I Humbly Thank You

To my Fellow Big Blogger Contestants; to the finalists Mary and Ryan; To the voters; To the readers of The Follow Spot and all of the blogs in The Follow Spot Blogger Network. I would like to thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to be named the Big Blogger. This is truly a fun day for me.

When I first decided to accept the invite into this game, I thought that this would just be a fun little game to take part in. But I found that each time it became time to vote, I would get more and more anxious. And each time I looked at my competitors blogs, I felt that I needed to step up because of the quality of their blogs and their posts. I think I was up against some very strong competitors, especially among the finalists. That Ryan has a very focused and informative blog. And Mary's camping trip and adventures on the boardwalk make me envious. I think they were just as deserving to win this title.

This competition was more about being exposed to some very interesting and entertaining blogs than winning a title. And I have to say that I enjoyed (and still do) reading all of the blogs that were part of this game, and because of that, I would like to add a new feature to BruDog Haven called "The Big Blogger's Post Of The Week", as I promised earlier.

In closing, I'd like to say to the voters out there that just because this game is over, and just because we bloggers don't have to compete anymore, don't stop reading these great blogs. There is a blog out there for everyone. Need a laugh? Check out actormann. Don't know what movie to see tonight? Click on Filmdom. Need a great recipe for dessert? Go to Welcome To Tinas. How about a live show? Check out StephenGregorySmith and see what's playing at Signature Theatre.

Thank you once again and enjoy our blogs!

Antonio

Things that make you go, "Why?"

It's 2006. Why is it that every time I type the word "blog" or "blogger" into a word processing or email program, the program doesn't recognize the word and marks it as misspelled. Even the spell check on this site, blogger.com, which has been around since like 1999, doesn't think it's a word. Hellooooo. . . I think it's about time it was added to the dictionary.

Election Day

You've seen the rest, now vote for the best!

ANTONIO FOR BIG BLOGGER!

Email your vote to thefollowspot@aol.com starting at 3pm.

Annie Leave Your Gun

For any of my readers who don't know me personally, I work at a major performance venue in the DC area. I have to tell you about the strange call I received at work yesterday.

An employee from another performing arts venue out of the area called with what I think was one of the oddest questions I've ever gotten from a patron. This person asked me if we had a "no guns policy" and whether it was posted in the windows in front of the building. Of course I referred them to our security office.

Gosh! I'm a little scared to think where this person lives that they would have to consider posting a gun policy at their theater. I have to say that if I had tickets to a show, and walked up to the theater, and saw a sign that said "No Guns Allowed", I think I would turn around and go to a movie.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I . . . Have A Dream!

I had a dream last night.

I was at The Shops At Foxchase (former home of the West End Dinner Theatre). I was sitting on a bench outside of the Baskin Robins, waiting for a job interview. I happened to look across the parking lot and saw Loree Capper (former actress and musical director at the WEDT) leading a parade of three people through the parking lot. One of those people was my good friend and former WEDT actress and group sales person, Krissy. The other two I didn't know, but somehow I knew that they were also former WEDT group sales people. So I went over and joined them in their parade.

The five of us then went and had pancakes over at the La Casa Pizzeria (a great family-owned restaurant in the shopping center which, by the way, doesn't serve breakfast) and told stories of our days at the theater. The dream ended with us finishing breakfast and going our separate ways.

Now here's the sad part. Throughout that whole dream, starting with when I first saw Loree, I was thinking, "Oh. . . my. . . God! I have got to get home and blog about this experience". Do you see what Mark and his "Big Blogger" contest has done to me. I'm actually dreaming about blogging.

Oh well. It's all good.

Oh! I happened to be driving down Duke St. yesterday and realized that I had my camera with me. So I took some pictures.

Phew!

Man! This Big Blogger contest is stressful. It puts a lot of pressure on you. I thank all of you voters who have allowed me to continue in this contest. As a thank you for allowing me to move on in the game, here's a gift for you.

damn. . . Damn. . . DAMN!

OH MY GOD! That Mark has thrown another twist into the Big Blogger game. He has decided to have you voters vote out one of the remaining three (Antonio, Mary, and Tina) contestants and vote back in a deleted (Caren, Daren, Donielle, Jill, Jim, Ryan, and Stephen) contestant. So, vote now (thefollowspot@aol.com) because there is an unspecified time limit. And, let me just say,

DON'T VOTE FOR ANTONIO!

My Favorite Toy

Why do my co-workers keep insisting that I am holding a doll in this picture? I keep trying to tell them that my friend Bucky, who's stomach would squeak when you pressed it, was my action figure. I hate to say this, but. . .

You Decide.

Tiyyips... Just Gimme Those Tips

Two weeks ago, some guy in Kansas tipped a bartender $100 for a bill not even half that at an Applebees. Not impressive enough for you? This past Sunday, on a bill of $26, he left a $10,000 tip. Yes you read it right. Now you might think that he must have accidentally put the decimal point in the wrong place. But when he left the bartender the tip, he said to her,"This will buy you something kind of nice, huh?" So there's no mistake.

Evidently, the guy is a regular who normally tips well. Usually $15 on a $30 bill. But then all of a sudden he left the $100 tip and then $10,000.

You know what I was thinking? Gee, does this guy frequent dinner theater? Could you imagine coming around at intermission, picking up a check, and finding a tip that big?

I think the first thing I would do is treat my fellow castmembers to Zigs or Clydes or Skinifatz or the A&W (depending on which dinner theater I'm working at of course).