So, after 18 months of getting my weight under control, there are five pounds that stand between me and a 100% normal weight for my height. I’m not terribly worried about this last stretch; after dropping 115 pounds and 12 inches from my waist, five pounds is a piece of cake. (Hmmm, wait — maybe I should rephrase that.) Here’s a new photo, for those keeping track.

In anticipation of the New York premiere of “The Blue Lagoon: A Musical,” I’ve replaced complete footage on YouTube with a three-minute compilation of highlights from the original production in Washington. Check it out, and if you’ll be in Manhattan during CringeFest, July 20-Aug. 9, I hope you’ll see the show!

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!