Living Loud

"B.I.C.U."?

2009-12-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

So, as you know by now, having not heard or read anything since August (holy crap, has it been four months?!?), Living Loud has not been either. This blog has, for all intents and purposes, been in a coma on life support in the Blog Intensive Care Unit. My life, of course, has been quite the roller coaster ride, what with theater projects out the wazoo, amazing family experiences, and many adventures with my remarkable lady friend. But, as Thoreau so eloquently put it, there has been no time to write about it all, because "writing about it was not what interest[ed] us."

Among other things, I have been rethinking my web presence quite a bit. There is so much to write about, some of it actual categorizable stuff I want to pursue, that I have not been convinced it could all fit properly here. The final decision (for now at least) is for me to move this blog to a new location. I am in the process of porting old blogs over to Living Loud's new address, and am also in the process of creating a new look for it. In the meantime, this page will become something...else...and there will be a couple other pages as well, all linked together in a nice little nepotistic manner. Look for a huge rollout in 2010.

Thanks to all you who have read in the past. Next year will be an interesting experiment. Happy Holidays and see you in two weeks when it's next year!

Clip of the week...

2009-08-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

The fall of communism?

I shouldn't laugh. But I did.

Putting in for resupply...

2009-07-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Time to dock the ship. She is in need of repair and refit, and supplies need to be replenished.

There is a wonderful book called The Artist's Way. It is a workbook to help you unblock yourself creatively, and it has been very helpful to me on so many levels. One of the concepts the author describes is the replenishment of the soul--she calls it "Stocking the pond"--in order to have more food and creative energy.

She also presented an exercise in which you draw a spoked wheel, with yourself at the middle. Each spoke represents fun, spirit, etc. and you are supposed to rank your activity on each. Then you connect the dots. The idea is that, when you are done, the thing should look like an even web, and if it does not, you know better what to focus on. Currently mine is quite a mess.

I am going to a retreat facility that also doubles as a B&B. And taking my workbook. And my hopes and dreams and all the chaos of my life. And hopefully leaving the latter there when I return on Monday.

Have a great weekend, readers.

Clip of the week...

2009-07-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

I started a blog post on Sunday that has shifted shape daily ever since and still hasn't been finished. In the meantime...happy Wednesday! This one was introduced to me by my eldest son:

Enjoy.

Rock and roll...

2009-07-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

...is loud. And that's part of why I like it. Life is loud right now. And that's part of why I like it, too. In the last seven days, some pretty incredible stuff has happened:

One of my best friends in the whole wide world has returned to California. After a series of some-good-but-mostly-suck-ish adventures in the midwest, Jon is back in town. He drove all the way from Missouri (which I envy) and got a flat tire one and a half hours away (which I do not envy). But he is here, he is staying with me until he gets work and a place of his own, and it is grand to catch up. We have already spent countless times reliving the past and laughing our butts off about the present. Good times.

My kids and I have spent some wonderful time together. We have gone to the Russian River to splash around, and take the dog swimming. We have played board games and watched movies and had popcorn and stayed up late. Thing One came to work with me on Tuesday, and I get to see him again tonight. He is getting so mature, and growing so much--he nearly fills out his bed now, and I can still (barely) remember carrying him like a football. Thing Two is growing, too, although his heart was broken Tuesday when his pet rat passed away. (She had a giant tumor and a couple other smaller ones growing in her, so it was for the best.) He is handling it like a trooper, trying to remember the good times, but it is hard. Other than that, he is also growing like crazy and becoming his own person.

Last weekend a show I am directing opened in Santa Rosa. "Wretch Like Me" is a one-man autobiographical show about growing up into and out of Fundamental Evangelical Christianity, something close to my heart and in my own past. It is a very potent story about religion, but even more so about maturing, finding one's own voice, and how the things that often drive us into difficult situations are also the very things that give us the tools to get back out.

This week, I ran auditions for my own creation, a show called "Affairs of Face" (If you are interested, check my theater company's page for more info.) The turnout was pretty small, but the cast is small, and I am going to put some feelers out. There is still hope. And, both of these projects ("Wretch" and "Affairs") will be part of the very first Sonoma County Arts Fringe Festival this autumn. So I am VERY excited about THAT.

In all of this, I have frequently lost sleep due to fretting about things, panicking about things, and drinking waaaaaaaay too much caffeine. I have not always been my cheery self. However, throughout these adventures, my girlfriend Denise has been stalwartly at my side--supporting me, comforting me, encouraging me, giving me strength and love every step of the way. She has helped out with the show, being "on book" and taking notes for us during the rehearsal process. She has taken care of me when I needed it. And even with the busy-ness of it all, we have spent some wonderful times together.

In reflecting about everything that is going on, I really cannot complain. I am doing what I love, with the people I love, and I cannot really ask for much more than that.

Except maybe win the lottery.

Clip of the week...

2009-07-22T00:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in case you didn't know, was the 40th anniversary of the first landing on the moon.

Congratulations to all the staff and crew of 1960's NASA--you guys rock.

Heard this on the radio this morning...

2009-07-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

...now I have to get the CD. The song is "Laughing With" by Regina Spektor:

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke,
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very
poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God

Obama-ize yourself! Or something else...

2009-07-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, President Obama swatted a fly during an interview. (It made Clip of the Week, btw--you can see it here, if you missed it when it was on Living Loud.) Apparently, the PETA people (the most militant group of time-wasters EVER) expressed discontent. (Which prompted this art by Phil Hansen, yesterday's Clip of the Week.)

Anyhoo, I digress. What I really wanted to share is this. It is a cool little online art gadget that replicates the famous Obama poster with any image you care to upload. As a little homage to current events, I created this one:

But you can use any photo, and any word. Go check it out and have fun!

Clip of the week...

2009-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

I checked my archives, and simply cannot believe I haven't posted anything by Phil Hansen yet. Phil does some wonderful particulate art that I think is simply amazing. I have a guess how he does it, but that doesn't diminish the wonderfulness of it all. Here is just one sample of his work:

There are many, many others. Check his website above, or his YouTube page for more fun and cool illustrations. (The Bruce Lee one and "faces" are two of my faves.)

Theater geekness meets pun geekness...

2009-07-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Back on May 20's post, I shared a clip from Bad Spellcheck Theater. That subject popped up again in a recent chat I had with Denise. One of us typed "Angles in America"--then all heck broke loose:

11:53amDavid
yes! spellcheck theater meets broadway

"CAST"--now and forever (about someone who's arm never heals)

11:54amDavid
"Less Miserable"--with a ~happy~ ending this time

"Missed Saigon"--about a draft dodger who went to Canada in the 60s

11:54amDavid
"A Chorus Lane"--about the goings-on in the alley behind the theater

"South Pacifist"--same story, but told from the Frenchman's point of view this time

I also thought of these:

"Seven Brides for Seven Mothers"--a musical romp featuring the hysterics of seven crying older women

"Sweet Chastity"--about a girl who refuses to work at the dance hall

"They're Paying Our Son"--about parents of a composer who finally gets a day job and moves out of the house

Who has more? Comment below, please...

If I had an arcade--The Game Wishlist...

2009-07-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, here goes. Back in this blog post, I slobbered and drooled over Michael Jackson's video arcade. It set me to thinking about what would happen if I had unlimited funds and could build my own personal game room....

Here, then, is my list of must-have games--please consider it a work in progress. (Mouse-over pics for descriptions, click for links if available):

Video games:
In the original box--usually because of unique controllers, although occasionally because I just like it on its own:


Battlezone (Atari-1980)	Gauntlet (Atari-1985)

Football (Atari-1979)

...ah, just making this list is getting me all misty. More to come when I have more time.

(Also, if there are games you love that aren't on here, let me know in a comment below, and I might add them to the list. Arcades are much more fun with friends!)

Mr. Geisel's interior designer...

2009-07-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know that Dr. Seuss would have had hired his own personal interior design consultant for his home or not. But if he had, I imagine it would have been the guy who designed these:

The marvelous pieces above are a quick photo montage I did of work by Vincent Leman. Click here to see more of his work. Please. Because it's all really wonderful. I'm going to buy at least one of his pieces when I win the lottery. 'Cause I don't think you could do a whole room with furniture like this. Or could you? ;o)

Clip of the Week...

2009-07-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

This week, I have a double header of infomercial parodies for you. First, a remix of the Slap Chop, done by DJ Steve Porter (quite nice, actually--I confess to loading this one up from time to time just to jam with the music):

Followed by a nice parody of the Snuggie ad (a little bit of PG-13 language on this one, so watch those little ears):

Happy Wednesday, readers!

Haven't had one of these in a while...

2009-07-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Caption contest!

If there is anyone out there still reading this blog, please post a caption for this photo in the comments section.

Yes, please, Fairy Godmother...

2009-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

If I had one, I would ask her for a private video arcade in my garage. (Well, to be honest, there are a lot of things I would ask for, but let's start with the video arcade.) I started to make a list of the games I am pretty sure I would Never Tire Of, but it was getting out of hand. Maybe one day it will appear on Living Loud as a work in progress.

In any event, I just saw Michael Jackson's arcade, and had to share the experience with you. No, I didn't get to physically visit, but through the Magic Of The Internet, you can now take a 360° virtual tour. The resolution is amazing--you can nearly feel the presence of Michael's ghost, dropping phantom quarters into the machines.

If you prefer a virtual magazine version of the games, here is the catalog from the auction house that sold the collection. Yes, I am tearing up thinking that it is no longer. No, not as much as for MJ. But close, perhaps.

Independence Day...

2009-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

It is July 4th--time for my annual protest/reminder. Below follows the entire original text of the Declaration of Independence. Please read, observe, and share as you consume copious amounts of grilled meat and beer and set off explosives. (For "King" you may substitute "current form of government"--note I did *not* say "current administration". Text in bold is my emphasis.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Oh, the irony...

2009-07-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Denise shared this one with me. Every year for the last almost three decades, a local organization has "The World's Largest Salmon Barbecue" on July Fourth. What is ironic about that, you ask? The cookout is a fundraiser for the Salmon Restoration Association.

Now, granted, the SRA (Charlton Heston with a fishing pole?) has a hatchery, and the salmon undoubtedly are farmed. One hopes. But the irony of it all is quite amusing. I started riffing on the whole thing:

"then, in the winter, there will be a crab feed to benefit the crab restoration program."

"and we're having a logging festival to heighten awareness for the tree destruction league."

Ah, Sarcasm. You and Irony and I make quite the trio.

Obit for a man of honor...

2009-07-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

from the local newspaper:

Rohnert Park's "Officer Friendly" dies at 66

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Lawrence “Larry” Edward Jones, a retired Rohnert Park public safety officer known to a generation of school children and their parents as “Officer Friendly,” died at home Saturday. He was 66.

He worked for the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety for 27 years, retiring in 2003. Ever smiling, he earned the moniker “Officer Friendly” during the 18 years he served as a school resource officer.

“Larry was hands down the best school resources officer we ever had,” said retired Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Director Robert Dennett.

Jones was strong, loving and inspirational, earning the admiration of students at the Cotati-Rohnert Park School District’s dozen-plus campuses as well as that of their parents.

“His love for the students and kids of this community was very large. He believed in kids,” said long-time friend and former co-worker on the force, Jim Herold.

And they responded to his care.

“The kids would run across the campus to talk to him,” Dennett said.

Jones abilities did not go unnoticed by the community. Parents picketed the City Council and gathered more than 1,100 signatures in 1994 when he was reassigned to patrol. Later that year, grant money was used to return Jones to schools to teach the anti-drug DARE program.

So strong was Jones’ influence, Rancho Cotate High School in May named the school’s circular driveway entrance, “Officer Friendly Way.” More than 200 people attended the the naming ceremony.

Jones went beyond what was expected of a school safety officer. He often would give his home phone number to a young person who might need advice or to offer them a hug. He counseled several suicidal teens and once rushed to a trouble’s girl’s house after her friend called Jones for help at 2 a.m., according to a 2003 Press Democrat profile. Some of the students he mentored in elementary and middle school have become Rohnert Park police officers and firefighters.

In an interview with the Press Democrat, he said, “I wanted to create a trust and a bond — be dependable.” By all accounts, he was successful.

Young’s calling may have stemmed from his own youth, his mother, Gladys Jones, mused in a 1998 Press Democrat interview. Jones, the sixth of 12 children, was born with spinal meningitis and doctors told his parents that, if he lived, he would never walk. But within a year, he was walking, proving them wrong. He continued to defy the odds later in life.

Jones was born in Houston but was raised in the tough, Hunter’s Point neighborhood in San Francisco, an experience that taught him valuable lessons and launched his career. He once said he never forgot what a neighborhood drug pusher had told him: “People don’t use drugs. Drugs use people.”

Jones also survived five gunshot wounds in an altercation at age 21, a turning point in his life. Soon after, he decided to become a police officer and began forging his way into a career in which, at the time, there were few black people.

He went to the Redwood City Police Academy and in 1965 got a job as a private investigator. He joined the Pacifica Police Department two years later and the Marin County Sheriff’s Department in 1969. He was hired by Rohnert Park in 1976 and became “Officer Friendly” three years later.

His dedication to his work has been rewarded over the years with awards that included policeman of the year, the outstanding service award from the state Juvenile Officers Association, the J.Edgar Hoover gold medal award and the city’s citizen of the year.

After he retired, Jones continued to work with children, coaching softball and football teams, as he had done for nearly three decades. Jones also served as president of the board of trustees for the Community Baptist Church in Santa Rosa and was a past member of the Sonoma County chapter of 100 Black Men.

In addition to his mother, Jones is survived by his wife, Carolyn Jones; daughters Tomeka Jones and Tracy Jackson; sons Lawrence Jones, Donald Wambold, Jonathan Wambold and Michael Wambold; sisters Joyce Emerson and Linda Mobrey; brothers Leslie Campbell, Allen Holmes, Eugene Jones, Larry Jones, Gonzales Jones III, Ray Jones and Michael Jones; and 10 grandchildren.

A “Celebration of the Life of Larry Jones” will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Spreckles Center for the Performing Arts.

You can read the complete version of the story here, but be forewarned: this newspaper's website it horrendously slow. And, truth be told, you've already read the majority of the article. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge...)

Clip of the Week...

2009-07-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

This kid's mom cancelled his World of Warcraft account. His brother, prophet that he was, videotaped the post-cancellation tantrum.

I have no words.

And I thought I was busy...

2009-06-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Angel of Death must've accrued serious OT over the last week. Here are just some of the big ones:

Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick and hander-outer of the Publisher's Clearinghouse check for umpteen years;

Farrah Fawcett, the iconic model/actress of the 70's and beyond;

Michael Jackson. If you need any sort of description at all of this man, you have been in a cave for the last forty-five years. His album, Thriller, is still the best selling of all time;

Gale Storm, who has THREE stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--one each for recording, radio, and television;

Billy Mays, one of the best-known Home Shopping Network Pitchmen of all time. (My father even liked him, for crying out loud--said he 'trusted him'. If you knew my father, this news would make your jaw collect the dust up from the ground at your feet);

Fred Travalena, famous comic/impressionist. He used to do all the presidents from JFK to W in one part of his routine;

Tomoji Tanabe, the oldest man in the world. Passing away at 113 years of age, Tanabe didn't smoke or drink, and is survived by more than 80 offspring;

and finally:

roughly 2,000 Nebraska cattle.

Rest in Peace, all.

Clip of the Week...

2009-06-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

For all you who said President Obama wouldn't hurt a fly (all right, that's an obvious joke, and I'm sure you've seen this by now, but I just love it):

Clip of the week...

2009-06-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

From Cirque du Soleil's "Midnight Sun":

Not only is this one of my favorite jams all time in the music department, the performer is just incredible--and he looks like he is having SO MUCH FUN!

Clip of the week...

2009-06-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

The people at Microsoft, in their continuing effort to take over the world, have started their own search engine, Bing.com. Their ad campaign speaks volumes about our society (and, ironically, their own effort to create even more information overload). Here is a medley of their first three ads--the last one (starting at 0:48)is the best, in my opinion:

My friend Skate wrote about this phenomenon almost a year ago. In her blog entry "Wait, I'll Just Look That Up", she talked about how it feels to go crazy. And/or become totally dependent on ADD-style information referencing. You should read it.

Yesterday's 'moment in history'...

2009-06-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

So, I logged on to Google yesterday--they often have some sort of artistic treatment of their logo as a nod to something significant that day. Here is the splash page from Saturday, June 6th, 2009:

It was apparently the 25th anniversary of Tetris yesterday. Now, I am a big fan of that game (if you don't believe me, you must not have read the blog entry I wrote about my addiction to the little blocks). But June 6th also happened to be the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy to save the Europeans from the Nazis. (Still waiting on that 'thank you' note, France.)

Of the two, I would have thought that the latter would have gotten the nod. But I guess it says something about our society that a video game was considered more significant than the liberation of Europe. Or maybe that the number 25 is more important than 65, in terms of anniversaries ("Silver" versus "ten more years until diamond"). Or maybe a Tetris version of the Google logo is just more visually interesting than a Normandy version. Whatever the reasoning, I thought it a little weird. Ah, America.

This might be too obscure...

2009-06-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

...in a Dennis Miller, overly-cerebral sort of way. This is a classic case of "if I have to explain it, it will take too long and it won't be funny any more." But here is the thing that cracked me up this morning:

Clip of the week...

2009-06-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago? It seems like only yesterday:

A not-too-badly-done video here was made in 2007 as a memorial. It includes this text:

Though all records differ in their statistics, an estimated 5,000 people died. Thousands more were injured. The topic is still a political taboo in mainland China. Any public discussion of it is regarded as inappropriate. As a result of the strong Chinese government censorship, the news media is forbidden to report anything related to the subject unless it takes the Communist Party of China's view. This part of history has disappeared in most Chinese media.

There is a special on PBS called "The Tank Man" that is all about the continuing fallout of this event. If you click here (and I highly recommend you do), you can watch the entire thing online. It is essentially a program about how information is controlled in China, even to this day. It includes some footage of college students being shown photos of Tiananmen who, when asked what they think the photos represent, answered, 'I dunno...a parade?'

Hard to believe that, even now, a Google image search on the US page yields this:

While the Chinese Google image search produces this:

I wish I had a solution for Times Like These.

Time to Character Up...

2009-06-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

By Rudyard Kipling:

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

By Anonymous:

IF - you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
IF - you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
IF - you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
IF - you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
IF - you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
IF - you can overlook it when people take things out on you,
IF - when, through no fault of your own, something goes wrong,
IF - you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
IF - you can face the world without lies and deceit,
IF - you can conquer tension without medical help,
IF - you can relax without liquor,
IF - you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

THEN, you are almost as good as your dog or your cat.

Good words.

Getting in touch with your inner detective...

2009-05-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. God. I don't know whether to be amused, or horrified, or what exactly. But here is a link to Pick the Perp, where you can try to match an image of someone from a police lineup to a crime. Here's an example:

Give it a shot. Er...a 'go'.

With heart on sleeve (part 2 of 2)...

2009-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

(today's post is a continuation of this one...)

Part of me is interested--and always has been, on a deep level--in spiritual growth. I had been feeling parched in that area, and May Day was coming up. Last year, I had heard that the Apple Tree Morris dance team in Sebastopol danced up the dawn on May Day, but I was unable to go. I was resolved to get myself there this year to experience it. So I posted this status on Facebook:

David Yen is getting up before dawn tomorrow to go to the Morris Dance in Sebastopol. Welcome, dawn!

As intimated in yesterday's post, things with "Bob" (his temporary Living Loud alias) were going down hill like a snowball. Here is the next step:

Bob at 6:38pm April 30
In this crazy town ( your old home town ) they're always dancing and shaking their tootsies over something...usually to celebrate the changing cycle of the inner child. All aboard Sufi dancers !! Need a wake-up call ?

When I got back from the dance, I posted:

David Yen danced the Abrams today.

Among other replies, I received these:

Bob at 10:50am May 1
Ah, Jewish dancing !

Bob at 6:41pm May 1
Do you have to have "personal body lubricant' available when doing this dance ? Most activities in Sebastopol call for it...Some venues even check for it at the door !

This was finally too much for me. This was something I was doing for spiritual development, remember, and Bob had taken it from joking about it, to mocking it, to just being downright offensive. I wrote Bob separately--here is the exchange:

[Me] at 12:18am May 2
hey! thanks for thinking of me, and for all the posts on my status, but can you let me be serious from time to time? i know you are just teasing, but still.... {:o\

Bob at 6:28am May 2
Take care little grasshopper. I will leave you alone. You are where I was 15-20 years ago in life. You too will be amused when you get alittle older and look back at what you now take so seriously. I, too, have my serious side but I keep it off the streets.
Much love. Seriously.
[Bob]

Did you see that? A simple request to tone it down a notch, and I was met with condescension. As if I am going to be exactly where he is now in '15-20' years. As if 'what I take seriously' is merely a distraction, some minor little activity that I will look back at when I am older and smile, thinking how silly it all was. Argh. I decided, 'all right--this is no longer worth my time. I will try to salvage what I can of the relationship and let it go.' Here is what transpired next:

[Me] at 9:59am May 2
thank you, sir. i am quite amused quite frequently, actually--it is just hard to tell sometimes on this little phenomenon when one is being silly, and when one wants to share things that matter. it's hard to type wry sarcasm. ;o)

Bob at 6:43pm May 2
My dear David,
Here's a thought to ponder as the evening sky draws over us all : You have 351 friends listed on FB however you're the only one that wrote to me suggesting my teasing you was.shall we say,insensitive ? Moral...You ARE your best friend !
The interesting thing about FB is it's like a dance floor and most people are wallflowers content to read others correspondence. The dark side of FB, I've found,is it can serve as a dairy where you enter thoughts you really do NOT mean to share with anyone.

I try and write funny things, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes silly but ALWAYS with no intent to injure....

Your 'Friends' all adore you...I'm simply the one that says "The emperor has no clothes!"

In re-reading all this, I started to get a little steamed again. But then I realized that Bob, in his tactless, insensitive way, proved my point perfectly. In his almost-apology, he basically says, 'well, it's your fault for posting something real about yourself, not mine for responding with sarcasm, disrespect and condescension.' I agree with the first half. The social networking site has become a place to stay in touch, but not to be real. It is an electronic version of that exchange where a person says to you, 'how are you?' instead of 'hello', and is shocked when you respond with the truth.

I am not that person.

If you don't have the presence of mind to say hello or render a greeting instead of asking me how I am doing, you will receive my attention, my eye contact, and my truthful response. If I post a status of "what's on my mind" (the Facebook lead-in for the status update box), it will be honest and real. I do not allow myself to wear my heart anywhere but on my own sleeve. This has gotten me into heaps of trouble in my life, and I believe it is chief among the reasons why deep friendships often elude me. But it also allows me to sleep with myself at night with the knowledge that I have been honest and open in a world that refutes those qualities, directly and indirectly, on a daily basis. I mean to share everything about myself, and will continue to do so. There are few who can really handle life on an edgy, loud, full-throttle level. I understand this, and don't think less of anyone for it.

I asked one of my best friends, a person who has been there for me for many years and knows more about me than most, for his honest feedback about me. He told me, among other things, that I have a tendency to dwell on the negative--citing, among other things, the divorce, not getting to spend the time with my kids that I would like, and my financial woes. I was a little put off by this, but realized that he is right, I can get stuck on those topics some times. But the bottom line is that, while I don't want to sound like a broken record, I will not change the way I live to make other people comfortable. It is not healthy for me, and it is not healthy for our society. That, perhaps, is the Quixotic truth of my life.

And that is what makes the blog an important place for me. Here, you can read and judge to whatever extent you like, and neither of us is hurt or made uncomfortable by your reaction. Here, I can be honest, and if you don't like it--if you meant to say 'hi' instead of 'how are you?', you can click your way to freedom instantly, without the awkwardness of finding a conversation breaker so you can go back to *your* life.

Thank you for reading.

With Heart on Sleeve (part 1 of 2)...

2009-05-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

In my recent self-examination over To Blog Or Not To Blog, I was also undergoing a similar internal debate about Facebook. The Social Networking Site is a strange environment. On the surface, it is a place to stay connected, and reconnect, with friends who are near and not-so-near. But because it is a quick and informal means of doing so, it can be a trap to remain just that: on the surface. With the advent and growing popularity of Twitter, a quick-update service where you can let people know what you are doing at any minute of the day, casual and meaningless social interaction is becoming as pervasive as the flood of casual and meaningless infotainment.

Some people take this stream of social static way too personally. In my experience on MySpace, I found the social current to be incredibly adolescent. A feature on the site encourages users to select their "top friends" for all to see. On more than one occasion I watched in horror as friends of mine had their feelings hurt--by people who were good friends in real life--over a change in their status on that friend's "top 8" list. There was even an incident in which a girl committed suicide after she was treated badly by others on her MySpace account. I could go on and on about the conduct of the people involved in that situation, but instead I will try to remain on my current train of thought.

I have always tried to remain objective on these sites. Nearly everyone I know has had some sort of emotional fallout to deal with as the result of a misinterpreted e-mail or post or comment that someone else made. The fact is, communicating as we do in a fast-paced, spell-checked environment, it is easy to make mistakes in communication. If I can attempt to type "I'd like you for a manager" and it can come out "I've lived yon, from a manger", I can easily hit send and convey a completely wrong message. And that is just talking grammar, spelling and punctuation, without even getting into the entire mess that is inference and implication. Communicating emotions or emotionally via electrons has vast inherent potential for going awry.

There have been times when I have felt hurt, or frustrated, or even downright angry as a result of something someone has posted. And, to be honest, I have done the same--conveyed things in a way that have hurt people who I never intended to hurt. But then I take a step back and think: who is this person? Are they someone who is adept at communicating in this environment? What might they have been going through when they typed this? You have to consider the source, don't you? I have actually written back in some cases, asking for clarification, and in many cases discovered that my interpretation of the message was way off from the intent, and that has been good for the relationship, rather than the bad that would have resulted from assumption.

In a recent 'status update' on Facebook, I posted the following:

David Yen wants to hear from his inked friends in Sonoma County: how was your experience, who was your artist? bonus points if you send a pic. (i don't know what the points are good for, actually--just looking for some feedback.) going to get some work done soon, and the market is *flooded* with artists....

This, to me, seemed rather clear: I was asking for people who had tattoos to tell of their experience, who their artist was, and asking for an image of the work they had done, if they could get one to me. Here are the responses (names have been changed to protect the guilty):

FF1 at 9:20am April 28
I need to know too... I have been pondering the inky art for some time....

FF2 at 9:31am April 28
I got 'inked' in NYC, watch out it is addicting...I am working on my second!

FF3 at 9:42am April 28 via Facebook Mobile
I did mine at [shop] in Petaluma, but it's so small and simple anyone could do it. One of the supervisers in my office got a neat one that winds up her leg. Her artist was [name] in SR [phone number]

Denise at 9:58am April 28
(Heh, I got so excited I initially posted this as my status.) Here's a start: [link] Click photo for [name]. Then click tattoo images. Scroll next. You'll know it when you see it...

Denise at 10:15am April 28
There's more...just sent you an inbox message. Wee!

FF4 at 10:19am April 28
[same name as in FF3's comment] is actually a very talented artist! [FF4's boyfriend] and I get all of our work done by a good friend at [shop], [name]. You can see some of my tattoos in my pictures.

MF1 at 10:19am April 28
[name] at [shop] does the best work I have ever seen!
[full name, address, phone number]

Sadie at 11:23am April 28
Well, if you were in Michigan, I'd tell you to head ot [shop] or [shop]...but you're not. :) I want to see pics when you're done.

FF5 at 11:44am April 28
I had my first one done on the Bowery in NY -- so you should be fine:)

Blenderat 12:22pm April 28
forget the tats and get tires and registration for you bike!

Bob at 12:22pm April 28
David,David,David....What ARE you thinking ?

Sadie at 12:33pm April 28
[Blender]'s right...more cost effective to forget the tats and get your bike up to code than get nailed with a ticket later.

Bob at 1:59pm April 28
[Blender],[Sadie] & [Bob] are ALL on the same page....except I don't think you need a motorcycle either. Middle age crisis ?

FF6 at 2:58pm April 28
Just don't choose any of these:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/5230467/No-Regrets-The-Best-Worst-and-Most-Ridiculous-Tattoos-Ever.html

the Ex at 3:08pm April 28
I'm thinking his middle age crisis is going to last two decades, [Bob]. He might as well enjoy it how he sees fit. : )

Bob at 4:30pm April 28
Uh oh ! A can of worms ! Time for this fellow to zip his lip and "exit stage right!"

the Ex at 6:11pm April 28
No worms, silly. An ages old joke.

Bob at 7:16pm April 28
I am silly, true ! No fool like an old fool, eh ?

Denise at 10:29am April 29
Well, David, I'm glad we could all stay on topic for ya. ;) Happy inking.

[Me] at 10:24am May 4
[FF3], denise, [FF4], [MF1]--thanks for the help. [FF6]--thanks for the laughs! i think i need a copy of that book...

So. That's a total of twenty comments, if you count my response at the end. Of those, almost one fourth actually answered the question, at least partially. Of the rest, there was criticism regarding my life choices, and some even started an entire conversation *about* me without *including* me, on my own page.

I was seriously put off by Sadie's comments (especially in light of others she had posted recently), so I sent a message to her, trying to clear things up. She responded that she had no idea what I was talking about, in a way that suggested to me that she was one of those who type without thinking, and after typing forget all about what they said. A "fire from the hip" sort of person--you all know at least one. I was able to let it all go after that exchange.

Bob, on the other hand, only got worse. Part II tomorrow.

Clip of the week...

2009-05-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

From the DVD performance video of the STOMP group:

Man, I wanna do dat.

Today's Public Service Announcement...

2009-05-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Clip of the week...

2009-05-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

Brilliance.

Sheer brilliance.

Too darn hot / It's too darn hot...

2009-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

This was a lovely weekend. Really, really hot, but a good weekend. Saturday the boys and Denise and I shot some mini-golf at Scandia. When Denise left to go to her show, Thing 1 and Thing 2 and I took the dog to the beach because it was so hot outside. We played and had a very fun time--it is always a crack up watching Maggie run in the waves. I found some bits of sea glass, and we came home and had dinner.

Sunday was the end-of-year party for Thing 1's hockey team. They made it to the state championships this year, so this was a special time. We went to one of the family's house, and they had a pool, a trampoline, and a huge inflatable water slide thing. We had build-your-own nachos, I made margaritas...it was a blast. The end of it was a bit of sharing by the team manager, the coaches, and handing out of the coach gifts and final patches for the kids' season achievements (hat tricks, shutouts, etc.). The swimming and sliding were very much appreciated, though, as it was really, really hot on Sunday, as well.

How hot was it? Well, I put some pillar candles on the patio table a week or so ago when I was eating dinner out there at night. Here is what they looked like at the end of the day:

Guess that is why people put those pillar candles on plates.

The supported becomes the supporter...

2009-05-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

My friends and family have always been great supporters of mine in theater. But I have been working so long, and wanting to spend time with my kids when I have them, it has been hard to get out and see other stuff. Thursday felt like a rush to catch up.

My younger son landed the part of Jupiter in the school play (great solo, lots of fun), and his performances were on Thursday at 2pm (for his classmates) and 6:30pm (for the parents and the rest of the world). My eldest son was playing in his band for his school's open house--also on Thursday, also at 6:30pm. So, I left work early to watch and tape the two o'clock show, then ran home to change, pack and throw back a cup of soup before heading off to the open house. After watching/taping the band, Thing 1 and I toured his classrooms and hung out a bit before I left to see a friend in the Santa Rosa Junior College Jazz Ensemble.

God help me, I was a bit predisposed on this last. I shouldn't judge, but I had this preconceived notion that the group would be...well, academic. As in 'not very good.' But my friend has a huge love of music, and had a drum solo that he was very excited about in the last song of the first half of the show, so I thought I would go. Man, was I ever surprised. I got there after it started (they started at 7:30pm, so it was underway by the time I got there) and snuck in to find a seat in the dark theater. They were TIGHT. This ensemble was very, very good, and it made me wish that I could hear more than just the last two pieces in their set. But I did at least get to hear my friend play in a song called "Freefall", and he was absolutely amazing.

Last night, I went to see Denise in "A View From the Bridge", the current show at Ross Valley Players. If you don't know Arthur Miller's work, it is intense stuff. Most of his 'American Classics' are dark, struggle-against-the-tide type of shows. (Denise refers to this one in particular as a modern Greek tragedy.) To extract hope from a show like this takes work--you don't just get a smile and a toe tap, you have to understand the character's struggles, how human they are, and see it for what it is. Denise was outstanding, as was the actor playing Eddie Carbone, and a few of the supporting cast. The others seemed to be finding their feet still, and I look forward to going again later in the run to see how the child has developed. But I would still recommend the show heartily. Ticket information is here.

Since I was going to the show, I offered to drive Denise down to Ross early. I was looking forward to a bit of quiet time to myself and a burrito from a little Taqueria down there that I used to frequent. And, it was a chance for me to run an errand to visit my friends at The Mountain Play, where I did "The Wizard of Oz" last year (there are some links on my post here, if you missed out or want to have a flashback). It was great to see a couple of folks, but MAN are those people swamped right now. Their next show, "The Man of La Mancha", opens next weekend, and the sheer volume of logistics involved in putting a play up on the mountain is overwhelming. It was nice to catch up, lend some support, give some feedback, and pick up an archival copy of Oz. (Still hard to believe that was me under all that silver makeup.)

Anyway, all this supporting of the arts made me think: if someone who is a fan of sports can be called an athletic supporter, would a supporter of the arts be called a dance belt?

Sound 'Assembly'...

2009-05-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went on a personal retreat. You will surely think I'm exaggerating when I say this, but this was the first time I've taken a day off in nearly 18 months. I usually have work, or rehearsal, or kids, or something planned, but instead I carved out a weekend where I could sit and think and clear my head. There is a lot spinning around up there, and (as a friend of mine once said) I wanted to get it dealt with before it knocked something off a shelf and broke it.

Here is (some of) the Merriam-Webster definition of retreat:

1 a (1): an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable
2: a place of privacy or safety : refuge
3: a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director

Pretty accurate description, no? I had hoped to spend the weekend away somewhere, and had been cruising the internet and travel sites (Travelocity FTW!), but one of the things that has been weighing very heavily on me is my complete lack of finances. So, instead I ended up staying home the entire weekend and working on the house and the yard. I got some plants, and cleaned up all around. I didn't end up working on my goals, or my philosophy or strategy or personal whatever. But I did wind up feeling refreshed and at least a little more grounded.

"Retreat" is also a bugle call in the cavalry. Another bugle call is "Assemble". Here's the word from Merriam-Webster again:

1 : to bring together (as in a particular place or for a particular purpose)
2 : to fit together the parts of

Another good call. I feel ready to get ready now. I know that sounds ridiculous, but after a year and a half of running, it was good to catch my breath and look around at the terrain a bit.

Clip of the Week...

2009-05-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

In honor of the opening of the new Star Trek movie:

The caption on YouTube reads:

"Military force was authorized yesterday minutes after the E.T.'s 48 hour deadline had passed. The E.T's were given an ultimatum to stop their whale poaching and leave Earth or face military action."

On my way to work today...

2009-05-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

...I was cut off on the freeway. This is a frustrating thing for me, because it only happens on the commute when I follow a "Safe Distance" behind the car in front of me. If I tailgate, I *never* get cut off. But if I back off to the three-second distance, some idiot always pulls in front of me. To add insult to injury, that same idiot inevitably widens the gap between his car and the car I was following to--you guessed it--Safe Following Distance. Argh.

Today's cutter-offer was different, however, in that I was cut off by the Crown Prince of Irony. The bumper sticker on the car that cut me off:

Mean People Suck
Yep. Then he merged to the right lane to gain more footage in the commuter traffic. Two miles later, he cut me off again. I wanted to pull him over and ask him (a) if he was a vampire, or (b) if I could get some sort of favor from him, but I decided against it.

A year and a week...

2009-05-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not familiar with it, there is a Wiccan concept that certain significant events should be played out for a year and a day. This gives a sense of completion, and also allows for a good objective perspective on things. Living Loud is now a year and a week old. In my last post, I let my insecurities show a bit, and asked for feedback from you, my readership. Not many responses (though the two I got were very good), but I have reached my conclusion about this little corner of the web.

After a year's worth of writing (albeit sporadically), I have decided to keep on keepin' on. I never really started out to make Living Loud a place to attract random visitors, and I ain't-a gonna start now. In writing my last rant, the image of sitting in a coffee shop and chatting really stuck with me. That is what this place is for me right now. It will change and grow and be something different a year from now, no doubt--this next year is going to be a year of experimentation for me--but it will stay, as long as I still have the fingers to write.

Thanks for reading and commenting--those comments really do mean a lot, as much as I just claimed I wasn't doing it for the readership spike. Stay tuned for more rants, raves, and ridiculous observations.

Clip of the Week...

2009-05-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Guerilla Theater. Here is a wonderful recent 'production' in a train station in Belgium:

Watch your back. Artists are everywhere. :o)

Blog-dentity crisis...

2009-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

You may have been wondering where I have been for the last week or so, what with the flurry of posts and the seeming return to writing, and then silence again. (Or maybe you haven't--probably you just come here for the funny videos. I dunno.) I started writing this post a week and a half ago, and then got stumped. So much started flowing out of the old fingertips, and I wrestled and wrestled with how to phrase it--hell, I wrestled with whether to post it or not. But here it finally is.

The old Internal Debate has returned: to blog or not to blog. As of tomorrow, Living Loud will be one year old. Initially, I viewed the blog as a coffee table--a place where I would share funny stuff, rants, and observations. It was meant to be a way to stay in touch, albeit one-way, with folks who are interested in sharing coffee with me but cannot practically, geographically do so. (He said, pushing his glasses up on his nose.) Now, however, I am part of the soul-sucking phenomenon known as Facebook, and seem to be staying in touch there quite well. So is this blog really good for that any more? Should I even keep this blogging business up?

I think the answer to this is 'yes'--but if it isn't good for staying in touch any more, what is it good for? I could use it as a place to share my writing, but that is scary for me from a copyright viewpoint. (It would, however, be a great impetus to challenge me to finish up some of the stuff that is laying around incomplete.) Some friends and family members have mentioned wanting to hear more about life in the theater, but that can get a little dicey and gossip-y, and I'm just not sure I want to go there. I could use it as a place to share funny discoveries and humorous anecdotes, but frankly there are millions of those pages out there already. Why would you come here to read that stuff?

Which leads me to the question: is Living Loud a destination? Should it be? Do I want it to be? And if so, what would you find if you came here? Am I trying to get more readers, or just vainly publishing my little two cents for a handful of people to see? I don't even know how many of you there are, let alone what you think--but I am sure curious to find out. If you are reading this, please take the time to comment and let me know whatcha think.

Clip of the Week...

2009-04-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

A friend forwarded this to me (thanks, Jon) and I just had to share. It is from a project called Playing for Change. Basically, this dude recorded a street performer singing a song in Santa Monica, CA, then laid down other tracks across the world with other unknown performers. It is incredible.

Click the link above to visit their site. They also have a version of Bob Marley's "One Love" that is pretty amazing.

In partial defense of the madness that is my life...

2009-04-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will start by saying the following:

(a) I am a poor correspondent. I am, in fact, so poor at keeping in touch with others, that I expect to be posthumously decorated by some Agency for Not Staying in Touch with Others when I am interred in this earth.

(b) I am busy. Over busy. Some of this over-busy-ness I select and put upon myself, and therefore my excuse of being over-busy is partially my own fault. (I say partially because every activity I undertake includes the possibility for change, error, and misstep, and therefore also includes the possibility for delay and stress.)

(c) My life is loud. Hence the title.

However, I also find that I get--not flak, per se, but lack of understanding from some of my single friends when I tell them I am buried and cannot hang out. I try to convince them that it isn't because I don't want to spend time with them, that I am just crazed with work and shows, and half my life is spent with my kids. It is the last part that gets barely-restrained eye rolling.

There is a writer named Carolyn Hax who pens an advice column for the Washington Post. Here's one that has been floating around the aether for a while now, but that just recently caught my eye--she has said it better than I could, so I'm just going to wantonly plagiarize.

Dear Carolyn:

Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .

Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.

Tacoma, Wash.

Here is her response:

Dear Tacoma: Relax and enjoy. You're funny.

Or you're lying about having friends with kids.

Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.

Internet searches?

I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.

You can read the full article
here, but I pretty much reprinted all of it above.

Give your friends-who-are-parents a little patience and understanding. They probably would LOVE to spend time with you. They just need time. Like, maybe a decade or so.

Bad time to die...

2009-04-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's getting so you can't even be buried in peace in this country, let alone rest in peace.

A few months ago, I first heard of the Westboro Baptist Church--you may have, also. They are a radical religious group that was picketing at a soldier's funeral, carrying signs that the people who shot the soldier were 'sent from God' and that God was punishing the United States for all our transgressions. (Their website is www.godhatesfags.com, if that gives you any indication of how insane these people are.) They actively picket memorial services for children slain by gang violence, soldiers killed in Iraq, and campuses with gay organizations, mis-quoting Scripture and handing out leaflets laden with typos. I could go on and on (indeed, I had made an entire post devoted to the anger I felt at these people), but I would rather not feed into the violence.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard about a woman in the Carolinas who was on her way to Florida when she decided to stop in at a funeral home. She walked right into the funeral hall, started waving a wand and dancing around the deceased (some police reports called it a car antenna) and opened the casket. She laid her hands on the dead man, tapped him on the head with her 'wand', and then threw flowers from on top of the casket at the family before leaving. She was apprehended a few miles away and, when asked why she did it, responded that she "felt that it was the right thing to do at the time." If that isn't crazy enough, there's more--she didn't even know the family. She just stopped in to raise the dead, or send it on its way, or whatever she was doing, and then left. (Original story here and here.)

Just a couple of days ago, there was a similarly odd situation in Arkansas. Some woman from Texas wandered into a funeral carrying a can of beer. When the family asked her to leave the can, she refused. When they asked her to leave the premises, she scratched a man's face and then got into a fight with the man's mother, who allegedly kicked her in the chest. When the police showed up, the beerophile replied that "no backward country cop" was going to take her to jail. Apparently she was wrong about that, because she is now enjoying some time in a state-funded facility. (Original story can be found here.)

So, to all of you--my dear readers and friends: Please don't die right now. It's a mad, mad, world out there.

Clip of the Week...

2009-04-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

From last year's NHL playoff series:

The quest for the cup begins tonight.

It is Risen--Rejoice!

2009-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the final day of the NHL regular season. It was a barnburner of a finish, with the last few slots in the playoffs determined in the last couple of games.

Now it's a feverish fight for this bad boy:

Here is the 'Season by the Numbers', from the NHL website:

0 -- Shorthanded goals allowed by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first 81 games of the season. When the Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky scored one Sunday, it prevented the Flyers from becoming only the second team in the last 46 years to play a full season without being scored on while playing with an extra man. The 1975-76 Montreal Canadiens, who went on to win the Stanley Cup, still hold that distinction. Philadelphia also led the NHL this season with 16 shorthanded goals.

1 -- Penalty shots taken in overtime this season. Boston goaltender Tim Thomas stopped Chicago's Patrick Sharp at 2:44 of OT on Nov. 12, 2008. The Bruins went on to win the game 2-1 in a shootout.

2 -- Overtime goals scored by Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer while the teams were playing 3-on-3. There were only three 3-on-3 goals scored this season; Niedermayer had two of them; Calgary's Jarome Iginla had the other in regulation time on Jan. 21 at Columbus.

3 -- Tie-breaking goals scored by Detroit's Marian Hossa in the final 2:00 of regulation. No other player had more than one.

4 -- Consecutive 30-win seasons by New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. He's the first netminder in NHL history to win 30 or more games in each of his first four seasons.

5 -- Most power-play goals scored in a game -- both times against the Nashville Predators. Detroit was 5-for-6 on Feb. 18, while Minnesota went 5-for-11 on Nov. 28.

6 -- Games this season that were scoreless through 65 minutes and had to be decided in a shootout. No team won more than one; Dallas was the only team to lose twice -- goaltender Marty Turco had two games in which he was credited with a shutout but not a victory.

7 -- Shootout wins at home by the New York Rangers, part of their League-leading total of 10 victories in the breakaway competition (in 16 tries).

8 -- Game-tying goals scored in the final five seconds of regulation time. That includes three goals scored within the final one second -- by Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer (Nov. 21 at St. Louis), St. Louis' David Backes (Jan. 19 at Boston) and Washington's Alex Ovechkin (Nov. 15 at New Jersey). Only Backes' team won.

9 -- Road wins by the New York Islanders, who were the only team not to reach double figures in victories away from home. The Isles were 9-29-3; every other team had at least 12 victories on the road.

11 -- Tie-breaking goals scored in the final minute of regulation. Nine of the 11 were scored by the home team; Calgary's Todd Bertuzzi (Jan. 3 at Nashville) and Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien (April 11 at Detroit) were the only visiting players to get a game-winner in the final 60 seconds.

11 -- Wins by the Pittsburgh Penguins in games they trailed after two periods, the most in the League. No other team had more than eight; the Islanders were last with just one.

13 -- Rounds needed in the shootout between Vancouver and Anaheim on Oct. 31, 2008, the longest shootout of the season (no other game went more than eight). The teams went to a shootout after playing to a 6-6 tie through regulation; each team scored once in the first 12 rounds of the shootout before Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlund got the deciding goal in the 13th.

14 -- Most goals scored in a game this season. It happened twice -- with the Calgary Flames on the losing end both times. The Flames lost 8-6 at home to Tampa Bay on March 1, then were beaten by the same score at Toronto on March 14.

18 -- Games lost by the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime or shootouts, the most since the shootout was adopted for the 2005-06 season. Tampa Bay was 2-8 in games decided in the five-minute overtime and 3-10 in shootouts.

21 -- Games in which a team led by three or more goals and didn't win. Nineteen teams were unable to win after leading by three goals; two others (Carolina in a shootout on Dec. 11 and the New York Rangers in OT on Dec. 23) were unable to win after leading by four goals.

28 -- Shots on goal by Detroit in the first period against Calgary on March 12. The Wings scored twice on Miikka Kiprusoff while outshooting the Flames 28-4 in the opening 20 minutes. The Flames rallied for a 6-5 shootout victory. The Wings also had the second-highest one-period total, firing 27 shots against Nashville in the first period on Feb. 10.

31 -- Goals by Washington's Mike Green, the most by a defenseman since the Caps' Kevin Hatcher had 34 in 1992-93. Green became the eighth defenseman to reach the 30-goal mark (it's been done 17 times by those eight players) -- but the first to do so while playing fewer than 70 games. Green also set an NHL record for defensemen by scoring a goal in eight consecutive games from Jan. 27 to Feb. 14, breaking the 25-year-old mark set by Boston’s Mike O’Connell.

111 -- Goals allowed by the New York Islanders in the third period of their 82 games, the most by any team in any period this season. Colorado was next with 89 goals allowed in the third period; San Jose was the best in the NHL with 58. Not coincidentally, the Islanders finished last overall; the Sharks finished first.

528 -- Shots on goal by Washington's Alex Ovechkin, the second-highest single-season total in NHL history behind Phil Esposito's 550 for Boston in 1970-71. Ovechkin led the NHL with 56 goals and was second to Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin with 110 points.

799 -- Regular-season games played by Calgary's Olli Jokinen, who will make his playoff debut this week when the Flames play Chicago. No player has waited longer than Jokinen to make his playoff debut.

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY...

2009-04-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I must say, with all the craziness going on in life, I had a pretty darn good weekend. (I hear you saying "about time" back there--shush, you.)

Saturday morning, I met with a friend who is writing a very exciting one-man show that he has asked me to direct. It is a challenge, very interesting, and what we in the Theatah call "important". (Meaning I think it is a story that needs to be told.) (Meaning I think people should hear it.) (Meaning I think people are ignorant, I suppose, which means I am judgmental and stuck up.) I am really excited, as I haven't had the chance/opportunity to direct in a long time, and we seem to be working together very well.

After a danish, a cappuccino, and a great discussion (see how artistic I am?), I left to pick up one of my best friends on the entire earth. We grabbed coffee and chatted about the show I'm in, which she saw last weekend. (Two coffee/danish/theater meetings in two hours? Wow, you really are artistic!) The great thing about Sandman's friendship is that she is a rare blend of artistic, opinionated, and honest, so the conversation was really good. I truly, deeply appreciate the comments and support of ALL my friends, but having someone who will tell you when your performance really sucked is a rare and valuable thing.

Afterward, we grabbed some lunch and shot a round at the local mini-golf establishment. Denise was at rehearsal for the show she is doing next, and after she was finished she joined us for another round. I won both games, but the second one only by one stroke. (I believe this was mainly due to the yellow golf ball I was given.) Denise went home, I stopped by the store to get Easter candy for Sunday's basket bacchanalia, and got a few things for the evening before dropping Sandman off at her mom's house (she lives in NYC now, and was in town for a visit). I dropped the candy off at my folks' house and went to the show.

Easter morning, I picked up the boys and we headed up to my parents' house. They have about 2 1/2 acres in the country (Windsor, CA), and it is a wonderful place to spend an Easter. (So wonderful, in fact, that the ex said 'It wouldn't be Easter if they didn't get to go to Grandma's.') We did a basket hunt (indoors) and an egg hunt (outdoors) and then had colored eggs and crudites for lunch. The kids played indoors and out for a few hours, I made a leek-artichoke-au gratin to go with my mom's ham, and we had dinner before coming back home. I went for a brief motorcycle ride (just to the gas station, but it feels so good to ride), then went for a walk with the kids and Denise and my dog and my pipe before tucking the kids in for the night.

Good lord, that was a long post. And a good one. :o)

More Blue Room press...

2009-04-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, this should about do it. If you are tired of reading about the show, I think this is the last of it:

We had an article in The Bohemian, a local paper with some good coverage of the arts. It is by the same writer who did the radio piece, but the focus on the article is a little different. (Amazing what you can do, when you have more than two minutes. Although the article is then edited to fit, so his original words are often tweaked or left out.) Anyway, after all those parentheticals, here is the article.

There was also a piece in Theatre Bay Area Magazine. Apparently (thanks for the heads-up, Panda) we were in the "Editor's Pick" section, but I am not a member, so I don't have access to the article online. I *may* try to purchase a copy, but a transcript of that article would surely be plagiarism, wouldn't it? And I would *never* do something like that, would I?

Press for The Blue Room...

2009-04-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

So, there has been quite a push in the press for my latest show in Santa Rosa. We have done some interviews and 'appearances' on local radio and for local print pieces. Two weeks ago we were on KSRO's morning show on Thursday, and on "Curtain Call" on KRCB on Friday. ("Curtain Call" is the performing arts talk show on the local PBS affiliate.) We did a long interview that is in a local paper this week, and are apparently the Editor's Pick in the current issue of Theater Bay Area (no links yet, sorry). And we were on another radio show this morning (KRSH--a short weekly piece called "Stage Fright").

There is another short piece on KRCB radio called "Second row, center". Yesterday's segment was on our show, as well. Here is a transcript, printed with permission of the author:

KRCB 91.1 FM – 4/8/09 at 6:35 and 8:35 a.m. – David Templeton

Times have certainly changed.

What was scandalous a century ago is not necessarily so today. As a demonstration of this, the 6th Street Playhouse, as part of this season’s daring Studio Theater series, has just opened a three-week run of David Hare’s "The Blue Room," based on a German script that was once called the filthiest play ever written.

Of course, that was 110 years ago, when playwright and author Arthur Schnitzler first penned Der Reigen. At that time, he knew the subject matter was far too scandalous to ever appear on an actual stage, so the play was only performed in private, by Schnitzler and his friends, in various German living rooms, and the script was distributed secretly among Schnitzler’s closest acquaintances. Two decades later, when he was finally persuaded to let the play open on a legitimate stage, Schnitzler’s original concerns were confirmed when the opening night show sparked a huge riot in the theater, and the writer was immediately arrested and branded a pornographer, charges that were later dismissed by a German court, but not before Schnitzler decided once and for all to withdraw the play from the public—in Germany. At the same time, the play was building a strong, appreciative following in Russia and Czechoslovakia, and most importantly in France, where the play appeared under the title La Ronde. Today, it’s hard to believe that Schnitzler’s original text, in which ten people bed-hop through a series of partner-swapping assignations, was ever the stuff of riots and obscenity trials. Ten year’s ago, when playwright David Hare wrote his own adaptation of Der Reinen—changing its title to ‘The Blue Room’—there were no public outcries, no riots in the lobby, except for the rowdy lines of people desperate to buy tickets to see Nicole Kidman—one of the London and Broadway production’s stars—in a much talked-about nude scene. Even the full-frontal cartwheels of her co-star Ian Glen weren’t seen as scandalous and obscene so much as just another reason to buy a ticket.

So, times have certainly changed.

And yet, it’s still a bold move for a theater company to tackle a play like ‘The Blue Room,’ as 6th Street Playhouse is doing right now. Under the direction of David Lear, actors David Yen and Denise Elia are playing out the ten-character daisy-chain of sexual encounters three times a weekend, and initial word is that Yen and Elia give brave, thoughtful performances in a show that, counter to the claims of those critics who saw the original Der Reigen, is not a play about sex so much as it is a play about human beings desperate to feel a connection with another person—no matter how tentative, shallow, or brief. 6th Street Playhouse is to be congratulated for scheduling a show that continues the all-important, age-old theatrical tradition of telling stories that just might cause riot, of one kind or another.

The Blue Room runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday through April 26 at the 6th Street Playhouse, that’s 52 W. 6th Street, in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8:00, and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets run from $14-$20. Call 707-523-4185 or visit 6th street playhouse.com—that’s with a numeral 6.

Listen again next Wednesday morning at 6:35 and 8:35 for more news about Bay Area Theater.

I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB

Clip of the week...

2009-04-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know you've probably seen this already--it's on TV right now. But I can't seem to get enough of these little guys:

'specially when they're rocking out at about :45 or so. Always gets a smile outta me.

Originalism...

2009-04-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article on Cracked.com (forwarded by my dear friend the Manhunter from Mars), when I tripped over a different story they wrote about plagiarism. Apparently, some outfit in Mexico stole some of their material and posted it on their site in entirety--including linking directly to the images in the Cracked data files on the web. Not terribly smart. The article is about the retribution visited upon them, and is rather funny (you can read it here if you want).

Anyway, the whole thing struck me as rather funny (funny weird, not funny ha-ha), because my girlfriend had just a few days earlier quoted Paul Gaugin, who said: "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." I really like this quote, especially since one of my most deep-rooted fears as an artist is that my work will end up derivative. I find it inspiring, and it challenges me to take chances and make bold leaps.

My previous favorite motto (one I used with dripping sarcasm) was one I had always attributed to Mark Twain: "Creativity is the art of concealing your source." But when I tried to look it up on Google last night, all I could find was "Originality is the art of concealing your source," credited to a Franklin P. Jones. Ironically enough, Answers.com says, "Unfortunately, the identity of Franklin P. Jones is not clear. Some ... refer to him as an American businessman who lived from 1887-1929, while others refer to him as an American humorist who lived from 1853-1935. A bit of research has identified a Franklin Pierce Jones ... who lived between 1874 and 1953 and had a successful furniture store in Clinton, Oklahoma, after working as a farmer in Missouri." I entered just the quote into google, and found it attributed to Norman Lear, Coco Chanel, and--perhaps most disturbing--a Pastor named Rick Warren.

This prompted me to look up what other people said about creativity and originality, and here is what I found:

"Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good." --Friedrich Nietzsche (the "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" guy)

"What is originality? Undetected plagiarism." --William Ralph Inge (the edgy clergyman)

"Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it." --Laurence J. Peter (the guy who read a lot of Nietzsche in college but forgot it all)

I trust you find the humor in a post about plagiarism composed entirely of others' thoughts on the matter.

"Have a nice day." --Forrest Gump

Saving Captain Spielberg...

2009-04-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

I watched that movie last night. That one with Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. Saving Private Ryan. I am stunned. But not in the way you might think.

I found the combat scenes to be very disturbing. Having spent time in the military, it caused me understandable angst. Even though I never personally experienced people trying to kill me (I got out three months before Desert Shield), the feeling was very familiar--they reference the acronym FUBAR in the movie, and that almost nearly summed it up for me. (Personally, I prefer SNAFU--look them up on google if you don't know them already.)

The production team for the movie spared no detail from the combat scenes--barrels of blood, local military used as extras (including actual amputees for the oh-my-god-my-limb-has-just-been-blown-off scenes) and actual live fire of period weapons for sound. The combat was so accurate, the VA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) overstaffed their trauma 800-number and extended the hours after the release of the movie (see this VA newsletter, bottom of page six).

While for various reasons a discussion of the violence in the movie might be interesting, I was rather put off by the storytelling, and in particular, the end of the movie. If you haven't seen it (I know, you're rolling your eyes because I am the last person on the earth to have seeen this movie), there are spoilers coming, so scroll up or something if you don't want to read them.

Okay, here we go. I have conflicted opinions about the characters in the squad, and I have big problems with the unrealism of their task. (The army is disorganized so well, it installs steel plates in a glider that cause it to crash, but it will send eight men on a rescue extraction immediately following the largest invasion of the war? Hrm.) Here's my biggest gripe, though. I didn't want to hear, after all the shit this group of individuals had to go through for this one man who didn't even want to be rescued, that he should "earn" his life. And then see how that guilt had ridden on his back for sixty years.

I found Spielberg's preaching in Schindler's List to be effective once. Once. He saved 1,100 people from the Nazis, and all he could do at the end was cry: "This pin... This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one... I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!" It was novel in Schindler; I got it. I wanted to do more for others, and less for myself, than I had before (and I was doing a LOT at the time).

What should I take away from this film? An impression of the sacrifice of the men (and women) who served in times before so that we could enjoy the freedoms we have, or a feeling that I personally am not doing enough, am not good enough, am not living life as fully as I should? Spielberg claimed over and over that he wanted to make an authentic film with Ryan. Great. Then do that. Don't limit your 'authenticity' to the violence. Extend it to the story, the people. The movie would have been better--less Spielberg-y and Hollywood--and more real, more impacting, if they had just taken Miller's last words out of it. Let Ryan come to that conclusion himself. Skip the preaching.

Sorry, fans of the film. All I got out of it was a mild case of PTSD and a wish to be excluded from Spielberg films for a while. Especially after the last Indiana Jones fiasco.

Opening weekend...

2009-04-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

The kids are in bed, my stomach is full, and I am moderately content. I spent yesterday fighting back the front lawn, which had gone waaaaaaaay too long without a shave. How long? My father saw it on Thing 2's birthday and commented 'your neighbors are going to kick you out of the neighborhood.' My dog would run through the grass, and I would lose sight of her. I felt like Allan Quatermain, hacking through some tropical locale with a machete.

Today I played around in the back yard, swept the patio off and set out the outside furniture in a way I thought might be appealing. And I actually sat on one of the chairs with a Sunset magazine (one of my favorite publications in the whole wide world) and dreamt of other things I might do to/with the garden areas whilst sipping my morning coffee. (Yeah, the Manhunter's comment hit home a bit, thank you very much.)

The big news, though, is the show, of course. The Blue Room opened this weekend, and I was pleased with my performance, overall. The show is a real challenge, artcraft-wise. There are two actors playing five characters each in ten scenes (get a math tutor if you need help figuring that out). The play is about how we, as people, are--the things we crave, the way we modify our behavior based on who we're with, and the mistakes we make. I hate to use the word "real", especially in this context, as it is overused and therefore undervalued (like the word "awesome" has become). But the show is especially interesting in that, instead of external obstacles like an antagonist or some time deadline, the barriers these characters face are primarily internal. It makes for quite a challenge, overall.

We opened this weekend opposite a huge commotion in the mainstage theater--there was a benefit with a big name actor doing a one-man show. But we still had reasonably seated houses, and a GREAT audience today. This was a particularly nice surprise, since the Sunday matinees are usually an older, quieter crowd. But for whatever reason--Denise thinks it may be because the show is so real and they have all "been there"--this was the liveliest house we had all weekend. They were ooing and ahing and commenting all throughout--it was fascinating.

I had a wonderful evening with my sons, eating and watching Shrek, which we hadn't seen in so long we forgot all the subplots. (If you have kids, you know the wonderful, refreshing feeling that comes from that--instead of watching the same movies over and over again.) Now I'm going to take a gander at Saving Private Ryan, which just came on, do some laundry during the commercials, and fricken relax.

If you're an Ashton Kucher fan...

2009-04-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

...you probably shouldn't read this post.

I went to a site called My Heritage that is a genealogy site of sorts. One of the applets they have on the site is a photo comparison page that allows you to upload a personal photo, and then compares your photo to those of celebrities, trying to find a look alike. How this is supposed to help you find family members, I have no idea--seems like a reach to me. (For example, I matched Tom Hanks pretty closely, according to the site.)

Another thing it does is look for multiple images in the same photo, and offer you a step-saving look at other people at the same time. I nearly died laughing when I saw this:

You are indeed reading that correctly. It is recommending Ashton Kucher as a match...FOR THE DOOR FIXTURE. Too funny.

On the cusp...

2009-04-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the one and only preview of the show I am currently in. The description reads:

The Blue Room

Written by David Hare

Directed by David Lear

A sensation in London and on Broadway, The Blue Room depicts a daisy chain of ten sexual encounters between five women and five men all portrayed by one actor and one actress. Each couple is seen working their way up to having sex. It is following a blackout that the hypocrisy, the folly and loneliness become apparent. Hare, freely adapting the original play, LaRonde by Arthur Schnitzler, has moved the action from turn of the century Vienna to modern London and infused the sketches with witty and provocative modern nuances.

All my professional life, from working as a paper boy to being in the army, from working in an office to performing on a stage, I have tried to put my best into what I do. There is nothing more frustrating, I believe, than wanting to do something well, and not being able to because of some external circumstance. When I was managing a Starbucks store, I also tried to convey to my staff that I wanted them to have everything they needed to succeed.

This production has been, unfortunately, plagued with behind-the-scenes drama. Not from the creative team, so much--my director is someone I deeply respect and admire, and my co-star is my girlfriend, who I also deeply respect and admire. But the production has no costumer, a very pared-down production budget, and has had a myriad of other challenges along the way. It has been distracting, and difficult, to continue "on with the show" in the face of some of it. But nevertheless, I am tackling the challenge and doing my best to learn from it all.

If you are considering coming to see the show, I should warn you that "The Blue Room features adult situations and nudity and is recommended for mature audiences only." The show runs the month of April--Friday-Saturday nights at 8:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm (no show on Easter Sunday). Ticket information is available by following the link above.

Clip of the week...

2009-04-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fool's Day, readers!

In the immortal words of the Beatles...

2009-03-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

"I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink
No,no,no...."

Last night was a rare chance for me to catch more than five hours sleep (that is the current running average for the last ten days). Instead, I woke at 3am to the smell of dog dung in my bedroom. Maggie had exploded, and I had to clean it up. And again at 6am. So. No sleep.

I went to work--stumbling, literally--and left early to get Thing 2 from school. (Tuesday is a half day for teachers and admin to take care of "stuff".) We went home and I made us some lunch while he did homework. It was not until after we had finished lunch and I had taken a 20 minute nap that I realized these were the shoes I wore today:

Yep. They don't match.

The Weekend of Too Much Emotion...

2009-03-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have accepted that my life is a very loud one, with things always happening all around me, whether I want them to or not. But this past weekend was dramatic, even for me.

As I told you in my last post, my uncle recently passed away. Also in that post, I mentioned that Thing 1 had made it to the California State Ice Hockey championships. As it turns out, both were in San Diego. I had two radio interviews for my upcoming show, so I wasn't able to leave until Friday afternoon, so Thing 1 had to ride down with another family (their first game was Friday).

Game one was against the Southern California Champs, the Bakersfield Dragons. Our team, the Santa Rosa Flyers, won 3-2 in overtime. A very exciting match, by all accounts. While the boys were on the ice, Denise and I were on the road. Recently, there several police officers were tragically (and fatally) shot in the Bay Area. What I did not know was that the services for those officers were on Friday afternoon, and the powers-that-be had shut down one of the main arteries of traffic in the area. The freeway was at a crawl--so bad, in fact, that Denise and I exited to have dinner, and when we got back on an hour and a half later, it wasn't much better. We did not get in to the hotel in San Diego until nearly 2am.

I was up four hours later to get my son, and we had a quick breakfast before heading to the ice. He had an 8:30am game against the other SOCAL finalists, the Anaheim Jr. Ducks. We lost in the last three minutes of the game, 3-2. After the game, we headed back to the hotel. I called one of my uncles to see if it was okay if I just showed up at the memorial service for my uncle, and they welcomed both Denise and I to come. We changed and headed out, after handing Thing 1 off to the head coach for a few hours.

The service was nice--two of my cousins and one of my aunts spoke, sharing great stories and messages. There was a slide show of my uncle's life, and quite a few pictures included my (then very young) father. Afterward, my aunt invited the family and closest friends to her house for a meal. My uncle and she had run a restaurant for a while, so there was quite a spread of authentic Korean food (she is Korean; my family is Chinese). We had some food, saw many of my cousins, and had a Coors (my uncle was fond of that brand).

Denise and I went back to the hotel. She took a nap while Thing 1 and I went to get him some food. After watching him eat most of a Subway meatball hero, we went back to the hotel to collect his gear and Denise, and headed off to the next game. This one was against the team that the Flyers lost to in the final game of the NORCAL playoffs--the Fresno Jr. Falcons.

To make things even more exciting, the other games in the finals thus far were all close as well. All four teams had won one game, so the point spread was even. Now it was down to this final game--whoever won the game between Anaheim and Bakersfield would face whoever won our game against Fresno on Sunday morning for the championship. I told the guys on our team that Thing 1's birthday was Sunday, and a championship trophy would be a wonderful gift. ;o)

The boys fought hard for the first half of the game, but then their legs just seemed to give out and Fresno's seemed to kick in. It was as if they were energy vampires of some sort. The Flyers ended up getting steamrolled, 5-1, and were knocked out. It was a very tough way to go out (not that there is ever an easy way), and Thing 1 was pretty emotional. I asked what he would like, and he said most of all he wanted to just go back to the hotel and chill--he didn't want to hang out with the team or really celebrate his birthday that night. We grabbed some pizza and pay-per-viewed The Tale of Desperaux (which was an AWESOME movie, btw). I packed up all his stuff, and all of mine, and was in bed almost by midnight.

The following morning, I got up at 5am, got showered and woke Thing 1 and Denise, and packed up the car. I had us checked out of the hotel by 6:20, we stopped at Denny's for birthday breakfast, and hit the road. We arrived back home at 2:45pm (I was breaking land speed records--I probably would have been double-ticketed for driving under the influence, I had so much caffeine in my system). I dropped Denise off at my house so she could zip home before our rehearsal that evening, dropped Thing 1 off at his mom's so they could celebrate his birthday, and stopped to pick him up a gift I had seen days earlier but didn't have the time to purchase.

I was at a grueling cue-to-cue rehearsal from 4:15-7:45pm, stopped by the head coach's house to get the backpack Thing 1 forgot in San Diego, and went home. I am still not sure how or when I will get to deal with all this. Probably in a week when the show is open. Oy.

Playing catch-up...

2009-03-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, I checked the ol' archive, and it has not been "several weeks", but over two entire months since last I wrote anything here. How do I catch you up on all that has happened in that time?

Here's a quick summary, then I have to go:

For a time, my ex-wife decided we should split the boys up to help them cope with the things they were going through individually. So instead of having three nights/week to myself, I found myself with one or two. Not much time to get everything done I needed to, but it was for the kids. The schedule has returned to half a week at a time with both boys, and they are doing better now, but the stories from the last two months would fill several blog entries, and I promised I was just going to sum up.

Work has been insane--I went to a trade show for several days, and there have been many days when my boss has been traveling for business and I have had to hold down the proverbial fort.

I have worked on two shows--rehearsing for The Blue Room, a two-actor adult drama, and rehearsed, opened and closed Willy Wonka with my sons as kids/Oompa Loompas. The Blue Room opens next weekend and runs Fri.-Sat. nights and Sunday matinees for the month of April. There has been much behind-the-scenes drama, but that also is fodder for future blogs.

My girlfriend had her birthday, which is two days after our dating anniversary day and three days after Valentine's Day. It is a romantic, wonderful, amazing three days of celebration. My sons' birthdays are both in March--the youngest one's has past already.

My eldest son's ice hockey team went to the NORCAL division playoffs and placed second. This weekend they are going to the state championships in San Diego. If they make the final game, they will play for the state PeeWee B championship on his birthday on Sunday. I told the boys a championship would be an acceptable birthday gift for him. :o) Go Flyers!

My best friend finished fixing, rebuilding, repairing, and repainting my motorcycle, and surprised me with it a couple of weeks ago.

One of my uncles (my father's little brother) passed away this week. Why is dealing with family hardest when it should be best? Marriage, death, reunions...there is so much tension. Oy.

Add to all this the wonderful world of manic depressive disorder and the mood swings I've been experiencing throughout, and you've got a good snapshot of the last twelve weeks of my life. It has been wild.

Thanks to Denise, Blender, and Samantha for prodding me to write again.

More later.

Clip of the week...

2009-03-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the radio silence. The past several weeks (months?) have been crazy.

But not as crazy as this:

Clip of the Week...

2009-03-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but I am back with a vengeance. Here's this week's clip:

Watch out, Wendy. The blogs are a'comin'...

Clip of the week...

2009-02-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia:

"O mio babbino caro (Oh my dear papa) is an aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi (1918) by Giacomo Puccini (music) and Giovacchino Forzano (Libretto). It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between Schicchi and his prospective in-laws have reached a breaking point that threatens to separate her from Rinuccio, the boy she loves. It provides a contrasting interlude expressing lyrical simplicity and single-hearted love in the atmosphere of hypocrisy, jealousy, double-dealing and feuding in medieval Florence of Puccini's only comedy, and it provides the only set-piece in the through-composed conversational musical give-and-take."

Here it is, performed as a duet between Inna Dukach and The GrooveBarbers:

(If The Groovebarbers sound familiar, it's because they are 75% made up of the former vocal group Rockapella. Where in the world *is* Carmen San Diego, anyway?)

Clip of the week...

2009-01-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

Been a busy seven days--Monday night we celebrated Chinese New Year, yesterday and tomorrow I am working the booth at Photonics West in San Jose, tonight and tomorrow night I have rehearsal, blah, blah. I am exhausted. But this made me chuckle:

Happy hump day!

Clip of the week...

2009-01-21T08:40:00.001-08:00

Okay, I perform on stage, and have taught presentation skills and what not, so I don't want to judge. But how do you screw up the swearing in of a new president?

Come on, John. Oy.

Inauguration Day...

2009-01-20T10:25:00.001-08:00

Okay, I really, really tried hard not to post about this, but I just can't help myself. This is a really long, really opinionated blog, and I'm sure you don't want to read it. But since I can't afford a therapist, I had to put it somewhere. Come back tomorrow for the entertainment. Still here? Okay, then.

If you know me at all, you know I don't care for our current set of world governments. Not just ours, not just "theirs"--all of 'em. Remember when you were little, and you and your three best friends could play all day and have a blast...until the fifth kid came along and everything was suddenly wacky and weird? You had to play round-robin instead of teams. You had to find another piece for the game. You suddenly had to take turns at four-square. There is a reason the phrase 'fifth wheel' works so well to illustrate the concept 'awkward'. I believe that every organizational structure has a lower and upper population limit--an optimal quantity of warm bodies that it will work well for, and anything larger or smaller makes it unwieldy.

This theory has proven itself in my personal and world-observed life time and again: witness the layoffs at O'Reilly I blogged about just the other day. Witness the collapse of Starbucks when it reached critical mass (another wonderful phrase for 'you just got too damn big'). Our government is in the same predicament. We supposedly live in a representative democracy--but in a group of several billion people, how will *my* desires ever be suitably represented? I am not the first to notice that our representatives and congressfolk are for the most part older, richer, and whiter than most of the population. But I digress.

I didn't vote for Obama. I didn't vote for that other guy, either. I voted my belief, not my fear, not my "hope", out of the understanding that, no matter how broken I believe the system to be, the system is still the system. I am not unhappy that Obama won, but he wasn't my first choice. This is important for you to understand, because I don't want a lot of flak about who I support and all that. It is not what this is about.

What this blog is about is the trend I am experiencing among those I hear around me. There is a large group of very vocal people who *did* vote for Obama. And they are driving me to the brink of something violent.

First, there is the sentiment that the voters are super-important because they voted for Obama. I never really cared for sports fans who speak in the third person plural: "We sold Schottenheimer? Oh, MAN!" "We totally got ripped off on that call!" "We've won the series more times than anyone!!!" Um...'we'? Where were you when those athletes had to get pain shots just to keep playing? When they worked seven days a week on the offseason just to stay in good enough shape to compete? When their coaches/trainers/whoever screamed at them for several hours in a row to work harder, when they firmly believed they were doing their best? I am not a fan of taking credit where it is not due. Obama has worked very hard to get where he is. He was elected, sure, but those who elected him are not owed anything by me or anyone else, in my humble opinion. (Are you listening, Oprah?)

Second, there is an inordinate amount of hype surrounding this man, and I think it is (a) ridiculous in its entertainment base, and (b) unfair to Obama. As an example of the first, I cannot tell you since I have already lost count, how many Facebook status updates I saw this morning about Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman performing at the inauguration. It's like the halftime entertainment and commercials at the Super Bowl--hey, if you don't want to watch the game, don't watch it for cryin' out loud. Rent a movie, or go outside, or something.

As for the second...well. Sure, he preached hope and revival and all sorts of repair and healing. But is he the end-all be-all we have all been waiting for? I doubt it. The executive branch is only one part of a triumverate in our country, and the other two are (in the case of the judicial branch) small and confused and (in the case of the legislative branch) owned by lobbyists and not representative of their constituents. Can Obama single handedly save our country? I didn't agree with everything the previous president did, but I don't believe Bush was the Anti-Christ. And I don't believe Obama is the Messiah.

Finally--for now, at least--I am about sick and tired of the anticipation factor in the hype. I have touched on this already, but just to clarify: I have many friends and associates who said, at the turn of the year three weeks ago, 'boy am I glad 2008 is over. 2008 sucked. I am so excited for 2009. It is going to be a GREAT year.' and so on. Guess what? One week later, many of those same people were already sick of 2009. Is it fair to assume that Obama is going to fix everything to everyone's satisfaction? The press has compared him to the famous "chicken in every pot" sentiments voiced by another president we had not too long ago. But can one man really turn around the crap we have gotten ourselves into? It took years and years to get us where we are. Can he do it in four? What if he can't? What will it do to the hyped-up people who think he can? It won't be pretty, I can assure you. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Obama is in a very bad place. Whatever good the man will do--and I believe he will do much good--it cannot possibly measure up to the vision many people have for his time in office.

Mr. President, you have my hopes, condolences, support and best wishes. May you achieve what you wish for.

Happy Birthday...

2009-01-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

...mom!

Since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday was, in fact, on the 15th (you did know that, right?), I chose to observe another important birthday today. My kids, my girlfriend and I all met my parents at Hong Ah, a (relatively) new Chinese restaurant in the area. They make pretty awesome teacakes (dim sum for you round-eyes)* and we had duck. VERY tasty.

I brought one of the birthday cards for her, but forgot the other one. The one I managed to remember had two dachsunds wearing hot-dog costumes on the front. They were a lot like this one:

Okay, so my mom collects dachsunds. Sue me.

Happy Birthday, mom! Hope it was great.

*geez, what is with all the parentheticals tonight?

Yet another reason why I hate corporate america...

2009-01-16T10:33:00.001-08:00

The folks at O'Reilly Media just laid off a bunch of people. One of them was my girlfriend, Denise. But just to set the record straight, this blog isn't about that company specifically. It is about this process in our country of cutbacks, 'downsizing', 'rightsizing', whatever. A bunch of doublespeak that means "we don't know what the eff we're doing so we have to do something before the shareholders stop giving us money."

If you haven't seen Office Space yet, do so immediately. If you have ever worked in Corporate America, you will split your sides and wet yourself laughing at the perfect representation of office life. If you have not had the delight of that experience, you will still find it funny. And I might add, you can view it as a documentary. It is that accurate.

(This *might* be considered a spoiler, but it won't ruin the movie for you, and it is important to this rant. So, tough it out.) During the movie, there are layoffs. In the course of the layoffs, it becomes evident that the laying-off process is really more about reverse Robin Hooding the company: the people who do the bulk of the work are being let go, and their multitudinous tasks are absorbed by others who don't have the training to handle them and are not compensated further, while the people who 'supervise' and 'manage' others are given more money. Middle management gets richer, upper management gets richer, the workers get effed.

I have personally been through this process twice. Once was at the hands of our government, who discovered that the senior officers of the company I worked for were running a Ponzi scam and decided to shut the company down. Over 40% of the company was laid off a week later, then about another 50% of the remaining people were let go a couple weeks after that. I survived both, but realized I was just marking time until the axe fell and decided to get the hell out.

The second time was textbook Corporate America. I used to work in the video game industry. The company I worked for, Mattel Interactive, sold their entertainment division (us) to Ubisoft, and Ubisoft laid off anyone who wasn't working on the four titles they were interested in publishing. They didn't concern themselves with who the best workers were--they didn't have time or energy for that. So they kept people who should have been let go, and let a lot of people (good friends of mine) go who really knew what they were doing and could have made the company successful. (By the way, after those four titles were published, they let most of the rest of the people go, and moved the remaining handful to the city, forty miles away.)

It is as if (this is a little illustration I came up with myself and am very proud of) some folks are sitting in some boardroom somewhere. Lord High Muckety-Muck says, "Well, our racehorse seems to be about ten pounds too heavy. What can we do?" Chancellor Meek says, "Well, the left hind leg from the knee down weighs exactly ten pounds. Why don't we just cut that part off and be done with it?" Lord Muck says, "Brilliant! Simple, clean, easy--brilliant! Go forth, Chancellor Meek!" The Chancellor summons Headsman Mook, who then proceeds to severance package the ten pounds of leg, and voila! Success. Sort of.

Then Mook, Meek and Muck celebrate by giving themselves raises, and the shareholders all rejoice at the wonderful streamlining and reorganizing the company has completed. Profits stabilize (notice I did not say 'increase') and all is well in the kingdom.

I could go on, but I'm just making myself madder and madder. Feh.

My silly dog...

2009-01-15T10:58:00.001-08:00

I have a third child, and I realized that I haven't talked about her much (at all?) here. She is a wonderful little bundle of energy. I got her from the pound nearly one year ago. I had been looking for a dog for quite some time--I have always been a "dog person" and thought it would be good for me to have one while I was going through so much with the separation, etc. I browsed the local shelters, as I didn't have money for a purebred, and there are so many wonderful pups that need homes that I can't stand to imagine being destroyed.

I saw a dog on one of the shelter websites. She was listed as a chocolate lab, and since I knew those usually go fast, I went to the shelter the very next day. I raced home, picked the kids up from school, and went to the shelter only to find out she had already been adopted. We saw a couple other dogs, but none that would work with our lifestyle or our home. As we prepared to go, I asked the boys if they would like to say goodbye to the dogs we had seen. Lo and behold, "Bon Bon" was magically back in the pen!

When we went to the meeting area, I knelt down, and the dog walked right over to me, sat down, and looked into my eyes. She did the same for my eldest son. We found out that the woman who had adopted her had returned her while the boys and I were talking in the truck--she hadn't worked out with the dog the woman already owned. So we had a wonderful little addition to our family.

On the way home, we were trying out names in the cab of the truck. I mentioned 'Penny' (I thought it would be cute--her color is right, and my last name...well). My younger son said, 'What about Maggie?' The dog instantly perked up and licked his face. I said, 'Is your name Maggie?' and she leapt over him to lick my face. Maggie it was. On Saturday, Maggie will have been with me one year.

The shelter said she was chocolate lab. I thought she might be a chocolate lab/whippet mix. Some others (including her vet) have suggested Viesla (sp?). Whatever she is, she is wonderful, friendly (sometimes too friendly), and very fast. We love her dearly. I told you all that to show you this:

On our morning commute, the car is pretty cold but warms up as we drive. The combination of the heater/defroster and the sunlight streaming in the windows makes the car pretty cozy. Maggie started to fall asleep sitting up:

Her eyelids are getting too heavy for her head. Then she starts nodding off:

before she finally crashes:

The dog is too cute.

Clip of the Week...

2009-01-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read my last post, this week's clip won't make much sense. You have read it? Oh. Okay, then:

Twelve Steps...

2009-01-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is David, and I'm a Tetrisaholic. (pause. circle of sponsors responds, "Hi, David.") It has been moments since I used last. (Circle moans collectively, a mixture of sympathy and concern.)

I used to play Tetris back in the days when the game first came out. It was a time of darkness--standing alone in a seedy video arcade in Times Square, plugging quarters into a machine I didn't even know, a machine with cigarette burns near the buttons from countless other addicts who had come before me. I lived for the Russian dance entertainment at the intermissions, a time when one could stretch their carpal-tunnel-bound fingers to prepare for the next wave of colored blocks.

I used to be able to walk away at any time, but soon I found myself pouring all my spare time--and quarters--into the game. In nearly no time at all, I was popping greens, reds and purples like candy. I prayed to the machine, imploring it for the long, thin ice blues that meant multiple rows and bonus points. I begged it for the purples to fill the gaps. I cursed and bruised my own hands banging on the hard case of the machine when the orange came instead of the blue.

Finally, when the darkness became too much, I hit bottom and quit. I realized that I was powerless over Tetris, and that my life had become unmanageable. I made a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself, and turned my will and my life over to God, as I understood him, with the belief that he could restore me to sanity. I admitted my wrongs to another, made a list of all people I had harmed, and made direct amends to them wherever possible. With the help of God, as I understood him, I was clean for years.

Then someone--someone who I do not blame for my own addiction--sent me a link to the game via Facebook. There was a special holiday version of Tetris, and I told myself that I could just play a couple of times, for fun, for the holidays, and it would be okay. I could stop at any time. I quickly became mired in the depths of Tetris again, playing the Ultra version...the Marathon version...the Block Star and Sprint versions. I even went so far as to try a Beta version of a new mod of the game. I quest daily to surpass my friends' high scores. I can't seem to stop, no matter how hard I try.

Please, God, as I understand you, take my life over again and free me from this darkness. Help me to keep it green. Or red. Or purple. Or thin, icy blue...

Making the Edges Ragged, (Pt. 3 of 3)...

2009-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday morning after Christmas, we drove to Anaheim (about an 8 hr drive, depending on how many stops you have to make to utilize the filthy road bathrooms). When we got to town, we had a bit of an adventure trying to find our hotel, but eventually we found it and checked in. After quickly throwing our stuff in the room, Denise treated us all to dinner at Medieval Times. (It was a surprise for the boys, and my first time). We got seated in the front row of the Green knight's section—Leon, as it turns out, is the enemy of the court. The food was not bad, the fighting was top notch, and it was super exciting to root for the bad guy for a change. I was really into it, and shouted more than was prudent, probably.

We went to the park the following day, right after they lowered the ropes to let people in. The weather was pretty chilly, around the high 40’s, so there weren’t a lot of people there. We covered half the park by 1:00 in the afternoon—no mean feat. But if you know how to work the system (yay Fast Pass!), you can cover a lot more ground. (We also pack our own food for all but one meal—saves us TONS of money. Let me know if you want more tips.) We saw all of Adventureland, Frontierland, and New Orleans Square. The Haunted Mansion is all decked out with the characters from “Nightmare Before Christmas”, so that was a lot of fun. We had lunch on some outdoor picnic tables at the edge of the Rivers of America, and then covered the majority of Fantasyland and some of Tomorrowland. As the sun set, the holiday decorations glittered with tons of Christmas lights—and Cinderella’s castle was ASTOUNDINGLY beautiful, with icicles and lights just dripping off it.

After debating whether or not to pop over to California Adventure for the resurrected Electric Light Parade or see the Holiday Fireworks show, we opted to stay. By the time we grabbed some seats on Main Street for the fireworks, I knew I was in trouble—the show, the Christmas holiday, the drive, the yelling at dinner, the park—combined with being surrounded by sick folks—were all taking their toll. I could feel the tickle in my throat growing worse, and the exhaustion I felt as I tried to get hot chocolate for everyone for the fireworks was quickly transitioning into fever hot flashes.

I gutted it out, though, and I’m so glad I did. We watched the fireworks and headed back to the room. The following day we let ourselves get a later start. Denise was now starting to come down with something, too, but she was being a trooper about it. We went to California Adventure and Denise and Thing 2 went to A Bug’s Land while Thing 1 and I went to the Tower of Terror. We met up and saw the most fantastic 3-D experience ever before going to a huge play space type area dedicated to the Brother Bear movie. We sat and ate our lunch before hitting California Soarin’ and making our way back to Disneyland.

Denise and I traded kids, and Thing 2 and I rode the Nemo ride while they hit Thunder Mountain (again) and the Matterhorn (again again). We met up and covered a few last rides before sitting down to dinner. We were dragging, all of us, and the two adults were getting sicker by the minute, but we didn’t want to leave. We grabbed some seats at the Rivers of America for the Fantasmic! show, and then drug our weary selves back to the hotel. On the way out, we were extremely glad we saw the fireworks the previous night, as the weather at high altitude was keeping them from happening. In true Disney fashion, however, they had a backup plan—a light show that involved all the holiday lights on Main Street (including the hundreds of them on the giant tree in the middle of town) all synched up to a holiday song.

The following day, we got up and hit the road, taking the long trip back to NorCal. We picked up the dog from Camp Bow Wow (wonderful place, I highly recommend it if you have a pup and need to board it somewhere). Then we stumbled home. A wonderful trip.

Making the Edges Ragged, (Pt. 2 of 3)…

2009-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

I often get sick after the close of a show--something about the adrenaline finally slowing down enough, or the emotional drain of closing a show and saying goodbye to all those characters, or maybe just the sheer exhaustion of finalizing a run. But this time, I didn't have time to get sick. Christmas was coming! I did my shopping in and around the show time, and was able to knock out my last minute stuff successfully, and got everything ready for a wonderful Christmas. The boys were with me on Christmas Eve, and my girlfriend Denise and Thing 1 and I went up to my parents' house to help my father fold wonton. (It is a tradition in my family to have wonton soup on Christmas Eve--that old division of labor thing. Mom makes Christmas food, Dad makes it on the Eve.)

On Christmas morning we opened lots of presents, then the boys went to their mom's for the afternoon and opened even more. My parents came over in the morning for the giftwrap genocide, and Denise and I played mahjong with them all afternoon while the boys were away. The boys rejoined us in the evening, and we had a splendid Christmas dinner. Overall, the day was a wonderful success (I thought, anyhoo). There was one more gift I had for them, though.

When Thing 1 and Thing 2 were 6 and 3 years old, respectively, I took them to Disneyland for the first time. I didn’t want to go much earlier—no sense taking a kid to something like that they aren’t even going to remember when they’re that young (in Thing 2’s case). But I didn’t want to wait any longer, either—Thing 1 was at just the right age. We had such an incredible, magical time, that I mentioned (and planned, in my heart of hearts) to go every two years until the kids no longer wanted to hang out with us. We went again two years later, and were slated to go again in 2007, but divorce reared its ugly head, and I had emptied my retirement account just to fix my ex’s van, change careers, and move twice. I wanted more than anything to make it happen this year. I personally had never been during the holidays, and had heard it was a special time there (even more special than usual). I asked my mom if she would like to pitch in on passes in lieu of getting them a big-ticket item for their present, and she agreed. My girlfriend volunteered to cover one night of hotel expenses. The success of SantaLand sealed the deal.

Every year, Starbucks Coffee Company releases a wonderful giftcard holder a part of their holiday promotion. I had picked up two of them. On the day after Christmas, I handed my two sons a beautiful red felt card holder with a 2-day parkhopper pass to Disneyland inside. We left on the following day...

to be continued...

Clip of the Week...

2009-01-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here's one to kick off the new year--the big bang at Big Ben:

Pretty.

Making the Edges Ragged, (Pt. 1 of 3)…

2009-01-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

My show, The SantaLand Diaries, was more successful than we ever dreamed or hoped.

Back in October, I got an IM via Facebook from a friend I had worked with before--in fact, he was the director of this very same show when I did it three years ago. In that production, there were three of us (instead of the single actor as in the original play). He sent me a message that said, ‘I have a crazy idea. Have you checked your e-mail?’ I checked it. In his message, he was proposing that the two of us put the show up--he would direct, I would be the sole actor, and we would co-produce. I told him that I had had the same crazy idea just a couple weeks prior, and suddenly the game was afoot.

We ended up getting a cool space in downtown Santa Rosa through the Arts District. We also got sweet deals on lighting, sound, and help from another director I think the world of for our flats and blacks for the set. We got an amazing hand from an event coordinator here in town, who helped us design the house and set, and build it all, as well as house manage on performance nights.

On top of all that, we suddenly got an e-mail in November from someone in San Francisco who was producing the very same show. It seems this gentleman had produced the show in the city for six years (this was his seventh). It was a tradition, a mainstay, and they sell out every year. Since the venue they were having the show in this season had two stages, he had the crazy idea to get another production running at the same time. Would we be interested in just bringing our show down? He would provide the lights, sound, PR, everything. We negotiated a bit before backing out--the hassle of going down to the city to do a show when both my partner and I were single dads (me permanent, he temporary) in the middle of holiday when we wanted to spend time with our kids was just too much. Also, my partner pointed out that the way things were going, we could probably extend one weekend and make what we would have made in SFO in two weekends, and with much less hassle. We did extend, and we did very well.

As a consequence, however, I did not get to experience quite as much holiday wonder as I had hoped (one of my best friends in the world calls me “Captain Christmas” from November till New Year’s). But the extra weekend made it possible to take my boys to Disneyland, which was my dream for them since June. Unfortunately, it also meant that I was exhausted going in to Christmas...

to be continued...

Happy New Year...

2009-01-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Well, dear readers, another one for the books. As I approached year-end, I realized I had hardly even touched my little corner of the blogsphere in weeks (spheres have corners? wha?). I vowed, as many people vow to lose weight and stop drinking—“right after this last glass of New Year's Eve champagne”--to get back on the horse and write again. After all, I *need* to write, in a way that usually means if I *don't* write, I will end up eating or drinking too much. (See what I did there?)

And here we are, three days late.

I *do* have an excuse: I ran myself ragged, and fell very sick with a flu that is making its rounds here in Northern California. This one is a charmer, starting with a sore throat that just gets worse and worse. The nose starts dripping, the cough kicks in, then the fever and aches and everything. Thankfully, no vomitoriousness with this bug, but still. I spent three days on my back, which for me is saying something.

But, I am back, and will catch you up on the ragged-making events that preceded me breaking my Write-More-On-My-Blog resolution before I could even start it. Rather than post one enormous Tolstoy epic here, I will give it to you in installments. In the meantime, here is my belated New Year’s toast to you—it’s a traditional toast from Canisbay, a small village near John O’Groats in Scotland:

May the best yer've ever seen be the worst yer'll ever see,
May a moose ne'er leave yer girnal' wi' a tear drop in its e'e,
May yer lum keep blithely reekin' until the day yer dee,
And may yer a' be as happy as I'd like yer a' tae be.

(“May the best you've ever seen be the worst you'll ever see,
May a mouse never leave your grain store with a teardrop in its eye,
May your chimney keep happily smoking until the day you die,
And may you all be as happy as I'd like you all to be.”)

Happy New Year, Dearest Readers!

SantaLand Diaries...

2008-12-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

So, as you might surmise from yesterday's quote (not to mention a month's worth of only clip-of-the-week posts), I have been a mite bit busy lately. In addition to the aftermath of the election season, I have finalized the divorce, undergone a huge shift in work, switched through three holidays, and have been memorizing 25 pages of dialog for a one-man show.

The show, David Sedaris' SantaLand Diaries, opens tonight. (Click the link to go to NPR's page--SLD is on the list of available streaming audio.)

In addition to the work of an actor, I have also been working overtime on promotional stuff as well. (There are only two of us producing this baby.) I have been interviewed on the radio twice, helped set up a website (crazyelves.com) and helped spread the word. The local paper had a huge spread on the show a couple weeks back--they had me featured on the front cover of the Arts section in Sunday's paper. We also shot a Vblog about the show that is rather cute--here 'tis, for your edification and possible enjoyment:

(original blog can be found here.)

A special thanks/shout to Cara, who has been undergoing the same dry spell as I have, apparently. I checked her blog recently and was inspired to get off my (writing) ass and post something for you, so you didn't think I had just fallen into a hole. If you are free this weekend or the next, you can click here for tickets.

Quoth Mr. Thoreau...

2008-12-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

"Unfortunately, many things have been omitted which should have been recorded in our journal; for though we made it a rule to set down all our experiences therein, yet such a resolution is very hard to keep, for the important experiences rarely allow us to remember such obligations, and so indifferent things get recorded, while that is frequently neglected. It is not easy to write in a journal what interests us at any time, because to write it is not what interests us."

From A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Thursday's entry

Clip of the week...

2008-12-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

An oldie-but-a-goodie:

Hope you are enjoying your holiday season...

Clip of the week...

2008-11-26T10:53:00.001-08:00

A classic, from the Charlie Chaplin film "Gold Rush". Humble meal, shared with a friend, and enjoyed with gratitude. I wish you the same, if not the exact same menu:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clip of the week...

2008-11-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

Possible musical selections for the soundtrack for this segment:

"O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana
"The Rumble" from West Side Story
"It's the Circle of Li-- AH!!! #&*^%$#@!!!"

Place your vote by commenting below.

Clip of the week...

2008-11-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

...now THAT is hot.

When God breaks a window...

2008-11-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

...sometimes he installs beautiful new stained glass and curtains.

Recently, my friend the Manhunter from Mars (his online musings are on the blogroll at left) tried to get me into a game called Spore. It appears to be some sort of weird hybrid of avatar-creation, Pokemon, and Myspace--you create creatures, attempt to evolve them, and can visit other worlds to see what the rest of the Spore community is up to. Sounds like fun, no? It did to me, too, but since I barely have time to eat, I couldn't imagine getting hooked on yet another addicting video game.

However, what he did not tell me is the story of Ken Walters, one of the digital artists Electronic Arts (or "EA" for short) put to work on this new game. Walters was an engineer in the UK before he was in a terrible accident--a forklift driver crushed him into a wall, fracturing his spine. He was wheelchair bound, without work, and living off the state for almost twenty years, and had two heart attacks during that time (as if the initial injury wasn't enough).

It would have been even more depressing to add a stroke to the list of things that have plagued and depressed him over the last two decades, had it not been for the stroke's bizaare blessing-in-disguise. After recovering from it, he began to doodle. A self-proclaimed non-artist in school, Walters was suddenly drawing. A lot. His doctors encouraged him, saying that sometimes the brain can be partially "rewired" after a stroke, unveiling previously hidden talents.

His doodles grew to digital imagery, and he began selling art on the internet. He even developed his own software, which he used to beef up his portfolio, before EA (the video game giant responsible for just about every good sports-oriented game on the market) snapped him up to create creatures for the Spore game for a cool 30,000 pounds British Sterling. (And counting, he has a share of the merchandising for the game.)

You can find the original story here.

Clip of the week...

2008-11-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know many of you are Obama supporters, so I hope you personally do not take offense at this video. It is not meant for the intelligent, investigative, smart folks among you who voted for him (congrats, btw). It is meant for the thousands of those who supported Obama night and day, spammed my inbox with reminders to vote, and completely succumbed to Election Fever, to the exclusion of the rest of their lives.

And if you don't know the Onion, well...they've never really been the quiet, sensitive types over there.

Without further caveat, here is the video that nearly made me crack a rib laughing:

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Congrats to you, Senator Barack Hussein Obama. I sincerely hope you are capable of pulling off even a third of what you Hope.

Election Day...

2008-11-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

Pick your favorite, you Americans you:

And that's about all I have to say about that. For today, at least.

Still more Not-Politics...

2008-10-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

In light of the pending elections, I looked up the word "suffrage" (which means 'to vote') and "suffer" (which means 'to sit in commuter traffic') and found the similarities quite frightening:

Go to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and have some fun yourself. "Republican" vs. "Democrat"? "Liberal" vs. "Conservative"? "Regular" vs. "Decaf"? It's your choice.

Autumnal merriness...

2008-10-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

I love the fall. I love the cooling climate, the crisp air, the return of fog. I love the crunch of a fresh apple, the warm spices and comfort foods, and caramel. (Sure, you can get caramel all year round, but there's something about that smoky, burned sugar taste that goes with fall.) I love the twilight and pre-dawn colors of the sky, and in the fall you don't have to get up as early to appreciate them. The turning leaves, the sweaters, the snuggliness of it all...

And of course, Halloween. Today I took the kids and Denise to the Adobe Pumpkin Farm in Petaluma for an afternoon of Fall Wonderfulness. This place is a bit on the crazy side for pumpkin patches--almost a carnival more than a patch. There are two haunted houses, a hay maze, and a corn maze. There were three little barn-buildings-turned-shops, and a coffee shack. There are little booths where you can get snacks (cotton candy, caramel apples, fresh-popped kettle corn, and funnel cakes). There is a "train" ride that tools about the 30-acre farm, as well as a hay ride. There are demonstrations of old farm equipment, still running. There are jump castles, a pyramid of haybales to climb on, and a rock wall, as well as several live performers wandering about.

Oh, yeah--and pumpkins. TONS of pumpkins.

They also have fresh autumnal flowers growing onsite, peppers and olives. (You can even get some fresh, home-pressed olive oil in one of the barn/shop places.) If you are in the area, you should stop by for a visit. The pumpkin prices are pretty high as opposed to getting them at a nearby supermarket, but the experience is more than worth it. And hey--who says you have to buy them there? But you may want to--there were still several you could pick right off the vine. And that is a fun experience.

Not-Politics, again...

2008-10-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Good lord, I do love me some articles on Cracked.com. Them boys shore do crack me up. I would submit quotes to you, but I fear it would be like telling you the punchline to a joke, so instead I plead with you to read the following:

An Interview with McCain and Obama in the year 2012

or ?

If that don't make you wanna start a militia and revolt, you ain't been paying attention.

Somewhere in my youth or childhood...

2008-10-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have a new someone-special in my life, and wanted to take the opportunity to share some things about her. Her name is Denise, we met in theater a few years back, and she is a beacon in my life. I recently found a scrapbook of some of the events leading up to our current relationship status:

Here is Denise, introducing herself to me:

(actually, that is her as Helene in Sweet Charity at the Sixth Street Playhouse. We met while doing this show.)

This is a photo of her picking up a donut and some coffee for me:

(actually, that is her as Dawn in Lobby Hero at the Sixth Street Playhouse, a show that is not about the coffee.)

Here she is, upset over not having cream for the coffee:

(actually, that is her as Suzy Hendrix in Wait Until Dark with the Raven Players)

This photo was taken at the hospital, when she was giving me the prognosis on my donut poisoning:

(actually, that is her as Caitlin O'Hare in Over The River And Through The Woods at the Sixth Street Playhouse)

An image taken at great personal risk to the photographer, of Denise at a secret ritual to bring me back from the dead:

(actually, that is her as Hecate in Macbeth at the Loading Zone, a show we did together)

And here is a photo of our first kiss:

(actually, that is her as Hecate in Macbeth again, with yours truly as the doomed Scottish lord)

I hope she will take as much joy from this post as I have from knowing her for as long as I have, and that she will be as encouraged by it as I have been by her constant support, friendship and love.

(all photos culled from www.deniseelia.com)

Clip of the week...

2008-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am going to save my political rants for another time. There are too many of them, and you won't be happy after reading them. But I will go so far as to say I am not voting Republican OR Democrat in a couple of weeks, so this clip is not a bid for you to support Obama or anyone else.

What this clip is--well, it's an old friend of mine who happens to have a brilliant lyrical sense, and a good sound going with his band. I get really unhappy whenever anyone brings up the election (which means I'm unhappy a lot right now, unfortch), so the fact that he made me smile with some of his turns of phrase should say something.

Enjoy!

If you think YOU have a case of the Mondays...

2008-10-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

...be grateful you aren't this viper in Taiwan. Apparently some firemen found a poisonous snake that they were keeping in a cage. They also found a mouse, which they thought would make a nice snack for the reptile. Round One:

After nearly thirty minutes of fighting, the foot-long viper "proved unable to land a killer bite", however, and the mouse KILLED IT.

Now THAT, ladies and gents, is (as the kids nowadays might say) some serious shit. I am not sure even how to tag this post. Click either image for the story in last Thursday's Telegraph.

Oh. My. God...

2008-10-10T11:11:00.001-07:00

Starting in November, you can ride on a real live Airship! Airship Ventures is bringing a Zeppelin NT to the California bay area for "daily sight seeing flights, advertising operations, corporate and event occasions and scientific missions." (Scientific Missions? Woohoo!)

You can take one of two tours from the airport three blocks from my office to see the Russian River Valley or Alexander Valley (both are one-hour journeys round trip), the San Francisco bay (departing from North Oakland airport--also one hour), or even a two hour jaunt from Moffett Field to see the entire San Francisco peninsula.

It's expensive, but man do I want to go. Wouldn't it be a blast to charter a flight with a dozen friends, have champagne and dress up 40's style? I am getting all twitchy just thinking about it...

Lucifer, your lunch is ready...

2008-10-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Dark Prince loves him some Carl's Jr. I ordered a medium size chili burger meal with a Dr. Pepper, and here's the receipt:

Don't know what possessed me to eat there, but now I feel the need to exorcise. (See what I did there?)

Clip of the week...

2008-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hockey is back! This weekend the NHL season opens with two games overseas. While I find the idea intriguing, mostly it seems like another gimmick by the NHL commissioner to drum up more support. But hey--they're on the ice, and it's GAME ON baby!

The game is fast, unpredictable, and just plain crazy. If you're a casual watcher, you might think a lot of the goals you see are just plain lucky. Take a look at this and you may re-evaluate your stance on just how much skill it takes to play this game:

If only he had played like that when he was still with the Rangers. Ah, well. Drop that puck!

What I need...

2008-09-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful weekend. I am too busy, however. Here is what I need in my bedroom:

Maybe then I will get the sleep I "should".

Clip of the week...

2008-09-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the beginning of autumn, old skool. This is a classic Sesame Street moment:

Fittingly, this autumn I am dealing with the end of several things, and the beginning of others.

How crazy is your state?...

2008-09-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Some folks did a bit of research into how personality traits apply to us americans in different states. Granted, they only sampled 600,000 surveys (which sounds like a lot until you remember that there more than 300 million people in our country--which means about 0.2% of the population was interviewed). But the results, featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal, are still interesting. The findings are ranked a little oddly--they chose to make a low score mean "more", which was a bit of a counterintuitive choice. But they are interesting to read, nonetheless. And they have an interactive graphic! Which means the findings must be true! Order now!

Apparently California is a bit -- but only a bit -- different than I thought it was. According to the keen graphics, Californians are very similar to New Yorkers in extraversion, but are more agreeable. This confirms what I always thought (having lived both ends of the continent): just because someone doesn't maintain your opinion doesn't mean they aren't outgoing. I always found the brashness of New Yorkers preferable to the fake-politicos I ran into all over southern California, but there wasn't a measure of genuinity on this test.

Unless you count "openness", but that one raised the hairs on my neck quite a bit. The definition strongly suggests that "openness" is related to the liberal political bent--but my experience living here is one of persecution. One of my favorite bumper stickers all time is "Liberal: one who believes you should be free to think as they do." But the political discussion is best saved for another blog....

That leaves two traits from the article: "conscientiousness" and "neuroticism" (which means 'one who finds neurotic people hot'). The Californians scored higher on the first--suggesting that all the tree-hugging and recycling might actually be making a difference, which is inspiring. The word "neuroticism" was defined, not as I just wrote, but as "anxiety and stress", which I didn't feel was fair. New York scored WAY high on that one, and California didn't. But here we have people making six figure salaries living in their cars--how is that laid back? Oh, wait--probably they didn't get interviewed by the researchers, what with having no address and all.

In any case, if you are craving a quiet life instead of a loud one, you should probably head to Colorado. Their state score is Extraversion: 28; Agreeableness: 29; Conscientiousness: 15; Neuroticism: 50; Openness: 8. (Wow, that looks like a character profile from some crazy new role playing game.)

Yarrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!...

2008-09-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Today is the 13th annual "Talk Like a Pirate Day"! Fun for all--nothing quite like trying to sell lasers and other electro-optical components to a Russian Ph.D. from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with a goofy pirate accent. (Okay, I chickened out and didn't do it with him.) I did do it in the drivethru one year when I was still with Starbucks, and that was definitely a hoot.

Want to have some piratical fun? Go figure out what your pirate name might have been. Here's mine:

Want to have even more fun? Try translating any phrase into piratespeak. This page not only piratizes phrases you enter into the magic box, it will also translate entire web pages, a la AltaVista's old Babel Fish service. Do it with a page from your local newspaper--pretty awesome reading the sports page with pirate accent (even though they didn't have the score from the last Pittsburgh baseball game).

"and I didn't even get a kiss"...

2008-09-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

My grandfather on my mother's side was a hysterical man. He was one of those people who may not have had a world-class book-learnin' edumacation, but had common sense to the moon and back. And not only that, but he was incredibly funny. His wit was not rapier sharp, it was laser sharp. Whenever someone said, "I got screwed!" he would always follow it up with "Did you at least get a kiss?"

Have you read the news? I used to work for AIG in the 90's, when I lived in New York. It was the first time in my life I earned stock in a company I worked for. Here's a capture of the stock ticker from this morning:

For those of you who don't read these things, I would like to point out that one year ago, the stock was valued at approximately US$70--today it opened at about two bucks. I apparently would not be well-suited for a career in speculative finance.

If you haven't read the article from the Times, I'll like to call your attention to some things I find interesting (as in the Chinese curse, 'may you live in interesting times'). The Federal Reserve Bank bailed out the financial giant in exchange for nearly an 80% share of the company. Now, then--the Fed gets its money from--who? Oh yeah, me. From the taxes I pay for the activities of a government I don't support. (God, I wish I had the balls for a little Civil Disobedience.)

So, if the crash of AIG stock is the rock, here is the hard place: I am paying the Fed to bail out a company that took my money and lost it. If/when the company gets back in the black, it will be due to an involuntary infusion of my money into the company. And who will make the profit? The Fed. Oh, sure, I am going to see a slight increase (again, that's IF the company pulls out of the dive), but multiply that increase by thousands and thousands of shares, and you will see what the Fed will gain out of it.

Don't get what I'm trying to say? (I am not always clear when I'm ranting.) Go read this article--he's a financial writer, and has put it much more eloqently in his review of the situation. Bottom line is, the Fed stands to make a ton of money off of my tax dollars, and they are under no obligation to return the interest like the banks they "support". Will they thank me? Unlikely. Will I get a kiss? I would bet my AIG stock that I won't.

Clip of the week...

2008-09-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Coke (well, I was in my last post), here is the famous Diet Coke + Mentos recreation of the fountain at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. You've probably already seen it (it's one of those "viral" videos that makes the rounds), but just in case:

Have a Coke and a smile. Or at least a smile. Apparently Coke isn't a very nice person, if you believe the conspiracy theorists.

Happy Hump Day, folks.

Genericization? Is that even a word? Hm...

2008-09-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

There are a number of brand names that have become so big as to be inducted in our language as actual nouns. You know some of them: we use "escalator" for any sort of lifty-staircase-thingy, "Kleenex" for any brand of facial tissue, and quite a few of us (when I was a kid, anyway) use "Coke" to refer to any ol' flavor or brand of soft drink.

I was curious to find out what some of the others might be. Across the pond, "Hoover" is still used as a verb for vacuuming: "I can't hear you--I'm Hoovering!" But what other things might I be saying in common parlance that belong to someone? If you're curious, here's a list from Wikipedia that might satiate your curiosity.

Now I'm going to go take a couple of asprin and call you on my touch-tone phone in the morning. Not to slap a Band Aid on it or anything.