Make it Better

hello, friends,

in the middle of fast and furious rewrites with both playwrights -- i'm amazed at their ability to turn around great, solid work in such a short time. there's a symposium tomorrow night at 8PM on the topic of "let them eat cake? audiences and performance in the 21st century" that should be great: eduardo machado, sociologist michal mccall and poet/hyperlinker michael joyce and me. fun abounds! then, the readings begin on friday at 8PM and continue saturday at 3 and 8 and then sunday at 3PM. drinks on sunday night. we're at the adrienne on sansom between 20th and 21st. come along -- for specifics, go to www.playpenn.org. and this year, we're doing nothing but thinking about the much-loved and missed veronica. here's to you, my friend.

today's message was inspired by a passing comment i heard on the street two days ago. one teenage girl smacked her friend on the arm and barked, "make it better." the hitt-ee said, "okay, okay, okay." it seemed so simple, so obvious that it really stuck with me. wanna make poverty a thing of the past? go here: www.one.org. interested in the work of doctors without borders (whose membership includes my former pediatrician, dr. jerry erhlich!) and their efforts towards providing emergency medical services? go here: www.doctorswithoutborders.org. howsabout the protection of our first amendment -- and of those who report it? learn more about the international federation of journalists: www.ifj.org. maybe it has to do with pets: www.hsus.org or health coverage and other issues related to and for children: www.childrennow.org or possibly even a grand experiment involving books and park benches at www.bookcrossing.com.

i guess my point here is again "do something." don't be a slacktivist. make it better. if a teenager can play along, surely you can too.

on another front, it is my great pleasure to welcome to the world kendall madison simms, born at johns hopkins yesterday, july 12th. she weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces and is 19 inches in length. her surgery date, likely to be friday or saturday, will be decided soon, so keep her, her parents karen and steve and her unsuspecting brothers jake and greyson -- they have no idea what a baby sister is going to do to their boy-ish lives. -- in your thoughts. congratulations and much love.

and if you get a chance to watch a repeat of the "american masters" show on woody guthrie, do so.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky