Blog

mostly personal anecdotes where I sometimes try to be humorous

(maybe not always, Not everytime, but sometimes)

  • The Laborious Birth of a Tribute

    Post the family’s Thanksgiving get together, I was driving down Mopac listening to KGSR wrapped in the afterglow of all the well wishes, good conversation and great food.  I had 40 minutes of music and in-my-head time and I started thinking about how great my friends and family are. While under the influence of a…

  • It’s Like Achilles in his Tent

    I can’t process metaphor before 10 am. (Yes, that’s a simile in the title and not a metaphor – yes, it’s from The Tick – oh, you didn’t know that one?  Not feeling so smart now, are you Sassy McSassypants?)  It’s unfortunately true, before 10 I’m the most literal minded person you know or maybe the…

  • Sam’s Week: I’m Insane(er)

    Sam Originally uploaded by Big Blue Mess It finally happened, Sam’s knee went out again and my stomach landed around my ankles. I called the surgeon’s office, had Jay drop her off the next day and then waited and waited to find out what happened. My work day ended with no news so I ended…

  • And I’m Not Particularly Fond of…

    Last week in Improv a few of us were joking about how lately the focus of the blog has been on things I hate and we agreed that if there could be a blog devoted entirely to things that were “awesome” then there definitely could be room for the not so awesome.  I mulled this over…

  • I Also Hate Aliens

     I had a message on my phone the other day that went kind of like this: “Beth, do you like The Event?  I hear it’s just like Lost.  I mean, I’ve never seen Lost, so pardon the pun, I was “lost” in it; it was too confusing.  However, I love The Event.” I’ve had…

  • I Hate Houston

    “Beth, why do you hate Houston?” This question came completely out of the blue and gave me pause, because while I do dislike Houston on general principle (and really all principles), I wasn’t aware that it was a well-known and discussed fact.  Like many prejudices among people who consider themselves cultured or worldly or educated,…

  • A Nice Long Weekend

    Evan Smith & P.J. O’Rourke Originally uploaded by Big Blue Mess Normally, I really don’t like imposing on my friends or asking for favors, but when a friend of mine started reading a blurb for an upcoming taping of “Overheard with Evan Smith” at KLRU, our local PBS station and my former employer, I was…

  • Say “Cheese”

    I have a great smile.  You may be shocked at the immodesty of that statement, but of all the things I believe about myself it is that one thing – I have a great smile.  I have high cheekbones, full lips, straight teeth and dimples.  When I smile, my eyes crinkle up and I can…

  • Sam’s Week: The Vet, No Wine & The Incident at the Waterbowl

    This past week, my first truly free weekend in a long while, involved Sam going back to the vet.  Fortunately, it was just for a nail trim and tush squeeze.  Yes, I know that’s not particularly delicate, but one of the joys with Sam is that she can’t express certain glands like other dogs and…

  • Sam’s Week: Toy Turf

    The cats have never taken a real shine to Sam, because when Sam entered our lives, out went all of the digestible cat toys (aka the fun ones). Where they used to bat toy mice under the door for hours or throw them up in the air and chase them around the house, they now…

  • What is Improv? A 101er’s Perspective

    Lori’s Has Some Questions: Lori, author of the Dotopotamus, friend and former colleague from my PBS days, recently commented on my post titled BRAINZZZ! – a post where I asked my friends for blog suggestions/ideas for ways to improve The Big Blue Mess (it’s still not too late to send those my way).  Lori asked…

  • BRAINZZZ!

    I need your help, so that means I need all 10 of you to grab your thinking caps and prepare to brainstorm.  It’s like a work session, only you don’t get paid and there isn’t any free coffee cooling in the back.  With that said, I’m sure you’re enthusiastically rolling up your mental sleeves in preparation. …

  • See What Sticks

    The summer is quickly coming to a close and soon we’ll be saying goodbye to 104 degree days and hopefully hello to a little rain.  This is the time of year when the tide turns and I can start bragging about the winter temperatures while my more northern state living friends bundle-up, say goodbye to…

  • To Arnold With Love

    Maybe it was Rambo: First Blood or Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, but somewhere between 1981 and 1982 I was completely sold on action movies.  I began craving something more than emotionally charged dialog or sweeping period pieces where tensely polite characters took trips to Tuscany; I wanted overwrought, loud, heart-thumping soundtracks, explosions…

  • Improv: You Still Have a Death Scene

    Yesterday I started Improv 101 with April at Merlin Works.  Hands-down, it’s the best class I’ve taken, and considering it involved me + strangers playing together, this is saying a great deal.  Usually me + strangers is akin to cats + water or maybe even polar bears + desert (which makes for great Sci-Fi, but since no…

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