Dan's First Screening

Dan instructs everyone to turn off their cell phones

Last night, we screened an hour of our documentary to a full house of friends, family, and fans. I understand there were 70 confirmed guests but just before the movie began people were still showing up and they kept adding seats so I think it's safe to say it was more like 80. The event was held at Pattan in King of Prussia and was hosted by the Montgomery Country Down Syndrome Interest Group, run by Chris and Rose Townsend.

Wee had a blast! Dan was brilliant all night long. He warmly greeted every guest like a true aristocrat, giving extra attention to babies with Down syndrome. He made a bit of a game out of it, trying to guess which children had it and which didn't. We sat behind the audience so we got a full sense of how they were reacting. It was a genuine thrill to hear them laugh at his jokes, cry when he's sad, even laugh and cry simultaneously during some scenes.

The Q & A seemed like it might go south when I asked who wanted to ask the first question and was met with dead silence but once we got going it went on a lot longer than we'd planned. After that, people hung around even longer to meet Dan and share their own stories. It was truly a great night. Hopefully the first of many.

Thanks again to the Townsends for the wonderful opportunity. It was an honor.

Dan and I with Chris and Rose, presidents of MCDSIG

The Strongest Man In The World (NEW VIDEO)

CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube

Dan works at a pretty cool super market. Acme threw a "Circus Of Stars" themed carnival during open store hours. They dressed up, gave out hot dogs and cookies to customers, and even hired a DJ, who setup right in front of the checkout aisles. Dan's role in all the fun is rather self explanatory.

The Luck of the Irish

An Apple IIe Moment
By Ned Drinker

By 1990, I had heard a lot about Apple computers and their therapeutic use for people with learning and speech disabilities. I thought that such a machine with a touch-screen, muppet keyboard, joystick and speech synthesizer would be an extremely valuable aid in Dano’s development. Apple offered student discounts and often donated computers to charitable causes, so I wrote John Sculley, then president of Apple, requesting such a donation. Sculley politely declined so Grampy, Grandee, Diane and I decided to hold a yard sale to raise the money to buy an Apple computer.

We all had collections of old stuff so we had a lot of material for a yard sale. I had an antique photographic collection and darkroom equipment that I was willing to sacrifice. The sale was proceeding nicely, but it didn’t look like we were going to raise anywhere near enough for a computer. Then Grandee came over to me and said, “Mr. Dougherty, here, just donated a whole Apple computer system to us, with all of the accessories you want.” “What!” said I. “How can he do that?”. It turns out that Grandee had chatted him up, in that way that she has, and that he so admired what we were doing that he volunteered to contribute the computer system. He was purchasing a big lot of computers for the Catholic school system, and somehow he could give us one.

Mr. Dougherty delivered the Apple IIe and other components several weeks later and we were in business. I found a state agency near my office in King of Prussia that would lend all sorts of educational software. Dan was around 5 and Will, 4, when they both started using it. Both loved it, though the promise of speech therapy was never realized. Will has been a natural on the computer ever since. Just as in this instance, good things always gravitate toward Dan and Gran. Dan is forever winning raffles or lotteries and Gran can schmooze her way through anything.

Dan's April Fools Joke (NEW COMIC)

Thanks so much to Mary Cancilla for getting a hold of us and volunteering her talents to our project. I really love how she drew Dan. I also cracked up at how she interpreted Helga as a traditional blonde braided, overall wearing German girl. Hope you enjoy it!

ALSO, don't forget to let us know if you or your friends have talents that might lend themselves to our project. We've had help from musicians, artists, graphic designers... could you be next? We'd love to hear from you.

Oh, Danny Boy! (NEW SONG)

This isn't the first song I've written about my brother but I really love to play this one. I've had the melody for a few weeks now and the other night Dan called to tell me he missed me and the lyrics came instantly. I recorded it this afternoon. I hope you like it. Click the pink circle to play.

An Evening With Daniel Drinker (You're Invited!)

Click image to enlarge

Chris Townsend co-chairs the Montgomery County Down Syndrome Interest Group. In January he wrote me asking if Dan and I would be interested in screening scenes from our documentary at one of MCDSIG's meetings. We gladly accepted and I'm pleased to report that it's officially happening next month. Click the flier above for more details. If you'd like to join us please RSVP HERE.

I'd like to personally thank Chris and his wife for this wonderful opportunity. Dan is going to be so excited to meet his fans. We've never shown any of our documentary to an audience before so it will be quite exciting to see how the scenes play.

I'd also like to thank Daniel Niblock for designing the flier above. Daniel's baby boy, Ozzie, has DS. He blogs about him at Down With Oz. He also just launched DowntownDS.com.

Thanks to everyone for the support. We look forward to meeting you in July!

Dan Stars in My Fair Lady (PHOTOS)

Last night, Dan was in My Fair Lady at the Arden Theater

Joanne Donovan, President of Melmark and Mayor Michael Nutter

Dan takes the stage with great fervor.

I must get me one of those hats.

I'm going to pretend this is a pre-backflip shot.

I'll guess this is where the crowd started clapping for the kick line.

He was so convincing Emily thought he was actually crying. Method.

Taking a bow.

The star.

I love this one.

Hat hair.

Dan the man.
(or as Emily put it, "Ugh, Dan's fake smile")

A very special thanks to my sister for the lovely photographs. I wish I could have attended myself. So far the consensus is that it was an incredible show and Dan was on his game. My dad also tried out his new HD video camera at the show so soon enough we'll post Dan's first scene in HD. Stay tuned.

Dan's First Comic Book

Click on the images to enlarge

Thanks so much to Jaime Crespo for lending his incredible talent to our project. Please comment on this post because I intend to use it to recruit other artists. We're ten pages closer, y'all! Lets hear it one more time for Mr. Crespo! Danke, Danke, Danke.

Speaking of which...

Are YOU an artist? Would you like to join in the fun? Come on, we all want to see how you would draw Dan. We'd love your help telling the off-camera stories that we've begun to collect. If you're interested please send us an email.

Dan Turns 24

Dan's was born on May 9th, 1985. Please feel free to leave a comment and I promise I will read all your birthday wishes to him on Sunday. Happy Mothers Day!

Dan Stars In The Sound of Music

Last week, a friend from high school contacted me after having recently discovered Dan’s blog. She told me how “Dan Meets Will’s Girlfriend” caused her to recall her own feelings from childhood when older siblings brought home significant others. She said Dan was able to articulate what she kept inside. Back in high school, my friend had met Dan plenty of times but she admitted that she didn’t realize how smart and funny he was until she started watching his videos. Hearing this renewed me with purpose. If the way she sees him has changed even a little bit, I’m on the right track.

CLICK HERE to watch on You Tube

This scene contains a moment we can all relate to. It’s an exchange between Dan and Molly, who co-starred with The Melmark Players in The Sound of Music this past December. Dan was still with Sarah at the time but don’t think that stopped him from flirting. As Dan and Molly wait backstage before the show their banter is reduced an awkward pause that is just pure poetry. Keep an eye out for it. We’ve all been there.

Dan and Sarah Break Up For Real

These past few weeks, Dan and Sarah have been breaking up and getting back together frequently.

I just got off the phone with Dan. 

Dan: Will, Sarah and I break up.
Will: I don’t know how to react to that because for all I know, you’ll be back together again tomorrow.
Dan: No. For REAL this time.
Will: Okay.
Dan: (long pause) It’s bad?
Will: That depends.
Dan: On what? Tell me.
Will: Well, if you don’t want to be with her anymore, then it’s a good thing you broke up. If you still love her, then you have to find a way to win her back.
Dan: I want a new one. Will, you help me? New girl?
Will: Are you sure that’s what you want?
Dan: Yeah, I do, Will. I do. You help me.
Will: I’d love to help you. I don’t know how much help I can be out here in California.
Dan: Yeah! I live with you. You help me in LA!
Will: I don’t know about that, dude. I am certainly happy to help you over the phone. We can talk about whatever you wa-
Dan: Will, you tell me your friend’s names.
Will: What do you mean?
Dan: You tell me your friends, just girls. In LA.
Will: You’re really trying to move out here?
Dan: Yeah! I help you. We go shopping. I clean up. Blues Brothers.
Will: That sounds like a lot of fun.
Dan: Yeah!
Will: But I have a question.
Dan: What, Will, what?
Will: Won’t you miss your family?
Dan: No, you?
Will: Yes, I miss you all very much.
Dan: But you fine. You in La, Will. You fine. I fine, too. We older now. We adults.
Will: That’s true, but you have a whole life in Pennsylvania, Dan: Two jobs, a close family, good friends, Harmony theater, and… I mean, you’re a local celebrity, won’t you miss that?
Dan: Will, who famous in LA?
Will: You mean like celebrities?
Dan: Yeah. Hannah Montana, she famous?
Will: Yes she is. And you’re boy Zack Efron. AND all three Jonas Brothers.
Dan: They in LA?
Will: Sometimes.
Dan: Me next!
Will: No way, dude! Have you thought about money?
Dan: Why?
Will: Well, where you live now, Mom and Dad don’t make you pay them anything, do they?
Dan: No, they my family, Will. They my family.
Will: Yes, but you get to live in their house for free, which is a pretty sweet deal. Do you know where I live?
Dan: LA.
Will: I mean, like… do I live in a house?
Dan: No, a dorm.
Will: An apartment. Dorm’s are for college, like Emily.
Dan: Oh yeah! I sorry. I mess up.
Will: It’s fine. But do you think it’s free for me to live in an apartment?
Dan: No. You pay rent like Paul.
Will: It costs six hundred and sixteen dollars for me to stay here each month. But that doesn’t include paying for electricity, which gives me things like light my computer, or gas, which gives me hot water.
Dan: Or food.
Will: Yes, exactly!
Dan: Or medicine!
Will: Right. Don’t rub it in. I can barely afford to live in California.
Dan: I know, Will. Economy.
Will: That’s right. Do you know how much money you make?
Dan: I don’t know, Will, I don’t know. Two jobs. More than you.

Dan Enters First Grade

During each year of Dan's academic career our mom kept a book of correspondence with his teachers. As I mine these documents for stories I realize that certain people might benefit from being able to read the entire collection. So I've begun typing it all up, year by year. There are 17 books in all (and several unaccounted years I still have to find in our house somewhere).


Since there is so much material I've decided to post it on a separate blog called The Dan Drinker Diaries. The earliest diary I have is from first grade. The Drinkers lived in northeast Philadelphia and Dan attended Our Lady of Confidence, a Catholic school. CLICK HERE to see the books I've typed up so far.

Obama's Special Olympics Joke On Leno

This evening on The Tonight Show, Barack Obama made a not so ready for prime time remark likening his bowling skills to the Special Olympics.  It hasn't aired yet on the west coast but I'm already seeing the story pop up online.  

My question is: how accurate a comparison is it?  What are the scores of the top special olympian bowlers?  As much as Dan loves Obama, I wouldn't mind finding out 129 is a crappy score even by Special Olympic standards.

UPDATE:

I wrote to Christopher Beam, who writes The Explainer for slate.com, asking if 129 was a beatable score at the Special Olympics.  He delivered.  Click here to read his Explainer.

Kolan McConiughey is a Special Olympian who bowls an average of 266.  

Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, has called on President Obama to "consider" hiring one of their athletes to work in the White House.

Dan's Business Card

Today is the one year anniversary of dandrinker.com. The project actually began two years before that, when I was in college. I was trying to choose a subject for a documentary film class where we were expected to experiment with audio/stills montages as well as found footage. My dad suggested my brother might make an interesting subject seeing as he was a senior in high school at the time and his transition into the workforce was something both my parents had worried about since the day he was born. My mom always referred to the dreaded transition year as "The Year of Dan" due to how much focus she and my dad had to put into setting him up for his post-high school life. I thought that was the perfect title for the doc, but we've been shooting for over three years now and it's no longer about a single year in Dan's life.

So I flew home and shot some footage of Dan at work and at school. I had no idea what I was doing. Dan had always starred in my movies so he was not camera shy. In fact, he loved showing off. This was a bit disconcerting to me because I had already made up my mind that I wanted myself and my camera to be virtually invisible. Every time Dan acknowledged me or that I was holding a camera or that he was famous I got more and more nervous about how I was going to edit out all his pandering.

The project was due at midnight and we were required to submit it by uploading it to a server. I missed the deadline because, quite plainly, it wasn't finished at midnight. I uploaded the project sometime in the early morning. My professor refused to watch it and gave me an F. The rest of the footage I'd shot was shelved and I began to focus on other projects. A year later, I was trying to play catch up for my Film 1 class, much of which I'd missed due to illness. Since I didn't have a final film project, I screened some projects I'd been working on before I got sick. One of them was The Year of Dan. I was surprised at how positive the feedback was. The class discussed it for a solid half hour, and it wasn't even shot on film! My professor pulled me aside and asked what my plans were with the doc and I told him I had none. Since it had received an F, I'd considered it to be a failed endeavor. He disagreed and told me to write the professor about the grade saying he'd also look into it. I did, and soon enough, the grade was changed to an A.

In February, 2008, I rediscovered some of the footage I'd shelved. It was about how Dan copes with death when he learns his teacher's husband has passed away. I was baffled that I'd let this footage sit in a drawer for almost two years. That scene contained everything that was missing from the original because it both showed who Dan really was and I didn't edit myself out this time. Dan acknowledges me and the camera every chance he gets, and it works. I was no longer worried about being invisible. As I continued to cut old footage, I was compelled to shoot more. I wanted to figure out a way to organize all these scenes but wasn't quite sure how.

Before I explain how Dan and I came up with the idea for a watch-it-as-we-make-it blogumentary you must first appreciate my brother's concept of "office stuff". I don't know when it began, but somewhere in his youth, Dan became obsessed with collecting office supplies. Paper, binders, notebooks, pens, staplers, hole-punchers, or as Dan would put more elegantly: office stuff. Dan's office stuff usually filled up two or three large bags whenever he would pack up for a sleep over at his grandmothers. On several occassions I would have to help him carry his bags of office stuff to her car because they were too heavy for one person to take them all. He easily could have oppened his own office supply store. The assumption in my family has always been that office stuff was a way to appear busy and thus feel more normal. The Drinkers are very busy people. Dan refused to be left out.

I understood this completely. Dan developed a routine with his office stuff that truly kept him busy. It takes quite a lot of time to organize all his supplies the way he likes them, pack them in his bags, and carry them off to Gran's car. Then when he arrives, he gets to perform the ritual of unpacking and setting up all his office stuff. This involves turning on the Disney channel and proceeding to transform his grandmother's living room into his office. It's a territorial ceremony as well. Once every available surface is covered with stacks of loose leaf, yellow notepads, and printing paper, it's not hard to figure out who's turf you're on.

One afternoon, Dan stood in my bedroom doorway telling me he wanted a business card. He explained that he was an adult now and if he was going to have real "office stuff" he would need a business card. I asked him what he'd put on the business card and he replied, "I don't know, Will, you?" I didn't have an answer. Later that night, it all started to make sense. I did some research, registered dandrinker.com, and set up a blog.

I distinctly remember us standing in the kitchen breaking apart the perforated edges of our newly printed business cards as the rest of our family looked on with skepticism. The card said "dandrinker.com" and nothing more. My parents were having difficulty seeing what the point of it all was. The idea was simple. Dan knows more people than anyone I know and come on, if Dan Drinker walked up to you with his business card and said, "my website!" you're telling me you wouldn't be booking for the internet?

My mom was worried we were going to run out of videos to post. Luckily, we already had some content for the blog. I'd just completed a new scene called Dan's First Date With Sarah. Dan and I were both quite pleased with how it came out and decided it would be a great way to kick off the site. The year that followed is pretty well documented already but let me just say it's been the best year of my life. So many families and individuals have written us with such kind and encouraging words, sharing stories of their own, demanding more videos. We read every e-mail, comment, and message and apologize if we aren't able to get back to you.

We are much further along with our project than I ever could have hoped but we are nowhere near finished. Stay tuned, there is plenty yet to come!

Statue Man Prepares For The Dance