I’m terribly tickled that “The Blue Lagoon: A Musical” will be produced in New York this summer as part of International CringeFest, a celebration of bad plays, musicals and films, with “bad” defined by the festival as “irreverent, politically incorrect, naughty and utterly zany.” I somehow suspected that a musical about incestuous teen lovers and their three-eyed baby — the show in which my favorite number is “(Even Though We’re Related) My Heart Palpitates When I See You” — might fit the bill.

What’s the best way to get to “Witch Mountain”? I’ll take the flying Winnebago.

Greetings from Chinablock. The five-story string of fireworks — that’s what’s hanging from the crane-like thing — did not go off as promised, because, well, D.C. is a very regulated place, and the firemen and policemen on hand could not, it seems, be persuaded that it was a good idea.

…are now the same weight, then it stands to reason that I have a swimmer’s build. I’m just sayin’.

Television-loving child that I was in the ’70s, I still somehow managed to completely miss Mitzi Gaynor’s specials. How deprived was I? Quite, it seems, after watching a PBS pledge-drive program tonight: “Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years.” Wow. Good stuff.

Paul Benedict, 1938-2008

I was saddened to read the obituary for Paul Benedict, the actor who played Mr. Bentley on “The Jeffersons.” Benedict made the strongest impression on me, though, earlier than that — as the Mad Painter on “Sesame Street.” This is my favorite sequence: the one where he uses condiments to paint the number 3 on Stockard Channing’s (who knew?) sandwich bread.

The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors has announced the results of the 2008 Excellence-in-Feature-Writing Competition, and I’m thrilled to be the 1st-place winner (Division IV) for headline writing. (My personal fave from my entry: “In the Toilet, Too: NBC’s Ratings for Larry Craig Interview.”) Other Post honorees include Gene Weingarten (1st place, general feature) and Ann Hornaday (1st place, arts/entertainment commentary), as well as David Montgomery (2nd place, short feature), Hank Stuever (3rd place, arts/entertainment feature), William Booth (honorable mention, arts/entertainment feature) and Suzanne D’Amato (honorable mention, feature specialty reporting). Thank you, AASFE!

Well. Would you look at that? If it isn’t July already… You might say that I’ve been closed for renovations. Yes, I know — the site looks the same. But, if we were to run into each other for the first time since December, you might notice that I’m 87 pounds lighter. That little project has absorbed much of my attention. (And I’m not done yet.) It’s been suggested that a new photo may be in order. Perhaps I’ll put that on my To Do list… Hopefully a new photo will illustrate my progress… In Sunday’s Post, you’ll see that criticism of “musical”-ly inclined theatrical titles includes one that’s close to my heart. But I’m proud to say that when tasked with the headline — the Sunday Style & Arts section has lately been a specialty of mine — I didn’t flinch: “DEPT. OF TIRESOME TITLES — Hey, Here’s an Idea: It’s Not a Musical!” Sunday’s Post also includes my byline, on the feature “WALL-E, ‘Dolly!’ and the Universe of Musicals.” You know, don’t tell anyone this, but I kind of have a thing for musicals…

After three decades, perhaps this is the step I had to take for closure on the Bionic Beauty Salon issue. Read “You Call That a Gift?!” (from the December 24 edition of The Washington Post).