Away With the Spoon

See Our Show!

2009-07-12T22:08:00.002-04:00

Remember, Zero Hour Theatre's latest show is playing NOW at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C. Check it out!

The Foley Artist
an original work by Mike Meagher

Old-time radio. Big-time laughs.

A Depression-era sound technician longs to write radio dramas; meanwhile, his voice actors are embroiled in a love triangle. Will he keep the actors on script and achieve his dreams? Tune in to this uproarious comedy to find out!

Venue
The Bodega - at The Trading Post
1013 7th ST NW, Washington DC
20001

Performance Times
Saturday July 18 @ 1:30pm
Saturday July 18 @ 8:30pm
Saturday July 25 @ 1pm

Purchase your tickets here!

I'll be there for the performance on the 25th. See you there!

Backyard Spectacle

2009-07-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

The fireworks in my backyard are here at Crunchable!

Progress

2009-07-03T10:43:00.002-04:00

Since January, here's where I am so far in my challenge to read one book for every state in the U.S. Sadly, the 30 or so other books I've read so far this year either weren't set in America or were set in the same states over and over (California, quit it!)

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California: Free for All, by Don Borchert
Colorado: The Tie That Binds, by Kent Haruf
Connecticut
Delaware: Alice in the Know, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Florida: Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
Georgia
Hawaii: The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion
Idaho
Illinois: Intensely Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Indiana
Iowa: Dewey, by Vicki Myron
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana: Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
Maine
Maryland: Three Willows, by Ann Brashares
Massachusetts: The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell
Michigan: The Longest Trip Home, by John Grogan
Minnesota: Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis
Mississippi
Missouri: In Search of Mockingbird, by Loretta Ellsworth
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
New Mexico
New York: Goldengrove, by Francine Prose
North Carolina: Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman
North Dakota
Ohio: Dramarama, by E. Lockhart
Oklahoma: Take the Cannoli, by Sarah Vowell
Oregon: Twilight Director's Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke
Pennsylvania: Sellevision, by Augusten Burroughs
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee: How to Build a House, by Dana Reinhardt
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Washington, D.C.: Dangerously Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
West Virginia
Wisconsin: Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Wyoming

Next up on the list is Gone With the Wind and In Cold Blood. Stay tuned, and I will finish up on my book reviews soon!

Teens Around the U.S.

2009-07-01T09:32:00.004-04:00

I'm still reading my way around the United States, and exactly halfway through the year I made it halfway through my game, having read 24 books set in different states. My next post will show my progress, but this time I'm going with a big giant set of book reviews for the young adult books I've read for the game. Here goes!

Illinois: Intensely Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
I’ve been a Phyllis Reynold Naylor nut this year, happily taking the time to catch up with my favorite teen, Alice McKinley. This is the latest offering in the Alice series (one is published each summer) and I found it to be right on par with the rest of the series. It had all of Naylor’s typical wit and charm and true-to-life qualities that attracted me to the books in the first place (ten years ago!), and it also handled a difficult and terribly tragic situation gracefully and heartbreakingly. I feel like I’ve grown up with these characters, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Missouri: In Search of Mockingbird, by Loretta Ellsworth
Erin is a teenaged girl who has grown up without a mother. All that she has left of her is her worn paperback copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, which she is obsessed with. When her father announces his plans to remarry and gives Erin her deceased mother’s old diary, she takes to the road and goes on an impromptu bus trip from Minnesota to Monroeville, Alabama to seek out her and her mother’s favorite author, Harper Lee. It’s a quick and sweet read, and I, as a huuuge Mockingbird fan, especially enjoyed going along for the ride.

New Jersey: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
Secret societies and prep school drama collide in this marvelously funny book, which follows clever and beautiful young Frankie Landau-Banks as she navigates her hunky secretive boyfriend and her sabotage of the secret club that he belongs to at their school, Alabaster. It was sharp and clever and laugh-out-loud funny and spun the prep school elite and the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds on its head. I loved it and will definitely be reading more by this author.

Ohio: Dramarama, by E. Lockhart
In another delicious offering by Lockhart, we follow Sadye and Demi, two fabulous drama-obsessed teens who escape from the drudgery of the Midwest to attend a prestigious performing arts camp. Loooove, unitards, haughty directors, botched auditions, dancing and singing and butchered Shakespeare plays ensue. As well as being laugh-out-loud funny and terribly clever and well-written, this one gave me more than few flashbacks to my own high school theatre days. Musical lovers will especially like this one.

Tennessee: How to Build a House, by Dana Reinhardt
Apparently I’m very into the whole teens-going-on-trips theme this year. This one follows an environmentally conscious girl named Harper who, in order to escape her crumbling family situation and to lend a hand to a tornado-struck town, leaves LA behind to go to Tennessee and build a house with a teen volunteer group. Building a house teaches her how to slowly recreate the foundation of her own life, and she (and a potential new boyfriend) has the summer of her life.

Washington: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
This one, which is also one of our teen book discussion books at the library, is about Arnold Spirit, an Indian boy growing up on the reservation in Washington State. A smart, glasses-wearing misfit who loves to draw cartoons, he doesn’t fit in anywhere, except for his tenuous friendship with local ruffian Rowdy. To try and save himself from his bad home situation, he follows the advice of a teacher and transfers to the nearby public school, mostly inhabited by rich white kids. He’s a freak at school and an outcast at the rez, and he has to claw his way into acceptance bit by bit. Illustrated throughout with Arnold’s funny cartoons, this was definitely a book worth reading.

Wisconsin: Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Another teen book discussion book at the library, this one is set in a small town in Wisconsin. D.J., following the severe injury of her father and the abandonment of her football hero older brothers, is stuck working the family farm to the detriment of her school work and social life. When her father takes on the rival high school’s quarterback to work for them, she ends up falling for him and becoming his football coach for the summer. Not content just to be a cow and let things happen to her instead of taking charge, she defies social convention and goes out for her school’s football team, pitting her directly in competition with the very boy that she trained. I loved D.J.’s voice and her story, and it was unexpectedly good. I never thought I’d care about football before.

Dog Days of Summer

2009-06-23T13:42:00.001-04:00

My latest Snackable, all about cuddling with my furry friend, is here!

Black Thumb

2009-06-15T13:25:00.002-04:00

The trials and tribulations of gardening are here in my new Crunchable article!

New Website

2009-06-14T22:45:00.000-04:00

Check out Zero Hour Theatre's brand-spanking new website here!

Puglet

2009-06-11T22:55:00.003-04:00

Now, a break from your regularly scheduled geekery to talk about my beloved dog. Just because.

We've had Oscar in our family for almost three months now, and I couldn't be more taken with the little furball. What's not to love about this face?

He's getting smarter every day and knows all sorts of tricks now. He can come, sit, lay down, and go to bed, and give kisses, and he knows to calm down when I tell him to. (Sometimes he's a little hyper in the mornings and Mommy hasn't had enough caffeine to deal).

His favorite things in the whole world are hugs and cuddles, children, pig ears, his stuffed sheep toy, mud puddles, and greeting us when we come home. Though he's indifferent to large dogs (preferring those his own size, of course), he adores any and all people and had himself a grand time at two parties recently. At my birthday barbecue, he was the best of social butterflies, making sure he greeted and sat in the laps of everyone who came. The second party, held for my nephew's birthday, found him mingling and playing nicely with their pet corgi and the birthday boy.

He is noisy and charming and funny nearly all of the time. Hubby and I have been mesmerized just watching him romp and play in the house and yard. He has learned to live with our Roomba and has also conquered his fear of plastic bags, which also means that any plastic bag in the house is fair game. This resulted in his pulling over a bag that had a two liter of soda in it, which then rolled after him across the pantry while he barked for help. It was like Indiana Jones, but pathetic. It was about all the excitement the little guy could take before getting exhausted. He sleeps, by the way, many many hours during the day and snores the whole night through.

And frankly, at the end of the day, there is nothing better than snuggling on the couch with my husband beside me and my sweet puglet in my lap. Of course, when he falls asleep with his eyes open, it can be creepy. But aside from that, it's warm and calming and lovely. And his tail uncurls when he's sleepy. It's my favorite.

He's quite a boy.

Coming Soon--The Foley Artist

2009-06-03T11:34:00.000-04:00

Zero Hour is back at the Capital Fringe this summer with a hilarious world premiere!
Tickets will be available online very soon for $15!

"A Depression-era sound technician longs to write radio dramas; meanwhile, his voice actors are embroiled in a love triangle. Will he keep the actors on script and achieve his dreams? Tune in to this uproarious comedy to find out!"

Friday July 10 @ Midnight
Saturday July 18 @ 1:30pm
Saturday July 18 @ 8:30pm
Saturday July 25 @ 1pm

1013 7th ST NW, Washington DC

http://www.zerohourtheatre.com
http://www.capitalfringe.org

Featuring the talents of:
Dan Franko
Rachel Loose
Andrew McCord
Tess Pohlhaus
Evangeline Rich
Michael Ridgaway
Nick Rose

Directed by Chris Hickle
Written by Mike Meagher
Dramaturged by Molly Weeks Crumbley

Master's, Please

2009-06-01T21:55:00.001-04:00

Well folks, I'm taking the plunge.

Beginning in the spring semester of 2010, I will be attending grad school to get my Master's in Library Science at Clarion University.

I'm going to be taking my classes online and thus in the comfort of my own pajamas, and I'm hoping to finish in two or three years. Exciting!

Wish me luck!

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

2009-05-31T22:43:00.003-04:00

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the Maryland Library Association Conference in Ocean City. I wasn't able to go last year since it was riiiight before my wedding, so this was my first time.

In addition to hauling around three bags full of free swag (including BOOKS!), all of sessions were very interesting. I learned about library and school partnerships, the national library of oceanic research, and, best of all, I got to meet beloved author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor!

Naylor has always been one of my favorite authors and I've been reading her faithfully since childhood. I grew up on her Alice series (the next one comes out in June!) and it was an honor to meet her. For her session, we got to sit in a circle and just chat with her about writing and her experiences, and I was happy to sit next to her and soak it all in. She is an utterly charming woman. Very humble and down-to-earth, despite having published over 100 books and winning the Newbery Award. I learned a lot about her life and writing process and happily purchased her new book and got it signed. (Cricket Man is excellent, by the way).

It's so nice to see that a childhood hero is just as wonderful as you hoped they'd be.

Geek Chic

2009-05-19T18:52:00.005-04:00

My husband ordered me this delightfully nerdy bracelet for my birthday. How cool is this?

It is made of tiles, one which proudly says "I Read Banned Books" and seven other frequently banned titles, including Go Ask Alice, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Color Purple, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Howl, Annie On My Mind, and my all-time favorite To Kill a Mockingbird.

It can be found on Amazon and in the American Library Association online store, for those of you want to also proudly display your reading choices on your wrist. You know you want to...

Oscar vs. Buster

2009-05-18T09:59:00.000-04:00

The showdown between dog and machine is here at Crunchable!

Nonfiction States

2009-05-06T10:05:00.001-04:00

Even more entries for my States BINGO game, this time all nonfiction!

Massachusetts: The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell
I’m a Sarah Vowell lover from way back, and this is her latest offering, which is all about the first Puritan settlers to come to America. It was a fascinating account that I knew very little about prior to reading her book, and I definitely recommend it for any history buff. This one wasn’t as laugh-out-loud funny as her previous works, but it was still a quick and enjoyable and informative read.

Michigan: The Longest Trip Home, by John Grogan
Ever since Marley and Me, I’ve loved Grogan’s work. This is his second memoir, this time about his relationship with his parents and the Catholic church. As with the Marley book, it’s filled with moments both funny and touching, and his talent as an author shines through. He’s a very thoughtful writer, and he draws his parents and childhood in an utterly delightful fashion. Fans of his other work will definitely embrace this one too.

Minnesota: Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis
Peanuts is definitely my favorite comic strip of all time, especially since I got to play Sally in the play You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. I own a lot of the strip collections, but I didn’t know a whole lot about their creator, Charles Schulz, until I gave this one a try. Poor Schulz was such a complicated, gloomy, misunderstood man, but I really enjoyed following his life story through childhood and war and struggles and success and divorce and depression, and I still find it so eerie that he passed away on the eve of his last-ever comic strip. I guess he was right when people asked him what he would do if he weren’t a comic strip artist and he replied, “I’d be dead.”

Oklahoma: Take the Cannoli, by Sarah Vowell
Ah, now this is Sarah Vowell at her best. Few authors are as funny and insightful as she is, and I always learn something from her wacky romps through America, pop culture, and history. I can’t recommend her enough. My favorite is still Assassination Vacation, but this one runs a pretty close second.

Oregon: Twilight Director’s Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke
Yeah, I read this one, though it’s probably my least favorite for this game so far. It was interesting to see some of the concept designs and stories behind the filming of the movie, but I wanted more about how they adapted the book into the screenplay, and there wasn’t a whole lot of depth. If you like pictures of Robert Pattinson, though, it’s good enough. It’s just kind of fluffy and quick.

Tearing Down the Shed

2009-05-06T09:45:00.001-04:00

My latest feature at Crunchable, about demolition and chainsaws, is here!

Even More States

2009-04-23T10:30:00.003-04:00

Continuing along in my States BINGO game, I’ve already completed one game card (12 books) and I’m working on my second. The big ambitious goal is to complete four (a total of 48 books set in different states), but I keep getting distracted by British authors or rereading the same states. I’m pretty sure I can at least get two or three cards done, in any event.

Here are some of the others I’ve finished lately, all in the Young Adult genre:

Delaware: Alice in the Know, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
At least in our library system, there are about four books set in Delaware. None of them really looked appealing to me, but I got lucky. In one of my favorite series, which I’ve been reading in preparation for meeting the author at a conference in May, the characters take a trip to Rehoboth Beach, which is located in Delaware. Yay! This series has been written since my childhood and a new installment comes out every year. It follows the journey of teenage Alice McKinley, a girl who, having lost her mother to leukemia at a young age, was raised by her single father and her older brother. The mishaps that she and her best friends and boyfriend go through ring painfully and hilariously true, and the author is really in touch with adolescent voices. They’re quick and funny and I love watching Alice grow and change. A very solid series and a must-read for all girls (and maybe some guys too).

District of Columbia: Dangerously Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
I won’t spend too much time talking about this one, since it’s from the same series as the aforementioned Alice book, but it was a solid installment also. In this one, Alice starts to hate her goody-two-shoes image and does some things to change it. A good portrayal of teenage rebellion, I liked that this one went in a different direction. A trip to a Georgetown dance club lets this one count for DC, though they’re primarily set in Maryland.

Maryland: Three Willows, by Ann Brashares
One of my guilty pleasure series is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (by now made famous by the movies, though the books are way better), and their talented author has started fresh with a new series. This one tracks three girls whose friendship has crumbled over the years. Ama, Polly, and Jo are all on the brink between middle and high school and are spending their summers apart, navigating through divorce, boyfriends, camp, and weight. Inevitably, the things that pulled them apart start to bring them back together again, and it’s a lovely exploration of friendship that I really enjoyed.

New York: Goldengrove, by Francine Prose
One day, beautiful and talented Margaret dives into a lake and never comes back. Awkward adolescent sister Nico is left behind. This book, set in an idyllic lakeside town in New York, follows Nico as she struggles through the aftermath of her perfect big sister’s drowning. Elegantly written and painfully real, I found this one to be a page turner and found my heart breaking for Nico and her parents.

My Roomba, My Friend

2009-04-20T10:12:00.001-04:00

Meet the newest robotic member of the family here at Crunchable!

All About Oscar

2009-04-06T09:29:00.000-04:00

Meet my new dog here at Crunchable!

Around the States

2009-03-31T14:36:00.001-04:00

I’ve been terribly remiss in posting my reviews for the books I’ve read so far for my States BINGO game. Life, between finishing my library associate certification, working, planning for the Capital Fringe Fest, and acquiring a cuddly pug named Oscar, has been quite busy. I am still finding a ton of time for reading, of course, and have made a pretty solid dent in my BINGO game so far, and here are a few that I’ve done so far.

California: Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library, by Don BorchertAs a librarian, of course I was interested in checking this one out. Since I tackle a lot of bizarre situations daily at my job, this sounded like it would be funny and informative. It was, though I did find myself wanting a little more meat from it. It wasn’t the world’s best book or anything, but it was at least quick and breezy and it got a few chuckles out of me.

Hawaii: The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan DidionI’ve been wanting to read this one for a while, having heard a lot about it and knowing that it is a past recipient of the National Book Award. I’m really glad that I did. Didion is a powerhouse writer, and her documentation of the year following the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and the illness of her daughter Quintana, is electrifying. Very sad, but terribly eloquent and beautiful too, and a raw and true account of grief.

Iowa: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron
Apparently I have work on the brain, because this is another true tale from the depths of a public library. This sweet little memoir is the story of a cat who, having been shoved into a book drop in the dead of winter, is adopted as the town library cat. This is a must for animal and library lovers.

Literary Quiz Time

2009-03-19T10:53:00.004-04:00

Feel free to share your own answers too!

1) What author do you own the most books by?
Brian Jacques, author of my beloved childhood Redwall series, followed by Michael Chabon and J.K. Rowling.

2) What book do you own the most copies of?
To Kill a Mockingbird.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Not even a little. I'm a rebel.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Atticus Finch.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
My all time favorite, To Kill a Mockingbird.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I'm going to guess that it was Mossflower, from the Redwall series.

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I actually really enjoy everything I read, for the most part. There are very few books that I actively hate (I'm looking at you, Grapes of Wrath and Atonement.)

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. What an amazing author.

9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
Probably To Kill a Mockingbird, but high school English classes take care of that for me. Except in the case of my husband, who has shockingly not read it. What's up with that?

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
No idea. I never know what they look for in authors.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
I think it would be neat to see what they do with Ender's Game.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Any academic book.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Moby Dick. I'm still working on it because I find Ishmael to be extremely wordy and boring. It's hard to focus on.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
All's Well That Ends Well.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
French, s'il vous plait.

18) Roth or Updike?
I've only read Roth, so he wins by default.

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris all the way! He's one of the funniest people I've ever read.

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare.

21) Austen or Eliot?
Austen.

22) Favorite play?
I have so many! Streetcar Named Desire, Father Joy, The Overwhelming, Act a Lady, Death of a Salesman....it goes on and on.

23) Poem?
anyone lived in a pretty how town, by e.e. cummings.

24) Essay?
Anything by Sarah Vowell or David Sedaris.

25) Work of nonfiction?
Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell.

26) Short story?
The Dead, by James Joyce.

27) Who is your favorite writer?
Toss up on any given day between David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, Michael Chabon, Dave Barry, Colum McCann, Shakespeare, Israel Horovitz, and Khaled Hosseini.

28) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
James Patterson. He doesn't even write his own books anymore.

29) What is your desert island book?
Probably the Harry Potter series. They're fun and escapist and nice and long.

30) And... what are you reading right now?
Several things: I Like You, by Amy Sedaris, How to Steal a Dog, Moby Dick, the Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Gregory Maguire's A Lion Among Men. And a huge backlog of New Yorker magazines.

Pug Love

2009-03-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

We're getting a new dog this week!

Read all about it here at Crunchable!

Fringe 09, Here We Come

2009-03-08T10:43:00.001-04:00

Hooray!

Zero Hour Theatre has yet again been accepted to Washington DC's Capital Fringe Festival! Following the success of The Frustrations of Stoker Pratt, we'll be offering up something a little different this year--a lighthearted 1940s radio show tribute piece about a foley artist.

Stay tuned for details!

A Whale of a Tale

2009-03-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

My latest feature is up at Crunchable, featuring my many misadventures with the sea.

Thundercats, Ho!

2009-02-23T10:12:00.001-05:00

A little TV nostalgia is here in my new piece on Crunchable!

Barack the Library

2009-02-14T10:52:00.000-05:00

Check out our new president's 2005 speech to the American Library Association.