The Mineralava Musings -- Essays on the idiosyncrasies of life, by actor/writer Edoardo Ballerini

2009

174. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Actor - 16 October 2009

173. Self-Help - Go to the Mirror - 9 October 2009

172. Let it Be - Whatever You Do, Don't Let Go - 2 October 2009

171. Right Speech - 25 September 2009

170. The Lunatic Fringe - 21 August 2009

169. There's a Space Right Here - 14 August 2009

168. My Great American Library Card - 17 July 2009

167. Nothing - Have Not, Want Not - 10 July 2009

166. The Shopping Cart - Clean Up on Aisle Seven - 27 March 2009

165. The Beatles - Give Us a Song, Lads - 20 March 2009

164. Get a Job - Whatcha Waiting For? - 13 March 2009

163. Smile - Even if it Hurts - 6 March 2009

162. Brushing My Teeth: A Play in Five Acts - 9 February 2009

161. For the Birds - Only So Many Worms - 6 February 2009

160. Make 'Em Laugh - Pfffft - 30 January 2009

159. Tipping - Send Money.  Now.  Right now. - 23 January 2009

158. Pathetic - Yes You Were - 16 January 2009

157. God, I, Internet - 7 January 2009

2008

156. I, Actor - You Need Me... Don't You? - 31 December 2008

155. Explode, NOW! - Check Out the Guns - 27 December 2008

154. What I Like About You - 18 December 2008

153. Of (Thomas) Wolfe and Man - 13 December 2008

152. Larry and Elvis - 28 November 2008

151. Knocking On Heaven's Door - 26 November 2008

150. Now What? - And then... - 20 November 2008

149. Shuffle - 30 Oct 2008

148. Sodom & Gomorrah - 23 Oct 2008

147. Cash Advance - 16 Oct 2008

146. Newman's Own - Oh, to be Paul - 9 Oct 2008

145. Just Like Me - Dear God, No - 2 Oct 2008

144. Not a Drop to Drink - 25 Sept 2008

143. Sexism - It Cuts Both Ways - 18 Sept 2008

142. Ask Yourself Better Questions - It Will Bring You the Answer - 12 Sept 2008

141. What I Did at 4 AM - Superman Would Be Proud - 4 Sept 2008

140. My Fellow Americans - This Land is Your Land - 21 August 2008

139. Just Gimme Some Truth - 14 August 2008

138. Piano Man - They Put Bread in My Jar - 7 August 2008

137. Blood Money - They'll Take it Anyway, But You Don't Have to Give It - 31 July 2008

136. Eat the Rich - Buy Me an Island - 24 July 2008

135. Rules to Live By - Keepin' It Simple - 10 July 2008

134. Inspiration - Aim Low - 3 July 2008

133. Full Faith and Credit - Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? - 26 June 2008

132. My Summer Vacation - Wasting Away in Margueritaville - 23 June 2008

131. Font You - Type Me Up - 6 June 2008

130. Disincentivize - Just Gimme a Beat - 30 May 2008

129. X-Ray My Ass - Putting the Health in Healthcare - 23 May 2008

128. Let the Machines Do the Work - And Let Me Rest - 16 May 2008

127. The Shakespearean ProAm - Fools and Horses - 9 May 2008

126. For Your Eyes Only - The Secret in the Attachment - 2 May 2008

125. Minority - Down With the Moral Majority, Whatever That Means - 24 April 2008

124. Oh, You Europeans! - They're All the Same, Right? - 18 April 2008

123. Wo Wilest Du? - Three Phases of Peace - 4 April 2008

122. Pump You Up - No Pain, No Gain.  Oh, Yeah. - 28 March 2008

121. Hidden in Pink - Watch Me Hide! - 22 March 2008

120. Out of My Way, Buddy - I'm On a Schedule - 14 March 2008

119. Harry the Hero - Less Bunkers, More Couches - 7 March 2008

118. Poor Hillary - Stand By Your Man - 29 Feb 2008

117. Where's the Butter? - And Other Important Bananas - 22 Feb 2008

116. The Mental Diet - Don't Worry, Be Happy - 15 Feb 2008

115. Let the Band Play On - Don't Stop the Music.  It's All We Have To Dance To. - 8 Feb 2008

114. My Own Personal Iraq - Surge on to the past... - 1 Feb 2008

113. The Stockholm Diet - My, those are captivating beans... - 25 Jan 2008

112. Yams - I is what I is. - 18 Jan 2008

111. Strategetunitty - One Step Beyond! - 11 Jan 2008

110. Living in Ikea - Oh, Billy - 2 Jan 2008

2007

109. Choices, Choices - Do I Have to Pick Just One? - 23 Dec 2007

108. I Said Yes Like Ten Minutes Ago - You're Listening, Right? - 12 Dec 2007

107. Where Did I Put My AK? - It's Gotta Be Here Somewhere... - 12 Dec 2007

106. Art in Everything - The World is a Museum - 2 Dec 2007

105. Instant Karma - Tommy, Can You Hear Me? - 24 Nov 2007

104. Pray For Rain - And Don't Flush... - 15 Nov 2007

103. Headache - Still, You Could Die - 15 Nov 2007

102. My Airport Family - I Got All My Sisters and Me - 8 Nov 2007

101. Choose Your Madness - Try Saying That Ten Times Fast - 5 Nov 2007

100. 100 - The Mineralava Musings Celebrates 100 Episodes - 1 Nov 2007

99. Nice Baby - Nice Baby - 26 Oct 2007

98. Wise Guy - I Renounce the Bitter, I Embrace the Wise - 22 Oct 2007

97. What's the Dif? - Same Old, New Old... - 12 Oct 2007

96. New Rule, Mr. Maher - Nobody Gets to Kill Anybody - 5 Oct 2007

95. Oh, Death - 29 Sept 2007

94. The High Street - Left or Right? - 20 Sept 2007

93. MyLinkedFaceBookSpace - I Have a Lot of Friends.  Can't Wait to Meet Them. - 14 Sept 2007

92. So, You Drive a Hummer, Too? - More Tea, Vican? - 8 Sept 2007

91. F*&*^k Off! - Leave Me Alone, Please - 1 Sept 2007

90. My Loco Comput-- - Re-boot - 24 Aug 2007

89. Bye Bye, Dream - When the Walls Come Tumbling Down - 10 Aug 2007

88. A Title's Title - To the Internet! - 1 Aug 2007

87. Mi Casa Es Su Casa - Su Casa Es Su Business - 27 July 2007

86. Erf - We Are Here to Save the Planet.  Make Way. - 10 July 2007

85. Remedy - I Feel Sick, Get Me an HMO - 6 July 2007

84. Homeless Actor - The Fine Line Between the Two - 28 June 2007

83. The Eternal Justification - Picking a Coast, and Wondering Why - 23 June 2007

82. Damn Yankees - Where's the Fun? - 15 June 2007

81. Buy Nothing - It Will Be Obsolete Anyway - 8 June 2007

80. Shoot a Pilot - Just Not in an Airport - 1 June 2007

79. Great News - Why Tell Me? - 27 May 2007

78. The Coolest Guy Ever - Make Me Him, Make Me Me - 20 May 2007

77. Farewell, Tony - You Will Be Missed - 11 May 2007

76. Hell No, We Won't... Use Rhethorical Devices! - Language v. Language - 27 April 2007

75. Make It Bigger - Out of My Way, Small Fry - 22 April 2007

74. ADD, or Being a Child - You've Got a Condition Called "Human" - 13 April 2007

73. Empirical Casting Hooey - It's Broke! Don't Fix It! - 6 April 2007

72. Two Types of People - There Have To Be More . . . - 30 March 2007

71. Buy Used - Seriously - 22 March 2007

70. The Buddhist Army - And In This Corner . . . - 16 March 2007

69. Special Water - Mess 'Em Up Early - 9 March 2007

68.  All in That Accent You Wear - Speaka Da Normal! - 2 March 2007

67. Skin the Cat - The Many Ways To Do Nothing - 24 February 2007

66. N'awlins - Just South of Ohio - 16 February 2007

65. Somebody To Do That - Isn't There Somebody Beneath Me To Take Care of That? - 9 February 2007

64. Real People - You Can Be Famous, But Not Real - 3 January 2007

2006

63. Person of the Year - My Genius, Recognized - 27 December 2006

62. Send Your Daughters - Put Your Family Where Your Mouth Is, Mr. President - 20 December 2006

61. Change, Hollywood Style - Waiting for the Montage - 15 December 2006

60. Fake Santas - I Must Have Missed the Real One - 8 December 2006

59. I Miss the Good Old Days - I Miss Eras I Didn't Even Live In - 1 December 2006

58. Doing One Thing, Badly - Practice Makes Less Than Perfect - 24 November 2006

57. The Borat Divide - Laugh, It's Only You That's the Joke - 17 November 2006

56. The Party's Party - 10 November 2006

55. Frame It - 3 November 2006

54. Ambulance Hits Man - 27 October 2006

53. Stick-to-it-ive-ness - You Just Gotta Lay Around - 19 October 2006

52. The Lost Idea - Fleeting Genius - 27 September 2006

51. Socks - Pathologically Warm Feet - 22 September 2006

50. Reality (TV) - What the Genre Should Really Look Like - 15 September 2006

49. Bad Press - Not All Ink is Good - 8 September 2006

48. Check Engine - The Warning Lights Go Off - 1 September 2006

47. F.Y.I. - Little Letters in Place of Words - 28 August 2006

46. What's That You Say? - Listen to the Silence - 18 August 2006

45. The Bra Bombers - At Least Let the Girls Go Wild - 11 August 2006

44. The Rosy Scenario - By Any Other Name . . . - 4 August 2006

43. 50 Percent Chance - The Numbers Can Be Meaningless - 28 July 2006

42. Heal Me, Rock - Looking for Alternatives, Finding None - 20 July 2006

41. Alonely - Time Alone.  Alone Time. - 14 July 2006

40. As Seen on TV! - If It's On TV, It Must Be Good - 6 July 2006

39. Health Kills - Sanitizing Our Way to Disease - 30 June 2006

38. Watering the Desert - The Absurdity of Man, in One Act - 23 June 2006

37. Feet Without Borders - The World, Yes, That's WORLD, Cup - 16 June 2006

36. St. Martin's Bling - The Wind Scatters Ashes, and Papers - 9 June 2006

35. Security Purposes - Press One for Global Security - 2 June 2006

34. Hey, That's Burbank! - All the World Fits in the Valley - 30 May 2006

33. The Rats Are Smarter - Only Humans Can't Learn - 23 May 2006

32. Photocopy Your Face - The Lines on the Face Draw a Map of the Soul - 17 May 2006

31. Amerika - The Ambassadors of Evil, Abroad - 15 May 2006

30. Let's Not Change - Mutatis Mutandi - 28 April 2006

29. Yoga Jocks - Even the Meditative Compete - 21 April 2006

28. The Jimmy Nichols Moment - The Party Moves On Without You - 14 April 2006

27. Everything's Funny - Why Does Everything Invoke Laughter? - 5 April 2006

26. Thank You, Kartika - Simple Advice in a Manic World - 31 March 2006

25. Them - Who are "They"? - 26 March 2006

24. Blame Others, Thank Yourself - The Two-Way Street of Magnanimous Behaviour - 17 March 2006

23. One Way Contract - When Signing on the Dotted Line Means Relinquishing Fairness - 10 March 2006

22. CC: Friends, Therapist - Sharing Electronic Personal Pain - 2 March 2006

21. Vanity Gone Awry - When the Quest for Beauty Makes Us Ugly - 24 Feb 2006

20. Maybe They Won't Notice - Vice Presidential Wishful Thinking - 17 Feb 2006

19. Plug In to the Machine - Crawling Towards a Life of Science Fiction - 10 Feb 2006

18. Good #$!@#$ Morning - When Is It All Right to Swear? - 3 Feb 2006

17. Somewhere to Nowhere - Determining Where You Are at Any Given Time - 30 Jan 2006

16. Currently Actually - Linguistic Overkill Robs All Meaning - 18 Jan 2006

15. Clippers Can Kill - Nail Clippers vs. The Eiffel Tower - 12 Jan 2006

14. New Years Resolutions - The Fading Fad of Yearly Promises - 6 Jan 2006

13. Full Half Ham - Tortuous Linguistic Efforts at Feeling Whole - 1 Jan 2006

2005

12. Tap First, Torture Later - How Best to Solve Government Issues - 21 Dec 2005

11. Sodium Free Salt - My Water is Fat Free.  What's Next? - 13 Dec 2005

10. The New Math: 30 Minutes = 5 Hours - A Trip to the Doctor's Office Takes All Day - 9 Dec 2005

09. There Oughta Be A Law - Legal Insights From a Soprano Mindset - 4 Dec 2005

08. A Great Gift - When Everything Becomes "A Great Gift" - 29 Nov 2005

07. Thanksgiving - The Beauty of the Holiday - 22 Nov 2005

06. Urban Symbology - What Should Really Represent a City Like Los Angeles? - 19 Nov 2005

05. Phone Tree - Climbing the Limbs of a Technological Beast - 16 Nov 2005

04. Nickel and Dime - Nothing Costs What You Think it Will - 11 Nov 2005

03. Happy At Any Cost - The Los Angelene Ideal of Ever-Content - 6 Nov 2005

02. The Standing O - Why Are We Always Standing and Applauding? - 4 Nov 2005

01. Introduction - The Meaning Behind the Name "Mineralava" - 31 Oct 2005