April Fools Day...

Hi everybody!
Since we all love interactive-blogging so much, let's all share April Fool's Day stories of past and present!
~tommy

This Week's Schedule! March 30th through April 6th

SUNDAY 3/30
2:00-3:30pm - I'm Special dress rehearsal (full cast)
4:00-6:00pm -Goldilocks rehearsal (Chris and Jeffrey)

MONDAY 3/31

TUESDAY 4/1
April Fools Day!
8:30am - Call time for I'm Special performance at Potowomut School in Warwick (or 9am at school for 9:30 performance).
If you thought Tap Night was happening on Tuesday, then April Fools! It has been rescheduled for Thursday!

WEDNESDAY 4/2
5:30pm - 30th Anniversary Meeting (Lon, Sandy, and Tommy unavailable)

THURSDAY 4/3
4:30pm - Birthday Party practice (Prince only)
7:00-9:00pm - Kaleidevent! Tap Night! (I like my photo better...)

FRIDAY 4/4

SATURDAY 4/5
12:00pm - Call time for Cinderella Birthday Party, 1:30-2:30pm (JRK)

SUNDAY 4/6
TBA - Call for Cinderella and Prince Birthday Party, 3:00-4:00pm (JRK and Nile)

This Week's Schedule! March 24th through 30th

MONDAY 3/24
3:30pm - Meeting with Sari and Aliya Thaler
4:30-6:30pm - BULLY Dress rehearsal (3/25 cast - Sam @ 5:15)
7:00-9:00pm - Kaleidevent! Tap night at the K.T. rehearsal hall! (Hahaha.. get it?)

TUESDAY 3/25
9:00am - Calltime at Kscope for 10am performance of BULLY at Hennessey Elementary School in East Providence, RI.
5:00-7:00pm - Goldilocks rehearsal (Lee @ 5:30ish, Chris...?)

WEDNESDAY 3/26

THURSDAY 3/27
5:00-7:00pm - Goldilocks rehearsal (Lee @ 5:30ish, Chris...?)
7:00-8:30pm - I'm Special rehearsal (no Cameron)

FRIDAY 3/28
5:00pm - Meet at Kscope for the Kaleidevent! ANNIE at the Wang Center in Boston, MA! (Nicki, Tommy, Jillian, Meredyth, Brooke, Susan, and Rupert have RSVPed... if you would like to come and are not one of these people, let us know ASAP so we can make sure you get a ticket!!)

SATURDAY 3/29
Happy Birthday, Cameron!

SUNDAY 3/30
2:00-3:30pm - I'm Special Dress rehearsal (full cast)

New Kaleidevents!

Gre޲en Day޲ Vot޲ing޲!
Pho޲޲to޲s޲ are޲޲ up fro޲޲m the޲޲ rec޲޲en޲t޲ 'Gr޲޲ee޲n޲ Day޲޲' Kal޲޲ei޲d޲e޲ve޲޲nt and޲޲ can޲޲ be fou޲޲nd޲ on myspace in the޲޲ Kal޲޲ei޲d޲o޲sc޲޲ope޲޲ pho޲޲to޲ alb޲޲um޲ 'co޲޲nt޲e޲s޲t sub޲޲mi޲s޲s޲io޲޲ns'޲޲.
Vot޲޲e for޲޲ you޲޲r fav޲޲or޲i޲t޲e per޲޲so޲n޲ in gre޲޲en޲ and޲޲ the޲޲ win޲޲ne޲r޲ win޲޲s two޲޲ fre޲޲e mov޲޲ie޲ pas޲޲se޲s޲!޲ You޲޲ can޲޲ als޲޲o cas޲޲t vot޲޲es޲ by ema޲޲il޲,޲ blo޲޲g,޲ or fac޲޲ebo޲o޲k (there's a kaleidoscopians' event with the photos posted).޲޲ The޲޲ win޲޲ne޲r޲ wil޲޲l be ann޲޲ou޲n޲c޲ed޲޲ on our޲޲ mem޲޲be޲r޲s޲ 'blo޲޲g (www.kaleidonews.blogspot.com) on Fri޲޲da޲y޲ night޲.޲

TAP Night!
Kaleidoscope will be hosting a tap dance night on Monday, March 24th from 7:00-9:00pm. Please RSVP if you're interested and bring your calendars to the event so we can pick out the next Tap Night date. (We'd like to make Tap Night a semi-regular event.)

This Week's Schedule! St. Patrick's Day - March 21st

MONDAY 3/17
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Wear your GREEN!
4:00-6:00pm - Little Red Ridinghood rehearsal (no Jamie)
6:00-7:30pm - BULLY rehearsal (3/25 cast)
7:30-9:00pm - BULLY Dress rehearsal (3/18 cast - no Eric)

TUESDAY 3/18
7:30am - Calltime at Kscope for BULLY performances (9&10am at Doran School, Fall River, MA, and 1pm at Oldham School, East Providence, RI)
5:00-7:00pm - Goldilocks rehearsal with Jeffrey Sewell

WEDNESDAY 3/19
5:00-7:00pm - Goldilocks rehearsal with Jeffrey Sewell
5:30pm - 30th Anniversary Meeting

THURSDAY 3/20
First day of Spring!
2:15pm - Icosahedron Construction 101 (Bobby & Tommy)
6:00-9:00pm - Little Red Ridinghood Dress rehearsal (full cast)

FRIDAY 3/21
6:45am - Calltime for Little Red Ridinghood performance (9am at Green Meadow School in Maynard, MA)

Happy Pi Day!!!

Well, the day has finally come! I hope you have all been looking forward to it as much as I have!

Is anybody wearing π Day clothing? I am! Every year on π Day, I wear a white tee-shirt (homemade, of course), that says "qtπ" in black lettering accross the chest! It's my own special way to celebrate :) As Meredyth suggested, you could also wear your hair in πg-tails! Heck, you could even wear your hair like ππ Longstocking! Maybe you could wear a πll-box hat, or a π-rate costume... or if you're more understated than that but still want to celebrate the sπrit of π Day, then do something simpler, like wearing your favorite πn.

I love all of the great ideas you've come up with for our π Day menu! I also bought a πg to roast on a sπt... but we still, in my oπnion, could use some more. If somebody wouldn't mind πcking up some sπnach πs, that would be great... and since sπnach always sticks in your teeth, we'll definitely need toothπcks. And maybe some rice krisπ treats? And I LOVE reese's πeces, if you happen to come accross those! Anything else we should add to our comπlation?

We need more entertainment stuff too... in addition to our current activities, we can always go duckπn bowling, toss around the πgskin, or if we get totally bored (Brendan's favorite), "πg π-le!" If it rains, we'll have to go inside... but we could watch cartoons (πnky & the Brain, or Pop-π?) or movies - is Eπc Movie out on DVD yet? I wasn't a big fan of "Star Wars" when I finally saw it, but maybe Em-π-re Strikes Back is better. I dunno... I'm up for suggestions.

ANYWAY...

When I was on my way to work thismorning, I had to stop for gas. I was half-delighted and half-disgusted to see that gas costs $π/gallon now, and yes, I did actually buy gas at that price! I decided that in celebration of π, the oil companies can get away with it for today... but come tomorrow, I'll be complaining again!

Let's get back to the artistic realm of π. It seems the whole idea of π Day Poetry wasn't as big of a hit as I was expecting. I thought it was kinda fun and challenging, personally, but we all know I'm far too nerdy for my own good! Perhaps this OTHER type of π poem will better suit your fancy! They're called "π-ku"! They're kind of like haiku (in which the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7, and the third line has 5), except that instead of the 5-7-5 pattern of haiku, the π-ku pattern is 3-1-4-1-5-9-2-6-5-3-5-8-9-7-9... well, you get the point. For example, I found this amusing π-ku online:

Three point one.
Four.
Et cetera.

More π Day poetry is, of course, still being graciously submitted on Wednesday's blog :) But okay, maybe you aren't a poetry buff. Perhaps you'll be a bigger fan of π Day music! If you haven't checked out the song Nicki found, you definitely should:


There's also this little gem:


And my personal favorite (in originality, anyway... it gets old/repetitive quickly!):


Graham also found this fantastic π Quiz! I aced it :) But I'll be honest... it took me 5 tries. I only got a 19 out of 25 on my first attempt... but still, I think getting a 19 on the first try is pretty decent! Try it, it's fun :)

The last little tidbit I give you this π Day is a website at which I've wasted several hours over the years. It's the π Search Page, and it allows you to search for strings of digits within the first 200 million digits of π. I know, I know, it's almost too exciting to bear, isn't it!? On this site, you can do fun things like find your birthday, phone number, or even initials in π! For example, my birthday is July 15th, 1982... so I type in "07151982", and the page tells me that my birthday appears starting at the 38,497,974th decimal place of π! Eight-digit numbers (like birthdays) have a 63% chance of being found within those first 200,000,000 digits of π, so not everybody will be able to find theirs. The Kaleidoscope Office telephone number is "9423637", which is found at the 16,451,196th decimal. Seven-digit numbers (like phone numbers) have a 99.995% chance of appearing, so you're more likely to find your phone number than your birthday. If you try it with your zip code, the resultant ten-digit number will only have a 0.995% chance of being found! For your initials, just convert each letter to its corresponding number in the alphabet (A=01, B=02, C=03,... Z=26). "T. J. I." would be "201009", and can be found at the 61,411st decimal. Heck, try your whole name, if your name is short enough! "Tommy" (2015131325) is, sadly, not found within those first 200m digits :(

Well, I hope you have all had a wonderful π Day, everybody! I'd love to hear stories... if you have anything you'd like to share about your π Day 2008 (including any exciting discoveries on the Pi Search!), please leave them in response to this post!

Please feel free to keep responding to the other posts as well! Comments you may leave are:
**Today, 3/14: π Day stories, π search results
**Yesterday, 3/13: more π foods, π games/entertainment, and special π guests to our π Day Party
**Wednesday, 3/12: π Poems (including π-ku!)
**Tuesday 3/11: Keep the chain of decimals going!

Hapπly celebrating the magic of π,
~tommy

1 Day to Pi Day!!!

Hello again!

Well first off, I have an exciting discovery that I would like to share with you all! I have figured out how to type the symbol for π! For those of you familiar with Unicode, just type Alt+227, and you, too, can partake in the fun of typing π! For those of you on macs, try Option+p.

π Day is a special day, which carries special meaning beyond its obvious resemblance to 3.14. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for example, sends out its acceptance letters every year on π Day! Throughout history, several other important events have also been chosen by fate to occur on π Day:
π day, 1644 - England grants rights to establish Providence Plantations (now known as Rhode Island)
π day, 1743 - America's first town meeting held in Boston's Faneuil Hall
π day, 1794 - Eli Whitney patents the Cotton Gin
π day, 1885 - "The Mikado" premieres in London
π day, 1888 - New York City gets 21 inches of snow, the city's 2nd largest snowfall ever
π day, 1900 - Congress transfers US currency to the gold standard
π day, 1931 - The first rear movie projection theatre is built in New York City
π day, 1950 - The FBI implements its 10-most-wanted list
π day, 1951 - US/UN forces capture Seoul in the Korean War
π day, 1990 - Soviet congress votes Mikhail Gorbachev into the newly created position of President
π day, 2002 - Tommy auditions for the national touring company of Cabaret, unaware that it would change his life forever

Two famous mathematicians celebrate their birthdays on π Day as well. Albert Einstein was born on π Day, 1879. Born in Germany and immigrating to America during the second World War, Mr. Einstein would greatly contribute to the world of physics in the fields of relativity, the atomic bomb, and photoelectric effect (for which he won the 1921 Nobel Prize). Waclaw Sierpinski was also born on π Day, in 1882, and is best known for his contributions in mathematics: set theory, topology, and number theory. His most famous discovery, however, is actually in the world of fractals - specifically, the Siepinski Triangle.

Let's do a Sierpinski exercise, in celebration of his π Day birthday! Everybody get a piece of paper, and draw an equilateral triangle. Now, connect the midpoints of the three sides, to create a smaller triangle in the center of the larger triangle. Color this smaller (middle) triangle black; you will now have 3 white triangles around one black triangle. Now, join the midpoints of the three sides of each smaller (white) triangle, to create even smaller triangles, to be colored black. You can continue this process ad infinitum, or until you get bored. You should end up with something that looks like this:


...except that the gray parts will be black, and the black parts will be white!

Congratulations, you've created a Sierpinski Triangle, perhaps the most famous figure in Fractal Geometry!

But enough about fractals, let's get back to π... and more specifically, let's get to the edible kind of π! Even though we can't have a real π Day Party, we can have a pretend π Day Party online - and you're all invited! This Party, however, is pot luck. You all have to bring a food, and more specifically, a π-inspired food! Respond to this post with whatever food you're going to bring... but remember, the food you bring must contain "PI"!

I also wouldn't mind some assistance with entertainment... feel free to suggest any appropriate (and by "appropriate" I mean "containing π"!) activities, music choices, games, party locations, special guests... whatever other fun π-inspired stuff you think of!

Happy π Day Eve, everybody!

2 Days to Pi Day!

Hi everyone!

The Posting of Pi is coming along wonderfully - great job everybody! 6 digits down, 999,994 to go! Just kidding :) (kinda...) Please feel free to keep going with yesterday's post, even though there's a new challenge on today's!

Some of you may think it impressive that I know 50 digits of Pi (yes, I've memorized more since yesterday), but I'm paltry and puny compared to Mr. Daniel Tammet. In celebration of Pi Day 2004, he memorized 22,514 digits of Pi - and it only took him 3 weeks to do so! Here's a clip of him on the David Letterman show... he isn't reciting Pi in the clip (after all, regurgitating that many digits of Pi took him over 5 hours!), but you can still bask in his glory! So here it is, for your own personal hap(Pi)ness :)



If you're having trouble memorizing Pi, then perhaps you're more artistically-brained than mathematically structured. Well fortunately, Pi can express itself in artistic ways, too! There are a slew of Pi POEMS out there, where each word has a certain number of letters that correlate to the digits of Pi. "3.14159265358" could be expressed as: "Yes, I made a roast Wednesday at eleven. Lunch was eaten promptly!" "You" has three letters, and thus corresponds to the number 3... "I"=1, "made"=4, "a"=1, "roast"=5, etc. The only limit to a Pi Poem's length is your own imagination! And, of course, your time :)

Words that are 10 letters long correspond to the digit "0", and worlds that are more than 10 letters long correspond to their respective two-digit value (ie, "Kaleidoscope" has 12 letters, and thus would represent the digits "1" and "2", in that order, in the chain of Pi digits).

Today's challenge: comment on this post with YOUR OWN creative Pi Day Poem! It can be as short or as long as you'd like :)

The longest and most famous Pi Day poem is inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", and it begins:
Poe, E.
"Near a Raven"
Midnights so dreary, tired and weary.
Silently pondering volumes extolling all by-now obsolete lore.
During my rather long nap - the weirdest tap!
An ominous vibrating sound disturbing my chamber's antedoor.
"This", I whispered quietly, "I ignore".

This is just the first stanza... it continues at length, covering a whopping 740 digits of Pi, and can be viewed here.

Happy writing, everybody!
~tommy

3 Days to Pi Day!

Hi everyone!

As most of you probably know, I am a huge PI AFICIONADO! I started memorizing the digits of Pi in high school, when I was bored in math class. I would enter "Pi" into my TI-85, and up would pop 3.1415926535898, which I naturally memorized within minutes of this exciting discovery.

My nerdiness pullulated in Math League competitions, where I was aptly nicknamed TI-82. (I'll let you figure out just what made the nickname so apt.) By Junior year, we had created jerseys complete with numbers (e, i, pi, etc.) that we wore to math meets. In our sophomoric glory, I proudly wore number Arctan 2.60508906469 and my friend Wilma wore the Integral of e^x. Jokes for nerds!

While arguing our mathematical perversions at a meet one day, my friend "Rax" pointed out that I could go online and find MORE digits of Pi to memorize. And, as you would probably guess, I did exactly that as soon as I got home. To my shock and dismay, I had memorized a mere pittance of what was out there... a mere 14 digits of over a billion on record! To be truthful, I only knew 13 digits correctly... the 14th digit was not actually an 8, but a 7! To my embarrassment and failure, my (normally) trusty TI-85 had rounded up!

Years later, I've memorized a few more digits of Pi. I'm up to 48 now, and that number is still growing (although, I admit, somewhat more slowly). And every year on Pi Day, I celebrate! Pi Day, for those of you who may not know, is a day to bask in the glory of the irrational number that expresses the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. This number, commonly simplified to 3.14, is appropriately ceremonialized on March 14th (or 3/14), and I do my best to make sure that those around me on Pi Day get swept up in the excitement as well!

Sadly, we don't have any rehearsals on Pi Day 2008. We cannot play fun Pi Day games in person, and we're deprived of Sam's delectable Snickers Pi(e)... but do not fear! We can all celebrate on our own together, thanks to the wonders of the Internet!

To get us started, here are a million digits of Pi!

And let's start a Pi Game... leave a comment in response to this post that corresponds to the next digit of Pi! The first person, leave a 3 (with a decimal point)... the second person, leave a 1... the third person, leave a 4... the fourth person leave a 1... the fifth person leave a 5... etc. If we surpass your own personal level of pi memorization, consult the above link, and keep Pi going! Let's see how far we get before Pi Day!!!

The rules:
~You may only leave one digit of Pi per post.
~The same person may not leave two consecutive posts (although the same person may post again after a different person continues the chain).
~If you notice an INCORRECT post, please let me know and I will use my special powers as a Kaleido-News 'Blog Contributor to rectify the problem.

Happy posting, everybody!
~tommy

This Week's Schedule! March 10th through PI DAY!!!!!

MONDAY 3/10

TUESDAY 3/11

WEDNESDAY 3/12

THURSDAY 3/13
5:30-7:00pm - Little Red rehearsal (no Jamie)
7:00-8:30pm - BULLY rehearsal (3/18 cast)

FRIDAY 3/14
HAPPY PI DAY!!!!!

UPCOMING KALEIDEVENTS!

** Monday, March 17th 4:00-9:00pm = GREEN DAY! Stop by at the Kaleidoscope Office and show off your green pride! If you're not able to come to Kaleidoscope, e-mail in a photo of your St. Patrick's day attire. 'Best Green' will win a free Showcase movie pass! All entries (physical and electronic) are due by 9pm. Good Luck!

** Friday, March 28th 7:30pm show of ANNIE up at the Wang Center in Boston, MA. (Abby Spare is a member of the cast!) Let us know ASAP if you'd like to join us; we need to reserve the tickets soon! Children under 15 need to be accompanied by an adult.

March Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to all these lucky Kaleidoscopians!

4th - Brooke Friday
5th - Steven DiNobile, Brandon Dupont, Megan Gonsalves
8th - Lisa Hufnagel, Mia Speciale
10th - Siara Padilla
17th - Ivory Laibson
22nd - Ross Robinson
23rd - Mark Anderson, Dylan Dupont
25th - Darin Webster, Kevin Webster, John Britto
26th - Jeffrey Cesana
29th - Cameron Marcotte