Today is BUNSEN BURNER DAY. Don't forget to greet yours!

the play's the thing
Last week I tried my hand at playwriting for the first time, which is a little odd, considering that I'm married to a multi-awarded playwright. Or maybe not so odd-- I suppose the spouses of master chefs, for example, mostly have the good sense to stay the hell out of the kitchen.


Anyway, having given it a whirl, I now believe that all would-be writers should be made to craft at least a single one-act play early on in their careers, because it's a discipline unlike any other. It discourages obfuscation and embraces clarity, punishes verbiage and rewards restraint, and eschews blatant factual exposition in favor of emotional truth. Most of all, it teaches you to put your ego in a drawer and let the characters tell the damned story.


And these are some of the bases for good writing. But don't take my word for it.


in the news today
Singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette is now an ordained minister. She took a short Internet course which now allows her to perform marriages, and plans to use the ordination to help her homosexual friends get married. Robbie Williams did something similar back in 2002.

TRIVIA QUIZ
Who invented the World Wide Web?


answer to Sunday's question
The Philippine president makes Php693,000 a year, or Php57,750 a month, which isn't even twice what the U.N. reckons is our monthly cost of living (about Php32,000 for a family of six).


It's almost enough to make you sympathize...


Overworked and underpaid: Angela, Alex, Dean, Amie, and Kate. By the way, I've decided to discontinue the Smartypants award, since it only seems to encourage some people, which can't be a good thing.