BLOG: “Looking Back” A Film Noir

I’m really proud of my 3+ minute black-and-white film noir which I wrote, directed, edited, and mostly filmed with my tripod while acting all the parts.  My film won first place in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s 2010 Online Film Festival. The film can be...

BLOG: Improv Brain Warm-up: One-Word-At-A-Time

[Ages 5 to 105]  Here’s a game that improv comedy troupes use as a warm-up to keep their brains agile.  You and your family can flex your brains playing this fun game. 1. The first player starts by saying a word. 2. Another player says a word which comes next in a...

BLOG: Stamp Out Potato Patterns

(Materials [makes 6 stamps]:  3 potatoes, tempera paint, paper) IMPORTANT:  Adults, not children, carve the potatoes. 1. Clean and cut each potato in half. 2. Carve out a different design in each, about 1/4 inch deep, in the flesh of the potatoes. The design should be...

BLOG: Walkin’ Down A Memory Lane

In my acting classes the teachers talk about the memory muscle and the need to “work it”.  They suggest we memorize a different poem, song, a couple of sentences from the newspaper, and so on, and promise if we did that every day, then memorizing would get easier. ...

BLOG: Mental Minute Lists: “Travel Destinations”

In one minute, name as many places as you can that you’d like to go on vacation some day. Bonus Round:   State your dream destinations in alphabetic order. “I’d like to visit Albania, Boulder City, Churchill Downs, Disneyworld … “

BLOG: License Plate Platitudes-A Brain Game

Here’s another brain game to do when on a long road trip.   Look for license plates and then make up a phrase that uses the letters and numbers on it.  (Note:  A ‘platitude’ is a commonplace or trite remark usually uttered as if it were fresh or original.  So say the...

BLOG: EEEeee’s On Down the Road Brain Game

Here’s a brain game to wile away the time while on a road trip.  You and your family can even have fun doing it while walking in a mall or waiting in line at the supermarket.   Look for a sign, logo or license plate with an “E” (or some other letter) on it and see how...

BLOG: Mental Minute Lists: “HOT Synonyms”

  “Hot” sure is the word we use here in Vegas … a lot.  So let’s use some other words. 1.  In one minute, name as many synonyms as you can for HOT. 2.  Work your memory by repeating the list in the same order. 3.  Another time find...

BLOG: Card Games to Fight Friggatriskaidekaphobia

              Today  (… and Happy Friday the 13th to us all!) I was thinking how when my kids were young I used playing cards to help them practice their number skills.   Several games revolved around the number “13” and even today...