Month: July 2006

“Monty Sauron’s Flying Nazgul,” the short play/sketch/performance piece that tells the LoTR trilogy via Monty Python sketches, is now available for sale via mail order. They were being sold at “Shore Leave” and were literally moving as fast as they could produce them. This is purely a not-for-profit venture. They are $20 apiece, with 25% of the proceeds to be donated to the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, and the remaining money going to supplement the income of Farpoint Convention which is a fan-run con held every February. There will be a $5.00 shipping and handling charge.

Checks can be sent to: Farpoint Enterprises, Inc, 11708 Troy Court, Waldorf, MD 20601. For further information, you can e-mail: trekcontact@comcast.net

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This is from Jon Manzo, a friend of mine who’s put on some of the best conventions I’ve ever gone to:

I’m looking for crash space at the San Diego Comic Con; non-smoker, can bring my own bedroll. I’ll be in San Diego Wednesday, 7/19 until Sunday, 7/23. E-mail Jon Manzo at Voiceodoom@aol.com

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You have to love Stephn Colbert’s interview with Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, who is sponsoring a bill that would require the ten commandments in government buildings and court houses. When Colbert asked him the leading question as to whether there was ANYplace more appropriate to see the ten commandments, Westmoreland couldn’t think of any (like, oh, say…churches.) And when Colbert asked Westmoreland to name all ten, Westmoreland wasn’t able to come up with more than three. Maybe that’s why he thinks they should be posted in more places: So he can learn them.

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We left at 4:15 AM and made the drive down to Shore Leave in Maryland in a crips four hours, thirty minutes. No traffic between New York and Towson; definitely the best way to go.

A number of fine guests this year, including William Schallert (Patty Duke’s dad) and Gigi Edgely from “Farscape,” although decidedly less blue. Actor Corin Nemec has gamely agreed to participate in the opening sketch for Mystery Trekkie Theater, which will be Sunday afternoon at 5 this year, so that should be fun.

My schedule is surprisingly light, probably due to the abundance of Trek authors. I have a panel in the kid’s track on Saturday and a solo hour on Sunday, during which I plan to do a reading of the script for Spike vs. Dracula #5, so that should be fun. Also, for the first time ever, a DVD of one of my sketches is being made available for purchase. Yes, you can obtain “Monty Sauron’s Flying Nasgul” at the Farpoint Table right here at Shore Leave. I’m taking no cut of it; all proceeds are going to Farpoint, with the exception of 25% which will be donated to the Actor’s Fund. After the convention’s over, I’ll provide details on how you can purchase it mail order.

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The Mets beat the Pirates today by a score of seven to six. Considering it happened on July 4th, I’m wondering if any newspapers will headline it as, “SPIRIT OF 7-6.”

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Since the 4th of July is one of the worst days for traffic accidents, we tend to hang around the house. I’m celebrating in my usual style: Working while “1776” plays in the background on my DVD player. The John Adams bear (signed by William Daniels) that I won at the Broadway Bears auction is watching as well.

I still find it fascinating that the entire song “Cool, Considerate Men,” a hymn to right-wing thinking, was cut from the release at the behest of Richard Nixon who told his pal, Jack Warner, that he thought it made conservatives look bad. Truth hurts, I guess. At least the song was properly restored in the laserdisk and DVD versions.

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So I stopped by a local bowling pro shop to pick up a bowling ball that I had some work done on. And there were two guys there, and the TV was tuned to “Mindfreak.” This was mildly surprising since the Mets were playing the Yankees in the Bronx, and had just taken an 8 to 2 lead. Whenever you go into a bowling alley, and either the Mets or the Yankees are playing, a TV is tuned to it (unless the people there are avidly supporters of the other team, and even then they might tune in just to see if the NY team they don’t like is losing.) If the Mets are playing the Yankees, then it’s pretty much a given that it’ll be on. And I said, “You guys aren’t watching the game?” ( Note that I didn’t have to clarify which game I was referring to.)

And one of the guys said, “Nah. They’re losing 8 to 2.”

And the other guy, who clearly wasn’t in charge of the TV but was grinning nonetheless said, “No. They’re WINNING 8 to 2.”

Like I said, Mets/Yankees fans in microcosm.

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