RED WHITE AND BLUE AND PBS

photo by faungg's photos

Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you, Veterans!!

A perfect way to finish this All-American week:  the PBS Hamilton's America.  Sooo good.  Set aside and hour plus for this fantastic history lesson, as well as thrill for the arts.  (2-minute trailer below, full don't-miss-episode HERE.)
First came indigenous people, then British settlers, then a really big meal, then other stuff, then other stuff, then the United States, and then, eventually, Hamilton, the musical, and this PBS Special.  Enjoy.



                                  

Principle in the type:  "...government is necessary because people need it to resolve their conflicts, and compromise is the tool by which governing officials hammer out such conflict resolution.  If we all agreed with each other, we would not need government."    David B. Magleby

THESPIAN TOUCHBACK

photo by Benjamin Thomas

I detect a football theme this week.  So let's continue.  

Eddie George, the Heisman Trophy winner in 1995 and eight seasons Tennessee Titan, has a new gig.  And it's on Broadway.  He is playing Billy Flynn in Broadway's production of Chicago.  For years George struggled to both find himself and re-invent himself post football, when the acting bug finally bit and fit.  “I really enjoy getting on stage, moving myself and telling a story through a character’s eyes and to deliver that in an honest way. A lot of the stuff I was going through in terms of anxiety and fear and depression and doubt (after football), I channeled all that in to the arts,” he said.      story                 

Principle in the type:  "There are signs and gifts everywhere, particularly in setbacks, but you need to keep your eyes peeled.  They come wrapped in missed opportunities, in unfulfilled promises and lost jobs.  They come born out of disappointments you never saw coming and also in those you should have.  But they bring you better things and take you to where you were meant to be. . . . Our setbacks bring us forward; we wander in the wilderness so the road can bring us home."    Rob Lowe 

HAMILTON'S GOT CHOPS

photo by Mark Skrobola

Lin-Manuel Miranda's brainchild, the Broadway musical Hamilton mixes American history and rap, and never stops surprising.  It features "a multicultural cast, is smart, inventive, radical and fun -- the iPhone of American musicals," says People magazine.   Revolutionary War hero, Alexander Hamilton's story has never been shared so cleverly!   (more sources)

Principle in the type: "Your creativity is not a bad boyfriend.  It is a really warm older Hispanic lady who has a beautiful laugh and loves to hug.  If you are even a little bit nice to her she will make you feel great and maybe cook you delicious food."   Amy Poehler