I spent the last two nights sitting in the director’s chair auditioning strangers. How strange it was, too. I’ve been to so many auditions now that getting up there and doing cold readings or prepared bits doesn’t even phase me anymore. Recite Mary Had a Little Lamb while pretending I’m a blizzard? No problem. It’s just not stressful or nerve-wracking like it used to be. But this, watching all these people go by, was something new. “Read this ,” I’d say, and they’d read it. “Try that ,” I’d say, and it was tried. I’ve never had to do this before. This’ll be the fourth play I’ve directed (not counting the years of radio drama), but I was able to hand cast the others. “I’m doing this play. You’d be great for one of the parts. What do you say? " And it was cast. Here, I was bound to have open auditions. Published in the papers and the whole bit. I didn’t know hardly anyone there. And I was nervous. Me! Here I was, giving people two minutes to show me if I could work with them for the next two months or not. Some of them needed more time to show me, so I called them back for more. “Thank you. Next! " A parade of hopefulls, showing me their best. Now it’s cast. The mold is set. Wonderful people were turned away out of necessity. We’ve all got a week and a half now to collect our thoughts, catch our breath, and then it’s seven weeks of rehearsals. Whew!

While flipping channels the other day (going from the Food Network to The Simpsons , no doubt), I ran across Donutman, Duncan, & the Donut Repair Club. Apparently, life without Jesus is like a doughtnut. Which means life with Jesus is like an apple fritter. Sweet, sweet apple fritter…

“She ruled with an iron fist and she was a cruel leader, to put it bluntly. She even kicked out her own mother. " And now she’s dead, killed by those she ruled: Mutiny in the Druid Peak Pack.

A three minute Real Video preview of the live action The Tick pilot episode is now online, courtesy of The Four Color Review. It’s looking good!

France Telecom is the new Orange. Sorry… bad graphic design joke.

Banana sex appeal rejected -- The BBC knows how to write a headline, eh? It’s too bad the story is so depressing.

WARNING!!! This entry is all about food. If you don’t like food, you may want to check back later for something non-food related.

Anyone leave? Didn’t think so. I just finished a homemade brunch I’d been anticipating all week. Yes, I’m odd that way. My mind’s on good food, so here’s some links.

The National Food Safety Database is a wonderful resourse, and an example of tax dollars very well spent. So much stuff to dig through, and not just botchulism warnings. Of special interest to me this morning is the So Easy to Preserve Canning Guide (Jellied Section) (direct from the University of Georgia here in Athens). Homemade jelly and jams are so very easy to make and better tasting than most anything you can find at the store. You don’t even need fresh fruit – frozen works very well. If you’re planning a special brunch (even if it’s a brunch for one, as mine was today), make some jam. You won’t be disappointed.

When I left for college, my parents gave me their copy of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. It is one of the best material things they have ever given me. I’ve used it so much that the covers fell off a few days ago. It’s the 1965 eleventh edition. Fanny Farmer published the original in 1896, and the last edition completely written by Farmer was published in 1918. Where am I going with all of this? That 1918 edition is entirely on-line, thanks to Bartleby. There’s some great cookbooks out there (and I own a few), but you’ll be hard pressed to find any better than Mrs. Farmer’s.

Next time you make homemade hashbrowns, grate a turnip and beet in there with the potatoes. Of course, they’re better if they’re straight out of your garden, but the produce section of the market can set you up, too. The mix I prefer: five smallish potatoes, two medium turnips, and one medium beet. This year, I’m growing “bullseye” beets (instead of red throughout, there’s rings of red and white). It’s amazing what this adds to the hashbrowns.

Finally, a non-brunch related item. This comes from the Food Network. Emeril, to be specific. He made a dish with collards and mustard greens that looked mighty tastey, and I’ve got plenty of greens in the garden, so I’m going to make it. Maybe for dinner. Here’s the recipe: Smothered Greens with Ham Hock Gravy. While I’m on the subject of the Food Network, is Good Eats a great show, or what?

I bent the mouse trap triggers ever so slightly last night, and woke up this morning with two fewer mice in the house. Sigh. I warned them. They can’t say any different. They are the brown field mouse variety. Perhaps they were chased in by the black snake longer than I am that lives in the old well outside my back door. Wherever they come from, they have to understand that they need to find another place to live. There’s a perfectly useful old barn just across the road that will serve them well.

From today’s Chronicle of Higher Education : The Lessons of a Lost Career -- How one unsung professor played by the rules, worked hard at the same university for 27 years, and died worrying that he couldn’t pay his bills.

Over the years, I’ve been amazed (and, sometimes, disgusted) by the junk that gets sold as candy. When I was little, candy cigarettes, complete with powdered suger smoke, was pretty facinating. Now, the selection boggles. I’m sure you’ve seen the bins of stuff at the checkout lines – gummy rats, bubblegum cellphones, etc. Thanks to the fine folks at stupid.com, you can get all the stupid candy you want online. The selection ranges from inspired (a labelmaker that prints messages on bubblegum strips), to useful (a swiss-army style kit with lollipop), to tasteless (Chocka Ca-Ca: Chocolate fudge in a diaper). If candy’s not your thing, you might enjoy browsing the stupid gift department.