I'd rather not work with parents in school

'Just got a call from a classmate... a 40-50 something classmate with an 8-10 year old kid who has the flu. Parents have more damn germs to worry about. I know it's a valid excuse. I KNOW people my age can get sick too. She's awesome for coming back to school, actually. But my God, I've had to deal with more kid-related excuses in college than I'd care to name.

Of course, in the kinder part of my brain, I'm totally understanding. I sent her an email telling her not to worry about it, because she shouldn't. Her kids' health comes first, and she's smart for not coming to class and possibly spreading it around.

But damnit... we might not even get to present tomorrow, because SHE has a lot of the supplies we need.

The Mark of a Good Musical

A lot of the following can be applied to any sort of music. I just feel that musicals get little credit as a genre, and that isn't fair. Sure, a lot of them suck, but many of them are beautifully composed and have great story lines.

Everything's a musical now. They had a Carrie musical a few years back, for God's sake. I think one big problem is that people don't want to accept that some stories just don't work in this genre. There are some stories that work well without following the "show, don't tell" rule. Then there are some that just don't. Trying to force big musical numbers into moments that are better left silent...that's a bad move.

Then we can look at the songs themselves. One of my favorite musical songs is "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls, because even without the lyrics, the tone and purpose of the song are totally clear. The melody itself speaks of silly, half-drunk, new love. Then someone I know tries to sell me on Wicked and plays "Popular." I can't speak for the rest of the musical, but when I strip away the words and think of the melody, I don't think strongly about the message of the song. It's just writing plinky music that sounds vaguely appropriate and then tossing in some lyrics.

I've fallen away from musicals partially because so many are just so cheesy. And I guess I don't always want people's feelings spelled out for me in song. But I'm grateful that I've been able to define why some appeal to me and some don't. It's truly a relief.

Not 6 feet under, but 6 inches from the ground

I like to think that sagging is nature's way of reminding us of the place where we'll one day return. It doesn't have to be scary. It's just a friendly pinch on the ass. "Don't forget that you're dying! Go do something good and tell your loved ones how you feel!"

And that's one of the reasons why I'll never get cosmetic surgery.