Back to the blog!

Time to sneak in a blog post before March of 2009 vanishes completely. I am happy to share with you that the spring musical was worth all the effort poured into it -- the show was a huge success with our audiences and the young cast and crew members all managed to get healthy enough to make it through all four performances.

I don't know if this is just in Ohio or is happening elsewhere -- you tell me. We've had the most obnoxious germs and viruses showing up at school this year, far more than I can ever remember. Kids and adults have been out for days at a time, suffering from lingering fevers or nausea, wracking coughs and even bouts of dizziness that some have labeled the "vertigo disease." It wasn't simply one disease manifesting itself in different ways. Some had influenza B, a very contagious virus, and then went on to catch the next nasty bug going around. It took a dreadful toll on our cast members, particularly those who resided in the castle. The villagers were pretty much spared. It reminded me of Poe's Mask of the Red Death, as one by one the actors playing castle characters caught "the plague" and vanished for days on end. Opening night was the first time in weeks we had everybody there and in a relatively healthy state!

So no more long weeks of rehearsals after school. It was a thrill to leave at a normal time today and to see the sun shining and feel the earth basking in its glow. I was happy to take a walk around the garden this afternoon and note all the signs of spring. Forsythia blooming already and the tulips sending forth tall leaves. The lilac bush is noticeably active and already there are weeds trying to take over beds. The chives are a brilliant shade green in the herb bed. I bought some peas and spinach seeds to put in the garden. They need to be planted now while the ground is still cool and the temperatures are just right.

Spring break is almost upon us. I'm going to take a nice long trip in my smart car, traveling to upstate NY to visit friends and then down to the city for a few days of intense theatre-going. Will take the laptop along for blogging updates.

Until then, it is spring cleaning time here at the Village Green. Sweeping out the debris of winter and letting in the fresh air of spring!

Blogging notes

I'm sorry, I can't get into writing about the current middle east conflict. It's like writing about the gingham dog and the calico cat. Jill at Writes Like She Talks has a lot of links for those wish to follow it. My only hope in this ongoing bloody mess is that eventually the two sides will get over it and get along. We don't hear much about the Irish bombing each other these days, so if they can get over it, maybe these folks can. One day. I know, I'm dreaming.

As for political stuff, please read Digby. She writes about politics in ways I most always wish I had been able to say. Take this one today about the proposed tax cuts.

As for me, I plan on doing more posting on my often neglected Critical Links Theatre Journal this week. It's a blog for ongoing theatre education research in the classroom. Read it if such things interest you.

My favorite top ten blogs of 2008

As the year ends, bloggers and other writers post their lists for the year. Since I haven't seen ten movies in the entire year, I can't very well post a top ten list of movies. So instead, I will post my top ten favorite blogs as I do spend much of my free time online instead of lining up to see movies.

These are the blogs I go to first in my Google Reader and represent a cross section of all my favorite interests. Hopefully, some of them will interest you too. No offense to the many other blogs to which I subscribe -- the top ten designation is a useful limitation or otherwise I could be writing for hours and hours about all fifty plus blogs currently residing in the reader.

In no particular order:

MetaEfficient -- If you want to buy something but don't know what is the greenest product, then bookmark MetaEfficient. Looking for the most efficient refrigerator, then use the search feature on the blog and you'll get every blog post dealing with refrigerators. Always informative, with posts ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary. Did you know that areca palms are the best indoor humidifiers?

Fake Plastic Fish -- I started reading Beth's blog as she was just beginning her journey of tallying and weighing the amount of plastic items headed for the weekly trash from her household. Following her blog has been a very instructive journey, as she has investigated ways to reduce the use of plastic in her life. I've applied numerous tips from her blog, including investing in a home soda maker and shopping for toilet paper made out of recycled post consumer content that is not packaged in plastic. (Single rolls wrapped in paper available locally at Mustard Seed.)

Hullabaloo -- I suppose most savvy online people know and read Digby's blog. I really only discovered it this year, however, during the long months running up to the election. Post election, I'm finding it is one of the few political blogs I continually turn to.

The Daily BBG -- My friend Kevin's blog, from Orange County CA. Kevin colors comic books for a living and is one of my oldest online pals. We met on the atheist boards on AOL back in the early 90s. His blog is eclectic, featuring everything from full out rants to pictures of cats and personal narrations. It is always a worthwhile read.

Plants are the Strangest People -- This guy is into house plants. To the point that he works in a greenhouse by day and comes home to research plants and share what he knows on his blog. He has his preferences, for sure. Foliage rules. While flowering plants are not his most favorite, he still posts at length about all kinds of plants and always includes pictures.

Crunchy Chicken -- Here's another blog chock full of useful information. Located in the great northwest, Crunchy Chicken is a one woman whirl wind of inspiration. Her blog is one big participation eco party! She has book clubs and amazing challenges all focused on healthy, frugal and ecological living. If you want to build up your own personal blog, then do check out Crunchy Chick's techniques because she certainly draws a big crowd.

The Brain Police -- Microdot is my blog-brother. We both started our blogs at about the same time and stumbled across each other early on. He's a former rock musician from Detroit now living in France -- with so many talents you have to read his blog to keep up with him. Suffice it to say, if you want to read about French cooking, bike riding, grape harvesting, Frank Zappa, and current events from a Euro-American perspective, Microdot's your blog of choice.

The Playgoer -- a dramaturg living in NYC who goes to the theatre and blogs about it. If you've ever wondered how actors learn all those lines, check out this post and be sure to read the comments.

Pharyngula -- This blog should need no introduction. The infamously famous PZ Meyers is a genuine news maker, especially during the episode of the holy communion wafers. If you enjoy science, rational thought, cephalopods, and the continuing fight against creationists and other rabid non-thinkers, then this blog is for you.

Diarrhea Island -- Don't let the title of this blog deter you from entering and absorbing Marianne's posts about about music and life as she observes it. She's been a Kinks fan longer than me. Here's a post about attending a recent concert in which an idiot in the crowd gets his just return from Ray Davies.

Post-election changes

And I'm not talking about which big names will be on the doors of power in the new president's administration. No, it is my need wean myself off television punditry and back to a more varied diet of on and offline reading.

The pundits are immersed in petty bickering over a certain proposed candidate for a very high cabinet position as if any of us out here really care much. Let the man pick his team and get on with it. We are all hoping his time in charge is as well organized and thought out as his campaign proved to be.

So I'm turning away from the cable news habit and looking at documentaries on other channels. Who knows, I may even find that I can tolerate watching a full two hour movie before too long. Something with a plot and fictitious characters sounds rather soothing right now. And I have a pile of blog posts waiting for me on my Google Reader. The political blogs dominated the past few months, and it is time to get back to the various delights on offer from around the world.

Since November 4, some bloggers have contemplated shutting down. Surely they are suffering more from post-election fatigue rather than thinking that "hooray, we won -- now everything's solved!" We need to keep our eyes open and our blogs running. Here at the Village Green, I'm planning on returning to environmental issues, with the usual intermittent bursts of Kinks obsessiveness and the occasional theatrical report.

Meanwhile, don't forget to winterize your windows and check your doorways for leaky drafts. Winter snow arrived this week and hadn't put the storm windows in yet. They are up now, and it makes a huge difference. Stay warm and keep the blog fires burning!

Blogging ennui

May has been a blogging bust here at the Village Green. The first word that came to mind was a fancy one, "ennui" -- which, according to dictionary.com means:

...a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.

In other words, sometimes you have to put a cap on it or satiety will wipe you out.

Sometimes you need a respite. I've been down with a virus, so I've been doing little more than reading actual books, not blogs. Watching some television. NBA Finals. The weird last four weeks of House. Making plans for the garden as planting time approaches. I've managed to get some weeding done and have a few new perennials waiting to go in beds.

I tried to find a spice bush locally. We had one in the garden in Granger. I remember looking forward to it's amazing fragrance every spring. So I looked on Ebay and found a grower with Spice bushes for sale in Indiana. Two 24" bare rooted plants are on their way via US mail.

Obviously the garden is a good place to lose the ennui and find some renewal. Blogging energy is beginning to return! I'm going to the Akron E4S event this week at the new Ohio Brewery on Main St. The topic is "Waste is a Business Opportunity." I hope to see lots of local interest in reducing and reusing various waste streams. Looking forward to blogging about it!

New play: "The Blogger" at CPT

This just in via NEOhioPAL -- a new play about blogging at Cleveland Public Theatre. Check it out:

The Dark Room is proud to present Cleveland playwright Greg Vovos's new play "The Blogger", directed by James Mango.

The Blogger finds that spreading his message to “the people” is no small task. Following the dictates of his audience, Vince skips out of rehab, leaves his wife and goes on the road in search of meaning and finds…Britney?! It’s a journey across America and then some.

Tuesday April 1st at 7:00 pm

at The Church @ Cleveland Public Theater

(look for the small church located just east of the Cleveland Public Theater parking lot)

6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, OH 44102

Along with this featured new play-in-process, we will also have:

scenes from "MacBushed" by Tim Tyler
a scene from "Unethical" by Margi Herwald-Zitelli
and "Rose Colored Glasses" by Pat Stansbury.

6:30pm - Writers and actors sign-up for open session
7:00pm - Readings begin

Suggested donation of $5 is welcomed at the door, but not required.

Come on down and enjoy The Dark Room--an evening of new work development and networking with friends and colleagues, co-presented by The Cleveland Theater Collective and Cleveland Public Theatre.

Derek Koger

Curator and Host

The Dark Room

Blog Roll Amnesty Day

I admit it -- I hadn't a clue as to what Blog Roll Amnesty Day is. My first thought was that it was a day to catch up on all the posts I had been meaning to write. Or maybe a day to tidy up the blog, which turns out to be closer to the real idea -- but not quite. Jon Swift explains how it began here.

Jill at Writes Like She Talks very kindly added me to her blog roll and listed Village Green as one of her six contributions to Blog Amnesty Day. I thank her hugely and continue to admire her astounding output and energy.

If the idea of Blog Roll Amnesty Day is to give some love to blogs smaller than one's own, then I'm not sure I want to embarrass anyone by pointing out that their readership has yet to reach the the not very astounding average of 59 visits per day. On the other hand, I do confess that it thrills me to see the monthly visits and page views climb ever upward.

Links do matter, as well as writing things that particular groups of people want to read. I love to look at visitor locations to see how many are from Akron. And then to note the regulars from places near and far, as well as visitors who come here for pictures of Huskador retrievers or news of Ray Davies and the Kinks. The themes here at the Village Green cannot be clustered under one convenient handle. This blog is not a "political" blog and it is not strictly "environmental" -- but it visits both themes often. By taking this opportunity to write about what is on my mind, I have come in contact with wonderful people also thinking about the same things, adding new insights to my own world views. Blogging! I love it!

So for Blog Amnesty Day, I am honoring the following blogs regardless of their actual Technorati rating compared to mine:

Cotswold Corner Diary: This is my mom's blog and I really owe her for getting me involved in blogging. She started first and that got me interested in doing the same.

Daily BBG is home to my Happy Hour Atheist & Agnostic email list friend Kevin. Kev and I go way back to the early days of AOL. He is a comic book colorist and a great guy. Blog more often, Kev!

Alisa and the Stuff Alisa Does is a blog by an actress with the American Shakespeare Center as she tours the country performing in venues big and small. This one arrives via my dad, who became a big fan when he saw her perform with the ASC at U of Akron's Wayne branch last fall. I didn't get out to those performances, but I did see Alisa in her last production at KSU -- Hair. (Fun show, that one!) Anyway, her blog is a very fun read of her life on the road.

(Speaking of theatre, I've added a whole new section of theatre blogs and links to my blog rolls, including my new blog Critical Links Theatre Journal, which is totally focused on theatre teaching process and research, and so might not be the most fascinating read for most Village Green regulars. Eventually, I may move most of my theatre-related posts there, but not until the research project is over.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited to change the title and references to the correct term: Blog ROLL Amnesty Day. You can see how new it all is to me still!

Search the Village Green

Just like Ohio Dave, I also look at the search terms that lead people to this Village Green. Because so many people search for "huskador retriever," I'm leading off with a portrait of Obie in the snow, with his one brown eye and wild white eye focused on one thing -- coming back inside where it is warm! This portrait is from last season's snow.

People from around the world come here to find out about Working Man's Cafe, and that makes me happy! I'm glad to pass along what I learn via Neil's Kinks Preservation Society Digest. Just this past week, the Digest reached issue 3,000 and fans from around the world secretly assembled a web tribute to Neil Ottenstein, founder and list manager for 18 years. Go here for an overview of the list and it's significance for Kinks fans. You will also find information on joining the ultimate Kinks fan email group. And you can click here to find my own tribute to Neil's list.

The oddest recent search phrase might be "how to make a straw bed for a mute swan" which when Googled, sends folks here. They really should have looked at this page instead of sticking around the Green for almost 9 minutes. However, I love it when visitors actually take the time to look around this little blog.

Happy Belated Birthday at the Village Green!

This blog began on August 19th, 2006. I had been spending that summer reading other people's blogs and finding myself chiming in here and there with comments on subjects that matter to me. I had also spent the summer getting political by volunteering on the Sherrod Brown campaign. So a year ago, I decided to build my own soapbox here on Blogger.

The original name for this blog was going to be simply "Village Green" -- however, much to my dismay, I found that somebody had already taken that name. What is really irksome is that they took the name and have done absolutely nothing with it!

Well, we've made up for it here with "Long Live the Village Green" which is a direct tribute to the greatest band to ever come out of the UK -- the Kinks, with their uniquely insightful views on society and culture exemplified by songs such as Village Green and The Village Green Preservation Society. Those songs contain longings for an ideal life that quite possibly never really existed with an acknowledgment that the pursuit of the idea of neighborhood and local sustainability is real and possible. They are also imbued with the ideal of preserving the things that make life worth living, while weeding out those things that prevent us from making social and economic progress.

A village green is a British tradition that provided common ground for all villagers to raise their animals. Nowadays, the village green provides common ground for healthy walks and meetings among neighbors. "Green" has taken on a new meaning in today's society, one that expresses the need for a healthy, sustainable and non-toxic life.

This blog began with the idea of commenting about local life in juxtaposition with the larger influences of state, national and global issues. The local blogs that continue to inspire and inform my life and my blog must be acknowledged here -- Pho's Akron Pages, Psychobilly Democrat and last but certainly not least Terra not Terror. I thank each of them for their support. Beyond Akron, the blogs I cannot do without are The Brain Police in France, Pharyngula (the best damn science blog in the land) in Minnesota, and No Impact Man in NYC.

This blog is not intended to attract thousands per day and I'll work hard to make sure that never happens! (6233 visits over the first year with 9007 page views) I used to do a self-published 'zine called The Dumpster Times, painstakingly prepared at first on a manual typewriter, columns cut with scissors and pasted with glue and photocopied for a print run of 100 per issue, then mailed out to subscribers around the world. It was a lot of fun and a hell of a lot more work than a blog!

At that time, I valued the intimacy of 'zine communication and still feel that way about my blog. The Village Green has managed to build up an Akron area following. My stats tell me that a number of local readers come here regularly and for this I am very grateful. I also am happy to have regular readers from unexpected places, such as France. It is fun to look at the referrals and the searched topics to see who comes here and why. It is also entertaining to look at the hits from exotic lands and wonder what a reader from the United Arab Emirates Dubail, Dubayy or Crafers, South Australia thinks about when they land here.

On a more somber note, I would like to point out that when I added the Cost of the Iraq War feature to this blog, it was under 350 billion dollars spent on that tragic mistake of a war. Look leftward and note that it is has grown to over 450 billions wasted in Iraq. Anybody have any predictions on when that ticker will finally grind to a halt?

Finally, in celebration of one year at Long Live the Village Green - from a July 2007 concert in Rochester UK, ladies and gentlemen -- Ray Davies sings Village Green:

On Hiatus

The Village Green will remain open for your archival reading pleasure throughout the month of July, but new posting is suspended until August. I've got some other things to do and need to shut down all the distractions in order to get them done.

This last half of July would appear to be the best time to take a break. It looks like nobody is going to move on ending the war, what with President Donkey still braying "stay the course" and the Democrats still outnumbered and baggaged with gutless Republicans. Congress will be going on vacation soon. The Iraqi government has already begun their month long vacation. The killing will continue no matter what. I need a break from gasping in horror at the violence, the ignorance and the greed.

I also want to take time away from online and cable news so that I can have the pleasure of reading the final Harry Potter (to be mailed to my door via Amazon.UK) without having the ending revealed.

If the world shows signs of coming to an immediate end, I'm sure my Happy Hour Atheist and Agnostic friends will shoot me an email while my mom is bound to give me a call! Anyway, I will be engaged in a lot of off-line writing for the next two weeks. Looking forward to finishing those things up so I can be more present here in the future.

Blogging

Every now and then, I take a look at the Village Green's visitor statistics. This week, I was amazed to find a huge spike in hits in the middle of the past week. Sitemeter allows you to check out referring URLs as well as many other fun statistics, so I clicked and learned that a web site dedicated to a certain Republican candidate for president had sent over a hundred visitors here in one day -- in response to this little item.

I'm not going to mention this candidates name because I'm really not interested in attracting a bunch of his supporters. It is interesting that of all the public figures I have mentioned here, this is the first time I've had such a spike. So if anybody is looking to increase traffic to your blog, just put this guy's name in your heading and watch 'em all roll in!