The Magnificent Effect of Gamma Rays on a High School One Act

This is the cast of Pierce County High School's One Act Competition play, The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, which Alison and I had the recent pleasure of attending a special showing. It was a sharp. well-edited 55 minute version of the Broadway play that was first performed some forty years ago. It won it's region here in the Southeast part of Georgia, and will soon be going to the State Tournament where I wish them all the best in the world. I have seen many productions in my life, but have rarely seen one with a such a brilliant ensemble cast. Kudos to the crew who helped this production run flawlessly.

Georgia one-act productions allows many bells and whistles. They could be competing against musicals, elaborate sets, larger casts, productions from much larger and better-financed programs. But I don't think that's going to matter. Because ultimately the theatre is about acting. Can the cast draw you into their world? Are they believable in the way they interact with each other? Does the story reach out to you and grab you in a way that moves you and makes you think? This play does that, as the small cast of five have learned one of the greatest secrets of theatre - that it's about not just actions but REACTIONS. It's seen in the moments when one young daughter reaches out to connect to her mother, and slowly fades away as she realizes the connection will not be made. It's seen in the mother's realization that she's trapped, going from complete despair to manic decision to do whatever it takes to break out. Or in a rebuffed daughter's desire to hurt her mother with the sharpest words she can muster.

I must also point out that none of this is possible without a superior drama teacher, Angela Manders. She has led them to four consecutive Regional wins. In my forty-plus years of theatre experience I have seen few who can draw so much of the potential out of students. Pierce County is truly blessed to have her, and she has made an indelible difference in the lives of the students who have come through her program.

It is strange. When I go to the movie theatre, I want to see splash and big effects and exciting, snappy stories. I love Star Wars and Indian Jones and Lord of the rings and all the melodramatic sturm und drang that the cinema can muster. Straight dramas with little flair bore me. I wonder why they're not on TV instead of the big screen.

Theatre, however, strikes me as the opposite. The flash and pyrotechnics leave me kinda cold and disinterested. But when an intimate drama is well-acted and I can see the characters react and grow, that to me is the epitome of the dramatic experience.

The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds, as performed by the Pierce County Drama Group, represents that epitome.
To the State...and beyond!

UPDATE: This outstanding production did indeed win the state competition Saturday! It won against larger, more elaborate and expensive productions. In the end, however, talent will out. They blinded them with Science! And outstanding characterizations! Kudos to all involved!

Messin' With TaxSquatch

With unemployment now at 10.2%, it is imperative that job creation be number one on the President's agenda. That doesn't mean the health care needs to be set aside, as it is one of the most important things to set right if we are to move forward. And I do believe from listening to the President earlier today that he understands this and will be doing everything he can to improve the situation. Infrastructure spending, greening the economy, extending unemployment compensation and job training, increasing the flow of credit to small businesses and community banks - these are all tremendously important, positive steps. But I was also discouraged to hear him mention tax cuts to businesses as another solution.

I am sick to death of politicians, on the right, left, and everywhere in between trying to solve our problems by dicking with the tax code. They see it as a way to influence and shape American life, and all they're doing are making things more and more complicated and unfair. As a CPA, I see the illogic and stupidity every day. All we've succeeded in doing is making the tax code so convoluted that nobody can really follow it. Anybody with more than a W2 has to seek out help. Great for my profession, but not so hot for the American people.

Although campaign finance reform and more competitive elections (more parties, instant runoffs, etc) would go the longest way towards improving our political system, our tax code is another major culprit. Lobbyists swarm Capitol Hill in large part to get the tax code to favor the groups they represent. And more often than not, Congress is happy to oblige.

Does messing with the tax code actually accomplish anything beneficial? Sometimes, maybe. The First Time Homebuyer's Credit may have temporarily stimulated the housing market. But it has done nothing to address the underlying problem - there is a growing mismatch between what people make and how much a home costs. A larger and larger share of income has to go into the purchase of a decent home.

Any tax change that relieves one group may wind up costing another group more money. Unless you're willing to run up large deficits (uhh, well, maybe they are), somebody has to make up for the credit/deduction you've given to someone else. Relieving property tax for a certain class of taxpayer may just raise the rates for another group.

So yes, let's solve the job crisis! But don't waste money on ineffective tax gimmicks. Let's rebuild this country for the future!