Why is it that today people can’t work together? Admittedly I wasn’t paying attention much back in the 80’s or 90’s, but why is it about posturing now? Politicians constant campaign, focussing on reelection takes the eyes off the goal. The goal of being in the government is to take care of the needs of the country and its people. Now there is always debate on what the government should take care of, but that is the essence.

Now new media has given everyone a voice, but that seems to be causing everyone to listen to what they agree with. The founding father created a system s checks and balances. One where the few or the one do not get decide for the many. Our government has evolved since then, those checks and balances have changed but are still there for the most part. What these checks and balances do is force compromise to accomplish anything. So compromise is part of the design of the founding fathers, as much as in God we trust.

The problem with America is that we don’t support activities that deal with compromise positively. Our culture is based on machismo, capitalism, and individualism. America’s focus on sports reflects that. Sports don’t like compromise, they prefer competition. Competition is the opposite of working together.

Compromise is part of working together for a common goal, it is a part of theatre. Maybe the country would be working better if arts were mandatory instead of PE. What do you think?

It has been a long time since I have posted anything substantial here. Mostly it has been quick little things. Well, I have found it hard to find a balance between the demands of work and family and then to find time to do those things that are categorized as ‘extras’ in my brain. Perhaps this is indicative of the modern times, with things like Facebook and Twitter the need or desire to express opinions or thoughts is diluted. There is no built up need to express thoughts on family or whatever. That plus my usual web surfing seems to have killed my blogging.

It has really hit home that my ratio of content consumption to content creation is out of whack. I am not producing as much as I want to. THis has been running on the back of my brain for a while now. So what I am thinking is I need to a jump start my creative side, and get it out of the rut I am in

What I think is that if there is something you want to change, then change it. Questioning or excuses are just inertia. So I am setting the bar higher for 2010. I need to be making more, whether it’s blog posts, podcast episodes, designing things, or doing crafts with my kids. I am going to say to myself is there something I want to create before I sit down to watch TV or open up the web.

I can already see this will get hard when I spend all day doing email and misc administrative stuff during the day. I will just want to veg out. But I am going to try and step back an see what will really give me value and happiness. You can already see this is not a new year’s resolution, It is more of a recurring reminder to myself. I don’t want to make a promise I will feel bad for not keeping, I need some encouragement.

With the ease of photostiching in Photoshop, I have been making panoramas lately. Click on each for a larger size.

McKelvey at her first soccer practice

Sunset in New Hampshire this summer

The scene shop at my school( with new shelving!)

The school year is about to begin once again. The students are moving back into thier off-campus housing, faculty are prepping for thier classes. It has become a regular rhythm for me. Spending the summer working on productions, teaching and productions during the rest of the year.

My kids find repetion comforting, reading the same book at bedtime night after night or watching the same movie a couple times in a row. But maybe that is true for everyone. Having a routine can be grounding. It can give a sense of stability in a world that is constantly changing. So having the year come full circle is good.

Although I always welcome variety. ;)

I saw these things online and I thought they were definitely worth sharing. It goes to show what you can do with a bit of rehearsal.

And their sequel:

Found a great “TED Talk” by Gever Tulley Entitled Life lessons through Tinkering. It looks like something all kids should be doing.

see it below:

The publications department of my school has posted a full video of our recent aerial dance concert. There was some really good work in this production, some of the students had never danced or choreographed before.

Enjoy.

We performed our children’s show over the weekend. I was in an ensemble piece and had a part in one of the fairy tales(see below). It is always fun to perform for kids, they are very honest some times to much. There were four fairy tales intermixed with original songs. I recorded one that I was in. Unfortunately the camera was bumped after I set it up, but maybe that gives it a fun jaunty look?

Oh, just for clarification, we just performed ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ so one actor was doing a quick change from silly boxers(as the emperor with the invisible clothes) into his normal clothes. You may notice him in the left side of the shot.

Princess & the Golden Ball from Owen Collins on Vimeo.

Let me know how i did.