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!

The fireworks in my backyard are here at Crunchable!

(x-posted from Away With the Spoon

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!

(x-posted from Away With the Spoon)

(For the uninitiated, I am playing a reading game at the library wherein I read as many books as I can that are set in different states. I've been posting book reviews along the way, and here's the latest set.)

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!

( Book Reviews Ahoy! )

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

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

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

(X-posted from Away With the Spoon)

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.

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

X-posted from Away With the Spoon

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!

Since I barely write in this one anymore, I may as well start copying my other (nerdier, bookier) blog posts over here too. Here are the last two entries.

X-posted from Away With the Spoon:
5/31/09
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.

----
5/19/09
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...

The showdown between dog and machine is here at Crunchable!

So, good news and bad news.

The bad news is that my faithful old iPod, Freddie, bit the dust. I had him going strong for 5 years, and he started to slow down and glitch until he finally flashed the "sad iPod" icon, which looks like just that: a cartoon iPod with a frowny face. And then he never came back.

The good news is that iPods are cheaper than they used to be as long as you don't want the fancypants new touch kind. So, with my birthday just a few weeks away, I decided to treat myself to a brand spanking new one. It's a 120 GB iPod classic whom I've named Iggy, and I'm amazed how much they've advanced in just 5 years. He is way cool.

The bad news is that I'm a dummy and didn't have most of my music saved anywhere. So I'm rebuilding my collection from the ground up, between my (thankfully) saved iTunes purchases and all of the CDs that I own.

The good news is that the library has a lot of CDs that I like, so I'm ripping a lot of theirs until I have time to go to my parents' and dig out my own collection from wherever I've stashed it.

The bad news is that I'm still missing stuff. Can anyone help a girl out? I'm looking for songs or CDs to borrow, recommendations to seek out, mix CD swaps, whatever you can do. :-)

I am a shameless music beggar, you guys.

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

Seriously. How adorable is my dog?







He's the best.

Meet my new dog here at Crunchable!

We're getting a new dog this week!

Read all about it here at Crunchable!

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!

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

A little snow karma, a la William Stafford:

"It is time to notice, I say, the freezing snow
hesitating toward us from others' grey heaven;
listen--it is falling not quite silently
and under it still you and I are walking."

(I really want a snow day tomorrow. A lot. Wear your pajamas inside out!)