Me

  • Cheating: The June Creativity Challenge

    Judging by my calendar it looks like it’s time for the June Creativity Challenge.  You remember this challenge from last year, right?  This is the one where you challenge yourself to do something creative each day in June.  If you recall last year’s challenge, I tried to regale you with any thought that popped into…

  • 100 Photos Before June

    Chillin’, a photo by Big Blue Mess on Flickr. I have only confessed this to a couple of folks; I’m afraid of my camera. Sure, looking at it excites me, purchasing accessories for it makes me happy, but when faced with taking it outside I get anxious, then I tuck it away and grab my…

  • Right As Rain

    First, a quick aside.  I hate Adele.  Yes, the singer.  It’s not really her fault, but there you have it.  Until this morning,  I couldn’t name a single Adele song, although I know I’ve heard her music on the radio.  I think she has a great voice.  I use the word “think” because I have…

  • Super Cool

    My friend DeAnne sent an email out today that linked to a great blog post titled “You are Super Cool” along with a YouTube video. What DeAnne didn’t realize (until she started reading my post) is that her timing was impeccable, because this weekend I convinced myself I was exceptionally un-cool. It all started Saturday…

  • Advice & Perspective

    Last week the following email managed to leap over my spam filter and land among my various fan emails (my friends simply refer to them as ‘notes’, Philistines! But they know they’re fans deep down): “Hi Beth, I came across bigbluemess.com and thought there would be a good fit for a partnership with our network…

  • Sketch Highs and Lows

    For a week I’ve been high on a bit of praise I received from Esther’s Follies.  For those outside of Austin, Esther’s is a bit like our very own Saturday Night Live.  Their shows have been running non-stop Thursday – Saturdays since around 1977.   Recently, they (along with The Onion) hosted a sketch writing contest…

  • The Comment Overshare

    I have to make a confession. I’m a blog commenting oversharer. I’ll find myself completely captivated by a well-written story and the next thing I know, clicking “Like” just won’t do; I must tell a related story of my own. It’s a bit embarrassing at times as I look back at the other comments. They…

  • Rites of Passage

    I was born wearing glasses. The full head of hair, the colic-y cries and the thick plastic framing my unopened eyes made me easy to pick-out from all the newborns in the hospital’s nursery. “That one is ours!” It made for an interesting delivery story. I had my first eye surgery at age 2, the…

  • A Plea to Stephen Colbert

    Friends and Family (the rest of you are off the hook again – yipppee!) I just want to thank you all for helping support The Institution Theater and Me – especially all of you past and present PBS folks.  It means a great deal to me and I know I owe you one.  You are now…

  • DeAnne’s Vote and a Sam Update

    Earlier this week, I got a great email from my friend DeAnne. You should refer to her as HRH DeAnne, like we all do and if you could genuflect a bit or possibly approach on your knees, that would not only be a welcome gesture, but one that would be encouraged and save you from…