Well, I wrote this person (privately, of course) to ask her not to use such terms. She answered in the predictable way.

“I am a rational, God Fearing, Adult; and if I want to have moments of bigotry, then it is my decision to do so.”

However, later she tries to defend her bigotry:

“We are humans and not perfect!”

In my mind, these statements contradict themselves. If you are “God Fearing,” why are you hateful? I assume she is a Christian. Is this something Jesus would do? And it is true that we are all human and make mistakes, but a remark of bigotry is not a mistake. She herself said this was a “decision.” This not being perfect is an excuse used by many who claim to be Christian to defend their bad behavior.

Bigotry has nothing to do with religion, yet she tries to attack me to put me on the defensive:

“I am sure being an Atheist that you’ve made your fair share of wordy blunders yourself.”

Being God Fearing or an Atheist really has nothing to do with any of this. It is more about your mindset. Are you a hateful person or not? I have never used racists remarks and I try not to think in a hateful way toward anyone based on their color, race, or country of origin. It’s like Buddha said, it all starts with your thoughts. Actually, Jesus had something to say about it, too.

Of course, she began her rant with “I’d like to know where you come off correcting me.” Typical. I of course replied with what should be common sense to everyone… that good people cannot allow this type of behavior, otherwise how can ignorance be defeated?

If we allow bigots to continue using their hateful words, if we allow hate crimes to continue, if we do not try to work from a mindset of tolerance instead of hate, what type of world are we allowing to exist? Stand up! Tell those who use hateful words they are wrong.

I’m not sure about going up to Philadelphia in the near future. My mother wants me to come up, but I’m concerned that any distraction from my current course may disrupt my creative flow. It would be different if it were just a visit for a few days, but we are talking a few weeks, with possibly little if any Internet connection for a time. Not to mention, that I had hoped to participate in some theater this summer. Oh, well, I hope I can put it off for a bit until things pick up with the new websites.

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.