14
in other words
november8
2011
ShoeString Players Present “Radio Mystery Hour”
The ShoeString Community
Players will present the “Radio Mystery
Hour Theater” on November 10 through
12 at 7:00 PM and November 12 at a
2:00 PM matinee. The show will be
presented in Olde Towne at the Old St.
Vincent DePaul Building (231 South 1st
Street, St. Helens, OR 97051).
The ShoeStringComunity Play-
ers have a very talented cast who will be
in character with radio broadcast voices,
voice impressions, singing commercials,
a singing quartet, lots of sound effects.
This should be a marvelous and enter-
taining evening! The radio play is per-
formed live so audiences can enjoy the
behind the scenes entertainment of a ra-
dio production. This show is fun for all.
This show is a fundraiser for the
ShoeString Community Players annual
CHERI ADAMS’ THEATER ARTS
SCHOLARSHIP that is intended to as-
sist graduates of St. Helens, Scappoose,
Vernonia, Clatskanie, and Rainier High
Schools who intend to major or minor
in theater or in a related field (such as
technical theater, dance performance, or
makeup) at an accredited two or four
year college, university, or conservatory.
All proceeds from ticket sales go to the
scholarship fund.
Tickets will be available at Ber-
tucci’s, St. Helens Bookshop, and online
at http://www.sscp-musicals.com Ticket
prices are general admission $8, or $5
with three cans of food to be donated to
the Columbia Pacific food Bank. Tickets
went on sale October 31, 2012.
For more information email spe-
cialprojects@sscp-musicals.com or call
503-366-4406.
The Shoestring Community
Players has been producing plays and
other performances in Columbia County
for 30 years. Formed from a dedicated
group of “Reader’s Theater” performers,
SSCP was officially founded in 1982.
The first production was Brigadoon, per-
By Burt Tschache
ily, the church, the community and the
civic structure as a whole. It does take
a village to support the development of
critical thinking and discernment, the
building blocks of a strong mind that is
curious about life.
There is also a darker side to
this, as computers can be programmed
to come out with differing information
from the same data, so can the brain.
Baby’s brains are absorbing information
like a sponge from Day 1 or even before,
it’s been found. A young child’s brain
absorbs more than an adult, as every-
thing is new to a child.
The idea of the absorptive mind
is nothing new; it has been used for
years, helping young minds grow. It can
be used helping people discover the most
effective manner of learning or it can be
used to create a yearning for popcorn at
the drive-in. You can program a brain
just like a computer. The darkest side is
brainwashing.
Brainwashing can create all
manner of havoc within the human brain
running the gamut from subtle control
to actual external control of the brain
to creating alternative personalities that
can be programmed to take control of the
individual. Think of it as a computer vi-
rus or malware for the brain.
The story of the elephant and
the string is a perfect example of brain-
washing. From the beginning of his
life, a young elephant had been kept
with a chain on one of his legs to keep
him from wandering about. As he
got used to not wandering, his owner
would tie a string around the same leg
formed at the St. Helens High School
Olmscheid Auditorium. SSCP has con-
sistently produced productions and per-
formances since that time, tapping into
the rich and “undiscovered” talent Co-
lumbia County and its surrounding areas
have to offer. They perform Revues, Mu-
sicals, Dramas, Comedies, Children’s
Theater, and any other type of produc-
tion that captures the attention of the
community. SSCP is, in fact, recognized
in the Cultural Inventory of St. Helens in
the Columbia County Cultural Coalition
Summary.
Intruder Alert: More About the Computer and the Brain
Hi Folks . . . Good to be back.
We were last looking at the similarities
and differences of the brain and the com-
puter. We found while a computer can
be programmed to do certain tasks and
calculations very quickly, it cannot ap-
proach the breadth of responsibilities our
minds carry out every moment.
The function of producing qual-
ity start-up programming for a young
life, that is retained by the brain and can
be used as a foundation for enriching
life, is not reserved solely for the edu-
cational system, but involves the fam-
and the huge pachyderm would stand as
if chained.
What does this illustrate? This
was some helpful programming by the
Mahout (elephant handler), much better
than having to drive in a stake every-
where he went. However, how much is
helpful and how much is oppressive?
How much unquestioned infor-
mation is sacrosanct in our lives today?
How much are we taught to accept and
not to question? How much information
makes it through our mental filters? All
of the great discoveries have been made
by people that questioned the status quo,
thinking of a better way, a different way,
or even making a new discovery, like the
Earth is round and the Universe does not
revolve around us.
There is one distinction we can
only create for ourselves, based upon our
own discernment. How deeply can we
absorb new, helpful information and cor-
relate it into our preexisting structure?
Proper use of the cognitive, relative
and discernmental processes of our
brain are mission critical for suc-
cessful living and survival in a world
Vernonia
changing daily.
Coffee Roasters The brain needs to continue
functioning in whatever circumstanc-
es come one’s way or one is, essen-
“QUALITY COFFEE ROASTED
tially, toast. The brain needs to ex-
TO PERFECTION”
ercise in order to keep in shape. I’m
not saying pump iron with your ears,
but use your brain every day to learn
something new or revise something
old, incorporate new information with
old information or develop a new con-
cept or a new way of looking at an old
problem. It is a case of use it or lose
it.
Now available at
Be Safe Out There
vernonia sentry market
Burt Tschache is the owner of
B&B Computing in Vernonia. He can
WWW.VERNONIACOFFEEROASTERS.COM
be reached at bnb998@msn.com or
(503) 429-0817.
