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Today we bring you another installment of the latest youth research available for sale or download. Remember if your company has comprehensive research for sale that focuses on youth between the ages of 8 and 24, email us to be included in the next... Read the rest of this post

Thanks for the post, Arthur Lawrence

Until this fall, I’ve never really watched Two and a Half Men. Charlie Sheen was such a train wreck in real life I couldn’t bring myself to tune in while watching my direct tv San Marcos. But after all the hype about his being fired and Ashton Kutcher being hired, I couldn’t help tuning in. I wanted to see what all the drama was about. Boy was I not disappointed! I know many long time fans aren’t very excited about the change but I really like the way they made the transition. The funeral was hilarious and a fitting tribute to a character gone rogue. Ashton’s introduction was a blast. He isn’t the best actor but the character he plays doesn’t seem to have much personality so it works! Jon Cryer is always great and continues to play the perfect straight man against Kutcher’s slightly spacy and clueless billionaire. And Angus Jones never disappoints. This show is one of very few examples where the cute kid in the punchlines has been able to grow up and remain relevant. Have you noticed they haven’t had to introduce another younger “cousin” like on so many other sitcoms?

Crinkled brows, eyes shifting from side to side, estimating, evaluating; finally a bark of laughter erupts and a lead card is thrown onto the table.

“We have you now,” shrieks a female voice.

“Maybe,” replies a male opponent as a second card meets the first.

A third card, higher ranked, joins the small pile, and a fourth. The trick is taken by the opponent.

“Always expect a holdout,” the man’s voice advises.

Roars of laughter fill the kitchen with raucous sound. Another Saturday night has convened at the kitchen table for the weekly Euchre game between Mom and Dad and Mom’s sister and brother-in-law.

The aroma of strong coffee and one of Mom’s baked wonders tantalizes nostrils and stomachs of those present. It’s always the same group; couple vs. couple or men vs. women. The game might change from Euchre to rummy or to Pitch, but the night would leave everyone relaxed and satisfied.

Mom’s sister had a great deal to do with that feeling of hilarity. She loved playing the fool during card nights and did it very well. Some nights she was more boisterous than on others, but she seldom turned serious when games were in play.

My younger brother and his counterpart cousin generally watched TV during card night and then settled down to sleep. My older cousin and I watched the game in the kitchen as interested by-standers. We didn’t play. If Euchre was being played, we definitely were not allowed to play. In our part of the country, that game was a gambling game, even when not played for stakes. No children need apply.

None would ever consider the two women as not being family. My mom resembled my aunt in coloring and hair style. Their builds were nearly identical. Both were natural artists and could turn almost anything into a piece of art.

My mother worked in paint and clay or metal and findings from the forest. Her sister worked in paint and fabric, for the most part. Both loved antiques, but my aunt could have been a dealer. The knowledge she had was gleaned from years of scouring antique shops, auctions, and estate sales.

Most of all, both women loved the outdoors and nature. They’d grown up in the country. Their mother had taught them a deep love and respect for what grew wild or by design. They each enjoyed growing food for their tables as much as gathering from the wild.

With all of these commonalities, they managed to remain individuals who stood apart from each other.

Auntie was more playful than Mom. Mom had better rapport with children and animals. Auntie desired a house full of antiques and a spotless home. Mom liked things tidy, but she preferred a sense of home and comfort to fill rooms meant for living.

Aunt and Uncle often took Grandma and my cousins on trips away for a weekend to see other relatives. Mom didn’t bother. Her sister took great pleasure in that part of mother-daughter time; leaving Mom to do the Sunday home visits for family time.

Sisters, friends, companions, champions, confidantes; each filled those roles for the other. They talked in person or on the phone every day, without fail. Close didn’t begin to d

As originally reported by TMZ and followed by the LA Times , we are saddened to report the death of celebrity entertainer Michael Jackson. Jackson collapsed from a cardiac arrest this afternoon in Los Angeles, California. As his family rushed to the hospital, the news quickly swelled on social media sites such as Twitter and [...]

In the beginning, there was no television. I know this because I saw it on the History channel. Back then, hunting was not only man’s primary means of obtaining meat, but also a major source of artistic inspiration. At night early man slept, club in hand, dreaming of hunts to come—but not until he’d carved vivid accounts of that day’s exploits into the walls of his cave. This hobby effectively got him out of having to wash the dishes (Damn it, Rhonda, I’m busy! When’s the last time you drew me slaying a mammoth around here anyway?”), and would someday provide him with countless hours of diversion when he found himself trapped in the cave due to a meteor shower or the ice age.

Man eventually moved from the cave to a loft in the artsy district, but although he and his descendants were evolving, plot lines seldom ventured beyond the realm of familiar everyday themes. Greek tragedies, for instance were simply reenactments of tragic events in Greek history. The Roman’s idea of relaxation after a long day at the massacre was watching gladiators hack it up in the arena. It was not until Shakespeare started writing plays in which Italians spoke perfect English that the audience was required to suspend disbelief for a minute, but even then, he still threw in enough fairies and Jewish stereotypes to make his tales relatable to all.

Opera contributed by introducing characters who lived in a perpetual state of extreme song, their subsequent tragic deaths being the plot’s only link to the rational. Ballet pitched in, too, nudging the door of man’s imagination open yet wider each time a ballerina sprung across the stage in impossibly tight pants.

By the early 20th century, however, most people couldn’t afford to go to live shows thanks to economic constraints, flu epidemics and world war. Understandably, this period is known as the Great Depression. Fortunately, radio momentarily saved the day, allowing listeners to enjoy thrilling crime stories from the safety of their own homes, without even having to read.

But the grand prize, of course, went to television. Thanks to TV, our minds were finally free to prance through the worlds of heroes and villains, penetrate deep space or chuckle at talking animals at the click of a button. We had finally achieved complete detachment from reality, no conscious thought or cruelty to mammoths required. No longer was art merely imitating life; it was instead dictating it. Naturally, it was just a matter of time before someone fingered TV for the decline of our civilization.

Realizing we had created a monster that had to be controlled, a strategy was devised by which real people dealing with real moral, real personal and real serious issues were sent behind hostile lenses to infiltrate the world of television, just as it had infiltrated ours.

Unfortunately, the codename of the operation—Reality TV—blew its own cover, and television promptly resolved to exact its revenge. It didn’t take a lot. All TV had to do was turn our own weapon against us, sit back and watch what happened. More unfortunately, we still haven’t caught on that TV has caught on, although the fact that many of its most rightfully defunct former stars are once again being regurgitated onto our TV screens via the reality show ticket should be a clue. 

And so here we are, trapped in a Dog Eat Dog, Surreal Life with Jon and Kate, unaware of The Mole in The Real World, engaged in a less than Amazing Race with The Bachelor, The Apprentice, and their Big Brother, Real TV, to see who will be The Biggest Loser or at least America’s Next Top Model. There can be only one Survivor.

As for me, I’m gonna wash the dishes, or maybe draw a mammoth.   

G.I. JOE , THE 'REAL' ONE DISCUSSES THE MOVIE WITH HIS NAME IN IT
BY Eleanor Tylbor


After a stressful period of being relegated to a toy factory along with his love, BARBIE and her ex, KEN, the real G.I. JOE is quite upset that a movie has been made using his name as a draw. In a hastily called press conference, G.I. JOE with BARBIE by his side in his words, "wanted to clear the air."

"This is really bisrusting," G.I. Joe blustered waving his trusty machine gun in the air to emphasize his emotional angst. "They've gone and used my name and they didn't even ask me if they could!"

"Disgusting, Joe" the designer-dressed Barbie commented, smoothing her body-fitting dress and smiling for the photographers.

"Wha...?"

"You said, 'bisrusting'. There's no such word as bisrusting," Barbie emphasized, fixing her blond, vinyl hair and cleaning her teeth with her finger. "It's disGUSTING."

"Yeah! You're right on, babe! It is disbust...disrust...whatever she said! This G.I. Joe movie thingie isn't even a real person, like me. It's a military unit! Nobody bothered to ask me, a gen-u-ine soldier if I wanted to be in it. I would'a liked to, 'ya know!"

"Um...GI - remember you lost a foot when we busted out of the warehouse," Barbie interrupted the rant. "

"So? I could have sat at a table or something and held down the fort! Nobody would'a noticed." G.I. explained. "On top of it all, some dudes who call themselves Duke and Ripcord got jobs! But not me, G.I. Joe, the original soldier. It ain't fair!"

"I'll tell you what's not fair," Barbie intervened, "to have to walk on tippy-toes all your life, like me."

"Yeah - you're right as usual, babe. That's much worse than having your leg shot off. Hey - wanna go see the movie with my name in it? I got free tickets."

Placing a crutch under one arm and leaning on Barbie with the other, the pair left the room.

"Do you have to lean on me so much?" Barbie commented. "You're crushing my hair."

http://www.gijoemovie.com/

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In Memoriam: Patrick Swayze
In Memoriam: Patrick Swayze

Still submitting and waiting for that first acceptance. I mean, I ain't gettin' any younger! Be that as it may...I'm back working on a play I started perhaps ten years ago with many edits and tinkering along the way. The more I read it - the more I realize that I really like it so I'm sharing the first ten or so pages with the world - or whoever happens to drop by. I should be so lucky!

Will provide updates as to its progress along the way. Meanwhile, enjoy. Feedback welcome.

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By: scriberess, on 4/14/2010
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Oprahs Search for the Next TV Star, Oprah Winfrey Network, marketing, playwriting. plays, entertainment, Oprah Winfrey, personalities, TV, television, a. playwright's ramblings, Add a tag

DEAR OPRAH - I REALLY WANT TO HAVE MY PLAYS PRODUCED

Got a great idea yesterday as a possible, perhaps unrealistic but desperate means, in which to get one of my plays produced.

Recently, Oprah Winfrey - "the" Oprah - announced her retirement from her television show. Instead, she has created the OWN - Oprah Winfrey Network that will feature programs focusing on a variety of subjects. One particular aspect of the network caught my eye, which is an opportunity for your ordinary people to fulfill a dream via "Your Own Show" - 'Oprahs Search for the Next TV Star' . This presented a perfect opportunity for me to pitch my search for my plays or at least one of my plays to be produced. So I signed up for the newsletter and then filled out the form, my stomach doing flip-flops all the time. I'm really neurotic about these plays and in the past have found it difficult to even send them out. This insecurity is akin to mothers having a baby and then having to allow them to leave once mature or in my case, ready for Broadway...or anywhere, actually.

Everything was fine until I reached the end where a photo was required to accompany the form. Searching through my photos I selected one, downloaded it as an attachment after which is was refused as too large. Returned to my photos and once again attempted to download another photo with the same result. No matter which photo I attempted to attach, they were all refused.

Hence, the reason for taking to my playwriting blog in the hope that Ms Winfrey and company will somehow come accross this and consider my pitch. I'm placing this issue in the hands of destiny and fate. In this case a photo "less than 500K or a maximum resolution of 500x500 pixels" just won't work for me but then words are my strong point.

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By: scriberess, on 8/16/2010
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  playwriting, eleanor tylbor, 10-minute plays, plays, entertainment, dialogue, playwright, short plays, commentary, Add a tag

So I'm thinking here...given the success or lack thereof, of any of my plays produced so far, some new strategy is required. To date and as I've shared in this blog, I've written two full i.e. two-act, plays, one-1 act play and approximately a dozen short-short plays and skits over the years. Given the reality of today's economy, the future of having them making their debut on stage looks somewhat doubtful, hence the change of direction.


I've decided to write short pieces of dialogue on a daily or at least a regular basis that may or may not end up as a play down the line. They may be snippets of conversations overhead in a mall, or perhaps conversations with friends or personal experiences that would normally fall into the rant'n'rave category in one of my other blogs. Or maybe the embryonic beginning of a play. Just...stuff.


As always comments are welcome be they good or bad and I will respond accordingly but spammers will be deleted. Playwriting is angsting enough without having to deal with spammers. so stay away and you have been warned!


Meanwhile - on with the show!

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By: scriberess, on 11/22/2010
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  dog, playwriting, entertainment, old soldiers - the radio play, drama, writing, BBC International Playwriting Competition, radio play, Add a tag

OLD SOLDIERS - THE RADIO PLAY - a progress report #1

Decided to try and convert my short story, "Old Soldiers" into a radio play and enter it into the BBC International Playwriting Competition. My first realization how difficult a task this is going to be is underestimating the amount of dialogue required. Dialogue as it stands now is limited in its present form and this means a complete re-think as to how I'm going to move this story along. I'm also not sure how to write a radio play. Will spend some time searching the Internet in the hope of discovering the form. Some questions requiring answers that keep me up nights wondering:

- is it written in the same manner as a play?
- do radio plays have scenes?
- where are the sound effects written?

Why am I doing it? Because it's a personal challenge, especially since I've entered the competition before having submitted, "Retribution", which should have won...IMHO. This short story is one of my favorites and I think that it has the potential to be a winner.

There are four characters in the short story but more are required. I'm toying with the idea of adding an old dog given that Joe, my main character, is an old soldier. The dog is Joe's confidant, best friend and reason for living.

Dilemma at present is whether to open the story in Joe's apartment as it is in the story, or open it in a pub. If I open it in the pub it could be a few hours before the ceremonies, whereas the kitchen scene would go before he meets up with his friends in the pub to toast the demise of an army buddy friend.

Also considering the addition of an old (as in age) nosey landlady, who enjoys dropping by Joe's apt. He dislikes her, period, and dislikes her never-ending questions.

We'll see what develops as more dialogue is added. To be continued...

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By: scriberess, on 11/27/2010
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  playwriting, play, Snowdance Festival, Over Our Head Players, entertainment, Dusting Mona, Add a tag

DOWNER - MONA DOESN'T GO




It takes me a while until getting to the point where I actually make the decision to submit one of my plays. There is the usual self-doubt and is it play-worthy and entertaining most of all. When and if I do submit, hope springs eternal in my breast that it could make the grade. Visions of it actually being performed before an audience who clap in appreciation accompany the "submit" button or the actual act of mailing the envelope.



Just came back from checking the Snowdance Festival site in the hope that my name was among the lucky ten playwrights whose plays were accepted. It wasn't.



Inject deep sigh here.



Having not received a notification one way or the other, the only means in which playwrights would know is to continually check their site. That I did - and then some.



The play submitted, "Dusting Mona" was one of my recent creations and IMHO it's well written and entertaining. Obviously not entertaining enough to make the grade.



Inject another deep sigh here.



It was mailed this time since that was their preference and now I'm wondering whether it was ever received. Actually, I would prefer to believe that they never received it rather than believe it wasn't good enough. I'm going to opt for the first. Rejection is part of playwriting or any type of writing but it never gets easier as anyone who is in this milieu will attest. I like to believe that the audience doesn't know what they're missing. Let's just say that Mona and other literary friends are taking a rest.

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By: scriberess, on 1/8/2011
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  playwriting, entertainment, fiction, old soldiers - the radio play, writing, BBC International Playwriting Competition, a. playwright's ramblings, Add a tag

OLD SOLDIERS -THE BBC INTERNATIONAL RADIO PLAY COMP. : RE-WRITE PROGRESS UPDATE

Slowly revising the story and adding/modifying dialogue. Also added a character (or more) and changed some of the locations. The fiction story opens in Joe McKenna's apartment and I've changed it to Joe and friends getting together to toast an old soldier's demise, at a bar. It seemed that this would be something that a group of old vets would do.

I'm working on flushing out the various characters but I have to be careful that they're not "throw-away" people that will be dropped along the way. They have to be part of the story line. I like the 'feel' of the dialogue - so far. My problem has never been with writing dialogue - I'm strong in this area but to keep the story on track. To this end I'm going back to something I used to do, which is to write an outline.

The challenge, at least for me, is sound effects. In the bar, there is background music and the sound of people talking. The next scene will be in Joe's apartment, which is problematic sound-wise. Mind you he will be talking to his dog... The dog's responses are limited in speech-lolol. Then again, perhaps I'll have somebody drop by, which still won't give me more sound effects...

Definitely need an outline.

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By: scriberess, on 1/19/2011
Blog: A. PLAYWRIGHT'S RAMBLINGS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition, plays, entertainment, old soldiers - the radio play, script, Add a tag

SECOND THOUGHTS...

As mentioned in previous writings, been attempting to re-write my short story, "Old Soldiers" as a radio play and enter it in the BBC International Radio Play competition. As a stand-alone story, it's probably if not one of my best, however, in order for it to be suitable for radio, it requires a complete re-think on my part.

Writing a play even when its completed, requires a lot of tweaking some of which can't be achieved without letting it "sit" for a while. We're talking (or writing) here about putting it away for a while and then returning for a re-read in order to gain some perspective. My first play, "Gin..." took - without exaggeration - at least2-3 years to complete and umpteen revisions. In fact, I still tweak it.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps my attempt at a re-write given the time left to enter (March), just isn't realistic. I've even toyed with the idea of submitting one of my full plays, "Make Me a Wedding" and cutting out some of the scenes. Problem is, cutting back on the scenes may result in watering down the content and the impact of the story line. It's a comedy and very funny but in the end, it should be in its present form. A radio play is 70 minutes while my play is 120 minutes. That's a lot of dialogue to cut.

So where am I? Really don't know at the present. I entered the competition a few years ago and didn't win but the play I entered was 60 minutes long. At least it was viable. Perhaps I have to go back to the drawing board and re-think the direction my writing has to take. Again.

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