Shearer: Happy Birthday to Ciné, an Athens gem
The first time I saw one of my own films projected on the big screen at Athens' Ciné, I thought I was going to puke. It wasn't nerves (I'd screened some of my work at smaller venues before) but rather my reckless "cinematography" that turned my stomach and caused a cold sweat to break out across the back of my neck.

Goggin: Birthdays can be flexible
The puzzled look on Tom's face as I whizzed past him in the kitchen two days in a row, carrying the plastic cupcake carrier one day and two dozen Krispy Kremes the next, prompted a conversation about birthday celebration etiquette. I didn't say it, but since our oldest child is 11, I thought he already knew you don't just celebrate a birthday on one day, silly man!

Yarbrough: 'Happy birthday' to my son, my best friend
I am not going to tell you how old he is, because he might not want you to know. So, I will just tell you that on his birthday next week, the last number will have a "zero" behind it and he was born as Dwight Eisenhower was going out of office and John F. Kennedy was coming in. You can figure out the rest. His name is Ken. He is my son. He also is my best friend.