I've been watching the show “Reaper” on the CW pretty much all season. I was blown away by the pilot: smart, funny, different. Plus, Laura Palmer's dad in an impeccable suit, nice draw. It was getting formulaic but then about four weeks ago the game changed, and frankly, I think it's raising the most interesting questions about Christianity that are being raised on TV today.

Sam is a 21-year-old bounty hunter of souls who have escaped Hell. All of the souls did terrible things before death and are thereby damned for eternity. Somehow, though, they manage to slip away and return to Earth. Sam's neighbors are handsome homosexual gentlemen who just happen to be, oh yeah, demons. Angels who fell during Lucifer's war against God. Sam's friends are fair game for collateral damage, but they 1) know what they're in for and 2) have been blessed by the more ethnic friend's grandmother, who has the ability to see evil.

The problem with modern Christianity is that there just isn't enough (ok, any) mention of the devil; at least, not in the Presbyterian/Methodist churches I've attended for the past 13-some-odd years. (yeah, some years were odder than others :). And I think that's a real lack in the modern Church. Because, yeah, God is Good, and God is Love, and all you need is Love, but, 1) Love hurts, and 2) God isn't in all people. We're taught from an early age that God is in everything, but that simply cannot be true, because there is True Evil in this world and I can't believe that God has anything to do about that.

Don't believe me? Then maybe you didn't see the articles about Josef Fritzl? (Fringes don't you dare click the link)

So anyway, back to “Reaper.” Last week's episode featured a 12-step group for the fallen angels. They figured by doing kind deeds and being friendly, they would eradicate the devil in “300, maybe 400 years.” The devil got wind of their plot and destroyed the building where they were meeting. You know why? Sam figured it out: because they were RIGHT.

Kindness kills the devil. So next time I read another heinous news story, I'm gonna go out and plant a bunch of flowers in a public place, or bring cookies to Lex's nursery school, or sex up my husband in ways that have proved very popular in the past. Or post a happy-puppy blog post. So, see, we'll all benefit!

All other final exams across the nation, nay, the WORLD should bow at the feet of the exam I just wrote for my Writing for the Media class. Truly, it's that spectacular. Heck, I almost wish I could take it myself. Almost.

It was a good thing I did my Bible study on Saturday because Sunday was a cavalcade of grading. My photo students turned in their picture stories last Monday and Sunday I graded all of them, except for the one that was denied service by Blogger. Not really sure what that's about — the student did her story about the new calf at a dairy farm and it couldn't have been more wince-inducing than the South American shemales I once stumbled upon by pressing the “next blog” button (yeah, I don't do that anymore. Besides, every single one of them was prettier than me.). Today it's off to actually teach. It's the last teaching day for me before final exams. Guess I need to write a couple of final exams this week, huh?

I did also manage to crank out a few pages on my new play. It's called “The Association” and it's a one-act comedy about hunger and foreclosure. Good times!

I have decided to chuck it all away in order to go work here (linked video is work- and family-friendly, so long as you don't object to massive cuteness of the baby-animal variety). Later!

Please copy, paste, add your name, and use four stamps to send the below to the following folks.

04/24/2008

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

This morning I read a story online in the San Francisco Chronicle about a seven-year-old first grader whose skull was fractured by a bullying fifth grader (“Oakland: When school bullies get out of hand,” Nanette Asimov, April 24, 2008).

I learned through the article that both students attend Piedmont Avenue Elementary, which is in the Oakland Unified School District.

Last year, 344 students were enrolled at Piedmont Ave. Elementary. Ninety-seven of them were suspended for violent acts. That’s more than 28 percent of the student body!

This boy has been bullied before, which resulted in four lost teeth. Principal Angela Haick did nothing to keep it from happening again.

This level of anarchy and hooliganism is disgusting. Worse yet, this violence-plagued school district (Preparatory Literary Academy, of the same district, had 106 violence-related suspensions) does not even have a permanent superintendent. If the district cannot afford to have people supervising the students before and after school, then call out the National Guard.

How many more first graders need to be sent to the ICU before action is taken?

Sincerely yours,

(your name here)

Cc:

Vincent Matthews

Interim State Administrator

Oakland Unified School District

1025 Second Ave.

Oakland, CA 94606

Jack O’Connell

Superintendent

CA Department of Ed.

1430 N Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Angela Haick

Principal

Piedmont Ave. Elementary

4314 Piedmont Ave.

Oakland, CA 94611-4716

So my new friend Emily has decided to run for state assembly on the Republican ticket. Which is great, because she's a mom of four who cans and knits, and darned if *every* state assembly doesn't need more Republicans like that. So I took some ballot petitions for her, to help her acquire some of the 300 signatures she needs in order to get on the primary ballot.

Stood in front of the post office for an HOUR and got one signature. And I don't think that one's even valid because the woman was a total dingbat.

Someone had to elect Mitt Romney governor, right? Well, whoever it was, didn't visit the Easthampton post office today. Maybe we'll have better luck at the park on Friday. Cross your fingers.

President Bush was on “Deal or No Deal” this past Monday. He appeared in a taped message supporting a vet of the Iraq war. I didn't watch, and apparently, neither did you: Ratings matched DoNDs lowest Monday-night ratings ever. Maybe this is why Katie Couric is tanking on the news: too much Bush!

(And no, I don't mean for that to be a vulgar double entendre. People, please!)

So here in the little town of Mytown there's a chorus of oldsters and they got themselves a movie made about them that's now in national release. I haven't seen it yet but here's the trailer. Frankly I'm most excited because my electric-guitar teacher is in the chorus band and on account of his last name starting with an “A” he's listed first in the imdb.com cast list for the movie. As the kids around here used to say, it's wicked cool. But I don't think anybody really says that anymore.

It feels like Thursday. *Next* Thursday. Last week was pretty long and I think I'm still feeling the after-effects.

My teaching is starting to wrap up. I give the final exams on May 5th (happy Cinco de Mayo, y'all). I'm thinking the next week I might debut a new one-act at the Mytown Playwrights' Lab. All I gotta do is write it, first. Oh yeah, that. Working title is “The Association,” and it's a comedy about hunger and foreclosure. And though no celebrities are featured, I did get the idea during church last Sunday, so it's in keeping with my last one-act, “Bible Study.” Can't believe I haven't written anything since then!

Oh, but enough about me. How are you doing? How's the fam?