any help?

hello, friends,

i need some advice.

i have successfully enrolled in a doctoral program at the university of hull in england. yay me!

i have tried to get funding through AES, sallie mae and through the stafford loan process. no one will grant me educational funding because i am doing a distance learning/higher degree through research program.

i then started applying for home equity loans and lines of credit. now, some of you know what sort of shape my credit is in and why...

i've been denied twice today in the last 4 hours.

i'm looking for alternative funding sources (foundations, grants, etc.) or a strong incentive to NOT rob a bank.

any suggestions?

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

happy and sad

hello, friends,

i would be deeply remiss were i not to tip my hat off to ed bradley, who died yesterday after a bout with leukemia. i always loved the earring, and his love of jazz. he was one of the classy one, and he will most certainly be missed.

on a slightly less serious note, please see what the onion has to say about the resignation of donald rumsfeld. the headline is enough to cause a spit-take, "rumsfeld: 'my half-assed job here is done.'" it would be awful were it not so true.

have a great weekend and enjoy the warm sun, wherever you are.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

a new day

hello, friends,

well, here we are. the democrats have captured the house and senate, nancy pelosi is the first woman speaker of the house and donald rumsfeld has resigned.

what happens next? it is far too early to tell if the democrats will take full advantage of this opportunity to turn the tide on so many issues -- our task, as i see it, as citizens, is to keep them honest. i will beg them not to play the "blame game," no matter how tempting it may be. we have to urge them to move forward.

to that end, i encourage you all to check out the following related sites, sent to me by playwright hilary bell: www.ceasefirecampaign.org and their parent organization, www.TheResPublica.org . this is their important message:

"This week the American people voted overwhelmingly to reject President Bush’s war in Iraq, and yesterday the key architect of the war, US military chief Donald Rumsfeld, announced his resignation. The winds of political change are sweeping the US, and the US-led Coalition in Iraq may -- finally -- be realising that they cannot win the war, and that they lack the legitimacy to bring stability and peace to the country without more help from the international community.

With a newly elected US Congress and a President who is finally in a listening mood, we now have a unique opportunity for a global public outcry to change the course of this disastrous war.

It’s the perfect time to act.

To seize this opportunity, we want to place ads in US and UK papers with a new global petition calling upon the Coalition to accept a larger role for the international community and a phased withdrawal of all its troops from Iraq. We’ll publish the number of signatures we get in the ads, so we need AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE to sign the petition.

This is our chance to make sure the pressure of global public opinion is being felt by Coalition governments as they rethink their war in Iraq, pressing them to accept a larger role for the international community and to withdraw their troops.

We know why it’s so important to act. A shocking study released by Johns Hopkins University last month suggested that hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed in Iraq -- more than anyone thought -- and experts warn that the civil war is about to pass a point of no return. October was the worst month yet for civilian casualties, with death squads moving house to house. The killing could place Iraq alongside Darfur as one of the greatest human catastrophes of our new century.

We must not let that happen. And if we each act quickly this week, we can each play a role in stopping it.

This may be our best chance for peace yet. Let’s take it.

The Ceasefire Campaign began when 300,000 individuals from over 150 countries came together to demand a ceasefire in Lebanon. The campaign is a project of Res Publica, a global civic advocacy group and registered charitable organization based in New York City. Please write to us at Team@CeasefireCampaign.org, and visit the Res Publica website for more information – www.TheResPublica.org"

i hope that you will join me in taking a minute to sign the petition.

on a related note, my good pal steve clemons is participating in the search for TIME magazine's "person of the year." check out his ruminations on his web site -- who would YOU choose?

i'm heading to beautiful chincoteague island for some much-needed rest and relaxation with the family, including sister sue and her gang, mama and papa, a couple of uncles and maybe a cousin or two. most exciting is the fact that the saint will be joining in on the fun. i'll say hi to a pony for ya'll. and dillmansky, i'll miss you most of all.

remember: keep them honest.

gotohelllifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

november 8

hello, friends,

the above photo represents why america voted the way it did yesterday. let us NEVER forget that actual lives are being lost in fighting a war that has no focus, no objective and no clear ending. in my world, a paper with these elements would be graded with a big, green "F."

now is the time to look forward. we must not continue to blame. it is time to:

1. insure the uninsured and repair the health care system
2. raise the minimum wage
3. solve the problems in immigration -- we are a nation of immigrants!
4. reverse the tide of the growing national debt
5. guarantee civil rights for ALL
6. plan and execute a viable option for ending the war in iraq.

it is raining here in maryland, but it has not dampened my spirits.

let's get to work.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

truthdig.com

hello, friends,

smart, eagle-eyed larry passed this along.

i share it with you, withold comment and encourage you to read all of the postings which follow it. click here to visit the whole site. november 7 could be a mighty long night -- stock up on your toilet paper, milk and bread.

After Pat’s Birthday
By Kevin Tillman
Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military. Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns
everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action.

It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

take care of each other.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,

volansky

that point in the semester

hello, friends,

it's that point in the semester where i am drowning in a sea of grading. good friend paul sent along the following, which allowed me to go on. i laughed so hard, my coffee came out my nose.

enjoy.

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and similes found in high school essays.

These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across
the country.

Here are last year's winners.....

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the
country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those
boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

14. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

17. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

18. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

19. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

21. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

22. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

23. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

24. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

another thought...

hello, friends,

so, on the heels of my question of yesterday comes this from bob herbert in the nytimes:

Why Aren’t We Shocked?

“Who needs a brain when you have these?”

— message on an Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirt for young women

In the recent shootings at an Amish schoolhouse in rural Pennsylvania and a large public high school in Colorado, the killers went out of their way to separate the girls from the boys, and then deliberately attacked only the girls.

Ten girls were shot and five killed at the Amish school. One girl was killed and a number of others were molested in the Colorado attack.

In the widespread coverage that followed these crimes, very little was made of the fact that only girls were targeted. Imagine if a gunman had gone into a school, separated the kids up on the basis of race or religion, and then shot only the black kids. Or only the white kids. Or only the Jews.

There would have been thunderous outrage. The country would have first recoiled in horror, and then mobilized in an effort to eradicate that kind of murderous bigotry. There would have been calls for action and reflection. And the attack would have been seen for what it really was: a hate crime.

None of that occurred because these were just girls, and we have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that violence against females is more or less to be expected. Stories about the rape, murder and mutilation of women and girls are staples of the news, as familiar to us as weather forecasts. The startling aspect of the Pennsylvania attack was that this terrible thing happened at a school in Amish country, not that it happened to girls.

The disrespectful, degrading, contemptuous treatment of women is so pervasive and so mainstream that it has just about lost its ability to shock. Guys at sporting events and other public venues have shown no qualms about raising an insistent chant to nearby women to show their breasts. An ad for a major long-distance telephone carrier shows three apparently naked women holding a billing statement from a competitor. The text asks, “When was the last time you got screwed?”

An ad for Clinique moisturizing lotion shows a woman’s face with the lotion spattered across it to simulate the climactic shot of a porn video.

We have a problem. Staggering amounts of violence are unleashed on women every day, and there is no escaping the fact that in the most sensational stories, large segments of the population are titillated by that violence. We’ve been watching the sexualized image of the murdered 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey for 10 years. JonBenet is dead. Her mother is dead. And we’re still watching the video of this poor child prancing in lipstick and high heels.

What have we learned since then? That there’s big money to be made from thongs, spandex tops and sexy makeovers for little girls. In a misogynistic culture, it’s never too early to drill into the minds of girls that what really matters is their appearance and their ability to please men sexually.

A girl or woman is sexually assaulted every couple of minutes or so in the U.S. The number of seriously battered wives and girlfriends is far beyond the ability of any agency to count. We’re all implicated in this carnage because the relentless violence against women and girls is linked at its core to the wider society’s casual willingness to dehumanize women and girls, to see them first and foremost as sexual vessels — objects — and never, ever as the equals of men.

“Once you dehumanize somebody, everything is possible,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of the women’s advocacy group Equality Now.

That was never clearer than in some of the extreme forms of pornography that have spread like nuclear waste across mainstream America. Forget the embarrassed, inhibited raincoat crowd of the old days. Now Mr. Solid Citizen can come home, log on to this $7 billion mega-industry and get his kicks watching real women being beaten and sexually assaulted on Web sites with names like “Ravished Bride” and “Rough Sex — Where Whores Get Owned.”

Then, of course, there’s gangsta rap, and the video games where the players themselves get to maul and molest women, the rise of pimp culture (the Academy Award-winning song this year was “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”), and on and on.

You’re deluded if you think this is all about fun and games. It’s all part of a devastating continuum of misogyny that at its farthest extreme touches down in places like the one-room Amish schoolhouse in normally quiet Nickel Mines, Pa.

i wonder how this might be received to the non-feminists.

smart kate passed along this link, which offers some insights that might prove valuable in this on-going conversation. check it out.

on a related note, i got an email today from a dear friend in canada. his plea, his observations and his resolution are all worrisome to me -- i fear once again we are hearing the fiddler tuning up. here's what he had to say:

Hey,

Well that's done it. This morning's signing of the Terror Interrogation Law has convinced me that America is not a safe place to visit anymore.

After rebelling against Britain for decisions made in isolation of the people affected; after 200 years of, however self-interestedly, exemplifying the benefits of a free society, where citizens can be assured of basic inalienable rights; after championing fundamental democratic principles such as freedom of the press; after creating a constitution with internal checks and balances to prevent the rise of tyranny, a constitution debated by some of the most prominent thinkers of the era, based on an understanding of history rarely demonstrated by public figures today; it's clear America has given up on itself.

It's been a while since the last appearance of America, altruist, but at least the lip service was still there. This most recent event, though, has shattered the last, hopeful, illusions I was clinging to. America is now soley about power and profit, it seems, and obfuscating its citizens into silence with sound-bite phrases like "The War on terror." (In itself an oxymoronic and inherently naive slogan.)

I know I'm preaching to the converted, I can't help it. I don't consider myself to be a reactionary, but I won't be travelling to the US until things change. A chance comment, and suddenly you're facing the death penalty in a court with no appeal, no recourse, no publicity, and essentially no defence? And the current US government won't hesitate to use it, I'm sure.

Not for me, thanks. I'll stay in countries that still respect fundamentals pioneered by America way back in the 18th century, and bolstered by multilateral agreements like the Geneva convention, among others.

For god's sake get busy and get the democrats to sweep the house and senate this fall! Failing that, we could probably use help getting rid of our own neo-Stalinist up here. A couple of million even mildly left-leaning Americans moving in to Alberta would make an enormous difference in the Canadian political landscape.

And we have good beer.

Gotohellifyouhatefreedom, indeed.

Cheers

pleasepleaseplease make sure you vote on november 7th. i fear what might happen if we continue on this track unchecked.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

feminism, liberalism and other dirty words

hello, friends,

this is pledge week in radio land, so if you go ga-ga over glass, tipsy over terry or moon over morning edition, make sure you give to your local public radio station. i'll be sending some cash to WHYY (www.whyy.org) and to YPR (www.wypr.org) .

i would suspect that "public radio" falls into the "dirty word" category.

the question, "are young women today feminists?" has been bandied around my circle for the last couple of weeks and the answer was recently revealed to me: a resounding NO.

out of 19 students in one class (10M, 9W), a grand total of THREE (2W, 1M) identified themselves as "feminists;" that is, they believe in the movement known as "feminism."

does this upset anyone other than me? has that word become so closely associated with the rush limbaugh-created "feminazi" that the advancement of "core" feminist issues -- equal pay, sexual harassment awareness, reproductive rights, victim advocacy -- are sidelined?

we do liberalism on wednesday. i'll keep you posted.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

america's newest sweethearts...

hello, friends,

is it mattolansky?

is it michechris?

brad and angelina may have a better word combo, but look at the joy, the love, the adoration.

the picture is worth a thousand words...

this is to prove to those folks who believe that i only schmooze with republicans... (see http://volanskyism.blogspot.com/2005/07/rove-story.html for further details)

on a more personal front, thanks to all involved for a terrific weekend. though i was an OLD WOMAN for most of it, i did have a dandy time. and for the record, at trader joe's today (www.traderjoes.com), i bagged my own groceries, thank you very much. and mr. walsh's hair was most assuredly in place.

and for those of you who are so inclined, please go see the fabulous pete pryor as michal in the wilma's production of martin mcdonagh's wonderful story, THE PILLOWMAN. here's a way to check it out: http://www.wilmatheater.org/)

finally, go eagles. it got a little tense there, but thank god for leto. whoa whoa whoa. you know the words. and you want to sing along...

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,

volansky

SexualHarassmentsexualharassment

hello, friends,

raining here in chestertownvilleburgheightsuponavon-shire, but i think that is okay. fall seems to have arrived for good, which makes at least one philosophy professor happy.

so, i've been reading up on this mark foley business and, given my history with OLEANNA, bob packwood (extra credit for anyone who can identify him -- where is he now??) and other related matters, i've found it to be completely fascinating.

have we learned NOTHING since the sexual harassment epidemic of the early 1990s? anyone remember anita hill? huh? the only difference between a pubic hair on a coke can and IMing to check what one's "friend" is wearing (or not wearing) is a wee bit of technology courtesy of al gore. am i right?

i joke, but of course, it is not a laughing matter. i am FURIOUS over the knee-jerk response of "pedophile = gay" and "abuse = alcoholic = gay." i mean, have we not moved along AT ALL?

for a more thoughtful analysis, you might want to revisit my good friend steve clemons' www.thewashingtonnote.com. he's been right on the money in examining the situation from a political point of view. and there are DARLING photos of oakley to boot.

one final thought. does anyone think that tonight's version of larry king is weird: "tonight, mark foley's former page speaks out! plus, olivia newton-john!"

my brain goes to weird places.

be good to each other.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

moving along

hello, friends,

sitting here at chez miller watching a wee bit of my hero, jon stewart. his guest this evening is dennis miller, a fellow that i really once truly loved (almost as much as stewart himself), but i've been a tad perplexed since he went to the dark side. i don't understand why he is now a "regular contributor to fox news." is it me, or is it upsetting?

he is still referencing himself into oblivion, which is funny.

i am wondering what the heck is going on with the page system down there in DC -- i did suggest to some friends that they should dress up as mark foley and his lad friend for halloween. feel free, anyone, to use it.

i am really knee-deep in work, people, which explains my sporadic postings. on the docket is a reading of bruce graham's new play (see http://www.ardentheatre.org/2007/dexandjulie.html for details) later this month, a workshop of MY NAME IS ASHER LEV and, oh yeah, my dissertation. if anyone cares to share stories about ken tynan or frank rich, i am open to suggestions. the topic: theater critics turned cultural observers. i am ENTHRALLED with my topic and am willing to engage anyone in a conversation.

i've said a sad farewell to the divine miss jess and have started a serious grown-up cleaning of 2210. if anyone has an extra twin or double bed just rotting away in their basement, i'd love to take it off of your hands. and then invite you over to sleep in it!

i am missing a lot of people these days, what with all of the work -- you know who you are. but i think of each and every one of you before i go to bed at night and hope to see you all again soon. come down for a visit!

a special shout-out to brother rob, out there in japan.

THIS JUST IN: the persian and the polack arrive on our eastern seaboard on or around october 23rd! stay tuned for details on where and when to shower them with kisses.

fight the good fight.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

Remembering

hello, friends,

here we are, september 11, 2006. did anyone, on that day, think that we would be here now?

as i sat down at my computer this morning, here in chestertownvilleburgheightsuponavon-shire, and lovely wendy's house, i flicked on CNN, as i always do. the scroll along the bottom was listing the names of the nearly 3,000 who were killed on that day five years ago.

coincidentally (that's not the right word, i know...), they were on last names that began with a "k," and i sat quietly waiting for danielle kousoulis' name to appear. she was the little sister of one of my dear friends from elementary and high school, and one of my own sister's friends. while faith and i had certainly lost touch since high school and college, five years ago, all of our history came flashing back to me.

there's a great article in the city paper, written by another alum of haddon township, that sort of captures what we all -- those of us from a little town in the new jersey suburbs -- might be feeling today. there are also thoughts from peter kousoulis, danielle's sister. it's a good read: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/current/phillyblunt.shtml.

i also think of my old friend julie, with whom i shared that day. we sat on my couch in philly in stunned silence.

september 11 changed so many things, and there are, i believe losses that are less tangible that those that are obvious -- i think there were losses of marriages, of friendship as well. i know that i experienced some of that.

and so, on this day, let's remember to be kind to one another -- we need each other.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

sweatin' to the oldies

hello, friends,

i hope this finds everyone doing well, having survived hurricanes ernesto and john, as well as the president's recent address to the american legion.

the republican word for the day is this: islamic fascism.

i know that we all recoil when he opens his mouth, but i think, we should start listening again. he has reached a level of delusion that has not been seen since, oh, i don't know, since sister sue and i convinced brother rob that superman would fly past his window and see rob in his superman underoos.

sorry. childhood moment.

at any rate, there's the president. and then there's the senate race between santorum (and we all know how to translate THAT word, right -- see dan savage for details...in this and only this instance, wiki is acceptable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Love) and bob casey.

now i've heard some of my fellow left-leaning folks say that they just can't find it in themselves to vote for EITHER candidate. however, may i remind all of you of the need to look at the BIG PICTURE. by regaining the congress, we can spend the next two years impeaching this president and his cronies, while, at the same time, trying to turn the titanic upright again. tim russert, on this morning's "meet the press"(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/) hosted a lively debate between the two. at one point, casey called santorum "crazy." big fun was had by all. for my fellow pennsylvanians, i hope that you'll remember to look beyond our humble little borders.

classes have started again and gosh, i love my students. smart freshman and smart upperclassman will make for a fantastic semester. i'm teaching "great american speeches" and "theatre in performance" for the freshman and "dramatic theory" for the smarty-pants drama majors. aristotle, anyone?

and it is delightful to be back in the land of the wednesday night gang.

i would encourage anyone who likes the land of blogging to check out the new one from our good friends in the star center: http://revolutionarycollege.blogspot.com/ dreamboat adam goodheart and friends have been digging around chestertownvilleburgheights-upon avon and have come up with some remarkable things. follow them.

finally, we are saddened by the defeat of andre agassi at the US open. i'll be the first to admit that i was suspect of him when he first arrived on the scene (and even more so when he married brooke shields...) but he's sort of grown on me. fare thee well, andre. enjoy the retirement.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

ps oh, hey, if anyone, speaking of brooke shields, has anything to say about the recent reconciliation between brooke and tom cruise, please share.

summer wind, part 2

hello, friends,

i wanted to alert you all to the fact that i'll be on the radio on tuesday, august 22nd at 11AM EDT.

the link is here:
http://www.whyy.org/91FM/radiotimes.html

you can stream it via real audio, itunes or windows media player or you can download it onto itunes (also downloadable for free) for later listening again and again.

you can also call in and harass me.

i'll be talking about the relationship between artist and audience with marty and philadelphia critic cooper robb.

essentially gassing on.

listen to me make a fool of myself for a WHOLE HOUR!

one can only hope that the 7-second delay will be in effect and that michael powell will be in crawford with the rest of the crew...

enjoy.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

Summer Wind

hello, friends,

well, the summer is certainly winding down here in volanskyland. despite the fact that i've been essentially off since may 21, i still feel as though i need a bit more vacation before we call it a summer.

let us recap, shall we?

terrific fun was had by all during summer advising at washington college in the middle of june -- lots of nervous freshman, born (sit down, please) in 1988. take a brief moment to think about the fact that this year's incoming class of freshman was born in 1988 and then bang your head against the wall. just flash back to ANY image you might have had from 1988 and you'll know what i am talking about. in the next couple of weeks, check out this link: http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/ for a bit more information about these kids.

there was the dixelman lovefest in minneapolis -- may longevity and the gifts that were given be a part of every day of your wedded lives.

playpenn brought a slew of new friends and new plays -- let's give a shout out to mister paul and mister fran for helping us all get through it. and, again, for those of you who know and love lucy and aashlesha, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

ATHE was the subject of the last post, but remember how much we love those chicago gals. to the guys, well, sorry that i missed you, but girltime was certainly needed by one and all. and miz laura, gosh, i miss you. sometime soon on the east coast, okey-dokey.

then there was the AWESOME vacation with mister chris to treasure lake in the untapped alleghany mountains. i think surviving a vacation together certainly gives us some props, huh? and a special shout-out to the kings who came up to join us. how much do we LOVE eating pie for breakfast?

in between all of this was quality time with bethie, the boys, the brit and his cute girl, jess and the pattis. i do wish that there was some more d.p. time, but there is still a breath of summer left.

and last night's adventure with theresa, jo, sheila, linda and billy was a FEAST of fun. if you've not been to a melting pot, save up your pennies and go to one. here' s a link: http://www.meltingpot.com/index.htm. and make sure you use the mouthwash.

finally, to those of you in chestertownvilleburgheights-upon-avon, lock up your children. i'll be back soon.

enjoy.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

This Just In...

hello, friends,

mel gibson has just started launching weapons at israel.

sorry. that wasn't funny, but i just had to weigh in there...

i'm sitting in the palmer house hilton in beautiful downtown chicago, having spent the last several days at the ATHE (association of theatre in higher education) conference (see www.athe.org) for more details. i've also had the great fortune to have seen a LOVELY production of bruce norris' new play, THE UNMENTIONABLES, directed by anna d. shapiro and featuring the always-luminous amy morton, along with shannon cochran and rick snyder. great work.

in addition, i've been on a sort of "culinary reunion" here in chicago. yesterday, it was all about the potbelly sandwich (www.potbelly.com). that poser chain known as quizno's has NOTHING on a vegetarian potbelly sandwich, though miz liz swears by the PB & J. and then there was dinner with the divine jessica, a VERY pregnant mrs. lance baker and a glowing leason at none other than kamehache, the BEST sushi this side of sapporo. we were later transported to hipster central, known as the landmark, where anna d. is apparently a regular fixture. the fun didn't end until about 2, when miz liz and i shared some iced amarettos.

the conference has been good, as i get to spend some quality time with treasured dramaturgical friends. and, since it is chicago, i've had the good fortune to see some of my old peeps. i am feeling a little homesick for the girl, but i am THRILLED that al gore has started reigning in that global warming business.

i have been reading thomas e. ricks' book FIASCO, which is subtitled THE AMERICAN ADVENTURE IN IRAQ. i'm still early on, but i am perhaps most stuck on the notion that, in a meeting on postwar iraq, a powerpoint presentation was given that consisted of only 32 badly written slides. 'nuff said, right?

stay strong.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

On the brink

hello, friends,

i've been watching both CNN and THE DAILY SHOW on a regular basis and frankly, it is impossible to tell what is real and what is satire. the situation in the middle east is so staggeringly awful that i find it hard to believe that life in the US continues in such an oblivious way. we're idiots in so so so many ways.

here is my point of view on the matter. i believe that the holocaust was one of the worst atrocities man has committed against itself in the history of time. i believe that slavery, the armenian genocide, the various slaughters made by the british over the centuries in the name of "civilization," the bosnian crisis and the nightmare in the congo were all equally horrifying. like many of you, i have been aghast at the terror in darfur.

i cannot get on board with israel on this one. i just can't. i am prepared for the onslaught, but let's be honest -- it is awful on BOTH sides. BOTH sides are wrong, so horribly wrong. the whole region is one that carries centuries of mistrust and misdeeds. each and every country, from israel to palestine to lebanon to syria, has the right to exist on the same parcels of land. there is no answer. and my heart breaks for everyone and i feel completely helpless.

good chum lindsay forwarded this link from a blogger in beirut: http://mazenkerblog.blogspot.com/. check it out. and if you have a blog that you'd like me to share with others, send it along.

be good to each other.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,
volansky

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

National Cemeteries -- At What Cost?

hello, friends,

another good day in rehearsal yesterday. i'm working on two plays this year: lucy thurber's SCARCITY directed by brian mertes and BAD FOR THE JEWS by peter morris and directed by danny goldstein. we're having a bang-up time killing trees (ironic, huh, given the post from yesterday) with all of the rewrites.

today's message is as a result of the trip to minneapolis. as betty was dropping me and morgan off at the airport, we passed fort snelling national cemetery. this is what we saw from along the road and through the gates:

i don't know how many of you have been to arlington or one of the other 123 national cemeteries in 39 states, but it is really a sobering sight. there are over 2.5 million war dead buried in these cemeteries from every conflict in our nation's history. it makes one stop and wonder what the purpose of it all is.

so, today's message is: "at what cost?"

if you take a look at a cemetery like arlington, or fort snelling, or cave hill or any of the others (see http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/cems/listcem.asp for a complete list) that i've been to, you will see row after row after row after row after row of these simple white headstones. how many of us actually absorb it? it is impossible for one human to take in all of it, but don't we owe it to them?

on a related note, don't we owe it to them to read their names when we see the box listed in the "new york times"? don't we owe it to them to be silent for a minute while the "newshour" shows the photos of the recent dead in iraq or afghanistan.

answer the question.

i am happy to report that sylvia poggioli (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101034, our favorite NPR gal) is partying like a rock star with the players of the italian world cup team. after surviving bosnia and the recent papal elections, sister, you deserve this:

am i right?

have a good day, folks.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,

volansky

Dawn of a New Day

hello, friends,

here at volanskyism, we've been getting up fairly early to go to rehearsals for playpenn, which are held from 10-7. as most of you know, i don't generally see 10AM, so it has not been "fun" and my gym attendance has fallen a little short (however, i can still kick a lot of ass -- and the ass is smaller!).

sorry, shiny objects.

at any rate, as i was in a barfy feverish state the last two days (don't you hate being sick in the summer?), i realized that i was living a metaphor. it IS a new dawn. isn't that exciting?

to that end, i am going to get political.

the folks on the other side of the aisle are SO GOOD at putting everyone on message every day with cutesy little phrases ("cut and run," anyone?) and not-so-subtle backdrops that i thought i would take a cue from them.

since it seems clear to me that this side of the aisle can't quite pull that off as effectively as, say, i can, i thought i would pitch in and do my part.

today's message: "it's HOT, you little snot!"

i recently checked out the EPA's global warming site and, as suspected, there is a disclaimer at the top that suggests, like evolution, that global warming is only one theory among many. this is the environmental protection agency people.

here's just a little bit of info about the role of carbon dioxide (that's us) in global warming. just so we have the facts right:

Warmings take about 5000 years to be complete. The lag is only 800 years.
All that the lag shows is that CO2 did not cause the first 800 years of warming,
out of the 5000 year trend. The other 4200 years of warming could in fact have
been caused by CO2, as far as we can tell from this ice core data.

The 4200 years of warming make up about 5/6 of the total warming. So
CO2 could have caused the last 5/6 of the warming, but could not have caused the
first 1/6 of the warming.

It comes as no surprise that other factors besides CO2 affect climate.
Changes in the amount of summer sunshine, due to changes in the Earth's orbit
around the sun that happen every 21,000 years, have long been known to affect
the comings and goings of ice ages. Atlantic ocean circulation slowdowns are
thought to warm Antarctica, also.

From studying all the available data (not just ice cores), the probable
sequence of events at a termination goes something like this. Some (currently
unknown) process causes Antarctica and the surrounding ocean to warm. This
process also causes CO2 to start rising, about 800 years later. Then CO2 further
warms the whole planet, because of its heat-trapping properties. This leads to
even further CO2 release. So CO2 during ice ages should be thought of as a
"feedback", much like the feedback that results from putting a microphone too
near to a loudspeaker.

In other words, CO2 does not initiate the warmings, but acts as an
amplifier once they are underway. From model estimates, CO2 (along with other
greenhouse gases CH4 and N2O) causes about half of the full
glacial-to-interglacial warming.

how's that for some stuff? the source is www.realclimate.org.

that's the message for today. now get out there and spread the word.

gotohellifyouhatefreedom,

volansky