Mr. Alberts was a co-founder of the Four Aces, a group who would earn several awards including Academy Awards for Three Coins in a Fountain and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. He also made the song On the Way to Cape May popular.

Later in his Career he hosted his talent show on Channel 6 in Philadelphia. It lasted for over 30 years. I would faithfully watch the show every weekend, wanting to do the same job. I even had a couple of favorites among the talented kids on the show: Andrea McArdle, who would later become the first Annie on Broadway, and Liza Moran (no relation), who seems to have given up on show business and has fallen out of the public eye.

I met Al Alberts during one of his production company’s shows at a mall in the 1980’s. I even shook his hand and asked him if there was a way I could become involve with his company and help out. He told me to talk to his wife, Stella. Unfortunately, my shyness kept me from taking it any further. Who knows where I would be now.

Because he did the things that I would like to do and because I looked up to him, I suppose I would have to say that Al Alberts was one of my heros. I’m sorry to hear that he passed away. I hope someday to have a group of talented young people singing and dancing on stage, and I’ll know that it’s partly due to the influence of “Uncle Al”.

This project is part of my overall efforts to focus more on those things that interest me most, rather than trying only to find ways to make an income.  Hopefully, this new site will do both.  They do say “Follow Your Bliss.”

I guess I need to think about going to other theaters.  Not an easy thing for me.  My cold reading of scripts is terrible.  I guess I’ll just have to work on it.

Well, for now, I just have to get over the rejection of not getting a part, and think about where to go from here.

I suppose, as all the parts are pretty much equal, I wouldn’t mind getting the constable, yet I feel I’m tool old for the part.  I could also deal with the drunken butler, but I have no real life experience to draw upon.  I’d just have to mimic drunks I’ve seen.  Easy enough, I suppose.  But both parts are kinda dead-pan, so they have their appeal for me.

If I don’t get a part, I told them I would work backstage, but I would like to actually work backstage.  There isn’t much I can do front-of-house in this theater anymore, and I need the experience if I am to go on to direct or produce someday.

I’ll update you as soon as I hear from the director.

I am tired of seeing “Jesus IS the reason for the season.”

Most people know what Christmas is. Those that belief in Jesus don’t need to know the reason they celebrate it. Those who celebrate it and don’t believe in Jesus (like I do), understand the beginnings of the holiday. A lot of us even know that there were Winter holidays long before Christmas came along.

The people who don’t celebrate Christmas enjoy many different holidays this time of year. Why should their holidays be less important?

Jesus IS NOT the reason for the season for many people. The need for some folks to push their beliefs on others is more about their fear of something happening to the Christian religion. It’s about insecurity and fear, and most people see that.

Here is a list of websites and businesses that offer discount coupons for the Tampa Bay area:

• Coupons of Tampa Bay – Free, printable, local coupons for Tampa, St Pete, Clearwater, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco…
• Entertainment Discount Coupon Book – An entire book with thousands of dollars worth of savings. You also get a membership card which provides additional discounts at participating businesses. Plus, you can download more coupons from the website!
• eFlorida Coupons – Claims to be Tampa Bay’s largest free coupon directory.
• Valpak – You know them. It’s the coupon pack that comes in your mail every so often. Well, you don’t have to wait. You can print discount coupons right from their website.
• Tampa Bay 360 – The coupon page from a Tampa Bay area virtual tour site.
• Retail Me Not – A site where people share discount codes for online purchases.

Coupons often don’t last for very long; they have expiration dates. Sometimes, the offers expire or don’t live up to their promises. Real offers can be hidden by those that are spam, so you have to look carefully.

I think that the benefits outweigh the problems, and with a little effort, you can save some money by using coupons.

I haven’t been following my life-long dreams. Trying to earn a living seems to have pushed me away from those things. It’s time I’ve steered myself back to those things which I want to accomplish.

Generally, I want to be in show business – not as a star or performer (although I will do some work on stage), but as a producer of variety shows and musicals. This has been something that has been a part of me since my childhood. I think it’s time I took it seriously and started really working on it.

I want this blog to reflect my progress as I work toward my goals. I also want it to motivate and help others who may be interested in the same things I am. So, I’ll be working on adding more posts about show business, music, singing, dancing, backstage work, and all the other factors that to into putting on a show.

I have a degree in Theater. I’ve worked in theater, both backstage and onstage. I’ve directed both shows and videos as a teacher, and have taken part in all sorts of special events. I’ve been in a band and several musicals. While I don’t consider myself an expert in show business or a musician, I have a lifetime of experience from which to build.

It’s time to move on and become an expert, so that I can do the thing that I feel I was meant to do in this life. Hopefully, you’ll be able to follow my progress by seeing more entertainment related posts here on my website. I guess now that I’ve put this out there publicly, I have to do it, right?

I do get excited (read “pissed-off”) about some of the topics and the replies that some post to them. Here on my blog, I can rant and rave all I like, although with the thought that it takes to write a good blog, I hope the posts will be more calm and reasonable.

I do have a need to be heard, to express my opinions and hope that some people see things as I do. This blog is a better venue for that. I have wanted to express more of my ideas here, and using the polls as topic starters should increase my enthusiasm for posting here.

So, be prepared for an onslaught of semi-liberal, pacifistic, idealistic, yet oh, so reasonable wisdom from the mind of a hermit.

I’ll be posting articles on the site that I’ve collected over the years. Most have to do with online business, niche marketing, AdSense, and the usual nonsense you find on the many article collections on the web.

I’m doing this mostly to see how well the content works with AdSense and possibly make a little dough. It’s the big experiment that I’ve been thinking about doing for sometime.

Children (or kids at heart) create their own works of art using the spin painting machine. Paper is placed on a spinning platform and people get to squirt paint onto the paper. It creates some really neat designs, and kids love that they can take home something they’ve made themselves.

It’s the same with sand art. Your guests fill uniquely shaped bottles with different colors of sand to make a one-of-a-kind pieces of art. There are basic tube-type bottles, but there are even more exciting bottles shaped like animals, flowers, and more.

For parties and similar events, the cost depends on the number of guests you will be hosting. It averages about $15.00 per guest (minimum $150). Each guest can create two 5 x 7 spin paintings, a sand art necklace or keychain, and a 5 oz. sand art bottle. The guest(s) of honor may select a 10 -12 oz. bottle from inventory.

For festivals or fairs, I’ll pay the booth fee if it’s not too expensive. I will need electricity for the spin painting machine.

***Fundraisers: Contact me about working your fund-raising event. I usually am willing to give a non-profit organization up to 30 percent of sales. It will depend on any booth and application fees.

So far, I’ve had a really fun time with these activities. Thanks for the support.