Charles Shaughnessy's Only Connect Blog!

Charles Shaughnessy blogs "Thank you Kansas City!"

2012-01-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

"It's Good to be Home"

No matter how enjoyable an "out-of-town" gig might be, it is ALWAYS good to get home. That said, my experience in "Game Show" at The New Theatre Restaurant could not have been better. I want to thank all the wonderful people at NTR led by their extraordinary Executive Producer / Founders, Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers. From the heads of Dept. through the stage managers and stage crew to the attentive and enthusiastic wait-staff, the whole enterprise hummed with the energetic efficiency of a well-oiled machine. It is no surprise to me that it represents one of the most consistently popular and financially successful theatres in the country. I also revelled in a talented and welcoming cast that made my time, onstage and off, fun and exciting. To all of you who came to see me in the show, "thank you" and I hope it was as good for you as it was for me! I am home now and happy to be back in the bosom of my family, but I will always have very fond memories of Kansas City: the Barbecue, the Chiefs, the Mighty Mo, the Christmas lights on the Plaza, the mid-west hospitality and the good folks at The New Theatre Restaurant.

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Charles Shaughnessy Blog "Life, Art and the Cosmos!"

2012-01-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

A lot of you have wondered about my religious beliefs. As we are starting a new year, I thought I would post my first blog of 2012 to address this...a bit. To start with, I should tell you that I adhere to none of the established or more common "religions." I put that word in quotes because I do agree that we are all searching for a way to "tie back" to a state of universal consciousness that many might call GOD. It's the idea that God can be anthropomorphized that causes me trouble. The notion that what is indeed "Everything/Nothing," the Alpha and the Omega, can take sides, get angry, be nice, talk through a bush or a snake, interact with us, as if it were anything separate from us, seems to me to be a bit absurd. I respect the right of anyone to follow whatever belief they choose, to help them feel re-connected to that state of pre-lapsarian innocence that we all crave as human beings...so long as they don't insist that their particular belief system is either the only one or the best one! That's why Newt's attempt to foist "Freedom of Religion" legislation on us is such an abomination: it basically states that freedom of religion is sacrosanct..as long as it's Christian! There are only two ways that I see religion as important in my life: one, to guide me as to my conduct on this earth; two, to give me a sense of order and comfort when faced with the unknowable and unfathomable concepts of infinity, life, death and the meaning of existence. The first is easy. I believe in Ethics and it's vital role in the progress of society and human behavior. Morality is what has led us astray, as it is always going to be relative. One man's freedom fighter, martyr or saint is another man's terrorist, criminal and murderer. Christ, along with all the great teachers in history, taught ethics: how to behave toward each other so that our human condition be less intolerable. Love, charity, compassion, generosity of spirit and body, diligence, responsibility, courage..but above all...Love.
As for the second... here's how I would best describe it.

If “GOD” is a manageable way of describing the infinite properties of “everythingness,” then there can be nothing that is not GOD. Further, there is nothing that is not something i.e. GOD. Therefore there is no “nothing” to juxtapose with “everything.” That is why we have discovered that the vast “emptiness” of space is not made up of “nothing”, but rather -”Dark Matter.” This describes the invisible matter that is juxtaposed to what we can identify as matter. In other words there is no “outside of the box.”
To wrap one’s head around this concept, one has to resort to metaphor or imagery, utilizing concepts and references that make sense to our limited brains. I like to see this “everything” as an infinite wad of chewing gum. There is no beginning or end to it either in time or space. To become part of “existence”, a small piece of this gum is pulled from the whole and stretched into our dimension. We live our lifespan, absorbing experience in this realm, but always attached by a thin thread to the whole wad. Thus, while living a solitary life in this dimension, we are at all time connected to everyone and everything else that has and ever will exist in the “whole wad.” This is our connection to GOD. This is why we occasionally experience sudden insights, premonitions, unrelated memories etc. We are literally “all one.” The latin word “religo - religere” from which our word “religion” comes, means “to tie back.” Through religion we, these lonely pieces of gum, are attempting to find a re-connection to that “ whole wad” of gum, to our innate sense of the infinite and our longing to belong to the whole of existence.

So this may indeed signify my crack at understanding the "What" of it all, but it does little to address the "Why?" For that I turn to an episode of the creaky old TV sci-fi series: Babylon5. ( to be continued...)

additional reply comment from Charles Shaughnessy to Miss JoAnn on 14 January, 2012 11:27

additional reply comment from Charles Shaughnessy to Heather on 14 January, 2012 11:32

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog Home away from Home ~ WHOLE FOODS in Kansas City!

2011-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! The end of 2011, the beginning of 2012 right around the corner. Watch this end of year video from Charles Shaughnessy "Home away from Home" WHOLE FOODS in Kansas City!"

GAME SHOW runs from November 10, 2011 through January 22, 2012, 8 shows a week. Every performance includes their 5 STAR Gourmet buffet with the price of each ticket!To buy tickets, click on this link:Ticket information

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Happy Holidays iBlog from Charles Shaughnessy

2011-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! The end of 2011, the beginning of 2012 right around the corner. Watch this end of year video from Charles Shaughnessy wishing all of you HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

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Television actor stars in play at Overland Park’s New Theatre Restaurant - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

2011-12-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

Television actor CHARLES SHAUGHNESSY stars in the play GAME SHOW at Overland Park’s New Theatre Restaurant - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

By: JiaoJiao Shen
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - A play about a game show is actually a real game show for audience members.

The play, appropriately named “Game Show” by Jeffrey Finn and Bob Walton is opening at the New Theatre Restaurant in Overland Park, Kan.

The play features guest star Charles Shaughnessy, star of “The Nanny” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Audience members will play an important role in this play, serving as actual contestants of the game show. Real prizes will be given away.

“Game Show” runs through January 22, 2012 at The New Theatre Restaurant.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.newtheatre.com .

Charles Shaughnessy review GAME SHOW at New Theatre in Kansas City!

2011-11-27T08:38:00.001-08:00

Posted on Sat, Nov. 26, 2011

The time is right for New Theatre’s risk-taking ‘Game Show’

By ROBERT TRUSSELL
The Kansas City Star

When Richard Carrothers decided he wanted to stage “Game Show,” a process that began in earnest about two years ago, he knew he needed a cast that was nimble, adaptable and quick.

Because “Game Show” isn’t like other plays you’ve seen at the New Theatre — or anywhere, for that matter.

The piece by Jeffrey Finn and Bob Walton, which originally ran off-Broadway 11 years ago, is really two shows occupying the same slice of time and space.

There’s a “live” TV broadcast, in which actual theatergoers are invited onstage to participate in a quiz show, and actors operating real cameras are capturing images that are shown on big screens on either side of the proscenium.

And then there’s the play itself: a backstage satire depicting cutthroat network politics in which the debonair host, Troy Richards, gradually discovers that he has been set up in an elaborate plot to get him off the show.

Carrothers built a unique supporting cast around his guest star, British-born Charles Shaughnessy, who exudes effortless, David Niven-style charm as he interacts with theatergoers as Troy.

Carrothers assembled a group of Kansas City veterans as well as a couple of Chicago actors with improv backgrounds, all of whom had one thing in common: They could go with the flow. “Game Show” is scripted up to a point, but much of the entertainment is found in the unscripted moments when actors relate to real people from the audience.

“It’s going to be a different show every night, depending on the mood of the audience and how much wine they’ve had,” Shaughnessy said one afternoon during a rehearsal break.

Shaughnessy said he has never done improv, and he has never appeared on a game show, but you’d never guess it by watching him work in this production. He and his fellow actors form an ensemble of equally crucial components and share the stage with ease.

“I’ve never done a show like this,” said Shaughnessy, a veteran of film and television, perhaps remembered best for a regular role on “The Nanny.” “It reminds me a bit of English pantomime. This is really quite fascinating.

“You’re doing a play about a game show while filming the game show and broadcasting it to the audience. But the whole thing is a play that takes you behind the scenes. It’s a fascinating Russian-doll show — a show within a show within a show. It’s like Pirandello — wheels within wheels.”

Odd as it may seem to invoke the name of Italian dramatist Luigi Pirandello in discussing a show at a dinner theater, it actually is appropriate. Pirandello, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1934, wrote “tragedies” that are considered forerunners of theater of the absurd. He is best known for a play hardly anyone has seen — “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” in which characters from an unfinished play wander into a rehearsal and implore the director to finish their story.

In short, Pirandello made it OK for playwrights to free themselves from the restrictions of conventional storytelling, to break the “fourth wall” by allowing characters to speak directly to the audience and candidly acknowledging the artifice of theater.

Carrothers said the jokey alternative title for the determinedly frothy show at the New Theatre is “Six Characters in Search of a Game Show.”

“That’s the whole Pirandello thing — blurring the line between acting and reality,” Carrothers said. “This show blurs that line.”

Carrothers had only two weeks to rehearse, which meant, among other things, coming up with questions for the actual games, because the script didn’t provide any.

“The games themselves were very sketchy,” Carrothers said. “The script would say ‘Round One: selected questions.’ ”

Joe Fox, the company’s vice president in charge of production, came up with as many as 400 questions, which they winnowed during rehearsals, Carrothers said.

Actors Craig Benton and Peter DeFaria, who play the camera operators, used the equipment from the beginning and, according to Carrothers, took to it like ducks to water. Actor Tim Cormack plays the television director in the show, which obliges him to direct the live video feed the audience sees on the big screens from an upstage console.

In the 30 minutes or so before the show starts, actors — including Jim Korinke and Todd Carlton Lanker — go into the audience in character and solicit volunteers to participate in the games. Carrothers said many spectators enjoy being made part of the action. But some don’t.

“Audiences by their very nature are voyeurs,” Carrothers said. “It’s like looking into somebody else’s dilemma and wondering what they’re going to do. When you ask voyeurs to be active, there’s a sort of group resistance. We get emails and phone calls from people saying, ‘I didn’t appreciate being part of it.’ ”

As a creative artist, though, Carrothers likes watching what happens when you change the formula.

“It’s interesting that by having an audience member up there it changes the dynamic of how we’re experiencing the show,” he said. “I just love how it shakes up the dynamics. There’s really something I’ve found that in long runs actors get very comfortable with the words. It’s almost hypnotic. They feel protected by the words, but in this show they have to be able to respond.”

Shaughnessy, for his part, seems to enjoy where is. He inherited a baronial title, and he studied law at Cambridge. But the acting bug, he said, can be traced to his discovery in childhood that he really enjoyed reading out loud in class.

“I really like showing off,” he said. “And of course no sensible person is an actor professionally.”

But he never could picture himself among lawyers.

“That’s not my tribe,” he said.

Shaughnessy has done stage and television (including an eight-year stint on the daytime soap “Days of Our Lives”), and in this show he gets to do both. But he has no preference.

“It’s like different parts of a meal,” he said. “They’re all delicious, but they’re all different. I love getting onstage, but at the same time, it’s much more financially rewarding on TV, and that increases your fame, which allows you to do more theater.”

“Game Show,” whether it’s your cup of tea or not, does represent something that’s been happening more of late at the New Theatre: Productions that reflect playful, bold, even risky choices. Last summer Carrothers directed the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a show the company had done before, but Carrothers and his designers came up with a wild new take on the material, and the results were very funny.

Then Dennis Hennessey staged the rather shopworn 1960s British farce “Move Over Mrs. Markham” and hit on the idea of setting the show at the turn of the 20th century, with corsets for the ladies, high collars for the men and antique telephones in the parlor.

And now we have “Game Show,” which has so many unscripted moments that the potential for derailment is always bubbling just below the surface.

Carrothers said the explanation is simple enough. He and Hennessy, who have been producing partners since the 1970s, said they have learned a thing or two through the years.

“What you’re seeing out here is that I get a little more creative the longer I do it,” Carrothers said. “We probably wouldn’t have done ‘Move Over Mrs. Markham,’ but because Dennis had the idea for this mashup, that’s the whole reason we did it.

“I am now more open to outcome than attached to outcome. In terms of this creative piece (‘Game Show’), 10 or 15 years ago I would have gone in with a very rigid approach. But I was so open to any artist in that room who had an opinion, they participated in the shaping and molding of this show. And that’s what you see.”

To reach Robert Trussell, call 816-234-4765 or send email to rtrussell@kcstar.com.

© 2011 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com

Tweeted by Charles Shaughnessy 16 November . . . Comments?

2011-11-16T10:48:00.000-08:00

From Charles Shaughnessy's Twitter account @C_Shaughnessy

C_Shaughnessy Charles Shaughnessy

Penn State. without rushing to judgement, afraid it's (the) Catholic Church all over again. Also fear it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Charlie also tweeted:

Pope says child rape isn't that bad, was normal back in his day -- Society's Child.... "Vatican Christmas Shocker! Pope says child rape isn't that bad, was normal back in his day"21 Dec 2010

..and they wonder why the churches are empty!!

So . . .What do the rest of you think about this topic?

Charles Shaughnessy iBlogs from Kansas City! Behind the scenes of GAME SHOW!

2011-11-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Behind the scenes of GAME SHOW with Charles Shaughnessy in Kansas City~ iBlogs!
Part One. . .

and . . . Part Two . . .

Charlie will be starring as Troy Richards, the host & star of "Game Show." "Game Show" was written by Jeffrey Finn & Bob Walton & is a comedy of a fictional TV game program that takes place on stage, with real audience members playing the game to win real prizes, interspersed with political machinations, seduction & betrayal during the commercials!

A scripted comedy about behind-the-scenes backstabbing among the cast and crew of a fictional game show, this stage play has an actual trivia contest that uses real audience members as contestants! With the stage made up to resemble a typical game-show set, host Troy Richards played by Charles Shaughnessy, chooses four audience members at a time to come onstage and participate in several rounds of a trivia-based game.

During the commercial breaks of the fictional GAME SHOW, plot twists about the cast & crew, will surprise and delight the audience. Do you want to play GAME SHOW with Charles Shaughnessy? Come see him at The New Theatre Restaurant in Kansas City (Overland Park, KS) & you could be one of the lucky audience members chosen to play!

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Charles Shaughnessy personally invites you to see him in Kansas City at The New Theatre starring in GAME SHOW!!

2011-11-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy invites you to "get your trivia on" & come see him in the Broadway comedy 'GAME SHOW' at the New Theatre in Kansas City, KS!

Charlie will be starring as Troy Richards, the host & star of "Game Show." "Game Show" was written by Jeffrey Finn & Bob Walton & is a comedy of a fictional TV game program that takes place on stage, with real audience members playing the game to win real prizes, interspersed with political machinations, seduction & betrayal during the commercials!

To keep up with Charles Shaughnessy on all of his social networks, click on the icons below. We hope you will all participate, comment, friend, share, rate, follow & subscribe!

Charles Shaughnessy in Kansas City to star in New Theatre's GAME SHOW!

2011-10-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy in the Kansas City area to star in GAME SHOW at the New Theatre located in Overland Park, KS!

Check out these sample menus from Chef Mark Webster including the special Fudge Brownie Cake dessert he has prepared for GAME SHOW!

Knowing how much he will love the food at the New Theatre, Charlie was even more thrilled to learn that as the food is prepared fresh for each performance, all of the left over food is flash frozen in trays, then several times weekly, Harvesters Community Food Network pulls a truck up and loads the trays. They are then distributed to community meal facilities in a 13 county area around greater KC. Annually, New Theatre donates through Harvesters over 105,000 pounds of food. That equates to nearly 81,000 meals for families and individuals in need. In fact, over 1/5 of all the food distributed in the greater Kansas City Area through Harvester’s Food Rescue Program comes from New Theatre Restaurant. Click on this link to learn more about Harvesters’ efforts to end hunger and how you can help.

Charlie will be tweeting from his personal Twitter account during the time he is in Kansas City, so follow him!

Here is the first of many 'behind the scenes' photos that Charlie tweeted today as he was Kansas City bound! He hopes to see many of you at the show, & yes, the plan is, as always, that you will be able to meet him at the stage door after performances to get a photo with Charlie!

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Charles Shaughnessy Blog: A frog's fate...

2011-09-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

While we Americans continue our devoted worship at the altar of big business as evidenced by the dogged defence of the G.W. tax cuts and championing of businessmen like Romney, Turner, Perry et al., the middle class continues to shrink at an alarming rate. Poverty is now at a level not seen since 1997 and middle class Americans are slipping out of jobs, houses and solvency faster then ever. The irony is that this dwindling middle class represents the very same people who are hastening their own demise by supporting the very policies and politicians who have taken a vow that the middle class is merely collateral damage in their crusade for wealth and power! If you drop a frog into boiling water it will leap out of the pot. If you drop a frog into warm water and slowly raise the temperature until it reaches boiling point, the frog will never notice the difference and boil to death. The way we are headed, I reckon we will have reached that critical point by November 2012.

Let me be straight with you. These are NOT Republicans: real Republicans recognize the need for a healthy and prosperous middle-class. I share some of their agenda. Self-determination is an integral part of the American dream....but THESE people are a new and dangerous breed of neo-Conservative that has been weaned on the message of Ayn Rand and Orwell's prophetic, but cynical"1984". They only sees winners and losers in the great game of life. As a good liberal friend of mine said recently: " Forget caring about anyone else: just focus on getting rich quick, 'cos that's all that's going to be important when these guys get into power." So long, America...it's been good to know ya!

Charles Shaughnessy Blog: I should have guessed...

2011-09-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Despite holding the country to ransom by refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless the Dems promised not to add revenues by letting tax cuts on the top 1% lapse, these same people are threatening to block the President's plan to allow short term tax cuts on their beloved corporations in order to stimulate a stalled economy. The quid pro quo is obvious: tax breaks for companies means more hirings i.e. means more jobs - more jobs means less unemployment- it also means more people working ( that's what happens when you have less unemployment,) - more people working means more taxes paid into the coffers AND more people able to buy stuff ( which stimulates commerce, ergo the economy,) which means a healthier economy all round- which means more tax revenue - which can start to pay off the debt - sounds like a plan to me. But oh, no! not if it means the economy might start to recover!!! That might make Obama look good before the next election! So, once again, the "loyal" opposition will obstruct the plan because their own avowed agenda is more important, more relevant, more sacred than the welfare of the American people. He's giving these Republicans everything they want ( to the fury of his own party,) but it is still not enough. They shout for compromise- he gives them compromise - they call it weakness and throw it in his face. There's just no pleasing these people!

2011-09-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 9

So, this is what I think . . .

Charlie's latest iBlog on morality and ethics. Watch the video then log in with your blogger or google account and tell him what YOU think!

You know how much Charlie loves to blog! Did you know that Charlie has his own YouTube Channel? We are re-posting his video iBlogs here, so we have one place that Charlie & all of you can interact with each other, so feel free to comment on what he is saying on Charlie's Only Connect! Blog here on Blogger! We also use this blog to give you all the latest news & blogs & a central place to comment back to what he is saying!

Charlie ALWAYS wants to hear what your comments & opinions are on ALL of his blogs, even if you disagree with him, so make sure you leave your comments here. Please also rate & share on your own social networking pages, tweet, 1+, spread the blogs around & let your friends know about the new iBlogs!

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Charles Shaughnessy Blog: Read this and WEEP!

2011-09-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yes.....I'm baaaaaack!!! After a brief interlude as a cowboy, I am back and brimming with even more indignation. I honestly TRY to find other things to talk about ( and am planning a new iBlog to do just that later today,) but right now I have to break one of my own rules. I just read this article written by a Republican staffer in Washington DC, who has also "had enough." It so clearly expresses my own view of what is going on and WHY we can't go on hiding behind this same bleating cry of " Why can't they BOTH get along," or " They're all as bad as each other!" NO! They are both bad, yes, but NOT as bad as each other. One side and one side ONLY has vociferously declared that they will do ANYTHING they can to make sure they win the next election and if that means sending the economy and the American people to Hell in a handbasket...so be it. The ends justify the means, right? So, despite my own ban on simply re-printing or linking 3rd. party articles....Read this and, literally, weep!

http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog #7 TV Land Chat Happily Divorced Season Finale

2011-08-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy's iBlog #7

Reminding you to join him LIVE Wednesday night at TV Land at 7:30 pm PT/10:30 pm ET & to watch the Season Finale of Happily Divorced with Fran Drescher!

Charlie shows you the street where the Hallmark Channel mini-series "Love's Christmas Journey" is being filmed!

Charles Shaughnessy's iBlog #6

2011-08-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy's iBlog #6

Coming to you from the set of the Hallmark Mini-Series Love's Christmas Journey

Charlie is inviting you to join him to Chat LIVE at TV Land during the Happily Divorced Season Finale Wednesday, August 17th at 10:30PM Eastern/ 7:30 Pacific!!

Corporations are people!

2011-08-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomas Jefferson, 1812
"Corporations are people, my friend" - Mitt Romney to Thomas Jefferson 2011

....and there you have it, my friends!!!!

To read the comments that all of you have left on this blog AND Charlie's comments back to you, click on the link comments HERE OR at the bottom of this blog where it says, for example, 26 comments. Also, be aware that we moderate the comments, (we do not censor however) we don't allow anonymous comments anymore (you can log in with many different accounts) and are on West Coast Time, so they will get approved as soon as we see them.

Sneak Peeks of Fran Drescher & Charles Shaughnessy on Happily Divorced Season Finale!

2011-08-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here are THREE Sneak Peeks of Fran Drescher & Charles Shaughnessy on the Season Finale of Happily Divorced on TV Land Wednesday, August 17th 10:30 pm!

Happily Divorced
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Happily Divorced Videos
Fran Drescher
Photos

You will have to watch the show to find out why Charles Shaughnessy says "Both!!"

Happily Divorced
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Happily Divorced Videos
Fran Drescher
Photos

Charles Shaughnessy on Being an Actor: TV Land Interview

2011-08-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy on Being an Actor: TV Land Interview

Charles Shaughnessy decided to become a lawyer, but then went back to his passion and started acting again. We think he made the right choice!

Happily Divorced
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Happily Divorced Videos
Fran Drescher
Photos

Chat LIVE at TV Land with Charles Shaughnessy during the Happily Divorced Season Finale Wednesday, August 17th at 10:30PM Eastern/ 7:30 Pacific!!

Anyone for Tea?...

2011-08-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well, they did it. Before anyone accuses me of playing the "blame game," I am again merely asking that responsibility be acknowledged. Anyway, its really unnecessary as that small band of ruthlessly dedicated fundamentalists are celebrating their David and Goliath feat. Their unswerving faith and adherence to their cause has demonstrated to the world how seriously they need to be taken. Once again a pillar of our financial institutions lies in smoking ruins. The irony, of course, is that their martyrdom is irrelevant as their avowed aversion to revenue hikes in our budget, the very principle with which they and their Right Wing conspirators, brought about this tragedy, is moot. China has said that she must insist we include them in our budget. Now, instead of doing the logical thing and finding a reasonable compromise ( the very one suggested by our President,) in a timely and independent manner, this once great nation must bow its knee to the whim of another and when asked to jump, must reply, how high? The Right has been consistently saying over the last few weeks that the Left have been using " scare tactics" and that all of this is no big deal. I hope they are right. I am simply concerned that with our global reputation downgraded for the first time in history, there will be severe consequences, and that we will begin to count the very real human cost in the lives of the needy for years to come.

Tea among the Ruins...

2011-07-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am amused by all the bleating about dysfunction in Washington, particularly as we now have exactly what half the country wanted in the last election. We, the People, elected a divided government precisely because we didn't want anyone to get their way. We sealed the deal by electing enough Tea Party candidates to ensure gridlock. They have stated time and again that they will not settle for anything other than total victory or "death." Anyone else see a parallel between AlQuaeda and the Tea Party? A group of idealogue fundamentalists, co-opted to wage a dirty war, who then turn on their handlers and cause untold chaos and destruction on anyone that gets in their way: and I include the leader of their own party! Let me expand on this..their dogged, commitment to a fundamental ideology will bring down our economy and do untold damage to our system of government on a parallel to 9/11. And before anyone says" yes, but without the human cost." Let's check back in a year or two and count the number of veterans who have succumbed to reduced care, disaster victims who have succumbed to a reduced FEMA budget, homeless and starving who have succumbed to a vastly reduced safety net, victims of asthma and bronchial conditions who have succumbed to increased pollution ...the list of shame will go on and on...That is what the Tea Party stands for and that is who we handed the reins of power to.

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 5

2011-07-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 5

Charles Shaughnessy pays tribute to the TV show 'Friday Night Lights, answers some more fan questions & yes, gets into a 'little' bit about politics' !

Charlie answers a few more of the questions you have been asking him, pays tribute to one of his all time favourite TV shows, 'Friday night Lights' & throws out another thought on Washington!

You know how much Charlie loves to blog? Did you know that Charlie has his own YouTube Channel? He has started doing video blogs & posting them there! We are going to re-post them here, on his Blogspot blog, so we have one place that Charlie & all of you can interact with each other, so feel free to comment on what he is saying on Charlie's Only Connect! Blog here on Blogger! We use this blog to give you all the latest news & blogs & a central place to comment back to what he is saying!

If you want to know as soon as a new video blog is posted, be sure to subscribe to Charles Shaughnessy's YouTube Channel and follow this blog here Charlie ALWAYS wants to hear what your comments are on ALL of his blogs, even if you disagree with him, so make sure you leave your comments here. Please also rate & share on your own social networking pages, tweet, 1+, spread the blogs around & let your friends know about the new iBlogs!
To read the comments that all of you have left on this blog AND Charlie's comments back to you, click on the link comments HERE OR at the bottom of this blog where it says, for example, 26 comments. Also, be aware that we moderate the comments, (we do not censor however) we don't allow anonymous comments anymore (you can log in with many different accounts) and are on West Coast Time, so they will get approved as soon as we see them. To keep up with Charles Shaughnessy on all of his social networks, click on the icons below. We hope you will all participate, comment, friend, share, rate, follow & subscribe!

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 4 Q & A with Charlie!

2011-07-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 4

It's a Question & Answer session on video with Charles Shaughnessy!

Charlie is answering some of the questions you have been asking him. This time it's just Charlie & you! No politics, no ranting or religion . . . just Charlie, answering your questions. Really!!

If you want to know as soon as a new video blog is posted, be sure to subscribe to Charles Shaughnessy's YouTube Channel and follow this blog here Charlie ALWAYS wants to hear what your comments are on ALL of his blogs, even if you disagree with him, so make sure you leave your comments here. Please also rate & share on your own social networking pages, tweet, 1+, spread the blogs around & let your friends know about the new iBlogs!
To read the comments that all of you have left on this blog AND Charlie's comments back to you, click on the link comments HERE OR at the bottom of this blog where it says, for example, 26 comments. Also, be aware that we moderate the comments, (we do not censor however) we don't allow anonymous comments anymore (you can log in with many different accounts) and are on West Coast Time, so they will get approved as soon as we see them.
To keep up with Charles Shaughnessy on all of his social networks, click on the icons below. We hope you will all participate, comment, friend, share, rate, follow & subscribe!

Black or White or Both...

2011-07-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

A lot of people here are getting very exercised on the subject of religion and whether I have any!! I think Diane's dilemma expresses it best. She would clearly feel more comfortable if she could figure out whether I was a Christian, atheist, deist, pantheist or what!! THAT'S exactly the problem. Everyone wants Black or White. There is so much confusion in the human condition that we all want some clarity and definition- somewhere PLEASE!!! This unsettling confusion and need for identity has always led us humans toward some ( any ) kind of "tribalism." The only way we can feel secure in our fragile mortality is to "belong" to something or someone. It might be a nation, a city, a sport's club, a political party, a gang, a neighborhood, a social club or... a religion. It gives us clarity as to where we belong and the comfort that we will be surrounded by like-minded people. The problem is that that behavior robs us of the ability to identify fully with the only true club that we belong to: the human race. And that happens to be the only club that is non-exclusive. There are plenty of moslems, jews, christians, atheists, taoists, mormons who all believe in the same tenets of compassion, love, duty, and responsibility, but our need to identify and separate each other out keeps us from actually enacting these principles. The truth is that the human condition is, and will always be, confusing and confronting IF we surrender to that fact. And that's how it was meant to be. The word "religion" comes from the Latin "re-ligo" meaning "I tie back." It is how we tie ourselves back to the one-ness of the universe ( God, if you like.) However we choose to do this is up to each individual . Some have created "programs" to help the needy. These programs are called "Religions," but they owe more to political power-grabbing and exploitation than anything any of the great teachers have ever spoken about. I hope this helps those who are confused. I guess the closest to a religion that I have come, was spoken by a character on a TV sci-fi series a few years back She said that we are made up of the same molecules that make up the universe, that create the energy inside the nuclei of the stars. She explained that we are literally "star stuff", the universe made manifest- trying to figure itself out. So, be OK with the confusion and the murky differences between Black and White...that's what makes us human and divine at the same time. Good night and sleep well.

To read the comments that all of you have left on this blog AND Charlie's comments back to you, click on the link comments HERE OR at the bottom of this blog where it says, for example, 26 comments. Also, be aware that we moderate the comments, (we do not censor however) we don't allow anonymous comments anymore (you can log in with many different accounts) and are on West Coast Time, so they will get approved as soon as we see them.

Enjoy the tea!

2011-07-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

If, or when, the US defaults on its debts for the first time in history, I hope the Tea Party and all those misguided souls who bought their uninformed rhetoric, will take the responsibility that falls squarely on their shoulders. Their playground gesture of "taking the pledge", by definition, cast them as uncompromising and obstructionist. As a result, even their own leader of the House, unable to get them in line, is put in the shameful position of seeing this great nation sink into the depths of ignominy for the sake of personal, political hubris and the worst kind of partisan politics.

To read the comments that all of you have left on this blog AND Charlie's comments back to you, click on the link comments HERE OR at the bottom of this blog where it says, for example, 26 comments. Also, be aware that we moderate the comments, (we do not censor however) we don't allow anonymous comments anymore (you can log in with many different accounts) and are on West Coast Time, so they will get approved as soon as we see them.

Charles Shaughnessy's Only Connect Blog!

Charles Shaughnessy blogs "Thank you Kansas City!"

Charles Shaughnessy Blog "Life, Art and the Cosmos!"

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog Home away from Home ~ WHOLE FOODS in Kansas City!

Happy Holidays iBlog from Charles Shaughnessy

Television actor stars in play at Overland Park’s New Theatre Restaurant - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

Charles Shaughnessy review GAME SHOW at New Theatre in Kansas City!

The time is right for New Theatre’s risk-taking ‘Game Show’

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Tweeted by Charles Shaughnessy 16 November . . . Comments?

Charles Shaughnessy iBlogs from Kansas City! Behind the scenes of GAME SHOW!

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Corporations are people!

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomas Jefferson, 1812 "Corporations are people, my friend" - Mitt Romney to Thomas Jefferson 2011

....and there you have it, my friends!!!!

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Anyone for Tea?...

Tea among the Ruins...

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 5

Charles Shaughnessy iBlog # 4 Q & A with Charlie!

Black or White or Both...

Enjoy the tea!

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomas Jefferson, 1812
"Corporations are people, my friend" - Mitt Romney to Thomas Jefferson 2011