Official Website of Christopher Showerman

Friday, June 01, 2007

big game

John Deignan (as PICKLE - he's not in costume), C. Thomas Howell (as SULLY, but eating a pickle), and Christopher Showerman (as LUKE - and no, that's not my blood)

Howdy Y'all,

I'm back for a moment to give you a little update from the wilderness. I'm working on a cool movie called "Big Game" written and directed by my buddie Steven Dieveney. For the first time ever in my career, I get to be bad...really baaaaaaad. It's a very physical movie and the role has really allowed me to explore my dark side. The cast and crew are wonderful to work with and the California wild fires have subsided enough for us to continue shooting again. My apologies for not being around in this forum, but there's killin to be done. (ok, that was a joke, don't emulate this at home!) Ahh, no rest for the wicked.

All my best to all of you and thanks for keeping the forum active!!

All Things Possible!
Chris

PS: Saw all the trequels so far. My scorecard:
Spidey/Shrek/Pirates: 3
Audience: 0

47 Comments:

At 8:32 PM, June 01, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Chris! You're back!
Thanks for giving us all the update - "Big Game" looks like a real opportunity to show your range and go beyond your usual good natured self. I've had the opportunity to play a deranged bad guy or two in my time and in some ways I find it exhilarating to temporarily just let yourself go (in a safe and ultimately harmless way of course).

Glad to hear that the wildfires out there have subsided - sounds like it's going to be a long, hot, dry summer.

Looking forward to seeing you up on the big screen soon - my "sources" (Google, imdb, etc) indicate that you do have several projects in various stages of development - so I know that it's only a matter of time.

Take care of yourself.

Dave

PS: Sorry you weren't impressed with the trequels - but there are more sequels to come this summer. Remember when almost all movies were new and original?
At 10:49 PM, June 01, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Chris,

good to hear from you and thanks for sharing the photo. Glad to hear you are doing another movie, sounds interesting! It will be fun to watch you when you're bad! :)

Dave, thanks for all your input. I always enjoy reading it. :) And I too remember the times when movies were new and original, now you have to look harder to find those but there still are some great ones out there.

As for the recent movies, I watched Pirates twice (as I had promised different people to go with them) and I have to say I enjoyed it more the second time, because it wasn't so overwhelming anymore. They put a whole lot in that film and had some great ideas but it was a bit much to take all in at once. It was great though how the made the story arch connect back to part I, with the sword Will made for Norrington (love Jack Davenport; did anyone listen to the commentary on part 1 on the DVD with him and Keira Knightley? Hilarious!) playing such an important role... I do hope you all stayed til after the credits and saw the last bit?
My friends and I thought that Orlando Bloom looked a lot like Erol Flynn in this, does anyone else think so? After seeing all three movies my verdict is: I like all three Pirates films a lot but the first still is my favourite.

I haven't seen Shrek 3 yet, it has not been released here yet but will be this month.

Interestingly, before Pirates we got a preview of "National Treasure" with Nicolas Cage. I remember seeing the poster for that in London years ago and saw on the imdb that it actually is a few years old. It's already out on DVD here (I checked) so I am surprised they are bringing it to cinemas now.

To add a bit more to the previous subject, I found that the "advertising" on the dusk jacket of a book can also be quite misleading and create expactations that are not fulfilled. I had that happen recently and I think this happened to me more often than being mislead by movie trailers. What are your experiences with that?

Tim, if you are so busy working all the time you might want to try audio books for the chores that don't involve making a lot of noise. That way you can have some action and adventure while working. I like to listen to audio books while doing house work and I finally have an mp3 player and using it to help me learn Dutch better on my train journeys to work and back. Right now I am listening to "The Hobbit" in Dutch, which I find also very relaxing.

Hope you are all well and have a great weekend.

Big hugs to you all,

Ute
At 6:51 PM, June 04, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Ute,
Glad you were able to check back in, too! By the way, the preview for "National Treasure" are you sure it wasn't for the sequel that is in production now? I think we saw the same preview and it looked so similar to the original that it was difficult to notice that this was for the next one in what I am sure Disney is hoping will be a series (which are still all the rage in Hollywood - and will be as long as we keep going to them, after all the show biz whether we like it or not is first and foremost a business, especially as far as the major studios are concerned).

I agree with you that the first Pirate's film is the strongest, but I also liked how the third one did tie a lot of things together and wrapped everything up. If they were for some reason (complete leave of any sense of corporate fiscal responsibility perhaps)not to make a fourth I would feel that the series came to a fine conclusion. But, frankly, though I enjoyed it there was a lot that could have been cut without impacting the story - this one was about the action and not so much about character development. A classic "check your brain at the door" movie.

Again, I enjoyed all of the trequels (love that term Chris) but I clearly checked my brain at the door. Spiderman did not meet my expectations and if the producers are not careful it will go the way of the Batman series from the late eighties and early nineties when the number toys that each picture generated was much more important than "minor details" like character, plot, and even acting! Two key characters from the comics were tossed away and not much more than windo dressing in this one (Venom and Gwen). We will see what the next one brings...

Shrek was, well, Shrek...not much new but not much offensive and several good laughs. Does anyone else have a problem with how the Shrek movies tend to mix the fairy tales with other legends and myths? For example, I don't put the Arthurian stories in the same category as Cinderella. To me they are different as night and day (or should that be "knight" and day).

I don't expect to see a lot of originality for the remainder of the summer - but maybe one of the films I am going to see will surprise me...I'm crossing my fingers!

Well, that's probably enough for one night - I want to give everyone else a chance to chime in.

Dave

Oh, and before I forget, Sue the other Michigan author is Steve Hamilton
At 7:38 PM, June 05, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Dave, thanks for the note. I'll post back soon! Hope everyone is having a great ATP week...Sue
At 4:10 AM, June 07, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Dave,

no kidding, they are making a sequel for National Treasure?! I had no idea. Thanks for the info. But you could be right, of course, that this trailer was for the new film, especially since it didn't say it was a sequel. Crazy! (Or maybe they are using the old trailer to promote the new film? Everything is possible these days.)

Shrek is still not out here, but offhand I'd agree with you that ancient legends like Athurian stories are no way in the same category as Cinderella and I can't quite picture them together. I'll let you know my thoughts when I have seen the film later this month.

Hope all of you are having a great Thursday! It's a public holiday here today, so no work - hooray!

Big hugs,

Ute
At 4:27 PM, June 07, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

Hey Dave Ute and Sue!

I just saw a very fascinating movie starring Kevin Costner called Mr Brooks. In my opinion, it's the best cinema villan since Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs! I highly reccomend it.

I have some pals working on the new National Treasure movie. Should be interesing. I believe this one will be INTERNATIONAL Treasure. Clever, eh?

Hope you're all having a great week!

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 9:11 PM, June 07, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Dave, Ute, Chris....

Dave, thanks again for the author tip. I must remember to find Hamilton when I go to the bookstore....Speaking of books (and movies made from books), I've read that studies had been done about the effect of Harry Potter on children. Public health officials had noticed a trend in Britain and then did a report on it in the British Medical Journal. On the first weekend following the release of a new Harry Potter book, the accident rate for children at emergency rooms dropped by one-half. So July will be pretty big for Potter fans, right? With Harry Potter film and book, too! Wonder if the statistics will hold. Of course, they didn't say what happens the weekend a H.P. Movie comes out. OK, now I'll have to admit that I have yet to see a Harry Potter movie, or read a book. Am I missing a whole lot here? Probably, if I intend to be movie literate, you might be thinking.

We have National Treasure somewhere on our Netflix list. Maybe we should move it up! I always love your movie commentaries Dave. Thanks. Not sure if we'll get to the theater soon, but we'll have to see who wins...me for Pirates, my husband for Shrek. You'd think it'd be the other way around maybe! Ute, glad you popped into the forum for a bit during your busy week, and I appreciate your thoughts and Dave's on Shrek and Pirates. The Hobbit in Dutch, Ute? Wow. You must be coming along well with your language learning. That reminds me, hope Jaschenka is doing well! Miss her on the forum...

Chris, I've been going to chime in with Dave and Ute about your "new range" of acting potential. When I told my husband about Big Game, he was really enthused because he's always thought you'd make a great villain. He's said that before. In his mind, finding people who can play great villains is a challenge. So, what do you think, now that you're producing films yourself. Is he right? "Inquiring minds want to know."

I'd have posted earlier, but we've been busy this week...one of the wonderful experiences we had over the weekend was participating in the first Relay for Life fundraising event for the American Cancer Society in Webberville. For the first one, it went very well (despite a deluge of rain that night) with 48 survivors participating and 20 teams for a total of 300 involved, and raising $50,000 so far in the fight against cancer.

Wishing everyone all things beautiful and possible this weekend...Sue
At 10:20 PM, June 07, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Guys,

good to hear from you all.

Chris, I checked out the website for Mr. Brooks, looking really good. I love the poster. Unfortunately I will have to wait until Nov. 29 until it opens here but I will sure add it to my "to see" list. Thanks for the recommendation!
International Treasure, huh? So part three then will be called Universal Treasure? After that finding titles should get difficult!!! *laugh*

Sue, I don't think you really need to see the Harry Potter films or read the novels. I find them very well written and addictive, but the story turns very dark over the course and in my opinion you really have to like this genre to enjoy this. A fun alternative to Harry Potter is Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl is a teenage super brain who knows that fairies do exist and successfully kidnaps one to ask a pot of gold for randsom. Unfortunately for him, this fairy belongs to the fairy police force - all the magical creatures incl. dwarfs living underground. The books are great fun to read and I believe there are talks about turning them into movies too. I recommended this book series to a friend whose daughter did not like Harry Potter and she loved Artemis.

Sue, The Hobbit is great fun to listen too in Dutch and good practise too. :) The Relay for Life fundraiser sounds great and obviously was very succesful. That's good to hear.

Have a good friday and a better wekkend, y'all!

Big hugs,

Ute
At 3:18 AM, June 09, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello, Dear Forum Family!

It has been WAY too long since visiting here on the Forum. I apologize for being away so long, but each of you know how quickly the seconds slip past when life is full.

I am arriving at a time in the year when I may actually be able to go out and see some of the wonderful movies that each of you have reivewed recently. I am a HUGE Nicolas Cage fan (have seen all but three of his movies) so I am excited about another National Treasure movie. Having lived in Philadelphia, the first movie was particulary fun to watch, and it kept my interest throughout the movie. It will be fun to wathc the minute-by-minute suspense of the sequel.

Ute, I am jealous of your listening to The Hobbit in Dutch. I would love to understand another languarge well enough to speak/read/write it. My only exposure was Spanish in High School and German in College, but neither of them did I pursue once the requirements were met!

Dave, you always have such wonderful information. Thanks for taking the time to share. Pirates and Shrek and Spidey are all on my summer list, so hopefully I will see them soon. I have heard mixed personal reviews of Mr. Brooks, but I think I want to see it.

Sue, thanks for your participation in the fight against cancer. There is so much need for research and the monies you helped raise will be useful. I am going to a fundraiser tomorrow for one of the local food banks. We are in such need of supplies to feed the needy and homeless here in the PIttsburgh area.

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is in progress here. It is a wonderful two weeks of visual, creative and performing arts all around the downtown area. Over 200 artists are set up in tents, stages bring great acts (last night was Kenney Chesney) and the food is phenomenal. Of course, this is the rainy season here in the 'Burgh, but it does not dampen the spirit of the arts!

And my man Chris...you really are stretching that beautiful spirit of yours to head off for Big Game. It was so good to hear from you. I trust all is well and that you are happy and healthy. You seem to be focused and enjoying your possibilities. All of us are so proud of you and love you! Adrian and I have just made our plans for the American Association of Blood Banks annual meeting in Anaheim this coming October. Will you be in the Southern Cal area at that time? We would love to see you again.

Personally Adrian and I are well. Life is balanced and good right now. We have each been busy at work, and every day we hurry home to be with the cats, the garden and the serenity of our personal lives. We are lucky enough to spend a few weekends during the summer with good friends who have a log cabin at Deer Lake here in Pennsylvania. It is a spiritual experience to be having breakfast outside and have deer come up to the porch!

If anyone is familiar with the Hard Rock Cafes and their trading pins...Adrian designed a pin for the Pittsburgh Hard Rock Cafe which releases this Sunday. He is the first non-HRC employee to submit a pin design to HRC Corporate Headquarters in Orlando and have it produced. We will be at the HRC tomorrow for a pin signing event...it is all so exciting.

The US Open begins in Pittsburgh this week, and I have not seen the city so clean since last year's baseball All-Star Game.

Of course, I could not have a conversation with my Forum Family without the reminder for the need to donate blood. The summer is such a low period for the blood supply with everyone on vacation, or traveling, or busy at work and home. If you have the ability to donate, please go to your local center and do so. We have recently been appropriated funds from our Board of Directors to begin a Research Institute which will focus on stem cells, cord blood and synthetic blood. As if we were not busy enough...!

I will attempt to be a better Family member moving forward. I have missed you all.

Much love, and ATP!
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 10:42 AM, June 09, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello Patrick,

good to hear from you! I am glad things are going well for you and Adrian and congratulations to him for designing the HRC pins. You both must be very excited! I have a HRC few pins from my vacations (London and someplace else I can't remember just now. I have to "dig them up" one time and let you know.)

You know, Patrick, the trick for learning another language well enough to be fluid in it is that you need a real purpose for it. I learned English so well because I have been a fan of English speaking actors & shows for many, many years and now I learn Dutch because I have Jaschenka and my other Dutch friends and go to the Netherlands often. It gives me great joy to understand more every day and listening to The Hobbit is helping me to make progress. It's a real good story for learning a new langauge and since I have read it before (both in German and English) I am familiar with the story which is also helpful.

I commend you for your tireless efforts to promote blood donations. I always feel a bit disappointed that I cannot give blood because of my medication.

All the best for you and Adrian & big hugs to you.

Ute
At 3:05 PM, June 09, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Ute, so good to hear from you!

You are so lucky to live in a place where many different languages are spoken just hours away from where you live. I can travel for days around the United States and only find more English-speaking people. And some of them do not speak the language that well! Ha!

I agree that you learn best when you have a need to learn. Maybe I will move somewhere where my needs will be greater!

Thanks for being in touch. And even though you may not be able to donate, you can certainly encourage friends and family to donate, which is just as helpful as donating yourself!

Big hugs to you as well.

Patrick
At 12:58 AM, June 10, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello everyone! Patrick, welcome back! We missed your voice here on the forum! So wonderful to have such a lively discussion, too, and about one of my favorite topics...language. Because I have a confession to make. I've been so inspired by Ute and her constant discipline of learning to speak and to write Dutch because of a dear friend. Ute, while you reside in Germany, your facility with the English language has been a marvel to me since I first began "listening" to you speak on the forum a couple of years ago. Since then, I've thought often about how I've been a "lazy American" in regard to language, and I'm the last person who'd have thought I'd do that. But I have. My confession, you see, is that my degree is in French, with a minor in Spanish on the side. I taught for three years before going onto other things, like newspaper work. Yet, as Patrick says, here it's so easy NOT to have to use anything but English. The words of my Spanish professor, actually, reverberate in my ears. She told me that if I didn't teach it, I would forget it. But she also said, that if you get back on your roller skates, it will come back. But I never put on the roller skates. Kind of like piano. With French, I know it would come back quickly should I be plopped down in France. I felt a stirring again on a trip to Toronto last fall. I took some classes about 15 years ago and it did come back. But then I decided not to try teaching again. So there I was. Back in the same habit of not using it. And, of course Spanish I knew less, so that would take more work. More and more, I feel I've taken this ability for granted, and left it unused. Now, because of Ute's inspiration, I'd love to learn German. Yet, will I find the time and inclination to discipline myself to practice what I know and dive into a new language too? I hope so. If I make the commitment here on this forum, I'll feel quite disappointed with myself if I don't, right? While I also often felt I'd let my Spanish prof down by not putting on my skates again, maybe it's not too late. So, Patrick, maybe we can encourage each other! And Ute can prod me to remind me about my German intentions! And yes, there's the language of music, too. My piano beckons, as well. Ute, you'll have to tell us how you manage to remain disciplined with your language learning and maybe you know of one of the best current courses we might try....

Patrick, thank you for your kind words about our participation in the fundraising for American Cancer Society....and also your reminder about giving blood. I think of you every time there is a blood drive announced. Like today, at the Great Lakes Loons baseball game in Midland. They announced that summer blood drives need LOTS of people for the reasons you always tell us. While, healthwise, I haven't felt quite myself for a few months now, I hope to get going again on that intention, as well! For any baseball fans, the Loons are a new team here, affiliated with the Dodgers..and the occasion was a family gathering. Lots of fun. And the weather today in Michigan was spectacular.

Also, congrats too from me, Patrick, about the HRC pins...and Ute, thanks for the posts about Harry Potter and the suggestion for Artemis Fowl. Sounds like fun reading!

Hope we'll all remember that all things are possible...including keeping the balance in our lives with the beauty of books, music, movies...and language learning!
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, FUN ATP week ahead! Sue
At 10:56 AM, June 10, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi All

It is a beautiful weekend here in Illinois. Quite the change fom earlier in the week when really nasty storms ripped through the area wreaking havoc on everything in their path. As the storms partially tore the gutters off my house and also pointed out a roof leak over our porch, I have spent the better part of the last two days perched on a ladder hammering away. The thought of reroofing is not a pleasant one but once I get started I'll be motivated to finish. I must first secure all the proper permits. Funny how you have to pay to work on your house.

Last week I had the opportunity to watch a movie called "What the Bleep Do We Know". It is a movie you really have to pay attention to as it gets into quantum physics. I must admit that I'll need a second crack at this one as I tuned out mid way through to explore another world- rem sleep, so I missed a few critical things.

Chris, the picture you posted has a Deliverance feel about it. Can we expect any catch phrases to infiltrate our culture like "you sure have a purty mouth"?

Have a great weekend

Tim
At 11:08 AM, June 10, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Patrick & Sue,

wow, Sue, learning German is a big project, it's not the easiest language on the planet - even for Germans. I hear you Patrick, I know what I read on some other message boards sometimes puzzles me and occassionally I can't figure out what it's supposed to mean...

The best way to start is an language course with a book incl. CDs, like Assimil for example. That way you can listen to the sentences over and over and over again and assimilate them. This will give you a basis to work from. I started with an Assimil course for Dutch and now got me another course and work book for advanced learners (Taal Total). That also comes with cds. CDs are mega important to learn a language. Of course, I have the advantage that I already have a big passive knowledge of Dutch from watching a Dutch TV channel for a few years as a teen and that it is also very close to German. I confess that I am not very disciplined at all, I mix the Asssimil course with the Taal Total and the audio books that I have and make progress through being quite chaotic really. This works fine for me but I am not sure this would work for other people. Assimil have structured their books from easy sentenses to more difficult ones and recommend the way you learn. You can start with this and then you will probably learn by doing what works for you and what you might want to adapt to your style of learning. The only recommendation I can give: as soon as you know enough vocabulary, start with good audio books, perferably ones you know. The Hobbit is great for that, because it deals with all kinds of situations and enhances your vocabulary and you learn sentense structures really well. Reading is also good practise or watching movies; though I am not sure you can get many movies with German voice tracks in the States.

Another language I would like to learn is Italian. Maybe one day...

I had French at school for four years but rarely have a chance to use it so it is buried deep. Reading is not so bad, as many words have the same roots as English words. In my last year I also took Russian lessons, that was interesting and great fun, though I am afraid I don't remember much of that. Our teacher used to sometimes cook Russian meals for us and she had a samowar (Russian tea machine) and we really loved the course.

I find languages truly faszinating. Last year a friend and I went to the International Book Fair in Frankfurt and I was amazed by the books from Asia with their different writing, so beautiful and yet so alien.

I am wishing you all a wonderful new week with lots of great communication going on.

Big hugs to you all,

Ute
At 9:56 AM, June 12, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

Hi all!

Just a quick note -

Patrick mentioned that Adrian just designed a pin for the Hard Rock Cafe. I asked him to send me a picture of it - IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! If you're at all curious, please check it out on the Fan Contributions page - I put it up under the ART heading. There are 2 pictures of it - the first closed and the second open. BRAVO BRAVO!!!

And no Tim, I don't have any "purty mouth" lines but I did go shooting down the Kern River Rapids yesterday - without a boat. Hope it's as exciting on film as it was in real life!

Thanks all for your great input. I'm most fascinated and inspired by you who maintain a life long curiosity.

PS: If you didn't see Mr. Brooks yet - GO!

ATP!
Chris
At 12:23 PM, June 12, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Chris, thanks so much for posting the Hard Rock Cafe pin on your Fan Contributins page! Adrian will love seeing his work on the web!

We love you!

Patrick
At 1:25 PM, June 12, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Chris,

thanks for putting up pictures of Adrian's Hard Rock Cafe pin. It's phantastic! I think I have to go to Pittsburgh now just to visit the HRC and get me that pin!!! Is there a background story to it, Patrick? It looks like it has to me though it might be obvious to people familiar with Pittsburgh.

Wow, going down Rapids without a boat -- that sounds like something I only want to see on film!!! Glad you made it through okay, Chris. I remember from the LotR specials that Viggo Mortensen was caught in a current and nearly drowned trying that!

Big hugs to you all, hope you are all having a good week!

Love,

Ute
At 5:38 PM, June 12, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Oh my, so much to comment on in the week or so since I last checked in!

Patrick - I looked at Adrian's pin design and must say it is one of the most interesting pins I've come across, wonderful work! Oddly enough, I started collecting pins as souvenirs of my travels after a visit to Disney World a few years ago (those folks at Disney sure know how to create a market and get you hooked) and since then I've been picking up a pin at most every place I visit. I find them easier to pack than most souvenirs and best of all, easy to display and enjoy. Now I have to add the HRC in Pittsburgh to my travel list.

Concerning learning another language - more power to anyone who does (and Ute, to learn more than one - wow). I had to take foreign language in high school and college and finally learn enough Spanish to graduate but my one and only foray into French wasn't so successful. Let's just say that there is a certain large mid-western university whose faculty has advised me to never take French classes again...(sigh). Though apparently I did learn enough that I could make out some signage on a trip to Montreal last summer.

And Chris - can't wait to see this film you are working on. I've done the rafting bit in a raft - but it must be brutal without one! I hope you were well padded.

That's all for now folks - I am gearing up to get back into the movie theaters this weekend. Looks like in addition to the next comic book movie (Fantastic Four) I need to go see a good thriller/character study as well!

Dave
At 3:14 PM, June 13, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello everyone,

Tim, spectacular weather here all week as well! Isn't it great? Makes you want to whistle while you work! I know what you mean about working on your house. My husband is constantly busy with gutter work, painting, fixing things. Our roof, luckily, is ok since our daughter and son-in-law re-roofed it several years ago. You just reminded me. Now a Marine Corps officer, he roofed during college. Loves to build things. When asked what to get him for a graduation gift (from degree program) our daughter said - Home Depot or Lowe's gift card! Because he can hardly wait to get going on some new projects. -- She's also the one who gave me "What the Bleep" which I need to watch again. Thanks for mentioning it. I loved it. There's a website, too, so you can keep up with the latest. Let us know what you think when you watch it again, and I will too. Funny how we have to keep learning over and over the things we want to internalize. Seems never-ending. Great reason to tune into this forum, I think, because of all the great ideas shared!

Ute, you're right. I fell in love with French in high school after just a year of it. It felt like home. Passion for something makes all the difference, doesn't it? I gave up the science intention and just followed my heart's desire. Makes one wonder how, if we love something so much, we can let it go out of our life...and sometimes for too long. As life evolves, though, there always seems to be a larger purpose at work, if we can just figure it out! I started to learn German once, but the class closed due to lack of interest! Thanks for the Assimil info. My daughter studied French for her international business degree. She got back into it this winter at a class for military wives and enjoyed it very much. So we started to practice a bit together on our visit this spring, but we need to make more of an effort. Sometimes I listen to audio tapes in the car. As you say, listening to stories you know helps. As for discipline, I imagine the forum family would agree with me that you are!

What you said about French and English is another reason I've been glad I studied French, because it has helped me greatly with my writing. Also that's where I got my global perspective on life in general, something that never went away totally, and is now ever more important to me...so I love participating on this forum and plan to have my own website sometime this summer. All your comments about language are so true...fascinating stuff. Also learning Chinese, Japanese or Arabic would be wonderful.

Patrick, the pin is beautiful! I'm so glad we have a chance to see it. Yes, what is the story of HRC pins? Did you talk about that on another forum awhile back? Dave and Patrick - It's never too late to learn a language or anything else. Sometimes mature students are better at learning because they have that determination, as I mentioned. As for lack of passion, I still remember the phone call I got from my son's high school French teacher (who also taught my daughter), frantic at the thought of him failing the first year class! I guess I overdid it with my "mother bear" approach, suggesting that would be a good language to study, if only to help with English. He didn't see the value of it at all. And so, I knew it wasn't going to turn out well. It didn't kick-start his academic record well of course! We laugh about it now...I think he picked Spanish and German in college. A neat way to study language a little bit is to subscribe to the Word A Day emails you can get. I like my English and French ones...but maybe Ute knows if there's a German one.

Re: Life curiosity. That is the key to right living, I'm convinced. Here's part of a quote I've loved since I was in school, part of General MacArthur's credo, which I typed out then and just found again. Great stuff to remember at any stage of life. My favorite line is: "Whether 60 or 16, there is in every being's heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars and the starlike things and thoughts, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what-next, and the joy of the game of living." Sound like someone we all know? I also like this line: "So long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer, courage, grandeur and power from the earth, from man and from the Infinite, so long you are young."

Wishing you all things beautiful and possible...and summer days full of curiosity, amazement and wonder! Sue
At 1:44 PM, June 14, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello once more, dear forum family, I hope you are all having a great week.

Dave, don't believe everything the teachers tell you. If it was just up to school my English wouldn't be half as good as it is. With the right motivation you can learn any language you really want to learn, especially if you are learning the language with a method that is more than just words on a page like audio books, books or films or being in a country for some time where another language is spoken.

Sue, wow - what an inspiring post, I always love to read your thoughts. As far as I know there is no German Word a Day unfortunately, but there are a lot of forum debating the German language. By the way, chosen as the most beautiful German word was "Habseligkeiten". Interesting. It's meaning is "belongings" but if you translate the parts it is made of: "Hab-Selig-Keiten" you get "Hold-Blessedly-(th)ings". Wow! How is that?! I find it quite amazing whenever I stop and start to think about word origins. Usually we are so used to the words of our mother tongue and its meaning that we never think about it much but when we do, the result is wonderous. I read a few books about words and language and it is so amazing that our languages are all so adaptive that we have more or less been using the same words for hundreds and thousands of years with not really that many new additions but rather adapting the meanings of the words we already have.

Big hugs to you all and I hope you are all having some great communications this week!

Ute
At 2:45 AM, June 15, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello dear Forum Family!

So wonderful to see you have been enjoying this forum in my absence- good too find I've been missed too (thanks Sue) but I can assure you I've been around here often enough to read all your interesting thoughts. I just couldn't get myself to posting anything solid under the circumstances, which haven't been all too happy I'm afraid. I'll spare you the details: let's just say I moved in with my parents for the time being, am currently looking for new housing and a job and will be officially single again in a couple of months. That's basically it in a nutshell- needless to say the past weeks and no doubt upcoming ones too have been and will be pretty adventurous. (I could call it a lot of things that are all not too cheerfull but I prefer adventurous *wink*)
I want to thank you all for providing me with a neverending source of inspiration and distraction on here- it's been most welcome to have this little online spot to run to to take my mind of things. Big hugs to you all!
To add at least something on this current topic I can tell you all that Ute is being the perfect student and making such wonderul progress that we are now even emailing to eachother in DUTCH! I will leave you with a language fact that I came across yesterday. Goodbye! (Originates from the old "god-be-with-ye")

Bright blessings, happy communicating and of course Be Inspired! XXX
At 7:31 PM, June 15, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Dear forum family,

Hope you who are celebrating Father's Day with family may enjoy the time together and create some beautiful memories. My father-in-law is driving up to Michigan from southern Florida. He's the one I mentioned in February, when we flew down for his 90th birthday. He's feeling well so far, calling from Georgia this afternoon. He's an inspiration for us to keep healthy, think positive and surround ourselves with loving and supportive family and friends...and above all, think all things possible at any age!

Jaschenka! Elvish Greetz! Did I spell that right? So wonderful to hear your voice on the forum again. We missed you for awhile! I know what you mean about not feeling up to writing when going through difficult circumstances. In such times, you often wonder if you'll have the stamina just to get up out of bed and make it through another day, wondering how long it will take to get back to your joyful self again. Think of you often, and always enjoy your telling us to Be Inspired!

The other day I found a copy of the post I wrote a year ago in April, so it's probably in the archives. But, when I found it, I thought it's even more true now. I think this is the second full year of the forum, so let me be the first to mark the milestone. Here's what I wrote then, and it still applies: "What really excites me about the forum is the positive mind-set that you all seem to have about tackling life's challenges. It is so inspiring, when facing challenges of my own, to be able to check in to the web forum that Chris has so graciously provided. Hearing all of your stories gives me a boost every time I log on and hear from a familiar voice or discover someone new is posting. It always helps to know that others are going through the same things, oftentimes, that I am. And getting all the perspectives from different places, along with the amazing insight that Chris gives, brings joy to my "heartdrive" and a little more bounce to my step each day."

I love your word origin for goodbye...I think I've heard that before. That's beautiful...I'm going to try to remember that when I say goodbye now. I love Ute's Habseligkeiten. Hold Blessedly Things. Awesome. I love it because I'm one of those persons who gets too attached to their belongings. And to people sometimes too! So for people or things, holding them blessedly to me means holding them with reverence, keeping them in your heart. And as long as you hold them blessedly, then maybe it's easier to let them go, as well. An organizing book I have suggests looking at your things in that way...helping you to discover just what you value in life...who you are, who you can be...and what matters on your life journey...kind of a treasure hunt to uncover your personal passions.

Dave, I agree with Ute...if it happens to become your passion to learn a language, we know you can! My husband is amazing me right now, because since he retired the second time - first from teaching, and then from a local lumber yard (he's back there part-time this summer), he's been teaching himself to play the piano! I grew up with piano lessons and here he is just playing away and making fantastic progress. I find myself getting a little jealous that he can maintain that discipline...but getting the passion first is the key (no I didn't plan that to be a pun!), just realized what I wrote!

Tim, It's so great to know that the movies and topics shared here can touch a chord with people. Thanks for reminding me about Bleep. I got an e-newsletter after you posted and checked the June Bleeping Herald. Amazingly, Jaschencka and Ute, there's an article in there about the Dutch word ZAADZ (pronounced zahd?) and meaning seed. I suppose everyone but me has heard of Zaadz...wow, thanks for making me think about that movie again, Tim, and being directed to Zaadz! It's the name of an organization with a mission to change the world...and in two years has become a major presence on the Internet. (They even have a Synchronicity Coordinator i.e. Director of Communications!).

I'll try not to write so long next time...have a beautiful ATP weekend everyone, with great communications...and lots of "zaadz" sprouting beautiful things in your life! Sue

Oh, and Dave, hope you'll fill us in on the Fantastic Four..I've seen a couple of newspaper reviews that were quite different! And speaking of spectacular productions, hope everyone has been able to enjoy the starry night sky show of Venus this month!
At 9:30 AM, June 20, 2007 , Anonymous said...

This message is for 6/24/2007.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BABY GHERKIN!

Muuuah!!!!
At 10:02 AM, June 20, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

Thanks honey!

And I just noticed that Sue's husband started playing piano - AMAZING!! Congrats and best of luck!

Ute, thanks for the Habseligkeiten - Lovely word and meaning until it shows up on a spelling bee!

Best of luck to you Jaschenka - thank you for checking in. That which does not kill us makes us strong - and often inspires great art! BTW - I loved learning the origin of "Good Bye".

Dave, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Fantastic Four. I have heard good things about it.

And finally thanks again to Patrick and Adrian for sharing the HRC pin with us.

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 1:26 PM, June 20, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello forum family... Happy Strawberry Solstice...and Happy Birthday Chris!

Strawberry Solstice is to wish you all a wonderful summer solstice and best wishes to enjoy the fruits of the season! Our daughter's birthday is June 26 and so strawberries are always on our minds right now. Except, should she be here (they're on a motorcycle trip to New England), there'd be no strawberry shortcake to celebrate, as our local strawberry farm was weather battered by hot and cold temps this spring, followed by a deluge of rain that flooded the fields too much. Closed only the second time in 29 years. And that place is always our family tradition. I remember Chris talking about that last year about this time. So hope you'll find a California strawberry shortcake for your birthday! -- I checked back in the archives and your strawberry tradition was at a different location, so maybe they did fine this year. And also, when I was looking, it seems that another forum family member mentioned a birthday about now...Tim?

Yes, my husband is teaching himself piano, with a couple of good books from a music teacher friend that were originally meant for me to review and he is enjoying them now...so I know, Dave and Patrick, you can learn anything at any age! He's even inspired me to try sit down and get back into my music. Thanks for the congrats, I'll pass it along.

I love the Friedrich Nietzsche quote that Chris always tells us. But I was amazed to find another one by Nietzsche recently that I like, and was going to pass it on for Jaschenka and everyone going through challenges. Isn't it beautiful? -- "You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star."

I agree about the German spelling bee. Learning to spell German will be a real challenge for me, Dutch, too! And Jaschenka, what about those "Zaadz" of possibilities for your new life. We're all praying for many beautiful blossoms! Keep us posted!

Sending hugs to all of you, and anonymous too! Wishing you all things beautiful Sue
At 8:27 PM, June 20, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Chris and Sue,
I was away for a couple of days - on business of course (vacation coming up soon though) - and just saw your posts, as well as the request to comment on the FF movie.

Well, as long as everyone understands that I wasn't going to this movie to learn any great truths on the human condition (and I wasn't disappointed in this expectation), I really enjoyed it. This movie did take some liberties with some of the characters that makes this comic book fanboy visibly shudder - especially where Dr. Doom is concerned - but some characters are dead on (The Thing and the Torch). The movie is pretty much what it appears to be at face value, a comic book in screen form. Lots of action and special effects, typical plot and dialouge, etc. This won't win a lot of "critical" praise, but I predict it will do well enough at the box office to produce a third picture. Best of all, it was short! About an hour and half in length as opposed to the bottom numbing length of "Spiderman" and "Pirates." They knew when to stop the story and not drag on - the movie presumes that we all know who the Fantastic Four are and how they came to be so no time is wasted on backstory. Oh, there are at least two blatant "plugs" for products so don't be alarmed (why would Reed Richards build a Dodge Fantasti-car? If a hemi allows a car to fly, why can't I have one???).

That's all for now - I hope everyone is having an ATP summer!

Dave
At 2:15 PM, June 21, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Dave,

thanks for the review. I must say I was a bit doubtful after hearing some bad reviews but I trust your judgement and will go see it when it comes out later in July here.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week.

Big hugs,

Ute

P.S. I had a laugh at work as it seems we will have a team building measure that sends us all out sailing in August. Now, why did I have to think Sea of Fear?! Though hopefully, it will be Sea of Fun! I'll keep you posted on the number of knives in the cupboards *laugh*.
At 3:30 PM, June 23, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hey Baby Gherkin (I'm not sure I want to know)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tim
(yes Sue, I too am another year wider)
At 3:33 PM, June 23, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Sue
That should have read WISER. I am happy to say I am not wider! I do need my glasses when I type.

Tim
At 8:37 PM, June 23, 2007 , Anonymous said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!!! Hope you have a blast on your special day..and to the rest of the forum family - have an awesome week!
xox
At 9:08 PM, June 23, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi to all...Dave, I love your movie reviews. You might have a second career here! Always look forward to see what you and Ute are going to tell us. And Ute, I love your Sea of Fear analogy. I've used it affectionately a few times myself, although given the law of attraction practice we're promoting here on the forum, I promised myself I'd stop doing that. I love your Sea of Fun! That's perfect! Keep us posted! Tim, Happy Birthday too! I had a birthday in May and am hopefully wiser, and also not wider now that I've been incorporating walking into my daily activities. Hope you had a great birthday celebration! Kathy, welcome to the forum and thanks for the well wishes...write again soon! -- All Things Beautiful to the All Things Possible crew of our ATP ship...sailing along on the Sea of Fun with Captain Chris at the helm! Sue
At 1:58 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Chris,

happy birthday! Hope you are having a great day today and a new year full of all things possible and even more jazz!

To everyone else from the forum family: have a great Sunday and a good start of the new week tomorrow!

Big hugs to you all,

Ute
At 2:05 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Tim,

happy birthday and best wishes to you too!

Interestingly, I did read your "wider" sort of correctly as my mind translated it into "you being a year further" as the German word for further is "weiter". With three languages swirling in my mind these days I have to extra concentrate what I am reading, writing and saying!

All the best,

Ute
At 2:19 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi again dear Forum Family and Happy Birthday Chris, Tim, Sue's girl and everybody else celebrating strawberry happiness!

So funny- I've been picking wild strawberries right here in the park almost every day in the past week while walking the dogs. (My dads birdies love the fruit!) Strawberries are cute (*nods firmly* yes they are!) and I think the Dutch word for wild strawberries (or literally forest strawberries) is on top of my list for 'favourite Dutch words' for sure: bos-aardbeitjes!!

@Ute- I recall reading something about an election of fav. words..we had one in the Nethies too and the Dutch word 'gezellig' was chosen as a favourite. There is no proper translation for it but I guess 'cosy' comes close..
@Sue- the word is 'zaad' and yes that translates as 'seed'.I think it has a very vibrant and even fertile sound to it, don't you think?! '(To) sew' is 'zaai(en)'..but don't misspell that as 'saai' because that means 'boring'!! Enough Dutch lessons for today. :)

@Chris- thank you for you ever encouraging words and that quote you threw in there ('That which does not kill us makes us strong.') is so true. I do feel I will come out stronger in the end. As you know I am a fanatic believer of the 'everything happens for a reason' policy..the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit nicely now already..'
If this influences my doodles in any way (and I do think mood does that to art) I very well might be going into a 'dark' period soon, *lol*

Sue, thank you for sharing the quote about chaos and dancing stars. I'd say there's plenty of chaos in my head right now to create some fireworks up in the sky- but you got to love fireworks!

I enjoyed all the movie reviews on here and last week I took my parents to see Pirates III for Fathersday. We had a good time. Ute- watching any movie with you is always a Sea of Fun..and wasn't it supposed to be a comedy after all??!! ;) You have to survive Castlefest first before you can take that boat trip..

No worries to all of you getting wider with each passing year..means there's more to hug!! Lots of strawberry happiness and Elvish greetz to all. Be Inspired! XXX
At 4:18 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Good morning, dear Forum Family!

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of the most beautiful people we know - Christopher! Chris, Adrian and I wish you a year full of everything you want and need to experience your full potential of happiness. You deserve every positive gift the universe can provide! We all celebrate the anniversary of your birth.

All...the posts have been wonderful these past few weeks. Movies, quotes, personal experiences...all a joy to read. I feel that I know each of you just from your writings!

Jaschenka, I am sending you as much positive energy as I possibly can for you to be strong on this part of your journey. You have the spirit and strength to face any challenges put before you.

Dave, Sue and Ute, there is quite a story behind the Hard Rock Cafe pin. Let me tell it...

Adrian is a graduate of the Art Insitute in Pittsburgh with a degree in Fashion Design and Illustration. He then completed further study at the Genoa School of Design in Trieste, Italy. In the 1980s, he and another designer were ranked 10th in an international design competition for the House of Chanel. The designed the HRC pin based on an actual costume that he designed in 1996 for one of Pittsburgh's premier female impersonators and entertainers - Patti O'Fernicher - for her presentation costume for the 1996 Miss Three Rivers pageant. The outside of the fabric cape is the Gay Pride Flag, and the inside of the cape (when the arms are open) is the Pittsburgh skyline. The only changes from the original costume were replacing the Pittsburgh Point Fountain on the gown with the HRC guitar, and replacing Three Rivers Stadium (now imploded) with one of Pittsburgh's 300 bridges for the headpiece. The original costume cape was 12 feet wide and contained 1,728 (12 gross) hand-set Swarovski crystals. We still have the cape stored in the attic studio.

For 12 years, I was tutored in classical piano by a wonderful mentor from the Cincinnatti Conservatory which spawned my love of music and theatre. During Junior High, High School and College, I perfomed with many stage and musical groups - touring the eastern seaboard and even making a few one-hour TV specials. So it was a natural for me to challenge my acting skills by playing the part of Patti O'Fernicher between 1995 and 2001. Patti became a Pittsburgh icon and continues to receive many requests to "come out of retirement" and entertain once again. Who knows...

So Adrian and I both feel very blessed to be a special part of Hard Rock Cafe history. He is the pin designer and I am the model! Now you know the rest of the story...

And Adrian has been asked to design the next three years of Gay Pride Pins for the Pittsburgh HRC!

Adrian's current work as a business image consultant here in Pittsburgh is creating and displaying Origami cranes in two of Pittsburgh's boutiques, along with his fashion displays on mannequins. I will send Chris an email with pictures of his creations. Maybe Chris can post them for you all to enjoy.

We just returned from a wonderful and enlightening trip to New York City to celebrate Adrian's 46th birthday on June 17. We took a boat cruise around Manhattan Island, went to the Museum of Modern Art, had lunch at the New York Hard Rock Cafe (where the made Adrian stand on a chair and welcome him as an HRC pin designer and wished him a happy birthday!), and watched the Bon Jovi concert at Rockfeller Plaza for the Today Show. It was a full 48 hours!

I just finished reading Eldest, the second book in the Inheritance Triology by Chris Paolini. His first book was Eragon, which has been made into a movie. You know I love everything dragon! The books are really good, and I am amazed that Chris began writing Eragon when he was only 15. I have not yet seen the movie, but have it on my "to do" list.

I wish each of you a glorious day and a wonderful week. The sun is just peeking over the backyard fence, so I will let the cats out to bask while I have another cup of coffee and enjoy what the universe has put on my plate today!

Love and hugs to each of you. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Happy Birthday again, Chris!

Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 6:04 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hello Dear Forum Family and happy Birthday wishes to Tim (belated) and of course to Chris. May you both have a magical, inspirational ATP year ahead of you.

Sorry not to have been around as much as I'd like due to course work now on the final module for this year thank goodness.

So to add my share to the topic of learning:
The previous module on Supporting mathematics was perhaps the hardest i've done yet. (thanks Jaske for all the moral support to get me through it) Yet at the same time potentially it was one of the most rewarding and life changing.

Years ago at school I was told I wasn't "good enougth" to do maths at the level I needed to. Technically I proved them wrong by getting incredibly high marks in the exam I did take, but you know the saying "mud sticks" and that "not good enough" has stayed with me ever since.

As a consequence this is something I've worreid about as being a potential barrier to my continuing my studuies to eventually becoming a teacher (3 years in the future).

However one aspect of the maths module was about supporting your own personal learing as well as pupils. This began with us having to take a diagnostic test at a level higher than that we currently have a qualification in. Amazingly, i somehow passed with 82.9%, with the only things I got wrong being topics I've never actually studied in my life . . . .YET!

We then had to devise an action plan on how to improve and I've already started to put this into action by having a work collegue teaching me triganometry during moring break once a week. i'm Also looking into the possibility of doing an exam at evening classes - but that depends on the amount of time I'll need to commit and if 'there's any time left for that when allowing for next years study at uni.

The confidence this has given me has been phenomenal . . . .now just have to wait and see if I passed the module assignment.

So well done to everyone else who's studying for something, either for recreation or otherwise. But even if you're not studying formally at the moment we never stop learning through our own experiences and by sharing with each other.

Jaske, Ute . . . I'm so sorry you're going to have to give me a crash course in Dutch when I get there (please) - or speak English, as i haven't had the time to study the language. Look forward to seeing you both soon.

Patrick - love Adrian's HRC pin nad the story behind it. Would love to see more of his work so hopefully Chris will post the pics.

As for strawberries (yummie) - Monday sees the start of Wimbledon.

Enjoy Summer everyone.

Lots of Strawberies, love hugs and bright blessings

Angi
At 7:11 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hi Patrick,

good to hear from you. Thanks for sharing the story behind the pin. That makes it even more special. And belated happy birthday to Adrian. I am glad you had such a great time.

Eldest is phantastic, isn't it? I am sooooo waiting for Chris Paolini to finally finish book 3!!! I have read Eldest ages ago and am soooo curious to see how the story continues. The film Eragon has cut the story a lot because of sheer volume of story, but it's still fun and you'll just adore little Saphira when she hatches. Soooo cute!

No worries, Angie, we will speak English with you and perhaps even teach you some Dutch. The most important word you'll need to know is "gaaf" which means "great, phantastic". I am looking forward to meeting you soon too. For those of you who are wondering, Angie and I will visit Jaschenka in early August and attend Castlefest, which is a medival fair. I've been there last year and it was great fun and will be again this year. Can't wait!
Also, congratulations Angie for your well done tests. See, this just proves that all things are indeed possible.

Big hugs to you all,

Ute
At 10:55 AM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

HAVE A FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY CHRIS! Congrats and my best wishes for all your new movies and projects!

Hello dear forum family! Great to hear from all of you! Happy birthday to Tim and thanks Patrick for sharing the nice story behind the beautiful Hard Rock Cafe pin which Adrian designed. It was nice to see it on the fan contributions page as well i was very glad to read Sue's articles, interviews that Chris posted on the website. They are the most excellent interviews to Chris i've ever read. Congratulations you did a great job!

Best of luck and all my best wishes to Jaschenka and everyone is going through challenges and difficult circumstacies. I know what means going through tough times; like you, i always thought that everything happens for a reason and if we are aware we can really understand that every experience during our journey it's always a possibility for being stronger and better.

All the best to all of you!
Alex from Italy
At 2:26 PM, June 24, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Wow, everyone, the forum is really lighting up today for Chris' birthday! So great to feel all the positive energy being expressed. Ute, I like your "year further" thought for our birthdays. Maybe we can think of it as a year further along on our ATP journeys.

Jaschenka, Yes, I love your word "zaad" and it does seem to pack a lot of vibrancy in it, just as do seeds! And, I agree with you about things happening for a reason. Oftentimes it takes us awhile to see the big picture. Whenever I take time to look back over the pattern of my life, the puzzle pieces do make sense in the long run of things. Best wishes for the dark period you'll probably have to navigate. Just pop in here for inspiration! And I'm glad you liked the quote. Been going through a bit of chaos myself lately, and I'm ready for lots of fireworks! The two quotes seem to go together. If you can survive the inner struggle and chaos, you'll come out inevitably stronger, resilient and ready to launch your fireworks show!

Patrick, thanks for the story about the HRC pin and your music and theater memories! The "rest of the story" is supernova! Thanks for sharing that. And to be designing for three more years is fantastic! Looking forward to the origami art. Happy Birthday, belatedly, to Adrian, too. That's a wonderful date in our family, too. It's our anniversary, and this year we celebrated our 40th -- quietly, with no fanfare. It's been quite a ride! And now you know the rest of our story -- the ancient ones in the forum family neighborhood!

From the comments of everyone on the forum, Eragon sounds intriguing. Where do you all find time to read all those books and see all these movies?

Angi, you are a perfect example of doing what you love, despite what others tell you. We all have these barriers at times, and it seems like you've made amazing progress. Having this kind of confidence in yourself is a wonderful feeling. Keep on keeping on with ATP and remember that all of us on the forum family are cheering you from the sidelines!

Hey Alex, I just found your post. Had just been thinking about you and hoping you would be around soon. Imagine my delight to know that you saw the articles and enjoyed them. That makes me feel great! Writing those was probably the most fun I've ever had in my writing career. Truly a joy. Thanks so much for your kind words.
Hope everything is GAAF for you and your family in Italy! -- No one has mentioned Italian yet. My son gave me some Italian tapes once. I should get those out too. It would have helped to be a little familiar with it when we went to the Turandot opera I spoke of this spring!

Sounds like everyone here loves strawberries! Jaschenka, I can picture you picking them! So, you feed the birds strawberries? I love Angi's strawberry blessings. On behalf of Ute, I'll pass along to everyone my wishes for "All Things GAAF" this week...and for the birthday person, a beautiful, Gaaf and Weiter ATP birthday year ahead! Sue
At 11:16 AM, June 25, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

What an AWESOME party you have all created in here for me! Thanks you guys! Yes, my birthday was great and in no small part because of all your well wishes. Thank-you Kathy, Sue, Ute, Jaschenka, Patrick, Angi, & Alex - your humanity and friendship has made my life rich indeed.

Yes, I believe I did get a little wider on my birthday so I'm going to try to work it off a bit now. But who can say no to Red Velvet Cake? If you haven't had it yet, you owe it to yourself. Wow.

Check out some of Adrian's latest work, including the oragami swans, just posted on the FAN CONTRIBUTION page. Awesome.

Thanks again for all your birthday love.

All Things Possible!
Chris
At 7:03 PM, June 25, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Awww, looks like I just missed the birthday "party" here. Well, I hope you will accept my belated best wishes Chris! And by the way, since I know something of your healthy lifestyle habits - my guess is that you didn't get too much wider regardless of how good that Red Velvet Cake was!

I checked out the oragami swans - and the other artwork of Adrian's that has been posted - quite an artistic talent indeed.

Best wishes to everyone - see you at the movies (the next round of my summer movie marathon is about to begin...).

Dave
At 9:33 PM, June 25, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

Naw Dave, you're right on time. I like to draw all my "me" days out for several weeks at least. Thanks Man!

ATP-
C
At 6:05 AM, June 26, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hope you had a good birthday bro..... answer your phone so I can sing 'the song' to ya.
P.S - Fantastic Four 2 was shite. 100 million dollars worth of junk.... much like everything else thats been released over the past couple of years. Thank god Shorris plans to give Hollywood a good kick in the touche.
Clint
At 5:48 PM, June 26, 2007 , Anonymous said...

But what did you really think of FF2 Clint? (LOL).

Serioulsy, I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy your "Caffeinated Clint" column at your moviehole.net website - you don't pull any punches and tell it as you see it. Though I reserve the right to occasionally, and respectfully, disagree - I'm glad you are there.

Looking forward to seeing a Shorris film on the big screen soon - starring our favorite actor/producer himself (Chris, of course!).

Dave
At 4:04 AM, July 01, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Good Sunday Morning, dear Forum Family!

Adrian and I are on our way out the door to go to Deer Lake near Nemocolin Woodlands for a few days. We will return on July 4, and I will have much to talk about!

I want to encourage each of you to go to the Fan Contributions page and check out Adrian's two new pics...one is an art mannequin with window reflections, and the other is one of the boutique windows he designed and made the Origami cranes on the mobile (he also constructed).

More later...but Happy Independence Day to you all! Our fight for freedom in 1776 has given us the ability to be with each other on this Forum today, and for that I am very thankful!

This holiday is also a great time to dontate blood...help others celebrate RED, white and blue!

Take care of yourselves, and I will be back later in the week.

Love to you all,
Patrick in Pittsburgh
At 8:37 AM, July 02, 2007 , Anonymous said...

Hmmm - things seem to have slowed down here a bit.

Patrick, I took a look at Adrian's work on fan page and it is very impressive! I'm sure you two will have some fun in the woods. I've taken a few days off this week myself and am looking forward to working around the garden, cleaning the house, and perhaps get out and ride a roller coaster or two (okay, probably about 16) and see a few fireworks on the 4th.

I saw the new Disney/Pixar film this weekend (Ratatoullie - didn't bother to look up the spelling) and was surprised to hear that it had a relatively slow opening for a Pixar film. I am a great fan of Brad Bird's work and though the story was a little slow in this one, the film was well done and entertaining. I'm amazed at what they can do with digitial animation now - the rats moved like rats, which frankly was a little creepy at times when they were in the kitchen, but an interesting combination of realism and cartoonism.

I'll be off to see Transformers this week for sure - and I need to get in at least one "good" movie...any recommendations from those currently playing everyone?

Take care - have an ATP week!
At 10:37 AM, July 02, 2007 , Christopher Showerman said...

Hey Dave -

Try RESCUE DAWN. It's a pretty amazing performance from the entire cast.

FORUM

Friday, June 01, 2007

big game

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