For the last 3 years, Muppet Show has been releasing full seasons of there show. Last Tuesday they released Season 3. I have yet to watch it, but I will. While the show was on during the late 70s and early 80’s, I used to watch these show in reruns with my wife. They were a favorite show of ours. Sometime in the 90’s the Best of the Muppets were released on DVD’s. We were able to enjoy them again. Not all the shows were released. I have seen some of my favorites in season 1 and 2. I hope there will be more favorites in season 3.

Watching the Muppets now bring me a good feeling. This was not always the case. I’m glad that the first season came out when it did. Any earlier, I would never have been able to watch the first season, I would have skipped over that DVD in the store, and then probably wouldn’t have picked up seasons 2 and 3. Sometimes things happen at just the right time. They came out the time I needed them. After I watch of few, I’ll get into all the things we liked about them Muppets. Right now it is a time of quite reflection for me.

My lovely eldest daughter bought me a toy. It was the latest Mr. Potato Head, complete with Indiana Jones Costume. Since I am a big Indy fan, this was a real treat. I’m just waiting to get the “BIG” Lego set, I just don’t know where I would put it.

The newest installment of the Indiana Jones series comes out this Thursday. While I would love to be there on Opening night, there may be other things that keep me from the movie house. I’m sure I will see it this weekend, but the exact day is up in the air.

I’d like to say something insightful or thought provoking about the movie, but I’m just making this up as I go along.

Somewhere along the way I missed Monday.  Not really, but today seemed like a carbon copy of yesterday.  The problems that came up at work were the typical Monday problems.   Seems like people go away from their job for the weekend, and forget where they were on Monday.  Today was Tuesday, but it seemed like some of the things I had to deal with were the Monday issues.  Maybe people took an extra day for the weekend, and were getting back into the swing of things, I’m not sure.  I just know I don’t like work weeks with two Mondays.  I hope tomorrow is actually Wednesday.

It turned cooler here today, and rather blustery.  I spent a good portion of the afternoon at the High School’s performance of “Once Upon a Mattress”.  After the show I spent some time tearing down the set.  I don’t often help tear down sets I didn’t help build or wasn’t part of the production in one form or another.  In this case I was just a volunteer with an electric drill.

Normally, I get a bit down when tearing down a set.  There is a lot of work that goes into making a play ready for an audience. Tearing down the set is the final goodbye for that show.  As an actor, there is always that part of you that wants the show to end.  On some shows this feeling is stronger than on others.  At tear down the feeling that you have of not wanting the show to end shows its head.   There are many emotions that go along with this.  You can feel relief, sadness, and happiness all at the same time.  You feel that it is good that the show is ending, but hating the fact you won’t have this same cast again.  Yes, I’ve worked with the same actors more than once, but in 10 years, I’ve never been with exactly the same cast.  Sometimes it is hard to leave that behind.

After getting way off track, I’ll try to get back to my point.  I had none of those feelings today.  It was just a mechanical thing getting the set down, and the stage cleared.  Not a big deal at all.  When the set was down, it was just time to go.  No seating in the theater talking about the show.  Where things were messed up, were the audience just didn’t get the joke.  All the in and outs that make theater fun.  We were done, I was tired and hungry, and I just wanted to go.  I like the other feelings better.  Maybe it was different for the students in the show.  I’ll have to ask the one I know.

My youngest is growing up, she is now a Junior in High School, and in her Second to last High School play. She only had a small role, but to me she was the loveliest lady in waiting on stage. I tried to follow her every time she appeared on stage, and every time I felt a pain in my heart. This is another one of those times when I hate being a widower. Her mother should have been there to watch this.

This is not the first show my dear wife hasn’t been to, and knowing my daughters it will not be the last. It startles me every time I watch them perform. Every time I feel that same sadness in my heart. Knowing it will come doesn’t seem to help much. While I don’t break down into tears much anymore, the emptiness is still very real. I can’t be both parents, I can only be the Dad. I try my best, but that isn’t always good enough, at least not for me. Not a lot more to say on this right now as I wonder what the next time will bring.

I went to see my daughter in the high school play.  This year they put on “Once Upon A Mattress”.   I won’t comment much on any of the singing.  I can’t sing, and I am no judge of the singing of others.  What sound good to me may not sound good to other people.

I will comment on the performances of the actors (students).  I’ve been involved in community theater for quite a while now, and I’m finally beginning to understand what it takes to make a good show. (some of my friends may argue my last statement, but this is my blog.  I saying what I want.)    The young people did a wonderful job getting into there roles.  Even the ladies in waiting and Knights of no lines.  While on stage, they all acted the part they were given.  Except for a few small present day items thrown in for humor, most of the time the actors were in the “Middle Ages” (fairy tale style of course).    People on stage were reacting  to (not just standing and ignoring) the other action on the stage.  In times where lines were missed (I’m not sure how many people actually noticed this, but as I said, I’ve been on stage before) the actors covered it with grace and the ability to stay in character.  A well performed play for such young talent.

The lead actors seemed comfortable with the songs, lines and character.  The Queen really stood out during one very long monologue.  It seemed like she ranted and raved for a good 10 minutes, barely stopping to get a breath in.  If you know the show at all, this is exactly the way the Queen should be.  The Prince played the perfect momma’s  boy through the show.  Princess Winifred played a very strong second to the Queen.  And finally the Lady Larken and Sir Harry gave a good backdrop to the reason behind getting Winifred to the Palace.  As I said early the smaller roles and the chorus roles held their own.  It didn’t look like they were added just to be a chorus.  They performed their parts and kept in their characters the entire time on stage.

Since this is a High School performance I won’t comment much on the directing or the stage handling of the show.  I’ll leave it said, that if this were at the community theater, I would make comments on the dance routines, and the way the stage was handled.  Some good, some bad — I think the students followed the direction given to the best of there abilities.

I am going again tomorrow, and I expect to be just as entertained as I was this evening.

After spending a couple of days looking at WorldWide Telescope from Microsoft.  This is a very fun program to run.  The pictures from NASA telescopes are simply beautiful.  There is a lot more there than I can uncover in just a few days, but here is what I found out.

It is a good tool for use in the classroom.  By using this, you can actually place some of the wonderful NASA pictures in the night night sky.  I’m not sure it is good for planning night view sessions at the telescope, but if you have a computer driven scope, it will allow you to point at specific night sky targets.  Trouble with this is that it likes to be online.  While it does work offline, it seems to be slower.  Getting data/photos on-line do take up space on your hard drive.  I’m not sure how much space yet, but I will again keep looking into that.

For me, this is a good addition to other software I have, but I don’t think it will replace anything.  More to come.

I took 2 of my daughters to see Prince Caspian tonight. While I enjoyed the movie, but couldn’t help but feeling that it wasn’t quite flowing with the book. It has been years since I’ve read the book, so I couldn’t be sure. I will have to read the book again to determine if my feelings were accurate.

As far as the movie. I was entertained. I think that I will want to get the DVD. I think I would just rent this to see it again in most normal instances, but since I have the first movie, and the books, it will add nicely to a collection.

I’m not sure I would take younger children to this movie unless they have a good idea that movies are “make believe”. This movie was a little more intense than “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. There are two major battles, and a couple of more intense chase scenes. So while a good movie, you may want to watch it first before taking the young ones.

When do friends become family? When do family members become friends? I’ve heard many times that you choose your friends, but are born into your family. Is there ever a time you choose your family as your friends? Do you ‘adopt’ friends as family?

All deep questions, to which I have very few answers. I know how I feel about some family, and some friends. But that can’t be the same for everyone, can it?

I was born into a large family. When I came into this world, I had 1 brother and 3 sisters. A younger sister came along just a few months later (22.5 or so). I liked to think I could be friends with all of them. At times I was, at other times we were just siblings. I married into a family and got 2 more brothers, and 1 more sister. Yes, this is the way I thought of them. Time and distance prevented a normal ‘friendship’ but I felt it could be that way if distance wasn’t an issue. My sisters married and I got more brothers. My brother married and I had another sister. Marriages came and went, so did some of the new siblings.

Now I have four daughters. Two of them have husbands, so I now have sons. I don’t know how they think of me, I tend not to pry, but it doesn’t really matter. As long as they treat my daughters well, they will continue to be sons to me. It will be this way for all my girls and their spouses. I don’t buy the in-law route. You’re either family or not. And I’m beginning to think my family are also my friends. Different from my chosen friends, but to me they are friends on some level. This allows me to give that quality of concern that should be expected of family.

Now for friends I choose. Yes, some of them are very much like family. The brothers/sisters/cousins/strange-aunt or uncle 😉 that I found instead of being born into the family. Friends are the family I choose.

And when the weather turns cold (figuratively or realistically), it is good to have friends and family, or both.

I’m currently listening to Beethoven’s 5th symphony.  I wanted to put the 9th in, but didn’t see it in my cd area.  I found it after I started the 5th, and I’ll never turn down a 5th (quote from many movies, and books, not my usual mode of operation).

I’ve always liked Beethoven.  Maybe it was the fact that I started listening after reading all of those “Peanuts” comic strips.  Maybe it was because one of his symphonies was in Disney’s Fantasia.  Maybe is was because we had to listen to it in School.  Who knows.  But I do like it.  I like other classical music too, but I don’t get much chance to listen to it.  The younger people in my house tend to cringe when I put in classical or Jazz.   I’m eclectic in my music tastes though,  I like a lot of different music, as long as I can tell it is music. Don’t get me started on the Rap stuff.

Anyway, I quietly relaxing.  Typing the blog, and listening to good ol’ Ludwig.   Not much I can say about this piece.  But I’m wondering how many people actually would know it without the famous opening.  I’m at a point in the symphony now, that I don’t really remember from the last time I listened to it.  I imagine if I played this segment, most people would not put it together with the 5th.   Just makes me wonder.