about Harry Potter but never quite finished them. They don't want them now, but why let them go to waste?

Some of these are pretty challenging. Answers are written in white after the question. Highlight them to read. Spoilers if you haven't read all seven books.

Lemme know how you did.

1. What’s the name of Neville’s toad? Trevor
2. Who is the Wizarding World’s equivalent of Mother Goose, or the Brothers Grimm? Beedle the Bard
3. What’s Ron’s favorite Quidditch team? The Chudley Cannons
4. Why did Dumbledore spend so long in the bathroom at Slughorn’s house (or so he claims)? He was looking at Muggle magazines
5. What flavor bean does Dumbledore eat at the end of The Sorcerer’s Stone? Ear Wax
6. What did Quirrel teach before he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts? Muggle Studies
7. What team did Ludo Bagman play for? Wimbourne Wasps
8. How does butterbeer affect elves? It intoxicates them
9. What code name was given to Buckbeak? Witherwings
10. What does Uncle Vernon’s company make? Drills
11. Which is the only book in which no characters, human or otherwise, die? "Prisoner of Azkaban"
12. What game is more popular than Quidditch with American wizards and witches? Quodpot
13. What girl does Harry take to the Yule ball in “Goblet of Fire”? Pavarti Patil
14. Who was stuck in the vanishing cabinet for several day? Montague
15. Who were Molly’s twin brothers who died during the first war against Voldemort? Fabian and Gideon
16. Which Slytherin has a mother famous for having husbands who die young? Blaise Zabini
17. How many uses are there for dragon’s blood? 12
18. Who accidentally touches the necklace meant for Dumbledore? Katie Bell
19. What is a Gurg? The chief giant of a clan
20. Who is the Hufflepuff ghost? The Fat Friar
21. What was Snape’s mother’s full name (before she got married)? Eileen Prince
22. What do Hermione’s parents do for a living? They are dentists
23. Who acquires the horcrux locket from Mundungus Fletcher? Dolores Umbridge
24. What was Hagrid’s mother’s name? Fridwulfa
25. What house did Ernie Macmillan belong to? Hufflepuff
26. Who killed Karkus the Giant? Golgomath
27. What was Molly Weasley’s maiden name? Prewett
28. Who is the eldest son of Arthur and Molly Weasley? Bill
29. What name did Barty Crouch, Sr. incorrectly call Percy Weasley? Weatherby
30. Who told Umbridge about the meetings of Dumbledore’s Army in the book “The Order of the Phoenix”? Marietta Edgcombe
31. Who was Cedric Diggory’s father? Amos
32. Who did Luna and her father believe was disguising himself as Sirius Black? Stubby Boardman
33. What ministry official first spoke to the Gaunts about Morfin’s attack on Tom Riddle, Sr.? Bob Ogden
34. Where do Sirius and Regulus Black’s names come from? Stars
35. What is the name of Bellatrix Lestrange’s husband? Rodolphus Lestrange
36. Who was captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team during "Prisoner of Azkaban"? Marcus Flint
37. What is Lee Jordan’s pseudonym while broadcasting “Potterwatch”? River
38. Who is the driver of the Knight Bus? Ernie Prang
39. When Harry revealed he was a Parseltongue in “Chamber of Secrets,” it was by speaking to a snake in order to stop it from attacking someone. Who was it Harry saved? Justin Finch-Fletchley
40. Who owned Hokey the House Elf? Hepzibah Smith
41. What does SPEW stand for? Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare
42. Who is the first to die in “Deathly Hallows”? Charity Burbage
43. Who writes “Albus Dumbledore Remembered” for “The Daily Prophet”? Elphias Doge
44. Where do Harry and Cho go for their first and only date? Madam Puddifoot’s
45. What is the name of Fleur Delacour’s younger sister? Gabrielle

A Christmas Miracle!

Many years ago I spent the final days of my first semester of college driving around the Poughkeepsie area doing some shopping and generally goofing off with my friends Eevin and Alison. Much of these trips were just an excuse to listen to a tape Eevin had called Cool Yule Volume 2. There weren't too many of the usual suspects on this one ... presumably Rhino put "Jingle Bell Rock" and such on Volume 1, but there were some very fun songs, some of which I have been trying to get ahold of for years. Last year I was able to find Johnny Preston's "I Want a Rock N Roll Guitar" on iTunes, but my other favorite eluded me. I remembered the song as "Christmas on the Bayou" and I remembered the lyrics as ... unintelligible. Either Eevin's car speakers weren't great or my 18-year-old ears couldn't quite penetrate the Cajun dialect, but I had no idea what this woman was singing about. I had great fun singing along with nonsense lyrics "Fleebin flowbin heebin hobin screebin bleebin hayboo/Deebin doobin meebin noonbin DOWN ON THE BAYOU" ... and Eevin and Alison pretended to be amused.

Well, a little research now and I find the song is actually called "Papa Noel" and it's by Brenda Lee! And here it is!

I have turned into such a cold wuss. A year and a half in Los Angeles and whatever New England ice water that was once in my veins has been replaced by room temperature Evian. In my old home town, it's about 30 degrees right now. Here in LA it's 63 and I'm feeling chilly. Yep, bundling up, coats and sweaters, gloves for the morning dog walk ... the whole nine yards. We'll be back in the Northeast for Christmas and I'm afraid it might kill us.

I've been trying to be less snarky in general and not say unnecessarily mean things, but ... well ... I'm about to have a relapse:

Nicole Kidman was a better actress back when her face could move.

An exchange I recently had with Isaac over at Parabasis

There were other people involved, too, but I cut them out.

Wait A Minute

I just saw a "For Your Consideration in All Categories" ad for Knocked Up. To which I can only say... really?

December 03, 2007 in Film | Permalink | Comments (6)

Well, definitely screenplay and maybe director. Seriously. I honestly think the film is a masterpiece.
Posted by: Noah | December 03, 2007 at 09:21 PM



Okay. First off, that film is *terribly* directed. It is clearly cropped together from disparate improved takes, the lighting and design elements are bad, and I'm pretty sure it violates the 180 rule a few times. It's a good movie, but the screenplay has serious structural problems (really? an illegal immigrant can get a job and an apartment during a montage? etc.) It's a *good* movie, but it's certainly not a great one Superbad is both funnier and better directed.
Posted by: isaac | December 03, 2007 at 10:44 PM

5 Mainstream 2007 Movies Better Than Knocked Up....

... and therefore films I'd consider for best picture before considering it.

1) Ratatouille

2) Hot Fuzz

3) Sunshine

4) Before the Devil Knows Your Dead

5) No Country for Old Men

My point, once again, is not that Knocked Up is a bad movie. It isn't. It just isn't brilliant. It's a pretty good film that only achieves something akin to greatness when graded on the curve of the particularly loathesome genre of the romantic comedy. I enjoyed it. Great date movie. Made me smile. But it ain't no Annie Hall fer chrissakes!

December 04, 2007 in Film | Permalink |

I'll give you Ratatouille, which was amazing, and I have not seen the others, but by condemning the whole genre, you're already acting unfairly. I could just as easily condemn The Godfather by saying the gangster genre is morally wrong. Knocked Up paints a more honest, funnier, and yet more hopeful picture of human interaction than any comedy since ... well, possibly since Annie Hall.
Posted by: Noah | December 04, 2007 at 11:17 AM


Another commenter mention Juno and I replied …



I've seen Juno at a test screening and it is wonderful. Knocked Up was almost, but not quite, a life changing movie for me; Juno isn't in that realm, but it's excellent. Ellen Page is great (I feel bad for hating her in X-Men ... I hope there's award talk for her) and the dynamic of her family is one of the best I've ever seen on film. I also saw a prescreening of a decent but not great comedy called Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler coming out next year -- Poehler plays Fey's surrogate. There's no bigger fan of those two than me, so I might have liked it more if it weren't on the heels of two brilliant pregnancy comedies.
Posted by: Noah | December 04, 2007 at 12:22 PM

(NOTE: This next comment was actually addressed to someone other than me)


I honestly cannot believe that any reader of this blog could seriously argue that I'm prejudiced against a work of art because of its genre. One of the five films I'd nominate is a kids movie about a rodent that wants to become a chef, and one of them is a parody of action films. One is a sci-fi film, one is a western and one is a crime movie. They are, in fact, all genre films. I mean this with all due respect but also in all honesty... did you read my post before responding to it?
I'm aggravated because Knocked Up is a very poorly made film. *That* is my issue with it. The way that scene are obviously cobbled together from disperate improved takes. The way that the plot on some level stops making sense about two thirds of the way through because it's beholden to the rom-com formula of big-fight-big-make-up. Or the fact that the male lead and his friends are so exagerratedly terrible as human beings that the redemption at the end makes no sense?
The film is able to blow past all of these objections because it is a fun movie with good performances that makes you feel good about yourself. But the objections are still there.
In other words, my issue is with the piss poor standards that we have for comedy, these same standards that gave birth to Kevin Smith.
I have no problem with people going and enjoying themselves at a movie. Which is pretty much the experience I had at KNOCKED UP. I liked it. I liked the big smile that anne gave me when it was over. I have a problem with people elevating something above what it is.
Posted by: isaac | December 04, 2007 at 12:22 PM


And noah...
Okay, I gotta ask.. what was "life changing" about the film for you? I dont' mean that argumentatively. I'm really interested. Clearly it touched something in you that it didn't in me. I'd love to know what that is.
Posted by: isaac | December 04, 2007 at 12:24 PM



Isaac, how can you claim you're not prejudiced against a genre when you just called romantic comedies "loathsome"?
I didn't notice any of the faults you find in this movie. The method of assembling semi-improvised takes only helps Apatow in creating the feeling of an evening spent hanging around with friends. The plot, while erratically paced, seemed wholly logical to me. I find nothing unrealistic about Ben's friends, nor did I find them unlikable. I probably wouldn't hang out with them in real life since I don't smoke pot, but for 45 minutes of a two hour movie, I thought they were great company.
As for how this was nearly life changing ... Look, mostly due to one disastrous day near the end of grad school I have not written a play for adults in 3 1/2 years. I left Knocked Up reminded of how much humor and catharsis can be found in human beings, in how they interact with each other, and the horrible things they can do to themselves and the people they love. Human beings need to be shown all the agony and joy of love, of the absurdity and beauty of the human condition and Knocked Up does this with an honesty rarely seen in any popular entertainment. For me, this was inspirational. The movie made me feel like I have something to contribute to culture, like my voice could be useful. I didn't actually start writing the screenplay I'm working on now until a few months later, but it's very possible that without Knocked Up I would never have started, or, if I had, it would be a slow mechanical exercise instead of the labor of love it is.
Plus, Katherine Heigl is really hot.
Posted by: Noah | December 04, 2007 at 01:57 PM


Noah,
Actually that's quite helpful. And I meant the loathesome thing as a bit of hyperbole, sorry. I *do* think that it's a genre with a very high failure-to-success ratio (perhaps because it's formula is so iron clad) but I do enjoy a good romcom (particularly both of the two adapted from Nick Hornby novles) from time to time.
Posted by: isaac | December 04, 2007 at 02:16 PM


Okay, I'm glad we're cool. And yes, the majority of romcoms are terrible. […] Sigh.
Posted by: Noah | December 04, 2007 at 02:36 PM

then in a later email I wrote ...

I enjoyed the Knocked Up back and forth. I realize it's a little silly to call that movie "life changing," so I'm glad I qualified that ... it wasn't quite, but almost kinda sorta.

I know I often wince when someone refers to any movie (or song or book or what have you) as "life changing," especially when it's something like Dirty Dancing or a Mariah Carey song or the like. But, y'know ... whatever gets people through. This is something I've been working on, trying not to condemn people for liking something I don't ... unless it's something genuinely poisonous to society, like Rudy Giuliani or the movie Independence Day ... but for the most part so many people seem to take such delight in trashing things that I think it gets way too personal and has that implicit "this is bad and you're stupid for liking it" vibe. I have to remind myself, yes, I don't understand the appeal of "Dancing with the Stars" but that doesn't mean people who do like it are inferior life forms ... necessarily.

Have you noticed that practically every new TV show this season was set in or around LA?

My theory is that it’s much easier to shoot on location now. Cameras are lighter and more portable and work well in natural light. So it’s much more practical to do lots of little scenes outdoors. Before, if you could only shoot, say, ten minutes of a forty minute show outdoors, you’d probably have no qualms about dressing up a street in Burbank to look like one in New Jersey. But now that we’re shooting 75% outdoors it’s much easier to make LA look like LA.

And it does kinda show when something is shot in LA and supposed to be something else … like when Michael Scott visited a Scranton college campus in February and it was bright and sunny and green (at least the students playing Frisbee on the quad were in scarves and hats).

The flip side of this, for the handful of New York-based shows, was on the “30 Rock” finale last spring when, in an episode that aired in April or May featured Kenneth visiting his country bumpkin cousin and there was snow on the ground. I assume the original script had him in Georgia, where Kenneth is from, but the weather forced them to move him to Pennsylvania.

A small retraction ...

Okay, now that I think about it, that "Evolution of the Dance" thing is kinda funny.

Things I have had to explain to actors in children’s theatre that should have gone without saying

You cannot ad-lib “Oh my god!” A number of people are quite serious about taking the lord’s name in vain.

You cannot imply romance between a human character and an animal character. Parents do not like to take their children to theatre that endorses bestiality.

During autograph sessions after the show, the kids want you to sign your character name, not your own name.

It’s “beanstalk” not “beanstock.”

It’s “puss in boots” not “pus.”

There is a difference between “foppish” and “flamingly gay.”

Yes, you have to say that line. That's why I put it in the script.