http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/lobby_congress/

and this--more about oxytocin (not oxycotin)

http://www.hugthemonkey.com/

creepy

http://www.verolabs.com/

2 things

I am too old to stay out till 2 am two days in a row.

http://www.szymkowicznaked.blogspot.com/

>From Andrew Sullivan

http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/12/quote_for_the_d_8.html

via Mike Daisey

http://www.mikedaisey.com/

"Some reports are issued and just gather dust. And
truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington
are never read by anybody. To show you how important
this one is, I read it," - George W. Bush today.

Does he have to make Jon Stewart's job that easy?

manifesto for a theatregoer

The kind of theatre I want to see, the theatre I most enjoy, the theatre I am willing to pay money to see, the theatre I give the benefit of the doubt to even if it’s not all working completely is like this: I like plays where I know the playwright is reaching towards something or struggling with something. I like the playwright who says I am troubled by this and think it should be on the stage. I like it when a play is written about something important to the playwright. I like plays that experiment with language or form. I like visually beautiful and theatrical plays. I like plays in which actors use movement, voice, rhythm in unusual ways. I like funny plays. I like smart plays. I like plays that make me think. I like plays with a lot of heart about people trying to connect with other people. I like plays with tight construction that keep you on the edge of your seat. I like plays that are about something, not plays that pretend to be about something. I like plays that are constantly surprising. I don’t like plays where I don’t learn anything. I don’t like plays where horrible things after horrible things happen to characters and there is no hope. I especially don’t like it when characters do evil things without any real reason. I don’t like it when a play is produced and there are clear problems of consistency or flabby writing that could have been fixed but weren’t. I like plays directed by geniuses. I like plays with quirky characters. I like plays that star actors that are too interesting for Hollywood. Sometimes I like musicals. I like plays that are fun. I don’t like plays about celebrities. Or that star celebrities, especially if that is all the play has going for it. I like witty plays. And clever plays. I like plays that make me think of bright colors. I like ninety minute plays and sixty minute plays. I like plays about love.

last month

So I finished a play at the beginning of november and
am 20 pages into another play. I have also been
writing a novel. I have nine thousand something
words. Which is not tons but it's something. I
word-counted some of my plays and some of the
hour-long ones are about that long. which means i
wrote about as much as an hour long play this month.
the bad news is that it will take me at least 5 or 6
more months to finish the book at this pace, i think.
i have no idea how long it will be actually. but that
means i will have to work this hard or harder and that
means (if word count means anything) that it will be
like writing 2 or 3 or 4 full length plays. except
that it's not like that. it's not like that at all.

apparently, my play Deflowering Waldo is available at
Walmart.com. I wonder if they are aware that it is
about pre-marital sex.

novel is coming slowly

http://szymkowicznaked.blogspot.com/

scene

This is something I'm working on. These are not the real character names. I had to change them to protect the secrecy of this very secret and confidential project. ACTOR (Reading from the side) So here we are. LILY Yes, we are here. ACTOR At our prom. LILY Yes. ACTOR I can’t tell you how much this night means to me. J Excuse me. That’s good but could you be closer? (LILY gets closer) ACTOR I can’t tell you how much this night means to me. LILY To me too. ACTOR To be touching you finally. To have you in my arms. J Closer still. (LILY gets closer) That’s better. LILY When did you first notice me? ACTOR I don’t remember. It’s like you were always there just out of my reach like a wanton cookie I really wanted or like the most beautiful girl that ever existed. No, wait I remember. It was the start of your freshman year. It was fall. The leaves were falling. LILY Am I holding you too tightly? ACTOR There was a morning mist in the air, a foggy beautiful mist like the start of something. And then the mist parted and you walked through it. Immediately I couldn’t breathe. Was it an asthma attack? I felt I had been shot through the lung, but no, it was the heart instead. I was forever transformed. Who knew it would take me three years to build up the courage to speak to you? Who knew I could speak after that fateful day? LILY And now you’re going off to college. ACTOR I am. LILY Will we ever see each other again? ACTOR Of course. LILY You’ll forget about me. ACTOR I could never do that. Not without some severe brain damage. LILY You’ll find some other girl. ACTOR No. LILY Someone in some way better. ACTOR That’s not possible. LILY You’ll find someone lovier. ACTOR No. LILY She will worship you. ACTOR I worship you. LILY You do, don’t you? I like the way it feels in your arms. ACTOR I like you in my arms. LILY I want tonight to be special. ACTOR It is. I’m here. You’re here. LILY I want tonight—kiss me. J Can we do that? Can we see that kiss? (Hopefully there is a kiss and LILY goes weak at the knees.) ACTOR That was special. LILY It sure was. ACTOR There’s something I have to tell you however. LILY What? (Enter DAVID.) DAVID Excuse me. Hi. LILY Not now! DAVID I’m sorry. J You don’t look sorry. DAVID What? J Nothing. LILY WHAT IS IT? DAVID It’s a little loud. If you could please keep it down. LILY Why are you doing this to me? DAVID I’m sorry? LILY I don’t think you know how bad I need this. It’s been a long time, a very very long time and you are trying to prevent me from getting what I really really need. DAVID What are you talking about? LILY You don’t understand. Nobody understands. Nobody understands me. It is very hard for me. It’s very very very very very hard and I can’t take it anymore. (LILY breaks down. DAVID looks worried.)

in MA in Jan

a short play of mine

http://acmetheater.com/nwwf2007.asp

and

also available from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Deflowering-Waldo-Adam-Szymkowicz/dp/0822221365/sr=11-1/qid=1164132477/ref=sr_11_1/104-1699331-0565554

BUY THIS PLAY

That's right, for a mere 7.50 you can buy a play I wrote. In this holiday season, please think of the children who are eagerly waiting for their own copies of my play Deflowering Waldo now available in a handsome acting edition. Don't miss out. Get them before they are gone. http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3728

BUY THIS PLAY

That's right, for a mere 7.50 you can buy a play I
wrote.

In this holiday season, please think of the children
who are eagerly waiting for their own copies of my
play Deflowering Waldo now available in a handsome
acting edition.

Don't miss out. Get them before they are gone.

http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3728