My young friend Jessica Mills in NY Times

I thought I would let you know about a bit more about my young friend Jessica Mills. Here's soem communication sent to me by her rightfully proud mother Deanie Francis Mills who is a quite well know American author:-

AWKWARD EMBRACES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES--IT'S A RAVE!!!

Guys, I'm forwarding this e-mail from my daughter but I changed her subject title because she so modest about this and I'm so excited!

Not only was Awkward Embraces selected, with a few others, out of more than 100, but the reviewer, Mike Hale (yes, that's his name <g>, and she told him she had a cousin with the same name)--featured Awkward Embraces at the TOP of the article with a lovely review, BUT, when you read the others--some of them are slick celebrity-produced Hollywood series; one of them has already won a national web series award, one is on Hulu.com, one on Sony.com, and one is a re-release of an animated movie!

Jessica's is the ONLY ONE that was done with nothing but grit, talent, and absolutely NO budget, which he refers to with a figurative smile.  His e-mails and phone calls to her have been very warm and funny.

This is a HUGE break for these kids. A publicist has already contacted them, offering to approach magazines like "Entertainment Weekly" and "TV Guide," using the NY Times as a springboard. And Jessica says that the entire Hollywood entertainment industry reads the NY Times Arts and Leisure section--so there is no telling who will see this.

Keep your fingers crossed that this could also "springboard" to a corporate sponsor or someone willing to sponsor these bright and talented young people, so Jessica can finally pay her talented cast and crew.  Recently, she had a fund-raiser where they were able to raise about $3000, which they used to help them film the first five episodes of Season Two.

The series has also attracted highly talented people in the industry who've offered to work gratis for now, and in Season Two, she's had help from a cinematographer, an assistant director, and others who've improved the production values, as well as celebrities in the world of comic books and horror movies who've requested that she write episodes for them, which she did! And they've had so much fun.

We are so proud of her, and we wanted to share this wonderful news with not just our family and friends, but people I consider Awkward Embraces family!

The link is provided below, after Jessica's letter of thanks to you all.

Love,
Deanie

"Deanie's Blue Inkblots"
http://deaniemills.com

From: Jessica Mills 
Subject: Awkward Embraces in the New York Times!
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010, 1:21 AM

Guys, this is exciting news I've been DYING to share since Monday.  Mike Hale, television reviewer for the New York Times, has reviewed Awkward Embraces.  We are in the Arts & Leisure section of the Sunday edition!  However, the internet edition came out a day early.

This is HUGE!  I literally wandered around my house in shock for several hours after reading it.  Everyone on this e-mail list has worked hard for us, supported us, and helped us to get where we are today.

I sincerely thank each and every one of you.  Onward and Upward my friends!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/arts/television/12watch.html?scp=1&sq=awkward%20embraces&st=Search

Love,
Jessica

Lake District Weekend

Well, I went up to Glenridding to have a stroll with some other Duke of Edinburgh Award adult volunteers, driving up on Friday afternoon. John Pratt and I arrived in the dark with no Grid Reference or postcode for Almond Lodge where we were staying. We went a mile up a mountain track to get the the complex of building we thought was the right place. It took us a few minutes to find the correct building. Having arrived safely we set about putting our gear in the lodge. We had discovered a youth hostel on the way and they did food. John and I decided to have our evening meal there. Cumberland sausage, yummy, especially when washed down with a Malbec. We also booked in for a fat boy's breakfast the following morning. It as bitter cold and snowed during the night. Our "course director" Ed Chard decided that the conditions were too treacherous for us to go walking and cancelled the weekend. Some folk went with Ed for a walk towards Helvellyn and some went down the hill a bit. 

From Almond Lodge, Glenridding, looking West (a bit towards Hellvellyn)

I decided to stay in the warm. I went outside, took a few piccies. I also took a bit of "cine film" on our new Kodak ZX1 mini HD camera that I have uploaded to Youtube HERE. After about half an hour I went back indoors to catch a few Z's as I would be driving over 200 miles again. The troops got back between 12:00 and 12:30ish and there was chat about what they had done. It turned out that Ed had taken several dives in the icy conditions while he was breaking trail. Lunch was at 13:30 and started of with an excellent home made vegetable soup that Jacky and Elaine had prepared. That was followed by a main course. They had also done a really good chilli with a non mushroom option for John. There was also a non chilli version and this was known as mince. Being as how I had a long journey in front of me, I had seconds of the chilli with some bread and I washed it down with orange juice.

Looking down the valley toward Glenridding. Youth Hostel at bottom left.

John and I left the lodge at about 14:30 and I gingerly drove down the snow covered and treacherous mountain track. When we were about half way down we met a vehicle coming up. I skidded to a halt and pulled over on to a passing space because those going down always give way to those coming up. The driver of the other vehicle came slowly past and then slid into the back offside corner of my car. I swore. He looked across and told me that there was no damage.I got out and saw that there was just a black mark that would polish out. He had difficulty getting started up the hill and reversed to get a run up. As soon as he was out of sight it turned in to rush hour and five vehicles came down the slope. I decided I might as well follow on. When we reached the other car, it looked as though the occupants were deciding if it was going to be worthwhile trying to get up the track. I would say not. The rest of the journey home was uneventful but when we stopped at Scotch Corner for a rest break and cup of coffee it was really bitter cold. 

Several of us will be going to the Peak District for a one day outing with Ed on Sunday January second. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and we'll have a good day out on the hill.

Bath, Beer, Bang!

It's a bloke thing. 

http://bit.ly/4wNXj9 Went to a Show

Eileen whose birthday is today, and I went to see Jersey Boys http://bit.ly/4wNXj9 at the Prince Edward theatre in London yesterday afternoon. It started with some sort of "rapper" number and I thought "oh no, this is going to be rubbish." But, that was the only such number and the show was really excellent. I thoroughly recommend it to anybody who can remember Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons or is interested in their music. I even found getting to and from the venue easy enough on a Sunday as public transport is very frequent. Our son in law Rich dropped us off at Surbiton railway station and picked us up again.

Awayday

I'm away to London with my wife this weekend. We are going to see "Jersey Bys" at the Prince Edward Theatre tomorrow afternoon. We have been told that it's an excellent show.

Awayday

I'm away to London with my wife this weekend. We are going to see "Jersey Bys" at the Prince Edward Theatre tomorrow afternoon. We have been told that it's an excellent show.

It is The Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

By Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC