From the Lost and Found Department

Good morning to all! Here's an interesting article from the Washington Post about these silent films that were thought to be lost to time , as so many are, but were found in Russia. I came across it on the "News from Me" site. Cool beans! Read. Discuss.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR2011020806347.html

Leonard Nimoy's Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

This bit of news is a few days late but here it is anyway-the news that every fellow nerd has been waiting for:the official start date for the filming of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is Monday, March 21st. Oh, rapture! To celebrate, I present to you a gem that needs no introduction. Enjoy.

Friday Roundup

Doc Ed and the gang drawn in ink on bristol board, scanned and colored in Photoshop.


With Valentine's day around the corner one's thoughts are on cards, candies (chocolate, of course) and flowers. I like Valentine's Day. Some folks condemn it as a day created by the greeting card companies to simply make a buck. Perhaps that's true but it's also what we make of it. You can buy a musical card with some clever or witty ode of love and affection and a box of Whitman's assorted chocolates of which a third are those cream- filled sugary bombs or go out for dinner and a movie. Or maybe doing something as simple as making a phone call...not an email but a call or better yet a visit to see a family member you should be seeing more often anyway. Whatever floats your boat, man!

Things have a way of evolving if we want them to, don't they? Take Valentine's day for instance. Nowadays it's generally thought of as a celebration of love but not necessarily of the romantic type. I send cards to my parents every year. Last week we bought cards that my kids will hand out to their grade school classmates on Monday. Though it's origins are in Christian martyrdom it has definitely evolved over the centuries. So make Valentine's Day what you will of it. I'll be going the heart-shaped box of chocolates, card and movie route myself.

Now on with the show! Doc Ed will be at Baskin Elementary presenting the Amazing Aquifer Adventure for the students in the Gifted and Talented program. Should be fun.

No road trip for the Ramirez family this weekend to check out Rob Merman's one man show at the Salado Silver Spur Theater. Our schedule here at Rancho Ramirez wont permit it. Bummer.

One last thing I'd like to mention. We're relatively new to the internet world. We've only had internet service for a few years learning to figure things out mostly by trial and error. I'm sure there's also some kind of etiquette that is commonly adhered to in this digital world. With regard to this blog that we've had for almost a year now we've gotten up to nine followers as of this week and that's great. At the risk of committing a faux pas I just want to say thanks for your time and interest in our little blog. We try to post as often as possible and present a variety of things that we hope will be of interest to you or at least provide you with a chuckle or two for the day. You'll also have noticed a few changes on our blog that I think will make it more fun to visit and explore. As we learn more we'll be sure to apply that knowledge in order to improve our site. Thanks again and happy Friday. Have a great weekend.

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program...

Theatre Memories- Star Path Moon Stop

Review for the DCT/Omaha Magic Theatre production of "Star Path Moon Stop" in 1996. Click on the image for a magnified view. Dad called the other day to tell me he'd found a scrapbook of mine back home in Laredo. I thought I'd lost it. I hadn't seen it in years. In it were a bunch of photos and newspaper clippings from our first few years in Dallas. Thanks, dad!



Pammy and I taking a break during full dress rehearsal. I'm glad I took so may photos and kept all the clippings and programs over the years. It's easy to forget how much we've done in the last twenty years.

Publicity photo with some of the cast. I'm on the left, Bradley Spinelli center and Pammy is on the right. I don't the name of the boy sitting in front. We played a variety of nameless roles so the program lists us only by our own names and the child roles were double-cast making it impossible to know his name. He's either Baltazar Rodriguez, Bladimir Martinez, Jesus Parga or Hector Soto. That's the best I could do. Sorry, my fellow actors. At least I spelled your names correctly.




The ensemble cast of Star Path Moonstop rehearsing a rather odd scene.

Mid-week Stuff

Pammy working hard at Raining Popcorn Media.

Look at that! That's Alaska cold!! How can that be?!

It's cold again. It's cold AGAIN! We're down to twenty five degrees here. That's not normal for this part of Texas. That's one of the reasons I like this part of Texas because the weather is boring. AAAARRRGH. Oh well. It could be worse couldn't it? I'm happy I don't need to own a snow shovel which, according to David Letterman last night, are in short supply. Weird.

Well, on to the latest comings and goings here at Rancho Ramirez. No Doc Ed shows till Friday but I do have to go down to the office to do a little work for a couple of hours. I'm such a bum!

Pammy and I went over to the Raining Popcorn Media studio to do some more voice over work. Once again I was unkempt and darn proud of it I tell ya! We expect to have some more voice over work to keep coming our way. It's fun to do.

After having posted the latest schedule for Doc Ed shows for the month of February I received emails with several more shows for this month and well into the spring. Things are looking good in the job security section for Doc.

The Rob Merman one man shows at the Salado Silver Spur Theatre are this weekend but I'm not so sure I'll be able to attend. It's a matter of a variety of things of the usual sort that only can be tended to on the weekend. We'll see.

More Super- Dee- Duper Experiences!

In segment of "Barney's Super Singing Circus", which is in Spanish on this YouTube clip, I can be seen cavorting about in proper clown-like fashion doing some hat moves. Joining me in the fun were fellow clowns Jimmy Perini of Dallas walking on the rolling globe and Rik Gern a.k.a. Bonzo Crunch of Austin juggling plungers and being happy. Oh, the fun we had!

Doc Ed Show Update

FLASH!! This just in. Doc Edwards will be at Baskin Elementary this Friday from 3:30p.m. to 4:30p.m. That is all. We return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Monday Update

Rob Merman's Circus Smirkus of Vermont.


Just a quick update on the month's happenings. This month Doc Ed will be doing one show at Ed Cody Elementary on the 14th then one show at Schenk Elementary on the 15th followed by three shows at Woodlawn Elementary on the 23rd and three at the Jose Cardenas Center on the 24th.

On the children's book writing/ illustrating front the regional conference for Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is coming up in Austin on the 19th of February which I hope to attend. On that same weekend there will a Sketch Day for SCBWI members at Mission San Jose Saturday morning and in the afternoon a mini-writing workshop and booksigning by author Suzanne Morgan will be held at the San Pedro Crossing Barnes and Noble on Saturday from 2p.m. to 3p.m.

On Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th Rob Merman, circus performer, former dean of the RIngling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College and founder of the award winning Circus Smirkus will be at the Salado Silver Spur Theater in Salado, Texas to present " Silents are Golden", an entertaining lecture/show on silent films and the next day presents "Circle of Sawdust" his multi- media, one man show on his life in the circus. A link to his site is at the end of the post as well as links to the Austin SCBWI conference, Circus Smirkus and the Salado Silver Spur Theater.

http://www.robmermin.com/general/home.php

http://www.austinscbwi.com/category/events/regional-conference/

http://www.saladosilverspurtheater.com/

http://www.circussmirkus.org/

Sunday Morning Matinee- Buster Keaton's "One Week"