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News ArchivesNovember 2, 2008Happy Election Day 
I was recently in Sterling, Virginia, and these telephone wires caught my eye for some reason. I like the birds. Hey, everybody! Be sure to vote on Nov. 4, because I don't want to hear about the election any more after that. And if nobody votes, then we're going to have to have some sort of run-off, and then I'll have to hear about John McCain and Barack Obama for another month or something. And that would suck. North Carolina voters: remember that a straight-party vote does not include a vote for President, so you have to fill out that bubble separately. Or you can be civically responsible and consider each race individually, thereby filling out a separate bubble for every race. I think we should do away with straight-ticket voting. At Hispanic Link, I've been heading up the election coverage. That means I research Latino candidates for public office and write about them. I also keep an eye on the presidential election with a focus on the Latino vote. This is part of why I'm tired of the election. Check out our most recent issue: I have three articles inside. Happy November, and I hope you get what you want come Election Day. As long as it's the same as what I want. September 1, 2008Happy Labor Day! I've been in Washington for almost two weeks now, and I've already discovered some new things. Just yesterday, I visited Theodore Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac River. I'd seen the island from the top of the John F. Kennedy Center before, and the tour guide had mentioned something about it, but I'd never actually found my way there. There's a statue of Teddy with stone tablets engraved with Teddyisms. It's a nice little park, although the trails can be pretty confusing without a map; it took me about ten minutes to figure out which path I needed to be on to get off the island. The best part is probably the eastern side of the island, where there is a boardwalk through a marshy area and a good view of the Potomac River and its eastern bank. Tomorrow, I start my internship with Hispanic Link News Service, which should be an awesome experience. I hope to give you updates on that as the semester proceeds. 
The photo of the day was taken from the tower at the Old Post Office, looking east along Pennsylvania Avenue towards the US Capitol. Also visible are the Supreme Court (behind and to the left of the Capitol dome), the FBI building (immediately on the left), the National Archives (squarish building at an angle to Pennsylvania Ave.), the Department of Justice (the red-roofed building just this side of the Archives), and the National Gallery of Art's west building (with the white dome behind the Archives). If you know more about DC, I'm sure you can spot other buildings. August 17, 2008I'm getting ready to head off for Washington, DC, to study journalism at American University for a semester before returning to Rhodes to get my degree in psychology. I'm excited about the opportunity but a little nervous about being almost all alone in a big city. I've had a pretty good summer. My internship was interesting, and I took away some important things from it (I know how to use a professional ENG video camera, for one), but it couldn't stop my summer from disappointing me, somehow. I don't know: during March and April, I am always dying for summer to hurry up and arrive, but when it gets here, it generally disappoints. Maybe it's because I never have as much free time as I hope to have. For example, I was going to write a bunch of pages for this website: my to-do list has at least a dozen pages I need to write. But when I got off work each night, I just couldn't make myself go upstairs and write web pages. Don't worry; I imagine these will show up eventually. They'll probably just trickle in one at a time. Plenty of nice photos to look at, though, especially if you don't follow my photos on either Facebook or Picasa. This covers most of spring semester and all of my summer (except my vacations to the beach and Washington and my job, which will be added later). 
The photo of the day is from the spring RA get-together. That's Sarah in the foreground and Regina in the background. Regina is going all Matrix on that ping pong ball in her game against Noah. May 10, 2008For the past year, I've been running an after-school Robotics program for sixth-graders at a nearby middle school. With my help, a few dozen middle-schoolers have been designing, building, and programming robots with specialized Legos and computers. At the end of this semester's class, the students came to Rhodes to demonstrate their robots. The Memphis newspaper, the Commercial Appeal, came to take photos and video of the festivities, and they wrote an article about the program. Be sure to check out the video!
The photo of the day is a soap bubble I photographed with my new camera. It's very tranquil, and it's been my desktop background for several weeks now. Oh heck, why don't I just give you two photos of the day? You've been patient website-watchers. 
This one is of me and Sarah on Mud Island, watching the sunset. (That's why we're so orange and cute.) Of course, now that I've finished with all my classes and exams, I'm ready to pour myself wholeheartedly into a significant website update. Prepare yourself, because over the next week or so, there will be plenty of new things to read about. Just to whet your appetite, these should include:
That's a lot of writing, so I'll need to pace myself. It may take a week or more to get it all done, especially since I'll also be living my life simultaneously. Keep an eye on the Updates page. January 30, 2008
I'm currently designing the lighting for How I Learned to Drive. It's a funny sort of play, but it should turn out pretty well. I'll write something about it when I get some time. For now, you have my pictures of New Orleans to contend with. The picture of the day is of a man at the Shangri-La parade with a head well-sealed against pathogens. January 22, 2008
If you've been paying attention, you've noticed occasional photo updates over the past semester. There haven't been a lot of text updates because I've been busy living. Well, now is no exception. There are a few articles in the works, but I honestly don't know how soon I'll be able to get them up. Hopefully soon. For now, I've given you a bunch of pictures to look at. Among them is today's picture of the day, which was taken of my newest cousin, Gavin, sleeping behind a bunch of dead butterflies encased in glass at the butterfly house in St. Louis. July 27, 2007I've asked myself a few times why I don't update this site more often. I've come to the conclusion that it's because I'm doing something else, either something I deem more important or something that is addictive. For example, during the brief part of the spring 2007 semester (also known as the month of March) that I was addicted to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, I spent every waking moment playing it or doing schoolwork, leaving no spare time for such trivialities as my website. At the end of March, I was weaned from my lightsaber by Agnes of God, for which I served as Lighting Designer. By the time that show had run its course, it was time for finals, and I managed not to update for another month or so. Then summer began. Immediately, I was on a trip to Ohio, then repairing and painting my porch, then employed at Horizon. When I wasn't working during the day, I was addicted to the comfort of watching television with my parents (from after dinner until bedtime daily, save an hour for internet surfing and e-mailing). Now, I've managed to wean myself from that. Some of my most devoted readers have asked me about these lapses. I thought I owed a full and honest explanation. If you find yourself staring at this news item well into 2008, it's either because I'm truly too busy, or, more likely, because I'm "too busy," wink-wink. Despite what you may think, there's nothing you can really do to induce me to update more rapidly. If I am addicted to something, the only way to un-addict me is to addict me to something more benign or give me something else meaningful to do. 
This is the photo of the day. For an update on what's happening in my life (as opposed to on my website), I encourage you to consult the most recent update in my online journal, which has been gathering dust for much longer this website, located as always at Have a wonderful day. February 13, 2007Most of you probably won't have read the below news post by the time I make this one, so I've left it here too. The main point is, I added pictures and captions and stuff. More written material will be around soon, but for now you can see pictures of Leigha, my friends, my family, and me. Because there are new pictures, there is a new picture of the day. 
The picture of the day is Times Square on a rainy night. It's crazy how many flashing and glowing things there are competing for attention. It was my first time in New York, and I was amazed. February 12, 2007Okay, I know. I've promised to do better in the past, and I won't make any promises today, but I have slightly changed my perspective on site updates. Small ones are preferable to large ones. I made a big, big one last June, but I haven't done anything since then. So today I add two small articles to Things That I Like. I hope everyone likes that section. It takes a couple hours to write a good article for it. 
The photo of the day is a photo of Daniel and me exposed for a full minute. We changed poses in the middle. It's a little overexposed, but it'll do. In Stephen news, I'm doing well! My classes this semester are wonderful, especially compared to the ones last semester, which were frustrating and difficult. I hope to elaborate more on both semesters in upcoming updates. For now, just know that I am truly happy. June 22, 2006Stephen Returns At Long Last I know that I've been lax in updating this website recently, but today I've brought you vast wonders that you totally weren't expecting at all. There are a few things that are nice about the summer. Although I'm working, I don't have any homework. There is something nice about being able to go home and relax. Moreover, though, it is nice to be able to see Leigha whenever I want. Never have my phone calls with her been shorter; now we only have to talk on the phone long enough to arrange a date so we can talk in person. In August, she is joining my family at the beach. I am looking forward to that. Life is darn good. The photo of the day for today will come from the newest batch of photos I uploaded. It is of a ladybug with whom I made friends just before leaving college. 
Please, peruse the update. It is probably the largest single update I have ever put together. For full details, check out the Updates page. March 23, 2006I spent my spring break with about four dozen other singers touring southern England. We sang in some of the largest, oldest cathedrals ever built in the English Gothic style. The trip was incredible, and there are two different places you can go on Threepistolnun dot com to live this it vicariously through me:
If you have time, you should review both.  The geometry of this shot captured me and so I've chosen it to be my photo of the day. My schoolwork seems to be coming to a cadence, but I'm pretty sure it's one of those deceptive cadences that just builds tension and builds tension until finally there is a huge finish and the symphony is over. I'm certain you know the type. In other words, it seems like everything is piling up at once, but there isn't much hope of let-up until finals are over. I'm treading the thin line between academic success and academic ruination, but I am also probably making the situation sound more dire than it truly is. March 1, 2006Just as I was growing weary of deleting spam from my guestbook seven times a day and considering disabling it once more, Jim came through with a real comment and I remembered why guestbooks exist in the first place. You should all thank Jim (his e-mail is listed in the guestbook) for keeping the guestbook aloft. In other news, I'm going to be an RA next year. It'll be great. Oh, right. I have to come up with a picture of the day. Maybe I'll add a bunch of pictures to the gallery and choose one of those to accompany this news post.  There you go. That's a nice picture. The best spam line from my guestbook is reproduced below and has been deleted. I know it was spam because it originally came with a link to a prescription medication and I've received six others just like it (not from "Kenneth," though; these were from "Sharon" and the like). If anyone knows an easy way to rid myself of spam in my guestbook, please contact me; it's becoming a burdensome task to continuously delete it.
February 11, 2006Snow Overtakes the Rhodes Campus That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Rhodes has been inundated by snow. It cancelled a great deal of events on campus, and there is general mayhem about. Of course, no one documents it better than me. Actually, during the height of the snow, I was cooped up in a dark theatre pushing buttons on the light board. That's why all my day-of pictures are either walking from my dorm to the theatre or right outside of the theatre (taken during a break). There was enough snow to build snowmen and have snowball fights, but not enough to cause traffic difficulties anywhere but the South. As it was, it took quite a while for people to get around, and I had a trip cancelled. Now I have a weekend to myself. The photo of the day is of the snow:  If you want to have fun on threepistolnun.com today, take note of which pages are written in the plural first person ("we") and which pages are written from Stephen's point of view ("I"). I didn't really pay attention while I was doing it, but at some point during the development of my site, I abandoned the idea of using an impersonal pronoun and switched to "I" because, really, only one person maintains this site. And it's me. January 29, 2006Friday evening, January 27, was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. As you know, these birthdays don't come around every day, so I felt I needed to do something to celebrate. I put on my finest finery, drove to the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Memphis, and joined with the Rhodes Singers, the University (of Memphis) Singers, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra to present Mozart's Mass in C minor to an eager audience of approximately 75,000. The most fun part was hanging around in the lobby afterward, because everyone who was in the audience felt like telling each singer how awesome the performance was. I did have a lot of fun, though, and I took some pictures during the rehearsals. I almost forgot. The photo of the day is Albert Einstein. 
January 16, 2006I left yesterday's news up because I don't think most people check the site daily. Today I felt ambitious and crossed two fairly large items off my website to-do list: reflections on The Mousetrap and My Fair Lady, plays from my freshman year of high school, almost four years ago. I also did a great deal of homework. I may yet pass my classes.  Photo of the day: the distinctive Blount 205 rug, just after it had been vacuumed. January 15, 2006I have reached a happy place in my life. I'm enrolled in a lighting design course (please let it be awesome), I have a head on my shoulders, and I went skating last night. Sure, there are some things I might change about my life, but there isn't anything so big that I will lose sleep over it. And that's good. The photo of the day is my ring-bill (click for larger version):  Perhaps I'll post a photo with every future news post. That would be kind of cool, and I definitely have enough photos by now to do that. Especially considering how often I've done news posts in the past. Hey. Get off my back. It's tough leading my life and maintaining a web site about it. You try it sometime. Stay tuned for something more interesting. And skating photos, maybe. Although you're unlikely to see anyone skating; it was too dark to take any photos with a shutter speed fast enough to capture anything, much less a skater. January 10, 2006I have made history today, ladies and gentlemen, by completing--at last--the epic story of my broken wrist, entitled Breaking My Wrist. I figure I'll give it a few weeks or months in the root folder before rolling it back to the archives, since it really is old news. Almost as historical is the fact that I'm posting a threepistolnun update after almost a three-month hiatus. Many things have happened since the most recent update. Thanksgiving, exams, Christmas, a birthday (I'm prime-numbered now!) and tomorrow my second college semester (that of Spring, 2006) begins. In the next few days, there will probably be a photo upload of pictures from these months. I'm downloading them to my computer and I will upload them to the server in due course. October 11, 2005It is October. Today I bought a sweatshirt. I also mailed four letters. I've just come out of the busiest two weeks I've had so far in college. Three tests the first week, followed by a week of rehearsals with a paper due Thursday and colossal Search readings every night. But it's okay, because I made it through and I didn't have to blow off any serious schoolwork. This weekend is fall break, but I'm staying at school and writing my Search paper and my Econ paper and doing a bunch of Calculus homework. I'll be pretty much alone here, but I think it will be good for me. I'll have the room to myself and I can do whatever I want. I hope the library is open. September 22, 2005My family is coming to visit me tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to showing Andy around Rhodes. In other news, college is CRAZY. Really crazy, but I love it oh so much. Everyone should look at these pictures because they're silly and excellent. I was a little more ambitious when I first started this update, but it is getting late. But now I have a template for loading mass quantities of photos into the photos section. So the next time I have a bunch of photos to load up, it will happen in half the time. More later. September 3, 2005There is lots of news in the world today. This is probably due to the fact that I haven't updated this site in forever. Firstly, I'm at college. I'm typing this in Memphis, TN. Secondly, a kindly man by the name of Thomas Drago got the job of Hanes Theatre artistic director. I wholeheartedly approve. Since the last time I wrote here, I've been to the beach, to music camp, to Washington, DC, and to Nashville, as well as to Memphis, where I'm at now. I've gone to a rock concert, seen several movies, and even watched a few plays. I've endured lightning storms and been through a breakup. My life has changed in countless huge ways. But I'm still the same person, and I am still the proprietor of www.threepistolnun.com. If you're a returning user, start in the Photos sections; I've added some new stuff. July 15, 2005The artistic director from my high school resigned, casting an already-weakened dramatic program into further disarray. The already-weakenness came from the replacement of our band instructor/pit conductor and the departure of our overworked costumer. Some serious student initiative will be necessary to pull off next year's season. July 12, 2005At last. I've finished my article on Kansas, and it's a certified masterpiece. Or at least it's done. I don't really have much of a grasp on its quality at this point, but I'm sure it's at least okay. My summer is going quite well. Between this and that, I've been keeping busy. I can see the floor of my room, which is progress in a narrow sense, and I've also made considerable headway into Fast Food Nation, the book I'm supposed to read before I show up at college. Soon, I'm going to the beach. June 16, 200506.16.05 -- Stephen Gets a Digital Camera That's right, ladies and gentlemen. For graduation, my parents got me a digital camera, and it's super-cool. Expect photographs soon. Today I took pictures of flowers in Dad's garden, and tomorrow I'm going to Kansas, so I'll certainly be able to take some cool pictures there. I'll post them, and everything will be beautiful. But I won't be back till near the end of the month. I also am going to put up a Lost page eventually. My life has been hectic so far this summer, and so it will take awhile to author the necessary pages, but it will be done. And soon. I probably wouldn't have time for a summer job even if I got one...maybe I'll just volunteer somewhere or read some books. Hm. June 11, 2005STEPHEN RINTOUL GRADUATES SUCCESSFULLY FROM HIGH SCHOOL Yes, it's finally happened. Mr. Rintoul has successfully navigated the perilous obstacle course that is Chapel Hill High School. The contents of his shared folder, as well as his network login, will be deleted on June 30. But he's moving on to a much larger shared folder, and an even better login. For those of you who like to collect multiple addresses, Stephen is now accessible at rinsl@rhodes.edu, but it won't get to him any faster or slower if you send it there. But those details are meaningless compared to the feat of completing four years of high school. I'm proud of myself, and you should be proud of me too. June 3, 2005ANNOUNCEMENT: I would like to invite you (yes, you) to my graduation open house. It's on Friday, June 10 between the hours of five and nine o'clock, PM. Come and go as you please, but there will be food and merriment and such things to draw you in. Friends and parents are welcome. If you plan to come and you need directions, e-mail me. ADDITIONALLY: If you went to McDougle Middle School and you are a graduating senior, you should come to the middle school reunion on Wednesday, June 8 at 3:30 at McDougle. You'll get to catch up with your middle school friends, talk to your middle school teachers, and enjoy some time with people you like. For all sorts of details, e-mail me. There should also be some announcements at school about it. In Stephen news, I have one school day left. In accordance with Rintoul family tradition, I have to take a camcorder in and film the whole shebang. It should be a fun movie, since the day begins with a trip to McDougle with the Brummells to promote the CHHS music program. I'll also be graduating really really soon and I couldn't be happier about that. May 10, 2005If you've been watching the Updates page, you've known for quite awhile where I'm going to college. It's Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and I'll write a lot about it sometime soon; perhaps today. There's no homework that's really due tomorrow... Additionally, Metamorphoses is going up really soon. I'm the lighting designer, and right now I know almost exactly the same amount about it as you do. Yes, you. Out there reading my webpage. Of course, that's unless you've actually seen a rehearsal, in which case you know far more than I do. There is a Spring Chorus Concert on Thursday, May 12, 2004 at 7:30 PM, which is really, really soon. It will be the very last and best chorus concert ever, so go to it. Loads more information is probably available on the Hanes Theatre web site. I haven't made a page about it because it's not important enough. Yet. Following that, the Next Big Thing is Prom 2005, which is on Saturday. Yup. Then I have sixteen instructional days, followed by exams, from which I am exempt, and, on Saturday, June 11 at 2 PM, Chapel Hill High School's 2005 Commencement will take place at the Dean Dome on the UNC campus. If you're not doing anything, and you're in the area, go ahead and drop by; it should be deeply moving. No tickets or invitations are needed; the Dean Dome seats 21,750. Every single graduating senior could bring 50 screaming fans and there would still be some empty seats. I'll be posting a summer calendar pretty soon, like I did for Summer 2003 and Summer 2004. First I need to figure out what I'm doing this summer. So you know, I'm almost certainly going to graduate. The only class that's still up in the air is English, in which I currently have the highest grade I've had all year. I mention this because I just today took the exam that tested my knowledge of the material in my internet "distance learning" (read: waste of time) class in Health, which was my final graduation requirement. As long as I don't incur copious library fees or unpaid parking tickets, I'm on track to graduate. Incidentally, if anyone wants to buy a car at some point during the upcoming summer, you should consider Frances the Toyota Camry. She's had some recent service, and she's looking more beautiful than ever. April 4, 2005All of the college decisions are in, essentially. I'm on two waitlists, but I've all but decided not to attend those colleges. And so now my decision comes in. There are four, essentially, to chose from, and I'm currently seriously considering two of them, which is a surprising (read: fewer than I thought) number. It's something of a binary choice. Today I'm leaning towards Rhodes College. It's twice as big as Emory & Henry, and that makes for slightly more developed programs in almost all areas. It is perhaps the perfect balance between a gigantic university where nobody knows anyone and a tiny college where there are four professors. I've updated the college descriptions in My College Page if you want to take a look at some of my rationale. March 25, 2005Music Video Added to Threepistolnun.com In a radical episode of diligence, the administrator of threepistolnun.com released the Desert Rose music video that fans have been clamoring for for more than a decade! "We just couldn't take the pressure from the fans anymore," Stephen Rintoul told correspondents. That's right, boys and girls, the AP is running that wire item right now. The video is accessible in many different ways through this site, but the most straightforward is probably to click the link I'm about to give you. It's easy...just click it! March 16, 2005I'm on to the next play: The Secret Garden. For this play, I'm preparing a documentary to show how all the parts come together to make the finished play, and to try to communicate to my viewers why we do theatre. I'm also designing the lighting for it. I plan to enjoy every minute of it, but I realize it will be pretty hard work. Classes are going great. We did urinalysis in Biology today, and we're studying Beowulf in AP Lit. I'm punching my way through the online Health curriculum, and I'm enjoying life. It's a good thing. Expect those videos up really really soon. They're probably being encoded as you read these words. They won't be that good quality, because I don't want them to take a day to download (they're about 10 MB as they are), but you'll be able to recognize me, and really, what else is important? Still waiting to hear back from those other colleges. One of them tells me they'll notify me by April 1, the other in "late March." So we'll see. I'm a National Merit Finalist and scholarship recipient, though. I earned the George Watts Hill scholarship, which I can use at any college. Emory & Henry and Eckerd Colleges have also given me automatic merit scholarships, which is great. February 4, 2005I'm being successful with my college applications: I'm three for three from the colleges I've heard back from. This excites me, chiefly because it means I'm definitely going to college next year. In other news, On the Verge forges ahead. The actors are coming along quite nicely, and the other pieces (props, sound, lighting, scenery) are starting to trickle in. The next three weeks will be very busy for me, but I fully expect to enjoy them completely. Hell, I'm in charge here. That's got to be good for something. It's starting to sink in that I'll be in a very different situation next year, and I'm told I won't be able to get my mind around it until the first semester of it is over. As nervous as I am, though, I'm also extremely excited, and parts of me can't wait until I go away. January 16, 2005I'm done! You can check the College page! All I have left to do is Guilford, and it doesn't have to be done until February 15. And so the stressful part of my senior year is essentially over. From here on out it's just graduating, On the Verge and scholarship applications. I can do those things. January 12, 2005I'm in the midst of the college application process, busily hustling to get everything out before the deadlines, most of which are January 15. Fortunately, I'm in good shape; nearly everything is in final order. Three applications are completely done, and the remainder will be done before this evening is over, I hope. Auditions for On the Verge are done; callbacks are taking place right now. I have my script, and rehearsals will begin on Tuesday of next week. I'm very excited about my very first real stage management position. January 4, 2005Back to School! I bought a new CD entitled No! (Songs for Children) by They Might Be Giants. I'm proud of my purchase. My favorite song ever is "The House at the Top of the Tree." I'm back in school, and in a frenzy to finish my college essays by January 15. I'm also designing lights for Junior Follies and preparing to start managing On the Verge. At the same time, a video project is in its final stages, the semester is ending, and I'm going crazy. But it's okay. Really it is. December 29, 2004Christmas is over. I was very fortunate; my parents gave me a new 120 GB hard drive, an mp3 player that will work in my car, wheel covers for my car (it has been missing two out of four hubcaps since they bought it), and pajama pants. Andy gave me this awesome bubbly water thing that makes a soothing sound (although I haven't yet figured out how to make it not splatter the surface in front of it). And Leigha gave me a model rocket with engines and everything. Andy used to make model rockets like that, and I was always envious. Now I can shoot off my own rocket all by myself. More important than those material things, I had the best Christmas ever. I feel like that most every year, but I'm convinced it's really because it keeps getting better instead of because it just seems better. I went ice skating with Leigha on Christmas Eve, came home for enchiladas and unwrapping presents, then had a leisurely Christmas Day punctuated by plenty of Xbox time (courtesy Andy) and culminating in a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. And my Christmas didn't even end there; I went to Christmas dinner at Leigha's the next day, because her family had postponed it. It was wonderful food and excellent company. It was a glorious Christmas. Now I just have to get cracking on those college applications. And I have to finish filming this music video thing that's been bugging me. And I have to start (and subsequently finish) reading Hamlet and Macbeth for Mr. Head's class. But I'm content. December 16, 2004It is over at last. I have successfully completed the first semester of my senior year. It was this afternoon that I took my AP English Literature & Composition semester examination. It went reasonably well, especially compared with the other tests I've taken in AP Lit this semester. But I'm now free...free to complete college applications. Free to come up with things to get people for Christmas. Free, in other words, only from school. But I think I'll enjoy my winter break anyway. December 10, 2004Winter break approaches. It should be very cold. I have far too much to do during it, too. I'll certainly have something to read in AP Literature. I have a Videography project to almost entirely film (with four other people, all of whose schedules should ideally mesh) during winter break, I want to hang out with Leigha and drink hot chocolate and sit by the fire, I have mad Christmas shopping to do, I'm going to the District of Columbia for several days, and I'm having a birthday. On top of all of this, I need to apply to college if at all possible. Those January 15 deadlines seem to be getting closer and closer, and that's because they are. And so I'm freaking out a tiny bit. All of this stuff is happening, and I'll deal with it the best that I can, but it's unlikely that I'll be able to complete it all. November 21, 20041776 is over. What will I do with my time now? Perhaps I'll look forward to Thanksgiving. November 5, 20041776 is going into full swing next week with the introduction of the dreaded 4-??? rehearsals. College apps are looming above me, and work is an added pressure that I have to deal with constantly. I thank myself, at times like this, for taking only two academic classes. October 27, 2004The Beau Brummells are being asses to each other. My parents are leaving me alone in a big empty house. Don't get any ideas; they're having the building surveilled. The website hasn't been maintained recently because I've been really busy. Between 1776 and work and all sorts of other fun stuff, I haven't done anything in the way of keeping up this web site. However, that doesn't mean that any of you are allowed to stop coming. It's just that your visits will be much shorter now, since you can just check the updates page and see that nothing's new, so you can come back later. When I have time, if that ever happens, I will put new stuff up here. It may not be until after November 21, though. October 16, 2004You're doubtless wondering what's going on in the Life of Stephen. There are many things. Right now, the interesting thing is this: I just counted all my change. There were, all told:
Which adds up to precisely $40. That's gotta be cosmic. And if I'd done it yesterday, it would have been only $39.48. Also, I found a 10-groschen piece, dated 1968, from East Germany ("Republik Osterreich"). I'm wondering how I could have come across currency from Soviet Germany. It's made of aluminum, too; it's really light. 1776 rehearsals forge onward. We began blocking today. Damn the man! GOD damn the man!! October 2, 2004Stephen Overwhelmed but Finally Starts To Enjoy Himself Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I finally have enough to do to keep extremely busy. Between college applications, play rehearsals, and a job, I have a great deal to do, and finally I feel liberated, in a way. So far this year, I've felt like something was missing, but it seems now that I've found the missing link. I've found what it was that was formerly missing. Now, I don't know what it was. Maybe I'm just not happy unless I have a zillion things to do; I thrive on being busy. I'm not going to ask too many questions, though, because it's one of the best feelings I've had in a while. I've made a moderate-sized update today. Check out the Updates page to read all about They Might Be Giants and 1776. September 20, 3004Here's my progress on each of the things I named last week:
September 13, 2004I am now in search of two things:
September 5, 2004Techno Good for the Immune System It has been found that techno music is good for the immune system. Researchers, working with rats, have found that at least 3-4 hours of techno music per day can increase the number of T-cells by as much as two hundred percent. The techno-listening rats were exposed to influenza, the common cold, and ebola, and were able to resist all three of these diseases twice as well as their un-technoed comrades. It is not well known whether this effect is unique to techno music or whether any musical exposure would have the same result. Lab technicians chose techno because "it keeps us pumped about science!" That was from my imagination. While I do think that listening to music at a reasonable volume is a very healthy pastime, I completely made up the research part to fill up this box. I really hate spam. For a long time I didn't get any at all, but now I'm starting to. I hope it stops, because when I see the little "new mail" icon, I want it to be something awesome and important, instead of someone offering me low mortgage rates. I'm so angry. August 29, 2004I was just reading through the Autobiographical Sketch I posted a few days ago, and I'm very proud of it. There are a few things I would have written a bit differently, but overall, it's a pretty funny piece. Since it was kind of hidden before, it may not have gotten too many views. But everyone should read it. It's Stephen-writing at its best, and if you like reading anything on this site, you'll like reading it. So I put it on the menu. In other news, I've completed work on another play. Toby was a decent assembly of music, and I am proud to have helped with it. And a last-minute addition, just to remind people: the most recently-added stuff can always be found on the Updates page. The link is at the bottom of the top part of the menu, to make it easy to access. August 22, 2004School Begins School has finally taken flight. I did get a car, and it will take me places, quite literally. School should turn out good. I'm looking forward chiefly to Tech and Video. My hair is long enough to put in a ponytail; therefore, it must be cut. That is all. August 15, 2004The only thing left in my summer is the beginning of school. Everything that was on my to-do list has been deleted from either getting done or from not getting done. I may gain the use of a car before school begins, but school is the major fixture of the immediate future now. August 6, 2004There will be no updates for a period of time no shorter than one week. This is due to my impending absence, during which I'll be at the beach. Ahhh, the beach. Sometimes it seems so far away, but now, I can almost taste the salt air. I feel sand between my toes when I walk. I hear the gulls calling, and if I look way out of my window, I see...trees. Sometimes the illusion doesn't work all the way. July 28, 2004Wool E. Bull Takes Over Three Pistol Nun Just kidding. Wool E. Bull ("Toro Bull E." en español) is the mascot of the Durham Bulls. Last night I went to see a Durham Bulls game. It was the only thing I could think of to write about. My beach trip is upcoming, however. For all those of you who are heading to the beach at any time this summer, I'm going to go ahead and tell you to visit The Beach Survival Guide by John Rintoul. It was created for my father's side of the family back in 1999, when they all came out here. It is geared mostly toward vacationing at Ocean Isle Beach, but most of it applies to any beach vacation. The Photos section is from after we went. I'm starting to get excited about the beach. That's a good thing. July 21, 2004Jeez. Here I am making a news post, and I don't have anything to talk about. I've just sat at the keyboard for about five minutes, thinking, and I've come up with squat. I thought briefly about telling you about the book I'm reading, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, but I couldn't think of enough to say about it. I thought about telling you about how bored I am, but I mentioned that in my last two news posts. I even thought about telling you about what I ate tonight (homemade pizza) and found it impossible to come up with anything interesting in that category too. At one point I considered telling you how badly I need to shave. Then later I felt like pondering the nature of the jelly bean. None of these, however, passed the rigorous set of Three Pistol Nun news topic standards. In other words, there is nothing for me to tell all those of you who visit my website. Come back later. July 15, 2004The 2004-2005 Hanes Theatre production schedule has been revealed, at least to me. The shows will be:
What I've heard about the one no one's heard of is as follows: On the Verge is a comedy about a trio of 19th-century women discovering time travel and trying to catch up with modern life. The cast consists of three women, each of which plays exactly one role, and one man, who plays about twenty-five. The other two are pretty self-explanatory, and so I won't explain them. I am now availed of a NC Driver's License. So I can hang out with people more efficiently and easily. Call me. July 8, 2004There has been a preponderance of small updates in recent days. I believe this to be a good thing. It may mean I have no life. It may indicate a certain pervasive boredom that seeps into every facet of my life. It may even indicate that I've become addicted, in a way, to the internet. But I gladly embrace any of those things as part of who I am. Check out the photo gallery. I added some great scanned pictures from times long past to there. Also of interest: the action-packed miniseries Breaking My Wrist is winding to a close, and is as fascinating as ever. Other than that, keep coming back. Perhaps someday you'll see something you like here. Also, people: I don't mean to push you into anything, but feel free to leave your mark in the guestbook. I like knowing who visits my site. It makes me feel really important. However: if you'd like to remain anonymous, though, and observe me from a distance without disclosing yourself, that's fine too. Creep. July 2, 2004My summer is boring me to tears, and the server has found a new home where Andy's living, in his friend's house. It's quite happy with its new RoadRunner connection. If anyone out there has anything remotely interesting to do, please contact me and we'll do it, because I am literally almost to the point of running naked through the streets screaming something like "I can't take it anymore!" and tearing my hair out. You see, Ashwin's gone, and all my other friends are either busy all the time, or Leigha. And I've been hanging out with her a lot, but I can't hang out with her all the time. Or could I? I'll just be thankful when I can go to the beach. There's always cool stuff to do at the beach, especially when my cousin Joey's around. What a troublemaker. I haven't seen him in forever. E-mail here with suggestions, comments, or whatever else. All material copyright © 2009 Stephen Rintoul. Some rights reserved. |
