Fri 2 October
Happy Birthday to Mark! Now that the baby boy is 41, we may have to reconsider whether we can still call ourselves middle aged. We'll get back to you on that.

Jane has spent the past few days juggling dental appointments with auditions. Today her kindly dentist postponed some major repairs so she could hurry to her audition for another Burger King spot. Boy, was Jane disappointed to miss that dental work. She'll have to make it through the weekend with the help of those Happy Pills her doc gave her.

We finally got a break from weeks of triple digit temps, with the next 5 days predicted to top out near 70˚. That's pretty much the L.A. equivalent of a Texas blue norther. Let's hope your weather is pleasant, too.

Wed 7 October
We've goofed off on the blogging this week to enjoy some cool air and inactivity. We're also getting into Facebook a little more. Commenting on FB is quicker than updating the old blog, and we can snoop on what all our FB friends are posting – the lazy guy's blog. We also get a little feedback, something our current blog doesn't allow, though we love your emails.

David's church choir sang a fall concert Sunday afternoon, and they will repeat it this Sunday at a church north of here. He's also getting back into the swing of instrumental music with the L.A. Winds' Monday night rehearsals to prepare for a November 8th concert. All this may sound like he's working really hard, but it's like two nights a week. Still, that could be the beginning of an actual life.

Auditions for Jane seem to come in flurries separated by scattered periods of calm. So far this week we are definitely becalmed.

Yesterday we finally got out to see Capitalism: A Love Story, the new Michael Moore movie. Saying that we enjoyed it might suggest that it is amusing, and most of it is not. But it covers facts that the mainstream media likes to overlook, connects events that many of us have forgotten (maybe never knew), helps to explain the causes of our financial crisis and suggests actions to reverse it. This powerful film takes aim at bad guys on both sides of the aisle and will stir you to action... unless you like things as they are.

Fri 9 October
The apparent key to more auditions is ranting about having no auditions. Thursday Jane got a callback from Burger King (karate granny.) Woo-hoo! Then today an audition for the Experience Music Project in Seattle (dancing granny.) This afternoon she got two more calls for "House" (a Doctor with a line to speak) on Monday, and for Factory Design Lab (internet) on Tuesday. Whew! That's quite a flurry. We may need to rest up before we can work up another good rant.

This evening we found a video of what may be the most memorable wedding dance ever. Turn up the sound, choose full-screen view if you can, and sit back for three or four minutes of fun.

Sat 17 October
This last week we scurried into Hollywood for five auditions amid lovely fall temperatures. We went more than 7 days without even turning on the A/C, and with nights that required a blanket, a spread and no fan at all. Then yesterday it hit 100˚, and we realize we are still in LA.

Auditions included roles on "House," "Zeke and Luther," "Big Love," a feature film, and a commercial. So far no word, but we're hopeful. All this is very educational, as Jane is having to learn her way around some of the big studio lots instead of all those commercial casting directors' offices. More exercise, too. Those places are huge.

Last Monday Jane had a morning audition... with another at 4:30. So rather than drive home and back, we went out to Malibu for lunch. We hung out there for a while and headed back at 3:00. Since the afternoon gig was on Sunset, and since Sunset runs all the way to the ocean, we went for the scenic route through Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and the Sunset Strip before it straightens out into a plain old Hollywood city street. Our appointment was on Sunset at the 101, and it didn't take long to realize what a mistake we had made to try this at rush hour with a deadline. Though it was our greenest, ritziest L.A. drive so far, we sure wish we had done it at more leisurely pace.

We arrived a couple of minutes late, and Jane ran in to do her part. She came back hopping mad. Waiting outside the audition room, she heard the casting director more or less offer the woman before her the part. Then she gave Jane a near brush-off. How rude and pointless. Some days just ain't all that much fun.

Tue 20 October
Last night, David attended his 4th rehearsal with the L.A. Winds, and he is happy to note that some of the old reflexes are starting to return after a 3-year lay-off. He's developing a small stable of good reeds and hopes to be ready to add something of value on his first concert three weeks from now. The group is very solid and has some big ambitions for the year.

Jane finally had to go in and get that cracked tooth repaired. You may recall how she got a temporary pass a week ago to attend an audition. But just like the IRS or old parking tickets, when the dentist knows your home phone number there's no escaping. It's evening now, and after several naps, a tasty Chipotle lunch and a nice chocolate shake, she is returning to normal with feeling in both cheeks.

We haven't posted a good link in a while, so here's one that should amuse you – assuming you love Southern male humor, as some of us here do.

Sat 31 October
OK, it's Halloween and we've been off the web for 11 days. We're both fine, but nothing has been happening. Absolutely nothing. Talk to you in November.