To big bro' RSvP!!! The new daddy-o is celebrating the 13th anniversary of his 21st Birthday, and to celebrate I'm skipping out early to have a lil' lunchable's with him. No embarrassing stories will accompany today's happy blog, although the other day when I was driving home from work I remembered the time he got run over by a bus...
That'll bake your noodle, won't it? "What??? The master ninja was attacked by a deadly ninja school bus? Say it ain't so?!?!?!" Nope. True story. This was before his training, you see. Nowaday's, those school buses wouldn't stand a chance. Hiiiiii KEEBA!!!
Other famous Cancer-ites sharing their b'day's with big brother include Picard, Han Solo, and the dude that directed "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", and my buddy KH. (Happy birthday, gorgeous)
So shout out, email, call, frass and wish the bestest role model you could ask for a happy birthday!!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Two to grow on:
First, this represents one side of the two sided shelf which housed the sauces that were Heiss. Note the "Danger" sign. I opted for one of the few sauces that didn't have a warning label requesting that you make sure it doesn't come in contact with your skin. The way I see it, if it's so hot that it diminishes the flavor? The sauce is useless, and you wind up loosing the feeling in your mouth. And that's if you're lucky. Recall the story of my buddy Adam, who topped his steak dish at El Meson with "Ass in the Tub Hot Sauce". He lost his hearing for about 25 minutes) If you look at the first bottle on the second shelf down (The reddish cap with the white top) that's mine. It's supposed to look like a Santa hat.) Directly below that and to the right in the photot is a bottle with what appears to be Mardi Gras beads. That's the "Show yer T#t's" brand hot sauce. Not that the two have even a remote connotation. I held the bottle up over my head for nearly a minute and it didn't do a dang thing. Well, the Abuela that was running the counter put a suspicious hand near the hem of her shirt...but that was all. Close call, that.
And here is the infamous flat tire. We carefully took her up to the corner Chevron station where I valiantly attempted resuscitation to no avail. After the free emergency Mavis roadside assistance showed up, he recommended that we take it to "Chip's Tire's" on Monday a.m. Chip was an affable man. Skinny, pepper gray handle bar mustache to match his hair. Tinted specs. Pall Mall hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Barking orders and running around like a man half his age. He delegates tire patching detail to one of his employees who after a cursory glance discovers the culprit: A well placed nail. The head of the thing looked like it was the size of a dime. Our tire didn't stand a chance. One quick patch and we were off like a prom dress.
And While we were frassin' in the Tire store wait area...working our crossword with gusto ("Quick! What's a 16 letter word for a 1988 movie starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenburg, et.al?") , this man who was from NYC was audibly talking to (I presume) HIS insurance agency or roadside service. He made this big deal about being from NY, loudly announcing it to the person on the phone's recieving end AND to the Tire store patron's. ("WHAT? YEAH'S. THAT'S RIGHT, DIRECT FROM NEW YORK CITY, NY...WHAT'S IT TO YA? EHHHH, YEAHYEAHYEAH DESE GUYS ARE GREAT.")
People amaze me. They really do.
First, this represents one side of the two sided shelf which housed the sauces that were Heiss. Note the "Danger" sign. I opted for one of the few sauces that didn't have a warning label requesting that you make sure it doesn't come in contact with your skin. The way I see it, if it's so hot that it diminishes the flavor? The sauce is useless, and you wind up loosing the feeling in your mouth. And that's if you're lucky. Recall the story of my buddy Adam, who topped his steak dish at El Meson with "Ass in the Tub Hot Sauce". He lost his hearing for about 25 minutes) If you look at the first bottle on the second shelf down (The reddish cap with the white top) that's mine. It's supposed to look like a Santa hat.) Directly below that and to the right in the photot is a bottle with what appears to be Mardi Gras beads. That's the "Show yer T#t's" brand hot sauce. Not that the two have even a remote connotation. I held the bottle up over my head for nearly a minute and it didn't do a dang thing. Well, the Abuela that was running the counter put a suspicious hand near the hem of her shirt...but that was all. Close call, that.
And here is the infamous flat tire. We carefully took her up to the corner Chevron station where I valiantly attempted resuscitation to no avail. After the free emergency Mavis roadside assistance showed up, he recommended that we take it to "Chip's Tire's" on Monday a.m. Chip was an affable man. Skinny, pepper gray handle bar mustache to match his hair. Tinted specs. Pall Mall hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Barking orders and running around like a man half his age. He delegates tire patching detail to one of his employees who after a cursory glance discovers the culprit: A well placed nail. The head of the thing looked like it was the size of a dime. Our tire didn't stand a chance. One quick patch and we were off like a prom dress.
And While we were frassin' in the Tire store wait area...working our crossword with gusto ("Quick! What's a 16 letter word for a 1988 movie starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenburg, et.al?") , this man who was from NYC was audibly talking to (I presume) HIS insurance agency or roadside service. He made this big deal about being from NY, loudly announcing it to the person on the phone's recieving end AND to the Tire store patron's. ("WHAT? YEAH'S. THAT'S RIGHT, DIRECT FROM NEW YORK CITY, NY...WHAT'S IT TO YA? EHHHH, YEAHYEAHYEAH DESE GUYS ARE GREAT.")
People amaze me. They really do.
I can't make this stuff up. The first night in Santa Fe, this Baptist church was touting a legendary and renowned pastor who was coming in to give the Sunday sermon. I allowed it a fleeting glance before diving back into my book.
Cut to the day we're leaving to hit Taos. Dorajar and I both did a double take, pulled a U-ey so we could bring you the latest bout of mild church vandalism:
Seriously. This was also a bit ironic since not 3 days prior we were listening to one of the only stations to provide any airplay in the desert which happened to be a religious station. Touting the fact that pre-marital sex is not only sinful but a gateway for demonic possession, and that Ted "The Nuge" Nugent was sinful due to the fact that he hunted animals and committed the demonic pagan act of drinking the animals blood.
Heh.
In two otherwise completely unrelated notes, I am proud to say that I was able to get a spat of fiction reading in during the week (after picking up some used nickelbacks at the Moab used bookstore.) and I demolished not one. Not two. But four, count'em FOUR adapted screenplays based on their respective movie. (With the exception of "Jaws", which technicallyh came first.) "Dragonslayer", "Krull", and "Willow" all became my b#tches. Between those and the bachanalian number of crosswords we did over pints of micro-brewed pale ale? I feel like a new man.
Secondly, one of our other bullet points was obtaining a unique and powerful hot sauce. We found a shop in Santa Fe that catered to this wish, however the shelf proved overwhelming in the number of potential candidates. (Varying from "Hot as F#ck" hotsauce to "Show your T#t's" hot sauce.)
I opted for one called "Christmas time" Hot Sauce. Appropos for nothing.
Lastly, I hate the term "Snuggle Pouch"and any physical area that term may be associated with. You heard me. And I hate being in crowded stores when SOMEone behind me asks if my chlamydia is acting up. In an outdoor voice. >: P
Cut to the day we're leaving to hit Taos. Dorajar and I both did a double take, pulled a U-ey so we could bring you the latest bout of mild church vandalism:
Seriously. This was also a bit ironic since not 3 days prior we were listening to one of the only stations to provide any airplay in the desert which happened to be a religious station. Touting the fact that pre-marital sex is not only sinful but a gateway for demonic possession, and that Ted "The Nuge" Nugent was sinful due to the fact that he hunted animals and committed the demonic pagan act of drinking the animals blood.
Heh.
In two otherwise completely unrelated notes, I am proud to say that I was able to get a spat of fiction reading in during the week (after picking up some used nickelbacks at the Moab used bookstore.) and I demolished not one. Not two. But four, count'em FOUR adapted screenplays based on their respective movie. (With the exception of "Jaws", which technicallyh came first.) "Dragonslayer", "Krull", and "Willow" all became my b#tches. Between those and the bachanalian number of crosswords we did over pints of micro-brewed pale ale? I feel like a new man.
Secondly, one of our other bullet points was obtaining a unique and powerful hot sauce. We found a shop in Santa Fe that catered to this wish, however the shelf proved overwhelming in the number of potential candidates. (Varying from "Hot as F#ck" hotsauce to "Show your T#t's" hot sauce.)
I opted for one called "Christmas time" Hot Sauce. Appropos for nothing.
Lastly, I hate the term "Snuggle Pouch"and any physical area that term may be associated with. You heard me. And I hate being in crowded stores when SOMEone behind me asks if my chlamydia is acting up. In an outdoor voice. >: P
Hi. Aloha. Mazel Tov. We're back now. Alive. Barely. I won't spare you all the gory details. Maybe I'll cut/tag them into episodic LJ entries. Maybe I'll just make a mini-book that can accompany the DVD footage we shot while tripping on the road. Sufficed to say, it was a helluva a trip and I'm already going into post-trippy depression. Some highlights:
1 flight into Denver with a SCREAMING pampie right behind our ears for 1.5 hours. (Mo was upset that she didn't bring a taser. That child was Chucky and Damian all rolled up into one. It was his evil eyebrows.)
We logged 1,540 miles on the borrowed Ford Focus.
Hit 3 states.
Met a hippy with a lisp at the Hostel. ("I am the offith!")
17 margarita's. (Part of our half-assed itinerary was to find the perfect margarita. I tell you what, it was NOT the margie they served in Eagle Nest, CO at the Historic Grand Vault Saloon and Inn. Cheap bastards. At least it served as the "quirky bar" we wanted to visit)
15 different kind of brew pub pale ales.
One "Half" Litre of Jack.
One "Half" Litre of Morgans.
Eating more different versions of beans and tortilla's than you'd want to eat and be in the same room as another human being. Prrrrrt.
1 flat tire fixed by Chip the magical tire guy.
1 retarded Mikey thinking that a jog in 109 degree heat with 0 humidity was a good idea in Moab. (As well as an uphill jog at 8,000 feet above sea level in Santa Fe)
A burning desire to relocate to Durango, CO (While we're young. We had the best breakfast there) or Santa Fe, NM when we're older. (We danced with the hippies in town square, pausing to realize that we were probably the next youngest demographic by 20 years)
5 different hikes of varying intensity- ranging from a leisurely 2 mile putter around the Canyonlands, to an intense 4.5 mile hike that went from 8,000 to 9,010 feet, then down. Then right back up again. (And some mo-fo was jogging it! With his pregnant wife! Nootz to them!)
A deranged multiple-personality disordered tour guide at Mesa Verde named "Ranger Jo" She was a trippy lady. She kept channelling "Grandfather". "Grandfather, will you tell us why?!?!"/(Back to herself) "Girl? You don't wanna know"
In all that, we managed to sneak in both a sushi night in Santa Fe (The owners appreciated my lame attempts at Japanese. Kampei indeed) and Thai food whilst parked in Denver on our last night.
Then I got home and found out that my water heater is busted. Flooding the basement. Again.
At least he kept the lawn watered. It's greener than my nabes, anyway.
Hi guys. It's great to be home. I missed my city. And my roommate. And my kitty...
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Good bye, all!!!
We're leaving on a jet plane! Hope to post pictures etc. on our return!
See you when we're sunburned!
See you when we're sunburned!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Ah HA! You all forGOT didn't YOU!!!!
Today...of all days...Is the infamous Baby P "Half Birthday" extravaganza!
For the unitiated, a Cliff Notes History:
Doi, I was born on X-mas. And while the big question that begs addressing whenever I get that pitied look from folks after disclosing said birthday is: "Oooooooo, you must get gypped on gifts, huh?" Actually, not really. I think we all do pretty well. (Well, to be fair? Papa P usually gets quite a bit. But boy deserves it, yo) The one really chagrining thing about X-mas b'days is that growing up, Baby P's buddies were usually home with their family and relatives. Setting up their own toys or eating their own X'Mas meals. In other words, no Panda Party at Skateland for this bouncing boy. No swimming parties at Elm Creek. No going apeshit at Chuck E Cheese. It was the same for me as the rest of them. Sadness Pie. : (
But never fear, quoth the folks. We will celebrate MID-way through the year, so that you don't have to miss out on the festiveness which is the childhood b'day. It was dubbed, the HALF-birthday. (Or for the truncation-inclined: "H'B'Day".) Right after school'd let out, we had days and nights free to frass. We had a Panda Parties. McDonalds Parties. (And that cake they made. Awful. I'll never forget biting into one of the balloon decorative things and it was like biting old hard bland sugar.) Giving myself a bloody nose on the zip line at Elm Creek. (Face first into the gravel) And? One of my favorite H'B'Day mems:
At age 5.5, we threw a theme party at the (At the time) new BeeP's house. In the interest of being cost effective, Mama-san read in a party book on how to throw an inexpensive theme party for kids. This gimmick was to blindfold the kids, have them walk single file (Hand in Hand) and walk them threw your house/outside pre-set "obstacles" while the host (Mom) narrated. (ex: Tape a bunch of string to the ceiling and say "Watch out for the spider web" or walking us over to sheets laid down with cornflakes and warning us to "Be careful not to break the bat eggs!", and the last number= Walking us outside threw the little blue kiddie pool saying "Ooookay. We're crossing the river now, hurry across to avoid pirahna!")
When it was all said and done, I ran upstairs to ask mom if I could go swimming in the pool. (Addicted to water, I was) She acquiesed with the reminder that I was to not-under any circumstances-get my "Good" H'B'Day clothes wet. (She had full knowledge, even at that tender age, of my penchant for flinging myself in pools/lakes/ocean's while fully clothed)
So I did. In a nice little pile by the back door to the porch. Sploosh Sploosh Sploosh.
By the time the cry of "CAAAAAAAAKE" followed by "DON'T TRACK WATER IN THE HOUSE, KIDDO!!!" we all barrelled upstairs like so many stampeding water buffalo. What happens next is LEGEND!
I obeyed the letter of the law. If not the spirit. And standing there with my big brother, and little neighborhood buddies. Boys and Girls. Yes, standing there in the dining room stuffing the cake in as fast as I could masticate it: Butt-Bare-Butterball-Nekkid. Ma snapped a polaroid for posterity, showing me so many years later that what amazed her was that no one in the picture seemed to care. Oblivious. Everyone is standing around, eating cake, with this nude dude in the middle. Ah, the folly of youth.
Nowadays I do such things for pure shock value (ala' Saturday night, when either Dorajar, the curious, or myself'd wind up lifting up my kilt up for giggles. Don't worry Ma. I was hammocked)
So, I have the best old gift coming up which is getting out of Dodge for a week, and in a completely self-serving act (In addition to trying to drum up commentor's. Y'all have been ridiculously quiet. Time was when folks'd leave 6 comments a gander!) I want you to comment on the following:
A) 1st memory or any memory of yours truly that sticks in your head (Doesn't have to be from a birthday, but it'd help.
B) A great birthday memory of your own, or regarding someone else.
Word. This'll go up on LJ to, frasser's.
HAPPY HALF B'DAY TO MEEEEEEEEEEEE!
For the unitiated, a Cliff Notes History:
Doi, I was born on X-mas. And while the big question that begs addressing whenever I get that pitied look from folks after disclosing said birthday is: "Oooooooo, you must get gypped on gifts, huh?" Actually, not really. I think we all do pretty well. (Well, to be fair? Papa P usually gets quite a bit. But boy deserves it, yo) The one really chagrining thing about X-mas b'days is that growing up, Baby P's buddies were usually home with their family and relatives. Setting up their own toys or eating their own X'Mas meals. In other words, no Panda Party at Skateland for this bouncing boy. No swimming parties at Elm Creek. No going apeshit at Chuck E Cheese. It was the same for me as the rest of them. Sadness Pie. : (
But never fear, quoth the folks. We will celebrate MID-way through the year, so that you don't have to miss out on the festiveness which is the childhood b'day. It was dubbed, the HALF-birthday. (Or for the truncation-inclined: "H'B'Day".) Right after school'd let out, we had days and nights free to frass. We had a Panda Parties. McDonalds Parties. (And that cake they made. Awful. I'll never forget biting into one of the balloon decorative things and it was like biting old hard bland sugar.) Giving myself a bloody nose on the zip line at Elm Creek. (Face first into the gravel) And? One of my favorite H'B'Day mems:
At age 5.5, we threw a theme party at the (At the time) new BeeP's house. In the interest of being cost effective, Mama-san read in a party book on how to throw an inexpensive theme party for kids. This gimmick was to blindfold the kids, have them walk single file (Hand in Hand) and walk them threw your house/outside pre-set "obstacles" while the host (Mom) narrated. (ex: Tape a bunch of string to the ceiling and say "Watch out for the spider web" or walking us over to sheets laid down with cornflakes and warning us to "Be careful not to break the bat eggs!", and the last number= Walking us outside threw the little blue kiddie pool saying "Ooookay. We're crossing the river now, hurry across to avoid pirahna!")
When it was all said and done, I ran upstairs to ask mom if I could go swimming in the pool. (Addicted to water, I was) She acquiesed with the reminder that I was to not-under any circumstances-get my "Good" H'B'Day clothes wet. (She had full knowledge, even at that tender age, of my penchant for flinging myself in pools/lakes/ocean's while fully clothed)
So I did. In a nice little pile by the back door to the porch. Sploosh Sploosh Sploosh.
By the time the cry of "CAAAAAAAAKE" followed by "DON'T TRACK WATER IN THE HOUSE, KIDDO!!!" we all barrelled upstairs like so many stampeding water buffalo. What happens next is LEGEND!
I obeyed the letter of the law. If not the spirit. And standing there with my big brother, and little neighborhood buddies. Boys and Girls. Yes, standing there in the dining room stuffing the cake in as fast as I could masticate it: Butt-Bare-Butterball-Nekkid. Ma snapped a polaroid for posterity, showing me so many years later that what amazed her was that no one in the picture seemed to care. Oblivious. Everyone is standing around, eating cake, with this nude dude in the middle. Ah, the folly of youth.
Nowadays I do such things for pure shock value (ala' Saturday night, when either Dorajar, the curious, or myself'd wind up lifting up my kilt up for giggles. Don't worry Ma. I was hammocked)
So, I have the best old gift coming up which is getting out of Dodge for a week, and in a completely self-serving act (In addition to trying to drum up commentor's. Y'all have been ridiculously quiet. Time was when folks'd leave 6 comments a gander!) I want you to comment on the following:
A) 1st memory or any memory of yours truly that sticks in your head (Doesn't have to be from a birthday, but it'd help.
B) A great birthday memory of your own, or regarding someone else.
Word. This'll go up on LJ to, frasser's.
HAPPY HALF B'DAY TO MEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Bass Ackwards...
So you heard Sunday. Low key pride-ing with the Porkchops. Caturday was fairly uneventful too during the day. I got up and used my back rublet gift card to call in my complimentary one hour massage. She recognized and got the bits that have given me some area's of irritation in my trapezius/sternocleidomastiod tie-in's. (Or as I say: My twin I absorbed in utero) She told me she could tell I was a runner due to increased tension in my "ITS"...and I went home with a puffy head. (After stopping in for a small smoothie at Tao. I haven't been in a year, and a protein power smoothie seemed like a nice hippie way to round out the a.m.) I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning my house a little before Ry-gonn and Dorajar stopped over for home made fajita's and to watch a little "Ali G" and "Robot Chicken" (Bock bock bock, buh-bock bock BOCK!)
Then Mozzle came back from her show, we grabbed the Pust and all caravaned out to the B'day. I went kilted coz that's how I roll. Mozzle looked leggy and hot. And lightsabers. Oh, the aforementioned lightsabers. They're "not for connecting" with one and other, but that didn't stop the whole bally lot of us nerds from going outside and playing. Awwwww yeah.
It was a long, LONG a$$ night in spite of being so fun. So yeah, happy birthday boys. Many happy returns.
Then Mozzle came back from her show, we grabbed the Pust and all caravaned out to the B'day. I went kilted coz that's how I roll. Mozzle looked leggy and hot. And lightsabers. Oh, the aforementioned lightsabers. They're "not for connecting" with one and other, but that didn't stop the whole bally lot of us nerds from going outside and playing. Awwwww yeah.
It was a long, LONG a$$ night in spite of being so fun. So yeah, happy birthday boys. Many happy returns.
Why, Morpheus, Why?
Well. That was a full blown evening of insomnia. I went down at 10:30 after having stayed up until 3:30 the night before. (So worth it. The joint b'day party was a s#it ton of fun. Where else can you say that you frassed around with lightsabers to the wee hours? My hands were KILLING me the next day) I got up early after some guilty voicemail goading from the gay burrito to come over to a pre-pride party. This year I just, didn't wanna go. I've already filled my in-town parade quota for the year with last weeks NE parade (Unless the old torchlight parade brings me out) So he insisted I just pop over and see some old NHCC buddies and swill some mimosa's.
It was fun. Really. We et quiche, and mim's/BM's/Screwdrivers and sat around BS'ing and catching up. The sun did it's damage tho', and instead of going for a run I went into my conditioned air home to wait for Mo-Mo to get done with rehearsal. We made it through one, count it, one episode of Slings and Arrows before hitting the hay. When...nada. I was too tired to sleep. And sweating again. I couldn't keep my legs together without the perspiration driving me crazy. So it was toss, turn, grab some towels to lay down, flip, grab pillow, get cold (AC) go back under. I think I had one small weird moment of sleep where I dreamed that I was Superman and this group of villains from the phantom zone threatened my family. They then made me come out to dinner while they made frightening comments towards which my family remained blissfully clueless. I then excused myself, and flew off to distract them.
I don't even care for Superman that much.
Anyway, 12 became 1 am, 1 am became 2am, etc. Etc. By the time 5 am came around I just wanted one, solid, hour of sleep. Niente. Furg.
Today'll be...interesting, to be sure.
It was fun. Really. We et quiche, and mim's/BM's/Screwdrivers and sat around BS'ing and catching up. The sun did it's damage tho', and instead of going for a run I went into my conditioned air home to wait for Mo-Mo to get done with rehearsal. We made it through one, count it, one episode of Slings and Arrows before hitting the hay. When...nada. I was too tired to sleep. And sweating again. I couldn't keep my legs together without the perspiration driving me crazy. So it was toss, turn, grab some towels to lay down, flip, grab pillow, get cold (AC) go back under. I think I had one small weird moment of sleep where I dreamed that I was Superman and this group of villains from the phantom zone threatened my family. They then made me come out to dinner while they made frightening comments towards which my family remained blissfully clueless. I then excused myself, and flew off to distract them.
I don't even care for Superman that much.
Anyway, 12 became 1 am, 1 am became 2am, etc. Etc. By the time 5 am came around I just wanted one, solid, hour of sleep. Niente. Furg.
Today'll be...interesting, to be sure.
Friday, June 22, 2007
This is killing me...
You want a laugh? Go to wiki and look up movies that either you've seen, or not seen, and see if they have a "Detailed Plot Summary". No lie, I've gone through almost the ENTIRE Schwarzenegger canon and the summaries are frassin' HY-Sterical.
Take this little ditty from "Raw Deal":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_Deal_%281986_film%29
"Kaminsky escapes, assisted by Monique (who has grown fond of him). He then suits up, gathers an array of firearms and raids one of Patrovita's gravel pits, eventually killing everyone and walking off with the cash left behind. He hands the cash to Monique and gets her on a chartered plane, then sets off to Patrovita's casino, hidden in a basement level of a high class hotel. There, he single-handedly wipes out Patrovita and all of his men, including Rocca. On his way out, he encounters a whimpering Baxter, and offers him a gun with the same line Baxter earlier used on Kaminsky: "Resign, or be prosecuted. Any way you want it." Kaminsky starts to walk off, and when Baxter attempts to shoot him, turns and shoots Baxter in self-defense."
I'm sure not everyone is going to find this as comical as I am, but thus spake the wiki. I also read up on Perseus vs. the Gorgon. Great stuff.
Take this little ditty from "Raw Deal":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_Deal_%281986_film%29
"Kaminsky escapes, assisted by Monique (who has grown fond of him). He then suits up, gathers an array of firearms and raids one of Patrovita's gravel pits, eventually killing everyone and walking off with the cash left behind. He hands the cash to Monique and gets her on a chartered plane, then sets off to Patrovita's casino, hidden in a basement level of a high class hotel. There, he single-handedly wipes out Patrovita and all of his men, including Rocca. On his way out, he encounters a whimpering Baxter, and offers him a gun with the same line Baxter earlier used on Kaminsky: "Resign, or be prosecuted. Any way you want it." Kaminsky starts to walk off, and when Baxter attempts to shoot him, turns and shoots Baxter in self-defense."
I'm sure not everyone is going to find this as comical as I am, but thus spake the wiki. I also read up on Perseus vs. the Gorgon. Great stuff.
Feerkin' Essited
Minneapolis to Denver
Denver to Moab
Moab to Cortez/Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde to Santa Fe
Santa Fe back to da airport
Homeski and Hutch
Good lordy I can use a vacay.
Denver to Moab
Moab to Cortez/Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde to Santa Fe
Santa Fe back to da airport
Homeski and Hutch
Good lordy I can use a vacay.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Gah! I suck!
I suck worse than "Short Circuit 2"!
Okay:
Happy belated Anniversary to Ry-Gonn. The first of many. The symbol for Annie-#-one is "paper". So, uh, give her a Mead loose leaf notebook or something. (I mean for the love, Rainbow foods of all places has cleared out a section by the soup to advertise school supplies. In JUNE! Hello, let's not depress kids too soon. 'Kay? I mean, will you be pimpin' X-mas over the 4th of July? Bastiges)
Happy early Anniversary (6/29) to Mom and Dad. It's nice to see dad relaxing more.
Happy Birthdays (Belated) FeeJ, Forte', Kaiser, Grantpa, Linzie, Srustie, BeeJ, BWJ, et.al.
Happy Birthday...Today...to Daddy-O P. He turns the big 6-4 this year. Many happy returns, Papa-san.
Happy Father's Day. Spent it frassin' with the rents, admiring my big brother (And Dr. Weef's) parenting skills, and amazed myself by wishing HIM a happy father's day. (Much to my dad's chagrin. It used to be all about him. Poor guy)
Happy (early) Pride. Way to be gay!!! (And am I meeting Sssssteve and Twocherries or whart?)
I ate grilled halibut. Pip Pip. X can cook like a beast.
I went to an amazing fundraiser party. Good times.
I attended a Fijian luau and ate lamb in honor of the birth of FeeJ. This was a weekend of eating foods that my normally panic induced fanatical healthy-pants self wouldn't touch. (Steak on Father's Day, being the 2nd) I also pimped my idea for a project to her beau. Thoughts be a-brewing.
Um. Big brother is going to start fighting in BC again. Gotta get in shape.
Nordeast had there annual parade. Dorajar and I walked to it and admired the steamy seamy throngs of individuality and culture that milled around, planted on so many folding chairs. Watching the pampies scramble after dirty strewn candy. As the representatives and council members waved from convertibles. As the princesses from towns as far as Red Wing waved that familiar and strangely comforting pop and lock wave of theres, smiling their princessly smiles. Listening to the marching bands, and the step teams, and the hollering Shriner's. And getting mauled by Klondike Kate. It was such a profound, and robust feeling of connectivity that I found myself getting all emo over it.
Maybe it was the booze. Who knows.
Everyone who reads this, who hasn't seen it- Go see Uncle Vanya at TRP. I don't care if you live in Walla Walla, Washington. This is the final weekend, and it is a profoundly moving piece of work. And yeah, bias is as bias does- Dorajar does some fantastic work.
Okay:
Happy belated Anniversary to Ry-Gonn. The first of many. The symbol for Annie-#-one is "paper". So, uh, give her a Mead loose leaf notebook or something. (I mean for the love, Rainbow foods of all places has cleared out a section by the soup to advertise school supplies. In JUNE! Hello, let's not depress kids too soon. 'Kay? I mean, will you be pimpin' X-mas over the 4th of July? Bastiges)
Happy early Anniversary (6/29) to Mom and Dad. It's nice to see dad relaxing more.
Happy Birthdays (Belated) FeeJ, Forte', Kaiser, Grantpa, Linzie, Srustie, BeeJ, BWJ, et.al.
Happy Birthday...Today...to Daddy-O P. He turns the big 6-4 this year. Many happy returns, Papa-san.
Happy Father's Day. Spent it frassin' with the rents, admiring my big brother (And Dr. Weef's) parenting skills, and amazed myself by wishing HIM a happy father's day. (Much to my dad's chagrin. It used to be all about him. Poor guy)
Happy (early) Pride. Way to be gay!!! (And am I meeting Sssssteve and Twocherries or whart?)
I ate grilled halibut. Pip Pip. X can cook like a beast.
I went to an amazing fundraiser party. Good times.
I attended a Fijian luau and ate lamb in honor of the birth of FeeJ. This was a weekend of eating foods that my normally panic induced fanatical healthy-pants self wouldn't touch. (Steak on Father's Day, being the 2nd) I also pimped my idea for a project to her beau. Thoughts be a-brewing.
Um. Big brother is going to start fighting in BC again. Gotta get in shape.
Nordeast had there annual parade. Dorajar and I walked to it and admired the steamy seamy throngs of individuality and culture that milled around, planted on so many folding chairs. Watching the pampies scramble after dirty strewn candy. As the representatives and council members waved from convertibles. As the princesses from towns as far as Red Wing waved that familiar and strangely comforting pop and lock wave of theres, smiling their princessly smiles. Listening to the marching bands, and the step teams, and the hollering Shriner's. And getting mauled by Klondike Kate. It was such a profound, and robust feeling of connectivity that I found myself getting all emo over it.
Maybe it was the booze. Who knows.
Everyone who reads this, who hasn't seen it- Go see Uncle Vanya at TRP. I don't care if you live in Walla Walla, Washington. This is the final weekend, and it is a profoundly moving piece of work. And yeah, bias is as bias does- Dorajar does some fantastic work.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I love...
Love...the fact that my workplace cafeteria has an "Imagination Bar" in lieu of a "Salad Bar". And that Wednesday's theme was "Pasta- YOUR way!" and part of the offerings was "Your Health-YOUR way" (Being that it offered whole wheat penne as a substitute)
I meandered in there to check it out. Yup. There was the wheat penne in one pan, regular in another, parmesan cheese powder in the third, and...what's that in the sauce pan? The single sauce pan? The only sauce option available?
Hamburger meat sauce.
Your health, your way indeed. As long as you eat your noodles plain.
I meandered in there to check it out. Yup. There was the wheat penne in one pan, regular in another, parmesan cheese powder in the third, and...what's that in the sauce pan? The single sauce pan? The only sauce option available?
Hamburger meat sauce.
Your health, your way indeed. As long as you eat your noodles plain.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Beck in Bleck
I'm wearing all black today. Not for some weird sense of mourning or anything like that (Well, I guess the 63rd anniversary of the Normandy Invasion could count.) It was more of "Let's stick our hand in the closet and see what kind of costume you can pull off today" kinda...deal.
Well the shirt is, how do you say, sateen? The kind where when you hug someone they'll occasionally comment on the fabric. Well this shirt poofs out a little in this pirate-y sort of way. So couple the blousing blouse with my long legs and what do you get?
The effect of a marshmallow being stuffed into two straws. A black marshmallow. And two black straws.
I'm terrible.
Well the shirt is, how do you say, sateen? The kind where when you hug someone they'll occasionally comment on the fabric. Well this shirt poofs out a little in this pirate-y sort of way. So couple the blousing blouse with my long legs and what do you get?
The effect of a marshmallow being stuffed into two straws. A black marshmallow. And two black straws.
I'm terrible.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I'm deadly serious...
Why don't we celebrate this?
nopantsday.com
May 2nd
Oh right, baby P. EVERY day is no pants day to you, isn't it?
nopantsday.com
May 2nd
Oh right, baby P. EVERY day is no pants day to you, isn't it?
Saturday, May 26, 2007
A day late, but...Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Star Wars!!! (*Thanks to the photoshop mastery of Lando CalrissIan. Please note Mo-da in the background)I started a nostalgic thread on the old Frassboard when I remembered that it was the 30th anniversary of the saga. I blathered on about how we sat through it twice in the theatre. How we had the toys. How it really affected the way big brother and I acted and played, and eventually our pursuit of arts which are martial. How to this day, if there is an automatic door to a building I'll wave my hand in front of the thing to open it. How flashlights became impromptu lightsabers. How the family camper became the Millennium Falcon. And how on one fateful Father's Day a few years back, we all drifted into the TV room at big brothers old house to watch a Sunday airing of Episode one. And my dad cheekily said "Taking you boys to see that film was the worst thing I ever did".
Well the thread blew up, to my untold joy. Some of the mods and posters even started using Star Wars themed "Handles" (ex: "Bri-G-88", "Echelobot", and the aforementioned "Moda" and "Lando CalrissIan". Me? Luke. Doi.)
Geeks? Sure. 32 year old geek, right here. Now if you'll excuse me? Before I drag my tired Wookie buns outside for some trimming and mowing? I need to grab that broom handle and make like a jedi.
May the Force be with you...Frassers.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Quick "WTF?"
Um # one: Dude? I'm all for equal rights. Equally. But, like...Why don't you carry something that can turn into a deadly bo-staff ala' Matt Murdock: "The Daredevil"? http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1186120.html
I'd like to state that this sounds strangely like someone actively searching out a lawsuit. And the fact that you seem to actively want to amass conceal and carry gun permits in varying states is sort of leaning towards that fact. And I hate guns. There. I said it. My only bias regarding this article. Dude...stop. I have ADHD. That doesn't mean I'm suing key-makers because they jingle and cause a distraction every time I HEY! A kitty! http://icanhascheezburger.com/
Um # two: Lemme get this straight. Because the water breach is closer in resemblence to the noble bass, the artistic portrayal of the walleye on the MN state liscense plate is inaccurate. And you wanna bitch? Baby P SEZ! Get. A. Life. M##herf##ker's.
http://www.startribune.com/531/story/1185887.html
I crap you negative. It's antics like the above that make my soul weep.
I'd like to state that this sounds strangely like someone actively searching out a lawsuit. And the fact that you seem to actively want to amass conceal and carry gun permits in varying states is sort of leaning towards that fact. And I hate guns. There. I said it. My only bias regarding this article. Dude...stop. I have ADHD. That doesn't mean I'm suing key-makers because they jingle and cause a distraction every time I HEY! A kitty! http://icanhascheezburger.com/
Um # two: Lemme get this straight. Because the water breach is closer in resemblence to the noble bass, the artistic portrayal of the walleye on the MN state liscense plate is inaccurate. And you wanna bitch? Baby P SEZ! Get. A. Life. M##herf##ker's.
http://www.startribune.com/531/story/1185887.html
I crap you negative. It's antics like the above that make my soul weep.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
She said it better than I...
From Redwright. Regarding new play readings:
"They're like vegetables. You feel like you SHOULD do (read: eat) them."
But guess what? They don't always taste good. Like the one I went to last night? Painful. We actors, who were patiently waiting our turn. And who like good little actor's should, actually read the stupid thing...well we were trying to figure out ways to read it faster so we could get out of there.
Oof.
"They're like vegetables. You feel like you SHOULD do (read: eat) them."
But guess what? They don't always taste good. Like the one I went to last night? Painful. We actors, who were patiently waiting our turn. And who like good little actor's should, actually read the stupid thing...well we were trying to figure out ways to read it faster so we could get out of there.
Oof.
Ahem. An open frass...
Dear corporate psycho's who are currently marketing "Spidey 3". I dig, I really really dig...the need to come up with new products to pimp to the younger set. The days of "just articulated action figures" is nigh on over. You need the new. You need...the better. I understand things like "Spider Man Web Shooters" that shoot non-toxic (Hmmmm) silly string. Or "Venom Goo/Sandman Sand" that some kid could easily replicate with Mrs. Butterworth (Which it looks like) or a simple visit to Elm Creek Park Reserve Beach. I understand plush. Heck, even I have a vintage Spider Man hot wheels car from 1981.
Here's the thing: Neither Spider Man, nor Sandman ride motorcycles in the new movie. So to be selling a set of these rip-cord activated dealies which kids will invariably use to perform makeshift chicken fights on the sidewalks and cul-de-sacs in front of their houses...all for the bargain rate of $17? No mothers. More over, you sell "Spider Man with Scuba Gear" or "Spider Man with Jet Packs" for the younger demographic. But dudes...Seriously? He swings. On. A. Web. The need for a jet pack is superfluous. And there is no way that an arch-nemesis is going to frass around the NYC bay when it's a filthy cess pool of decay, oil, trash, and God knows what else. Well. The need for scuba gear seems rather moot.
Stop now.
My kids, if I ever adopt, will get a red ski mask and blue long johns. And a rope. That's what I had. And gawdammit, if I didn't get stuck up my fair share of tree's. But I was Spider Man. Gawdamn right I was.
Here's the thing: Neither Spider Man, nor Sandman ride motorcycles in the new movie. So to be selling a set of these rip-cord activated dealies which kids will invariably use to perform makeshift chicken fights on the sidewalks and cul-de-sacs in front of their houses...all for the bargain rate of $17? No mothers. More over, you sell "Spider Man with Scuba Gear" or "Spider Man with Jet Packs" for the younger demographic. But dudes...Seriously? He swings. On. A. Web. The need for a jet pack is superfluous. And there is no way that an arch-nemesis is going to frass around the NYC bay when it's a filthy cess pool of decay, oil, trash, and God knows what else. Well. The need for scuba gear seems rather moot.
Stop now.
My kids, if I ever adopt, will get a red ski mask and blue long johns. And a rope. That's what I had. And gawdammit, if I didn't get stuck up my fair share of tree's. But I was Spider Man. Gawdamn right I was.
Time to breath a collective siiiiiigh.
Well...I don't think I got the noble beaver gig. Dag.
The weekend was too toooooo busy, but remarkably enjoyable. It all started on Thursday night into Frrrrriday.
I took a little half day so that I could get home and nap/pop a couple of IB's before the show. We were blessed with good crowds nightly, and the biggest surprise was that 'Bean, AL, Rusty, Portana, and RSvP came out to see us on Friday night. (I shouldn'ta turned my back on RSvP though. One second I was talking to AL, the next he was charmin' Marvin the crowd. Folks, he's been doing this to me since I was in the 8th grade. Frass! And the next moment he was throwing hook kicks over Matty-boom boom's head. In nice dress slacks. My mother would be mortified. I just thought it was cool that he could do'em w/o stretching out first.) Party foul of the evening was that I ripped out the crotch of my jeans while stretching and exacerbated it during fight call. I mean, it was already frayed quite a bit. I just didn't expect my bits to have so much...exposure.
Afterwards, we mosey'ed on over to Dorajar's for a small intimate gathering...and I proceeded to eat my weight in chocolate espresso truffles and cheese. I also got into an argument with Sciple regarding the name of the brutish robot Neanderthal that was the arch-nemesis of Super Joe Commando's Adventure team. (He was absolutely positive it wasn't in the GI Joe canon, and I had too much wine to effectively Google the stupid thing. And I know you wanna know what we nerd-burgers were talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GIJoeIntruderCommander.jpg
Sats...well I just didn't sleep in like I shoulda. I got up, split with Dorajar and went home to frass around for a bit. (Read: Clean) hadda brief dinner, did another show (Heisse Carl from work, LSA+Tim, Tootchie, etc. I just realized that I could totally be getting my days and audience members mixed up) And Gabpril. At this showza, Chowie's weefie took some awesome pics which I'll post like toast when I get a copy of the CD. Afterwards I went to a HUGE old party at Redwright's, frassed, talked 7th grade politic with Frank, met "The Baron", and again...stayed up way. Too. Late. Snnxxkzzk
Sunds..MAMA's day (Where our illustrious scoundrel was unable to contact his mother, since she and papa-san were in...Lisbon? I think?) Went jogging with Dorajar nice N early before she split to hang with her mama. Attempted another omelette brefkist for myself (With the accompanying veggie sausages and whole wheat English muff-muff. The egg turned out all right, but broke in mid-flip. Frass!!!!!)
It was a great final show in terms of audience-age. KWT and clan were there, as was Phyllis and her mama...so we were guaranteed the most raucous and unique sounding laughter throughout the show (Including the heaviest laughter during the more obscure theatrical references) For yours truly it was a so-so show. Even with 800 mgs of IB, I was at the Zenith of pain in terms of soreness. I f#cked up my kip-up for the first time during the run, I f#cked up the Wizard fight (Again) And in spite of a tutorial from Robby on how to do a helicopter safely & correctly? I managed one rotation before my body just...stopped.
Post show, all the usual infirmaries were there. In addition to re-opening all of my cuts on my foot (And bleeding over my white gi pants) my arms and back started to go numb. And while I was bummed that the show was over (And that my kids didn't show up. ) I knew that a much needed recovery was necessary. See? I'm gonna listen to my body! Don't wanna risk over-training and cause permanent damage, y'know? I wanna get mileage out of the old carcass, and I'd DEFinitely be unable to train at the best of my abilities when I'm injured.
Yeah. What?
Anyway, post show I hit the Tower with some castmates (W/Dorajar and X coming later) where we frassed/listened to bad music (Seriously. To the a$$hat who thought that a Green Day marathon was a good idea? Eat me.) and discussed awful performance art. After we left I ran into the Fabulous Former Fringe director and her hubby, Rik, Foster, etc. where I found out she was at the show as well! Well awesome blossom.
I showered and napped while Morajar made stinky veggie wraps, we read about Moab (I read my script) then headed to hot tubville before hitting the cop bar for karaoke goodness. I don't think that I've laughed that hard in a while- Specially with Carlton singing "Ape Man", Mo doing interpretive dance behind Carol-ton singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and 'Bean rocking out some AC/DC. Well scratch that. Some Archie Bunker looking dude sang some Shaggy...And we alllll stared.
Bed. Again. Late.
So to all the folks who missed the show...well to quote the Wizard "ha HA!" You missed out. Fiends.
The weekend was too toooooo busy, but remarkably enjoyable. It all started on Thursday night into Frrrrriday.
I took a little half day so that I could get home and nap/pop a couple of IB's before the show. We were blessed with good crowds nightly, and the biggest surprise was that 'Bean, AL, Rusty, Portana, and RSvP came out to see us on Friday night. (I shouldn'ta turned my back on RSvP though. One second I was talking to AL, the next he was charmin' Marvin the crowd. Folks, he's been doing this to me since I was in the 8th grade. Frass! And the next moment he was throwing hook kicks over Matty-boom boom's head. In nice dress slacks. My mother would be mortified. I just thought it was cool that he could do'em w/o stretching out first.) Party foul of the evening was that I ripped out the crotch of my jeans while stretching and exacerbated it during fight call. I mean, it was already frayed quite a bit. I just didn't expect my bits to have so much...exposure.
Afterwards, we mosey'ed on over to Dorajar's for a small intimate gathering...and I proceeded to eat my weight in chocolate espresso truffles and cheese. I also got into an argument with Sciple regarding the name of the brutish robot Neanderthal that was the arch-nemesis of Super Joe Commando's Adventure team. (He was absolutely positive it wasn't in the GI Joe canon, and I had too much wine to effectively Google the stupid thing. And I know you wanna know what we nerd-burgers were talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GIJoeIntruderCommander.jpg
Sats...well I just didn't sleep in like I shoulda. I got up, split with Dorajar and went home to frass around for a bit. (Read: Clean) hadda brief dinner, did another show (Heisse Carl from work, LSA+Tim, Tootchie, etc. I just realized that I could totally be getting my days and audience members mixed up) And Gabpril. At this showza, Chowie's weefie took some awesome pics which I'll post like toast when I get a copy of the CD. Afterwards I went to a HUGE old party at Redwright's, frassed, talked 7th grade politic with Frank, met "The Baron", and again...stayed up way. Too. Late. Snnxxkzzk
Sunds..MAMA's day (Where our illustrious scoundrel was unable to contact his mother, since she and papa-san were in...Lisbon? I think?) Went jogging with Dorajar nice N early before she split to hang with her mama. Attempted another omelette brefkist for myself (With the accompanying veggie sausages and whole wheat English muff-muff. The egg turned out all right, but broke in mid-flip. Frass!!!!!)
It was a great final show in terms of audience-age. KWT and clan were there, as was Phyllis and her mama...so we were guaranteed the most raucous and unique sounding laughter throughout the show (Including the heaviest laughter during the more obscure theatrical references) For yours truly it was a so-so show. Even with 800 mgs of IB, I was at the Zenith of pain in terms of soreness. I f#cked up my kip-up for the first time during the run, I f#cked up the Wizard fight (Again) And in spite of a tutorial from Robby on how to do a helicopter safely & correctly? I managed one rotation before my body just...stopped.
Post show, all the usual infirmaries were there. In addition to re-opening all of my cuts on my foot (And bleeding over my white gi pants) my arms and back started to go numb. And while I was bummed that the show was over (And that my kids didn't show up. ) I knew that a much needed recovery was necessary. See? I'm gonna listen to my body! Don't wanna risk over-training and cause permanent damage, y'know? I wanna get mileage out of the old carcass, and I'd DEFinitely be unable to train at the best of my abilities when I'm injured.
Yeah. What?
Anyway, post show I hit the Tower with some castmates (W/Dorajar and X coming later) where we frassed/listened to bad music (Seriously. To the a$$hat who thought that a Green Day marathon was a good idea? Eat me.) and discussed awful performance art. After we left I ran into the Fabulous Former Fringe director and her hubby, Rik, Foster, etc. where I found out she was at the show as well! Well awesome blossom.
I showered and napped while Morajar made stinky veggie wraps, we read about Moab (I read my script) then headed to hot tubville before hitting the cop bar for karaoke goodness. I don't think that I've laughed that hard in a while- Specially with Carlton singing "Ape Man", Mo doing interpretive dance behind Carol-ton singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and 'Bean rocking out some AC/DC. Well scratch that. Some Archie Bunker looking dude sang some Shaggy...And we alllll stared.
Bed. Again. Late.
So to all the folks who missed the show...well to quote the Wizard "ha HA!" You missed out. Fiends.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Good Lord...
'member that old Beaver audition I was frassin' about?
I got a callback.
Smacking forhead now.
I got a callback.
Smacking forhead now.
My kids...
The cast of Centennial's production of "Kung Fu Hamlet", director TLC, Moi, and the original cast of "KFH" + "Team Voice" member Ryan K. 5/10/2007
Thanks for the Picture, Chowser. Welcome home Gabpril. And good luck with the rest of the run, kidlets. Make me proud.
ps: Ya can't tell, but some of the cast members are wearing bandana's with the Mexican flag on it. I thought that was kinda funny.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
No shame...No Mama
I just auditioned to be a beaver for the MN state lottery.
I...
No.
See, I've done some weird ass things as an actor. My favorite scrap of paper that came from an acting prof who was grading scenes said "Take Bigger Risks!!!". I like that. And I like to think that I do from time to time. I have no problems with (To my mother's everlasting shame) getting buck on stage. Beating myself up, literally...with no regard to personal safety, every performance of GMIKFTH.
So here's me, at the casting agent...listening to all the dumb jokes being said outside which I'm pretty sure they'd all heard (I stood by quietly, for a change. Reading the storyboard/directions. "Start crouched. Beaver-like. Slate. Place 'stick' in your mouth. 'Beaver' (dog) paddle toward the camera. Drop stick in appropriate spot on the dam. Look to other beavers who are flanking you for approval".
I'm paraphrasing...a titch...but that was word-for-word the direction.
So I'm crouched down, stripped to my waist (See bit about nudity) listening to the camera guy tell me what to do. I do it. And I'm done. W/in 45 seconds of slating my name.
I left feeling...weird. The other beavers-to-be were a titch more robust than I was, and in spite of not being in tip-top shape right now I still wound up feeling like the "runt-beaver"..."pygmy-beaver"..."beaver-midgie". I left thinking "What if I got this? I go through life not watching much TV, so I miss a lot of local spots that have actor's I know. If I get this...I'd be one of those actors. And forevermore, I wouldn't be Spider-man....I'd be 'Beaver-Boy'...Do you want that, P?"
I shit you little I do. Heh. Fah. Knee.
I...
No.
See, I've done some weird ass things as an actor. My favorite scrap of paper that came from an acting prof who was grading scenes said "Take Bigger Risks!!!". I like that. And I like to think that I do from time to time. I have no problems with (To my mother's everlasting shame) getting buck on stage. Beating myself up, literally...with no regard to personal safety, every performance of GMIKFTH.
So here's me, at the casting agent...listening to all the dumb jokes being said outside which I'm pretty sure they'd all heard (I stood by quietly, for a change. Reading the storyboard/directions. "Start crouched. Beaver-like. Slate. Place 'stick' in your mouth. 'Beaver' (dog) paddle toward the camera. Drop stick in appropriate spot on the dam. Look to other beavers who are flanking you for approval".
I'm paraphrasing...a titch...but that was word-for-word the direction.
So I'm crouched down, stripped to my waist (See bit about nudity) listening to the camera guy tell me what to do. I do it. And I'm done. W/in 45 seconds of slating my name.
I left feeling...weird. The other beavers-to-be were a titch more robust than I was, and in spite of not being in tip-top shape right now I still wound up feeling like the "runt-beaver"..."pygmy-beaver"..."beaver-midgie". I left thinking "What if I got this? I go through life not watching much TV, so I miss a lot of local spots that have actor's I know. If I get this...I'd be one of those actors. And forevermore, I wouldn't be Spider-man....I'd be 'Beaver-Boy'...Do you want that, P?"
I shit you little I do. Heh. Fah. Knee.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Soundbits, du jour...
From Sunday's Matinee...
JennyBenny, in response to the comment that she was so cute people wanted to "Eat her up"...
"I prefer to think of myself as 'voluptuous"...
Today, at the High School rehearsal. TLC asked Rosencrantz:
"Kirby? Went you come out I want you to give me a little more head..."
Not the thing you want to say to a crowd of 15-18 year olds. Or 32 year olds for that matter.
JennyBenny, in response to the comment that she was so cute people wanted to "Eat her up"...
"I prefer to think of myself as 'voluptuous"...
Today, at the High School rehearsal. TLC asked Rosencrantz:
"Kirby? Went you come out I want you to give me a little more head..."
Not the thing you want to say to a crowd of 15-18 year olds. Or 32 year olds for that matter.
What happens...
When you do martial arts is that sometimes you get "geared up" after sparring or a really intense class. Add the endorphin rush of live theatre and you have a cocktail for pure...terror? Just the other night Kiseung was gesturing with his ciggie in hand while Jabas and I left the theatre. He straight arm gestured toward my face and I did sort of a limbo pose back to avoid getting my eye burned out. Normally, I'd have fallen on my keister but I was up and cursing at him for trying to make me finish the run with an eye-patch.
Apparently I'm amped up in my sleep too, as I elbowed Dorajar in the head not once but twice last night. The second time woke both of us up after the thud of elbow hitting face was more than we could bear (She started slapping wildly after it happened)
She's going to need to start wearing sparring gear to bed.
Now, if that ain't a hearty endorsement to see my show, I don't know what is!
Apparently I'm amped up in my sleep too, as I elbowed Dorajar in the head not once but twice last night. The second time woke both of us up after the thud of elbow hitting face was more than we could bear (She started slapping wildly after it happened)
She's going to need to start wearing sparring gear to bed.
Now, if that ain't a hearty endorsement to see my show, I don't know what is!
Proud O' my kids...
Oooooo, so many posts in one day? Making up for lost time, are we? Pbblbhbsppbblssst!
So, I begrudgingly went out to the High School for rehearsal this last Saturday. To say I was not looking forward to it would be an understatement. I was still wicked tired and trying to catch up from sleep deprivation due to midnight movie showing. (Yeah, yeah...I danced, and now I have to pay the piper. I don't remember it taking so long to recover from getting off my normal schedule!)
I was sore, and feeling severely under-worked out as well as being incapable of getting up outta bed to even jog.
I wanted to go frass around the farmer's market, but couldn't.
No, instead I had put it in my mind that I was going to spend the better part of the morning through the late afternoon (Ugh, before needing to speed my ass back home to grab dinner early enough to not feel "full" before the show...) Pure optimism, right here.
What I got was a surprise... for a couple things.
1- The kids were milling around in their gi-costumes and I had to give them a belt-tying tutorial. (Too funny)
2- The fights. Okay, to be sure they aren't martial artists. Cool? But they were up their sellin' it, kung-fu'ing each other. I mean like they'd really really worked on the stuff I'd shown them. For the first time I could just watch and let'em go. (And props to my Ophelia who sells things like nobodies business)
3-Subsequently, I was able to clean up/add some bits in order to bring the funny.
4- I had forgotten that Polonius still didn't know how to do Tornado kicks. (Something I was reluctant to show him and deliberately left it out of the 'Ography to put in something more tertiary for him) He balked and said he at least wanted to try to learn it. Okay, cool. So I gave him the footwork he needed to "travel" and promised to work it later...which I didn't remember doing. So I gave it to him and bless his heart he gave it a whirl. He's no Walker, but he got the jist of it. So it stays.
So yeah. If you're free this Thursday/Friday/Saturday (NO FORGIVENESS FOR YOU IF YOU MISS "GMIKFTH"!!!) , in the North Eastery suburbs, and have $6 lying around go support my kids. They're working their butts off.
So, I begrudgingly went out to the High School for rehearsal this last Saturday. To say I was not looking forward to it would be an understatement. I was still wicked tired and trying to catch up from sleep deprivation due to midnight movie showing. (Yeah, yeah...I danced, and now I have to pay the piper. I don't remember it taking so long to recover from getting off my normal schedule!)
I was sore, and feeling severely under-worked out as well as being incapable of getting up outta bed to even jog.
I wanted to go frass around the farmer's market, but couldn't.
No, instead I had put it in my mind that I was going to spend the better part of the morning through the late afternoon (Ugh, before needing to speed my ass back home to grab dinner early enough to not feel "full" before the show...) Pure optimism, right here.
What I got was a surprise... for a couple things.
1- The kids were milling around in their gi-costumes and I had to give them a belt-tying tutorial. (Too funny)
2- The fights. Okay, to be sure they aren't martial artists. Cool? But they were up their sellin' it, kung-fu'ing each other. I mean like they'd really really worked on the stuff I'd shown them. For the first time I could just watch and let'em go. (And props to my Ophelia who sells things like nobodies business)
3-Subsequently, I was able to clean up/add some bits in order to bring the funny.
4- I had forgotten that Polonius still didn't know how to do Tornado kicks. (Something I was reluctant to show him and deliberately left it out of the 'Ography to put in something more tertiary for him) He balked and said he at least wanted to try to learn it. Okay, cool. So I gave him the footwork he needed to "travel" and promised to work it later...which I didn't remember doing. So I gave it to him and bless his heart he gave it a whirl. He's no Walker, but he got the jist of it. So it stays.
So yeah. If you're free this Thursday/Friday/Saturday (NO FORGIVENESS FOR YOU IF YOU MISS "GMIKFTH"!!!) , in the North Eastery suburbs, and have $6 lying around go support my kids. They're working their butts off.
Baby P's "Spider-Man 3" review. (SPOILER'S!!!)
I repeat, spoilers. I feel that anyone who know's me also know's I have kind of a vested interest in the franchise due to the fact that at some point and time during my youth (And...cough cough...partly into adulthood) I believed myself to be the friendly neighborhood hombre' arana. Going so far as to carrying my "mask" in my backpack to school and concealing my costume (re: Underoo's) under my school clothes. Although unless it's a movie quality costume do not, I repeat, do NOT buy me Spider Man schwag. I don't want it. Seriously now. Put back the pen.
That being said, I love the franchise. And even the 3rd installment which most folks/critics/fans alike agree is probably the weakest still holds a place in my heart, and a future spot on my DVD rack. (And Sony wants 3 more movies? I'm a big fan of saying enough is enough. And that they really need to re-examine the series to avoid future mis-steps. For real)
I'd also like to warn you that this post is going to explore my thoughts on what went wrong, what coulda been done better, and moments that really endeared me to the movie.
Ergo, it's going to be long. (Kiped from another thread I'm part of)
So there was some fumbling etc. It was IMHO still an entertaining franchise movie. Not perfect, but entertaining if you dug the first two. (Unlike X3 where you really, REALLY hadda like the franchise to even glom a modicum of enjoyment out of it.) Ignoreg the hokey dialogue (Which, to be sure, can and should be forgiven. Why? Like Dorajar says, it's a comic book movie. You want meat in your characterizations rent "Notes on a Scandal" or some shit.) The comic book film industry has started making strides since it's original "death" (A cancer that started around the Schumacher mis-managing of the "Batman" franchise and ended with Bat-nippled Clooney in "Batman and Throbbin") It re-started (after Horror/Sci-fi movies were experiencing a resurgence) with a mix of horror-sci fi-comic: Blade.
Then X-Men (A film that we all were hope hope hoping would work...and did) Employed a director with some cred (Bryan Singer) mad actors/unknowns (McKellan, Stewart, Jackman, et.al) And came across as all right. When "Spidey 1" came out (Originally James Cameron was attached with DiCaprio and a reported Winslet as Peter and MJ respectively. I like DiCaprio...somewhat...as an actor...but that woulda been way horseshit. My choice for Parker was the younger brother of Eliza Dushku in "Bring it On", Jesse what's his butt. He woulda worked.) It was a great hero "origin" story. Really great. The biggest nut-rub was taking an iconoclastic villain (Green Goblin) and making him a Might Morphin Power Ranger. Now, I love me some Raimi. I do. Even "The Quick and The Dead". And I can buy trying to ground the characters in more of a "reality" by giving them something that resembles a "practical" explanation to their costuming rather than a rubber mask or make-up, but come on. Power. Rangers. Bad-guy. Still. A good flick, with decent box-office/effects/ACTING...guaranteeing a sequel
Part 2- Great film. From the beginning to the end, and again IMHO the best in the franchise. More great seasoned actor's (Molina, Dylan Baker, Donna MURPHY in a supporting role...etc.) And some top-shelf Academy Award winning effects work (Um. Hello? The "El" fight? Oof.) There of course, were a few quibbles. I thought that the whole "psychological" problem of Spidey's powers disappearing was akin to a case of a guy who can't get a boner 'cause he's "psyching himself out" ("Oh. What Pete? Can't 'Shoot' The old web shooters during crunch time???" Yeah.) And lastly...do you have to show your secret identity to everyone and their cat? 20+ train commuters. The main bad guy. And lastly...your future g/f? Didn't you have the whole mask bit to keep your loved ones safe? Dude...SECRET identity, yo. Call Bruce Wayne, line 2. The blinking red phone next to the inconspicuous bust that flips up to reveal the switch to the bat cave. Shhhhhh) Regardless, my favorite. Still a good movie, that has great memories of my first Spidey midnight showing with Lattery, Kaiser, Jabas, et.al.
Now part 3...Okay, so I bogarted some comments from other reviews (i.e. Too many villains/supporting characters to explore which watered down the entirety of the experience). Overall, not a bad bad film. There were GREAT action sequences, even from the 1st shots of him swinging in the city. I dug that it was Peter Parker fighting the Goblin and not in his costume. His character in the black suit (Chris Gaines..btw...Emo Pete...btw. You guys rule) was cool... So was his bar fight (C'mon. Little Peter tossing the big bad bouncers? And tell me that hearing everyone in the theatre gasp when he hit MJ wasn't kinda like "Whoa...that came outta no where") The only things they explored in a little detail was his decent from arrogance, to evil with any degree of thought. (Or Eddie. More on that later) There were Great villains too! As. Stand alones. See, I can see multiple "costumed" villains. Like, as Spidey's world opens up so does his Rogues Gallery. (Ex: What if it opened with "rash of crazy criminals stalk NYC" and there's a quick fight of Spidey fighting, oh, the Beetle. Or the Vulture. Just 2-3 minutes of action. Nothing to detract from the main plot/villain. Just enough to say that his problems exist outside of bank robbers, fires, and kids crossing the street too soon) Let's look at this for a sec in the order they clashed:
Goblin, Goblin jr, Lil' Gobby buck buck. Okay. Cool. I dig it. Sooooo, Harry coming out ala' an Abercrombie model from the green gas tube was...a little homo-erotice. But whatever. They established he's doing what he's doing. So. Is he a "Goblin"? Sure, comic Harry took up his dad's mantle. But this one is a clear departure from the "Green Goblin" (A nickname JJJ gave him in the first movie.) To a guy wearing a removable ski-mask and SWAT suit with a katana and an amalgamation of Batman/Predator's glove. Okay, he's got the bombs and the razor bats...cool. But he can't be Goblin jr. He doesn't look like the Goblin. He didn't take his dad's glider. (Um...hey. That's a skateboard, right? How did you make that again, Harry? Weren't you the durp-durp who schlepped with Peter for study-help? Just take your dad's fucking glider and we'll believe you can ride the stoopid thing) And maybe, if we're keeping in alignment with the first movie, a similar...mask? Maybe you found a prototype (As we had hoped seeing the old mask, a silvery one, and then...your paintball mask. Nope. Get your guns, we're spuh-LATballing.) Your fights were made of awesome, I won't lie. Just keep in line with the canon, okay? Moving on.
Sandman. A good villain. One who the comic Spidey beat with...wait for it...a vaccuum. So, cool creation/effects (Although I commented that when he was "re-created" with the sand it looked more like clumping cat-litter. Oops. There goes my suspension of disbelief) Soooooo, Okay. Mo and I frassed about this today. Enough is enough with the sympathetic villain. (Or, conflicted villain like the last two movies. We get it. Bad guys aren't all bad...they're MADE...right Mr. Raimi?) Redemption is a great selling point in these movies: Spidey in the first, Doc Ock in the 2nd...and Gob...whoever in the 3rd. Sooooo having Tiny Tim as his kid and the (Where have you been Theresa Russell? You still look great for...what...102?) wife be bitchy, he's auto-sympth. This is a case where he coulda been left out entirely. En. Tirely. Make him the aforementioned small-villain. Or another movie. Or a tv show. This was the effects team bogarting shit from everyone's favorite "The Mummy" to put in their own movie. And I'm sorry...as cool as the fight scenes and effects were? They shoulda made way for this guy...right here:
Venom. I think that Topher did some good shit here. He played his part, and he played it well. Arrogant (W/Peter et.al) 'Smarmy (W/Betty Brant) Delusional (W/ Gwen) and unethical. Showing him periodically through the movie then showhorning his villain in (A very well done...again...IMHO...effects job. His crawling on the wall conversation w/Sandman was top-shelf) This character has become HUGE w/in the last 22 years of the 1st introduction of the symbiote during "Secret Wars". Powerful. A match for Spider-Man. Undetectable by his Spider-Sense (Oh. Where was that, btw, when Har-Gob knocked you on your ass?) He woulda been his own, complete, movie.
Instead, we get Peter's repentence...Topher's transforming...and we has to sit through some honky bullshit for 20 minutes (Ham-fisted "Peter is bad" or "Peter is Denny Terrio"...or "Peter is this..." Btw. Why didn't they go into what Harry said to MJ before she lied to Peter and said "I wanna break up with you"? I mean it'll be on the DVD, but a quick "I will kill Peter, Aunt May, and your family if you say anything..."blah blah villain dialogue. Demasking. Oh. Right. ) In keeping with the theme of "everybody knows Spidey", we're left with a VILLAIN fluffing off into the night. Who know's his secret. Grrrr. I mean, DRAMA would have been Venom dumping a maskless Peter at the feet of JJJ. (Or close to him) but no. Double Grrrrr.
Real quick-like...I love Bruce Campbell. That is all. Okay. The sub-characters I'll try and keep short.
MJ? Meh. I never agreed with the casting, but accepted and embraced that it would be the Kristen Dunce. Okay. Betty Brant was always great as the far-away flirt (Um...quick. "40 year old Virgin" reference: "What's wrong with her underwear?"/"Ummm...They aren't in my mouth!") But Gwen. Gwen Stacy. I read a review that Dunce is fine. Cute. What ev. But MJ is supposed to be a super-model pretty, and no-nonsense. Having Gwen, um, "glow"? Is that right? And to also be super smart. And she's the super-model? BEEP! Wrong answer. They could just as easily done a Pete and MJ break up, Pete hooks up with her to see what's great in the world when BOOM! She's killed. Why? She's killed in the comics, yo. Not graphically. She's killed when Pete is doing what he does best to save people. And it was such a BIG DEAL in the comics because unlike other Marvel properties- She didn't come back. (Well, clones don't count.) It was what worked about the last one: Parker was freaked out because no one like him and all he wanted to do was help. This time it was such an abrupt 180 that he had to make the choice himself when her death would have had such a greater dramatic catalyst. But no. She lived. To be pretty. And Howard. And PP went back to MJ...even though after staring at Jessica Biel (Sorry...went back to the preview for "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry") Gwen Stacy. A character never fully realized. Even though he went back to the girl couldn't even be honest that she was shit-canned for not being able to sing. (And. Um. Stick with Theatre. No reputable Jazz Club would put a failed B'Way star to work. They would, just not one who couldn't sing.)
And then? Peter.
Peter Peter Peter. Well, you got to wear the ab-airbrushed costume more, sans mask. Which in my mind brings back seeing a half-nude Kenneth Brannagh in "Frankenstein" with his air-brushed abs on his bare-body. We get that it's hard to stay in the shape like you were in the first two. We do. But do you, James Franco, and Topher Grace all need to spend so much time out of the things that hide your secret identities? Does everything HAVE to be a great reveal. Parker (And subsequent villains) losing their masks was a big deal in the comics...(See the current story line "Civil War"). Hell, in Mexico if you are a Lucha Libre fighter and your mask is removed it's the HUGEST insult you can endure. And gah...Yes. Okay. I'll admit, and I'm a staunch defender of mainstream movies that a majority think are bad because I find a few good bits and cling on like my life depends on it. (The Star Wars Prequel franchise, X3, etc...) But. Fuck. Dancing? Musicals? In this? Weren't we frassin' about what a joke a Spider Man musical would in fact be? The musical numbers were what I began referring to as my "pee breaks". I knew I wouldn't miss much. And how you came across the Venom suit was kinda lame. Oh, a meteor hitches a ride on your mo-ped? Lets keep the film moving folks. Again, if they did a "VENOM" and "Venom" alone movie they probably could have done a better back story. Instead, they bogart an installment of "Creepshow" ("The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill") as the genesis of the symbiote. (btw- I think that it was also a little "pat" how he magically figured out how to remove it...no?) So yeah. I liked it. I'll by the DVD. You should see it on a big screen (matinee) really. And yes, I'm tired and invested way too much time into thinking about this. xo
ps: I was interviewed by Fox 9 news immediately after the movie. Let's just say that I'm not at my most...articulate...at 3am.
That being said, I love the franchise. And even the 3rd installment which most folks/critics/fans alike agree is probably the weakest still holds a place in my heart, and a future spot on my DVD rack. (And Sony wants 3 more movies? I'm a big fan of saying enough is enough. And that they really need to re-examine the series to avoid future mis-steps. For real)
I'd also like to warn you that this post is going to explore my thoughts on what went wrong, what coulda been done better, and moments that really endeared me to the movie.
Ergo, it's going to be long. (Kiped from another thread I'm part of)
So there was some fumbling etc. It was IMHO still an entertaining franchise movie. Not perfect, but entertaining if you dug the first two. (Unlike X3 where you really, REALLY hadda like the franchise to even glom a modicum of enjoyment out of it.) Ignoreg the hokey dialogue (Which, to be sure, can and should be forgiven. Why? Like Dorajar says, it's a comic book movie. You want meat in your characterizations rent "Notes on a Scandal" or some shit.) The comic book film industry has started making strides since it's original "death" (A cancer that started around the Schumacher mis-managing of the "Batman" franchise and ended with Bat-nippled Clooney in "Batman and Throbbin") It re-started (after Horror/Sci-fi movies were experiencing a resurgence) with a mix of horror-sci fi-comic: Blade.
Then X-Men (A film that we all were hope hope hoping would work...and did) Employed a director with some cred (Bryan Singer) mad actors/unknowns (McKellan, Stewart, Jackman, et.al) And came across as all right. When "Spidey 1" came out (Originally James Cameron was attached with DiCaprio and a reported Winslet as Peter and MJ respectively. I like DiCaprio...somewhat...as an actor...but that woulda been way horseshit. My choice for Parker was the younger brother of Eliza Dushku in "Bring it On", Jesse what's his butt. He woulda worked.) It was a great hero "origin" story. Really great. The biggest nut-rub was taking an iconoclastic villain (Green Goblin) and making him a Might Morphin Power Ranger. Now, I love me some Raimi. I do. Even "The Quick and The Dead". And I can buy trying to ground the characters in more of a "reality" by giving them something that resembles a "practical" explanation to their costuming rather than a rubber mask or make-up, but come on. Power. Rangers. Bad-guy. Still. A good flick, with decent box-office/effects/ACTING...guaranteeing a sequel
Part 2- Great film. From the beginning to the end, and again IMHO the best in the franchise. More great seasoned actor's (Molina, Dylan Baker, Donna MURPHY in a supporting role...etc.) And some top-shelf Academy Award winning effects work (Um. Hello? The "El" fight? Oof.) There of course, were a few quibbles. I thought that the whole "psychological" problem of Spidey's powers disappearing was akin to a case of a guy who can't get a boner 'cause he's "psyching himself out" ("Oh. What Pete? Can't 'Shoot' The old web shooters during crunch time???" Yeah.) And lastly...do you have to show your secret identity to everyone and their cat? 20+ train commuters. The main bad guy. And lastly...your future g/f? Didn't you have the whole mask bit to keep your loved ones safe? Dude...SECRET identity, yo. Call Bruce Wayne, line 2. The blinking red phone next to the inconspicuous bust that flips up to reveal the switch to the bat cave. Shhhhhh) Regardless, my favorite. Still a good movie, that has great memories of my first Spidey midnight showing with Lattery, Kaiser, Jabas, et.al.
Now part 3...Okay, so I bogarted some comments from other reviews (i.e. Too many villains/supporting characters to explore which watered down the entirety of the experience). Overall, not a bad bad film. There were GREAT action sequences, even from the 1st shots of him swinging in the city. I dug that it was Peter Parker fighting the Goblin and not in his costume. His character in the black suit (Chris Gaines..btw...Emo Pete...btw. You guys rule) was cool... So was his bar fight (C'mon. Little Peter tossing the big bad bouncers? And tell me that hearing everyone in the theatre gasp when he hit MJ wasn't kinda like "Whoa...that came outta no where") The only things they explored in a little detail was his decent from arrogance, to evil with any degree of thought. (Or Eddie. More on that later) There were Great villains too! As. Stand alones. See, I can see multiple "costumed" villains. Like, as Spidey's world opens up so does his Rogues Gallery. (Ex: What if it opened with "rash of crazy criminals stalk NYC" and there's a quick fight of Spidey fighting, oh, the Beetle. Or the Vulture. Just 2-3 minutes of action. Nothing to detract from the main plot/villain. Just enough to say that his problems exist outside of bank robbers, fires, and kids crossing the street too soon) Let's look at this for a sec in the order they clashed:
Goblin, Goblin jr, Lil' Gobby buck buck. Okay. Cool. I dig it. Sooooo, Harry coming out ala' an Abercrombie model from the green gas tube was...a little homo-erotice. But whatever. They established he's doing what he's doing. So. Is he a "Goblin"? Sure, comic Harry took up his dad's mantle. But this one is a clear departure from the "Green Goblin" (A nickname JJJ gave him in the first movie.) To a guy wearing a removable ski-mask and SWAT suit with a katana and an amalgamation of Batman/Predator's glove. Okay, he's got the bombs and the razor bats...cool. But he can't be Goblin jr. He doesn't look like the Goblin. He didn't take his dad's glider. (Um...hey. That's a skateboard, right? How did you make that again, Harry? Weren't you the durp-durp who schlepped with Peter for study-help? Just take your dad's fucking glider and we'll believe you can ride the stoopid thing) And maybe, if we're keeping in alignment with the first movie, a similar...mask? Maybe you found a prototype (As we had hoped seeing the old mask, a silvery one, and then...your paintball mask. Nope. Get your guns, we're spuh-LATballing.) Your fights were made of awesome, I won't lie. Just keep in line with the canon, okay? Moving on.
Sandman. A good villain. One who the comic Spidey beat with...wait for it...a vaccuum. So, cool creation/effects (Although I commented that when he was "re-created" with the sand it looked more like clumping cat-litter. Oops. There goes my suspension of disbelief) Soooooo, Okay. Mo and I frassed about this today. Enough is enough with the sympathetic villain. (Or, conflicted villain like the last two movies. We get it. Bad guys aren't all bad...they're MADE...right Mr. Raimi?) Redemption is a great selling point in these movies: Spidey in the first, Doc Ock in the 2nd...and Gob...whoever in the 3rd. Sooooo having Tiny Tim as his kid and the (Where have you been Theresa Russell? You still look great for...what...102?) wife be bitchy, he's auto-sympth. This is a case where he coulda been left out entirely. En. Tirely. Make him the aforementioned small-villain. Or another movie. Or a tv show. This was the effects team bogarting shit from everyone's favorite "The Mummy" to put in their own movie. And I'm sorry...as cool as the fight scenes and effects were? They shoulda made way for this guy...right here:
Venom. I think that Topher did some good shit here. He played his part, and he played it well. Arrogant (W/Peter et.al) 'Smarmy (W/Betty Brant) Delusional (W/ Gwen) and unethical. Showing him periodically through the movie then showhorning his villain in (A very well done...again...IMHO...effects job. His crawling on the wall conversation w/Sandman was top-shelf) This character has become HUGE w/in the last 22 years of the 1st introduction of the symbiote during "Secret Wars". Powerful. A match for Spider-Man. Undetectable by his Spider-Sense (Oh. Where was that, btw, when Har-Gob knocked you on your ass?) He woulda been his own, complete, movie.
Instead, we get Peter's repentence...Topher's transforming...and we has to sit through some honky bullshit for 20 minutes (Ham-fisted "Peter is bad" or "Peter is Denny Terrio"...or "Peter is this..." Btw. Why didn't they go into what Harry said to MJ before she lied to Peter and said "I wanna break up with you"? I mean it'll be on the DVD, but a quick "I will kill Peter, Aunt May, and your family if you say anything..."blah blah villain dialogue. Demasking. Oh. Right. ) In keeping with the theme of "everybody knows Spidey", we're left with a VILLAIN fluffing off into the night. Who know's his secret. Grrrr. I mean, DRAMA would have been Venom dumping a maskless Peter at the feet of JJJ. (Or close to him) but no. Double Grrrrr.
Real quick-like...I love Bruce Campbell. That is all. Okay. The sub-characters I'll try and keep short.
MJ? Meh. I never agreed with the casting, but accepted and embraced that it would be the Kristen Dunce. Okay. Betty Brant was always great as the far-away flirt (Um...quick. "40 year old Virgin" reference: "What's wrong with her underwear?"/"Ummm...They aren't in my mouth!") But Gwen. Gwen Stacy. I read a review that Dunce is fine. Cute. What ev. But MJ is supposed to be a super-model pretty, and no-nonsense. Having Gwen, um, "glow"? Is that right? And to also be super smart. And she's the super-model? BEEP! Wrong answer. They could just as easily done a Pete and MJ break up, Pete hooks up with her to see what's great in the world when BOOM! She's killed. Why? She's killed in the comics, yo. Not graphically. She's killed when Pete is doing what he does best to save people. And it was such a BIG DEAL in the comics because unlike other Marvel properties- She didn't come back. (Well, clones don't count.) It was what worked about the last one: Parker was freaked out because no one like him and all he wanted to do was help. This time it was such an abrupt 180 that he had to make the choice himself when her death would have had such a greater dramatic catalyst. But no. She lived. To be pretty. And Howard. And PP went back to MJ...even though after staring at Jessica Biel (Sorry...went back to the preview for "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry") Gwen Stacy. A character never fully realized. Even though he went back to the girl couldn't even be honest that she was shit-canned for not being able to sing. (And. Um. Stick with Theatre. No reputable Jazz Club would put a failed B'Way star to work. They would, just not one who couldn't sing.)
And then? Peter.
Peter Peter Peter. Well, you got to wear the ab-airbrushed costume more, sans mask. Which in my mind brings back seeing a half-nude Kenneth Brannagh in "Frankenstein" with his air-brushed abs on his bare-body. We get that it's hard to stay in the shape like you were in the first two. We do. But do you, James Franco, and Topher Grace all need to spend so much time out of the things that hide your secret identities? Does everything HAVE to be a great reveal. Parker (And subsequent villains) losing their masks was a big deal in the comics...(See the current story line "Civil War"). Hell, in Mexico if you are a Lucha Libre fighter and your mask is removed it's the HUGEST insult you can endure. And gah...Yes. Okay. I'll admit, and I'm a staunch defender of mainstream movies that a majority think are bad because I find a few good bits and cling on like my life depends on it. (The Star Wars Prequel franchise, X3, etc...) But. Fuck. Dancing? Musicals? In this? Weren't we frassin' about what a joke a Spider Man musical would in fact be? The musical numbers were what I began referring to as my "pee breaks". I knew I wouldn't miss much. And how you came across the Venom suit was kinda lame. Oh, a meteor hitches a ride on your mo-ped? Lets keep the film moving folks. Again, if they did a "VENOM" and "Venom" alone movie they probably could have done a better back story. Instead, they bogart an installment of "Creepshow" ("The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill") as the genesis of the symbiote. (btw- I think that it was also a little "pat" how he magically figured out how to remove it...no?) So yeah. I liked it. I'll by the DVD. You should see it on a big screen (matinee) really. And yes, I'm tired and invested way too much time into thinking about this. xo
ps: I was interviewed by Fox 9 news immediately after the movie. Let's just say that I'm not at my most...articulate...at 3am.
Body Check!!! (*)
*Or "how I quit worrying and learned to love the pain"
Doesn't the thread title remind you of day camp/scout camp? 'Member? Whenever you went swimming you had to have a buddy and during random intervals the lifeguard (who looked NOTHING like they did on "Baywatch" would yell "BUDDY CHECK"!!! And you and yer buddy would hold your hands up before they blew the whistle and you could get back to your lake-frass...
No one? What?
Well the show is up and runnin'. Yee Haw. The house have been small, but enthusiastic. And I felt that we finally started to hit our stride on Saturday night in spite of my various attempts at killing my cast. (Chowie walked in to the bad end of the Monk's Spade as I carried it off stage...nearly disemboweling him. Newly gradgitated B-boy Robby took the walking staff to the knuckles like he was in Catholic School during the "Oedipus" sketch. I whacked Shinobi-wan a little too vigorously with a spinning backfist. And lastly I nearly took out the Kat during "Streetfighter" with a well-placed jump spin wheel to the elbow. By the end of the show I was checking to see if there was anyone else who wanted some. And for real, I didn't even have a beer!)
No critics, but some dear folks showed up starting with Joshie on Friday ("I knew you did that stuff...but I didn't know you could DO that stuff!" Warmed my heart) Dorajar and 'Nai on Saturday, and a surprise visit by Ry-Gonn on Sunday. (Please send warmest regards to he and his family. He's going through some ill-gramma frass right now)
So I wanted to post a quick inventory of ailments that comes from a 3 show kung-fu weekend. I'll avoid pics as uploading them would take too much time, and my feet aren't in the best shape. From top to bottom:
Head/neck/shoulders- Oddly enough, cool. After the last run of "KFH" and the fundraiser, I remember distinctly that I could barely move my head to look over my shoulder for almost a month. Now (knock on wood) it feels copacetic.
Arms- Triceps are muy achey from falling a lot and catching my body. The abrasion on my right elbow from the first helicopter attempt is almost healed up (Thanks, neoprene elbow guard!) My wrists (Thanks wrist wraps) have held up from the falls. My elbows, on the other hand have cuts and bruises from an unnamed source. (Falling? Kicking my own ass? I can has cheezburger?) They hurt to rest on my chair.
Chest/Ribs/Tummy- Cool. Tums a little sore from sucking in my gut during my topless scenes and flexing my tummy for support doing my normal Fonkey stuff. Other than that, copacetic.
Legs- The weird thing is my hamstring and groin-y feel fine. Great, in fact. It's a little frassy stretching out after all that high-falutin' kicking etc. But the next day I'm mobile. I've got the makings of a pulled calf on my right leg. I'm actually favoring my right leg due to cracking my knee during the "Streetfighter" dance off with Robbie. Go figure. I have these knee pads which have been a GODsend during the scene where I beat myself up. I normally take them off during my first costume change, although Sunday of all days I left'emon during the course of the show. Except before "Streetfighter"...where I take'em off thinking I wouldn't need'em any more. BEEEEEEP! Wrong answer. First spin on the floor CRACK the knee hits. I get up and Kiseung is there to drag me off but I couldn't put weight on it. Shit. Take off my gi bottoms and whoops. There it is. Big bloody red circle. I skun my knee. I haven't done that since, oh, high school? Rounding out the lot is a bruise on both of my hips into my glutes, exacerbated by a fall on my ass this Sunday. (I go to do a thrust kick to get the Sphinx offstage and due to the dust on the floor my other leg went up too. Ry-gonn thought it was an intentional Suicide drop. Hopefully the 18 other people did too)
Feet/Kankles- Saving the best for last, my dogs look like some one tried shining my shoes with a cheese grater then forgot I wasn't wearing any to begin with. Ugh. My top left has got an owie I think (think?) I eff up everytime I beat myself up. It may come from another part of the show, as Shinobi-wan and Robbie both have similar maladies. Basically I've been hacking up my foot. (And I have one of those annoying cuts in between my little and 2nd toe. If I spread my toes it fricking kills) I've got bruises on both little toe knucks, a bruise on the ball of my right foot, a bruise on my right kankle (Which happens after Jocasta tosses me. Saturday and Sunday both I remind myself to fall correctly. Both times I biff. Durp durp durp)
I felt kinda bad about being the grandpa of the cast until some of the others showed signs of battle fatigue as well. The lesson is, I'm a hazard to myself and I'll probably need a wheel chair by the end of the run.
Doesn't the thread title remind you of day camp/scout camp? 'Member? Whenever you went swimming you had to have a buddy and during random intervals the lifeguard (who looked NOTHING like they did on "Baywatch" would yell "BUDDY CHECK"!!! And you and yer buddy would hold your hands up before they blew the whistle and you could get back to your lake-frass...
No one? What?
Well the show is up and runnin'. Yee Haw. The house have been small, but enthusiastic. And I felt that we finally started to hit our stride on Saturday night in spite of my various attempts at killing my cast. (Chowie walked in to the bad end of the Monk's Spade as I carried it off stage...nearly disemboweling him. Newly gradgitated B-boy Robby took the walking staff to the knuckles like he was in Catholic School during the "Oedipus" sketch. I whacked Shinobi-wan a little too vigorously with a spinning backfist. And lastly I nearly took out the Kat during "Streetfighter" with a well-placed jump spin wheel to the elbow. By the end of the show I was checking to see if there was anyone else who wanted some. And for real, I didn't even have a beer!)
No critics, but some dear folks showed up starting with Joshie on Friday ("I knew you did that stuff...but I didn't know you could DO that stuff!" Warmed my heart) Dorajar and 'Nai on Saturday, and a surprise visit by Ry-Gonn on Sunday. (Please send warmest regards to he and his family. He's going through some ill-gramma frass right now)
So I wanted to post a quick inventory of ailments that comes from a 3 show kung-fu weekend. I'll avoid pics as uploading them would take too much time, and my feet aren't in the best shape. From top to bottom:
Head/neck/shoulders- Oddly enough, cool. After the last run of "KFH" and the fundraiser, I remember distinctly that I could barely move my head to look over my shoulder for almost a month. Now (knock on wood) it feels copacetic.
Arms- Triceps are muy achey from falling a lot and catching my body. The abrasion on my right elbow from the first helicopter attempt is almost healed up (Thanks, neoprene elbow guard!) My wrists (Thanks wrist wraps) have held up from the falls. My elbows, on the other hand have cuts and bruises from an unnamed source. (Falling? Kicking my own ass? I can has cheezburger?) They hurt to rest on my chair.
Chest/Ribs/Tummy- Cool. Tums a little sore from sucking in my gut during my topless scenes and flexing my tummy for support doing my normal Fonkey stuff. Other than that, copacetic.
Legs- The weird thing is my hamstring and groin-y feel fine. Great, in fact. It's a little frassy stretching out after all that high-falutin' kicking etc. But the next day I'm mobile. I've got the makings of a pulled calf on my right leg. I'm actually favoring my right leg due to cracking my knee during the "Streetfighter" dance off with Robbie. Go figure. I have these knee pads which have been a GODsend during the scene where I beat myself up. I normally take them off during my first costume change, although Sunday of all days I left'emon during the course of the show. Except before "Streetfighter"...where I take'em off thinking I wouldn't need'em any more. BEEEEEEP! Wrong answer. First spin on the floor CRACK the knee hits. I get up and Kiseung is there to drag me off but I couldn't put weight on it. Shit. Take off my gi bottoms and whoops. There it is. Big bloody red circle. I skun my knee. I haven't done that since, oh, high school? Rounding out the lot is a bruise on both of my hips into my glutes, exacerbated by a fall on my ass this Sunday. (I go to do a thrust kick to get the Sphinx offstage and due to the dust on the floor my other leg went up too. Ry-gonn thought it was an intentional Suicide drop. Hopefully the 18 other people did too)
Feet/Kankles- Saving the best for last, my dogs look like some one tried shining my shoes with a cheese grater then forgot I wasn't wearing any to begin with. Ugh. My top left has got an owie I think (think?) I eff up everytime I beat myself up. It may come from another part of the show, as Shinobi-wan and Robbie both have similar maladies. Basically I've been hacking up my foot. (And I have one of those annoying cuts in between my little and 2nd toe. If I spread my toes it fricking kills) I've got bruises on both little toe knucks, a bruise on the ball of my right foot, a bruise on my right kankle (Which happens after Jocasta tosses me. Saturday and Sunday both I remind myself to fall correctly. Both times I biff. Durp durp durp)
I felt kinda bad about being the grandpa of the cast until some of the others showed signs of battle fatigue as well. The lesson is, I'm a hazard to myself and I'll probably need a wheel chair by the end of the run.
What I wrote about the kids...
(Kiped from an email I sent to the cast of "GMIKFTH" regarding my present experience with the good teens performing in CHS's version of "KFH". Mention anything in regards to things like "profound affect" or that it's "Dripping with sentiment"? I'll kill ya. I swear. I'm a ninja)
Good Morning, Friends. This may seem a lil' longish, so forgiveness please. If you just want the itty-bitty, scroll to the bitty bottom. It's technically an invite. But an invite...with a story:
As most of y'all know, I'm helping with a High School production of "Kung Fu Hamlet" at CHS in Circle Pines. The genesis of this stems from when my friend, Actor/Director TLC (Who directed "Loot" at TRP, and I've worked for him in other productions nigh on 5-6 years) saw us do "KFH" in January '06. When he got asked to direct Centennial's Spring show he thought "What about 'KFH'?" Well, it fell through and they ended up doing "Mad Woman of Chaillot" or some s#it and the project got tabled.
Fast forward to March-y March of this year and it all ends up falling into place. He asks me to be the Fight choreographer...which I thought was kinda strange since- #1) I feel like I'm one of the less-talented/skilled martial artist's to ever have worked for No Refunds and #2? (Which Chowie is probably thinking "Doesn't #2 means POOP?!") I've never 'Ographed anything before. Much less at a high school. So, I bugged Chowie and Matt for the "KFH" DVD. Watched it. Wrote down the blocking. And made that the abridged outline of my work. That's right. Suck it. I bogarted approximately 80% of the blocking, with some amendments in regards to the more advanced techniques and to make up for the fact that Polonius has not two. Not three. But six monks. Almost all women. More on that in a sec.
(Here is where I insert a humble apology to the cast. The high school show, coupled with our show/the fundraiser/and a 40+ hour work week...Not to mention trying to squeeze in occasional face time w/the lady friend has turned me into a greater flibbertigibbet than normal...forgive me. My mind has become fractured. Like a Phillip K. Dick character. If you read that sort of thing. If you can READ!)
So. The kids. And the show. The meat and gristle of this message. And other frass.
-The biggest one, was trying not to swear. Much.
-None of them have had martial arts training. Our original "Hamlet" had like 2 years of Tung Soo Do when he was 10 or 11, but he up and got kicked out of his house and had to transfer schools. This was week #2 of rehearsals, and we'd already blocked 3/4th's of his fights
-Being that they had no martial arts training, I had to do a rudimentary boot camp showing them the basic "flavor" of the arts which are martial. This included having them stretch daily (Even when I'm not there. I told the SM that she was the movement coach) Deep stances. Closed fists. Head up (Tall guys are all STOOPING! Don't STOOP! HORSEBACK STANCE!)
-Making sure my "Bad-A$$-Lady-Monks" (The "B.A.L.M.'s") don't say "Sorry" (I banned the word from fight rehearsals) That they stop smiling/giggling ("Ladies? I need your 'Mean face'...Katryn? Stop it. Stop....no...stop giggling! You HATE Hamlet!") And that they are less than two feet away when they "hit" someone. ("Dani? I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure your punch didn't land from way back there. Stop giggling!")
-Teaching the two "Best Friends since 2nd Grade" Laertes and Ophelia pak sao (A feat I'm actually quite tickled about. They are so gung-ho, it warms the heart. It helps that I told our SM, again, to make them practice-every. Day. And then found out they did anyway outside of rehearsals, in the band equipment room where no one was watching)
-Enduring being called "Mr. "
-Telling "Yummy"-"Good intensity, Yummy" (These kids with there nicknames. Bless his heart, the most awkward kid ever he's working so hard)
-Being an innovator and re-casting Hamlet with a woman. ("Ashley". A dancer. She gets crabby when I ask her to turn her foot a certain way. "That's NOT how I was trained".)
-Explaining to them that "No, I've never killed someone with karate" and that "Yes, I've seriously injured people with karate"
-Enduring (again) Ashley's litany of commentary/questions ("How old are you?"/"Why do you have facial hair? Are you TRYING to grow a beard?"/"Is your nose broken? It looks crooked"/"My boyfriend does NOT look like Sanjaya...he's Mormon!"/"I'm sore"/"I'm tired"/"Why would you ever want to learn that?!?" That last question is my favorite, as it came after I explained "Tiger Claw" and how it could feasibly rend flesh.) And the best bit? She's doing every thing I ask. Great success.
-Discussing Prom, then showing them my old Prom pics and having them (The whole frickin' cast and Terry) stay after rehearsal one night while I told them Prom horror stories. I've never had a rapt audience like that.
-And the really best bit? Is watching it all start to come together. They're really working hard. And I think having a lot of fun. All thanks to a goofy lil' idea hatched by Chowie/Matt/and Gabe-pril
So here's the deal- Next Thursday, May 10th they open and it's the only day I can go- 7:30 pm. If you'd like to go as well, I'd like the company. Tickets are $4-$6 (I know. I haven't seen ticket prices that low in the 9-odd years I've been working in TC theatres)
Thanks for your support and dealing with my frass. And I hope you can make it.
Good Morning, Friends. This may seem a lil' longish, so forgiveness please. If you just want the itty-bitty, scroll to the bitty bottom. It's technically an invite. But an invite...with a story:
As most of y'all know, I'm helping with a High School production of "Kung Fu Hamlet" at CHS in Circle Pines. The genesis of this stems from when my friend, Actor/Director TLC (Who directed "Loot" at TRP, and I've worked for him in other productions nigh on 5-6 years) saw us do "KFH" in January '06. When he got asked to direct Centennial's Spring show he thought "What about 'KFH'?" Well, it fell through and they ended up doing "Mad Woman of Chaillot" or some s#it and the project got tabled.
Fast forward to March-y March of this year and it all ends up falling into place. He asks me to be the Fight choreographer...which I thought was kinda strange since- #1) I feel like I'm one of the less-talented/skilled martial artist's to ever have worked for No Refunds and #2? (Which Chowie is probably thinking "Doesn't #2 means POOP?!") I've never 'Ographed anything before. Much less at a high school. So, I bugged Chowie and Matt for the "KFH" DVD. Watched it. Wrote down the blocking. And made that the abridged outline of my work. That's right. Suck it. I bogarted approximately 80% of the blocking, with some amendments in regards to the more advanced techniques and to make up for the fact that Polonius has not two. Not three. But six monks. Almost all women. More on that in a sec.
(Here is where I insert a humble apology to the cast. The high school show, coupled with our show/the fundraiser/and a 40+ hour work week...Not to mention trying to squeeze in occasional face time w/the lady friend has turned me into a greater flibbertigibbet than normal...forgive me. My mind has become fractured. Like a Phillip K. Dick character. If you read that sort of thing. If you can READ!)
So. The kids. And the show. The meat and gristle of this message. And other frass.
-The biggest one, was trying not to swear. Much.
-None of them have had martial arts training. Our original "Hamlet" had like 2 years of Tung Soo Do when he was 10 or 11, but he up and got kicked out of his house and had to transfer schools. This was week #2 of rehearsals, and we'd already blocked 3/4th's of his fights
-Being that they had no martial arts training, I had to do a rudimentary boot camp showing them the basic "flavor" of the arts which are martial. This included having them stretch daily (Even when I'm not there. I told the SM that she was the movement coach) Deep stances. Closed fists. Head up (Tall guys are all STOOPING! Don't STOOP! HORSEBACK STANCE!)
-Making sure my "Bad-A$$-Lady-Monks" (The "B.A.L.M.'s") don't say "Sorry" (I banned the word from fight rehearsals) That they stop smiling/giggling ("Ladies? I need your 'Mean face'...Katryn? Stop it. Stop....no...stop giggling! You HATE Hamlet!") And that they are less than two feet away when they "hit" someone. ("Dani? I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure your punch didn't land from way back there. Stop giggling!")
-Teaching the two "Best Friends since 2nd Grade" Laertes and Ophelia pak sao (A feat I'm actually quite tickled about. They are so gung-ho, it warms the heart. It helps that I told our SM, again, to make them practice-every. Day. And then found out they did anyway outside of rehearsals, in the band equipment room where no one was watching)
-Enduring being called "Mr. "
-Telling "Yummy"-"Good intensity, Yummy" (These kids with there nicknames. Bless his heart, the most awkward kid ever he's working so hard)
-Being an innovator and re-casting Hamlet with a woman. ("Ashley". A dancer. She gets crabby when I ask her to turn her foot a certain way. "That's NOT how I was trained".)
-Explaining to them that "No, I've never killed someone with karate" and that "Yes, I've seriously injured people with karate"
-Enduring (again) Ashley's litany of commentary/questions ("How old are you?"/"Why do you have facial hair? Are you TRYING to grow a beard?"/"Is your nose broken? It looks crooked"/"My boyfriend does NOT look like Sanjaya...he's Mormon!"/"I'm sore"/"I'm tired"/"Why would you ever want to learn that?!?" That last question is my favorite, as it came after I explained "Tiger Claw" and how it could feasibly rend flesh.) And the best bit? She's doing every thing I ask. Great success.
-Discussing Prom, then showing them my old Prom pics and having them (The whole frickin' cast and Terry) stay after rehearsal one night while I told them Prom horror stories. I've never had a rapt audience like that.
-And the really best bit? Is watching it all start to come together. They're really working hard. And I think having a lot of fun. All thanks to a goofy lil' idea hatched by Chowie/Matt/and Gabe-pril
So here's the deal- Next Thursday, May 10th they open and it's the only day I can go- 7:30 pm. If you'd like to go as well, I'd like the company. Tickets are $4-$6 (I know. I haven't seen ticket prices that low in the 9-odd years I've been working in TC theatres)
Thanks for your support and dealing with my frass. And I hope you can make it.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Oof, and Woot
Ugh. Tired. I'll post my frassy thoughts on "S3" later. We open tonight. Go see my show!
That is all. Off to nap, practice o'graphy, dress, hit the theatre, do show, have drink.
In that order.
Frass!
That is all. Off to nap, practice o'graphy, dress, hit the theatre, do show, have drink.
In that order.
Frass!
Monday, April 30, 2007
You KNOW you wanna see it!
Now with more pics! Who's the fraidy lion? Go to Intermedia Arts this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (2pm matinee) the next two weekends to find out what are truly..."The Greatest Moments in Kung Fu Theatre History".
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Pics of Five Fifth's...*
To make MD and RSvP remember what they're missing...(Monday, 4/16/2007) I'm the one with the old-school plasticky sparring gear and yellow belt. Get it? Cowardly lion=yellow? Gah, the internal choices of an actor...More to come. Go see "Greatest Moments of Kung Fu Theatre History" at Intermedia Arts. Friday's, Saturday's, and Sunday afternoons May 3rd through 13th. We may even get beers after. Or tea, if you are a tea-totaler.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Busy Crack
I'm bored, busy as hell, and feeling run down. So I give you crack- After having done so many of these things, I'm thinking I'll need to have a test to see how many actual posters are paying attention. It'll be multiple choice, true/false, and essay. Instant credit will be given for any written in answer that sez "Because he's beautiful"...
1. Height?
5' 10"
2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
I thought you injected it? (No. Doi)
3. Do you own a gun?
Several realistic toys/bb guns that work well as props. If you need to own a gun, you're fooling yourself. Open up a newspaper to figure that lil' equation out...fucking guns. Ugh.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Nah. Mostly because I haven't been to the doc in over 7 years now, I may have forgotten what it feels like.
6. What do you think of hot dogs?
The only time I'll eat'em are at live sporting events. Otherwise, even the sight of those gray gas station dogs that look like they've sat their since the 1st Bush adminstration make me want to vom.
7. What's your favorite Christmas song?
I like'em all, actually. Except for that lame ass Paul McCartney song "Simply, Having, A wonderful Christmas time!". GODS! You were a Beatle, Man! There are enough muzak cover versions of your songs that we don't need you to actually WRITE one that gets AIRPLAY! My head throbs thinking about it. Bad form, Sir McCartney. Thou shouldst know the better!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
OJ, Water, One cuppa java. (Sometimes a skinny mocha at a coffee shop if it's a study-Sunday for buddies)
9. Can you do push ups?
Yup. All sorts. Great pre-exhaust workout before you wail on your pecs.
10. Is your bathroom clean?
Tidy. I've been so busy that the dust is what's grossin' me out. I need to do a deep cleaning before friends/family visit again. And I was thinking of having a cast party for GMIKFTH? Iiiiiii don't tink so!
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
My ichi-yen necklace
12. Do you like painkillers?
Ibuprofen is my b#tch right now. (Always is during fight shows. Especially now that I'm doing two) The heavy stuff not so much. It usually leaves me feeling like I'm having an out of body experience (Not very comfortable in my own skin. Well, less comfortable than I normally am anyway) And it interrupts my sleep pattern to a greater extent. (W/in the last 1.5 years I've taken painkiller/muscle relaxants twice. Both times, instead of putting me out? I was lucid and frassy until the wee hours)
13. What do you do to lure in the opposite sex?
My all new old cheap moves, bold behavior, a certain fading bedside manner, a knack for subversive double-entendres...and roofies.
14. Do you have A.D.D.?
I'd say I qualify as a...hey! A bunny!
16. Middle Name?
David
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
1. I have a runny nose, sneezes, and a sore throat. If working/rehearsing/studying 7 days a week for the last two and the next 2 weeks is doing this to me...I'll be pissed. 2. When will my federal refund come, dammit! 3. I've got a lot of s#it to do this week.
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought?
Veggie burrito from Little T's/Garlic skin roller from Kitchen Window/Shared brunch for buddies at the Independent.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Water/Any Diet (Mt. Dew, Coke, Caffeine free Coke)/Pinot Grigio
22. Current worry?
The same. Debt. Health. Time.
23. Current hate?
My washing machine and refrigerator. The former, b/c it still doesn't work and I haven't had a lot of time to f#ck with it before seeing if it requires actual replacement. (And then, do I want a stacked W/D set up to make room for the future "2nd downstairs bathroom?") The latter, b/c it's old (Energy Hog)...ugly (Really old)...and doesn't have a working light fixture (Broke).
And the City of Mipples, for citing my old garage for being ugly and needing re-painted...or else I get a fine. F#ck you, city.
24. Favorite place to be?
Right now, home and bed would be stellar. Meesa tired.
25. How did you bring in the New Year?
At Dorajar and Magrooder's casa. It was keen!
26. Where would you like to go?
As in on a trip? Ideally, Dorajar and I have been frassin' about going to Paris then Rome (via Ryan Air) and doing Europe on the cheap. Right now it's come down to (hopefully) flying to CO and renting a car, then driving South to camp throughout the upper Southwest. We may just settle for a weekend in Two Harbors. We're both booked until the end of June it seems. : (
27. Do you own slippers?
Oh God yes. Do you understand what state we're in?
28. What shirt are you wearing?
Black Baccarat dress shirt with tiny white pin stripes. Probably more fashionable two years ago when the verticle stripe fad was in. (And it was much less "fade-y"...I suck at laundry)
1. Height?
5' 10"
2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
I thought you injected it? (No. Doi)
3. Do you own a gun?
Several realistic toys/bb guns that work well as props. If you need to own a gun, you're fooling yourself. Open up a newspaper to figure that lil' equation out...fucking guns. Ugh.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Nah. Mostly because I haven't been to the doc in over 7 years now, I may have forgotten what it feels like.
6. What do you think of hot dogs?
The only time I'll eat'em are at live sporting events. Otherwise, even the sight of those gray gas station dogs that look like they've sat their since the 1st Bush adminstration make me want to vom.
7. What's your favorite Christmas song?
I like'em all, actually. Except for that lame ass Paul McCartney song "Simply, Having, A wonderful Christmas time!". GODS! You were a Beatle, Man! There are enough muzak cover versions of your songs that we don't need you to actually WRITE one that gets AIRPLAY! My head throbs thinking about it. Bad form, Sir McCartney. Thou shouldst know the better!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
OJ, Water, One cuppa java. (Sometimes a skinny mocha at a coffee shop if it's a study-Sunday for buddies)
9. Can you do push ups?
Yup. All sorts. Great pre-exhaust workout before you wail on your pecs.
10. Is your bathroom clean?
Tidy. I've been so busy that the dust is what's grossin' me out. I need to do a deep cleaning before friends/family visit again. And I was thinking of having a cast party for GMIKFTH? Iiiiiii don't tink so!
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
My ichi-yen necklace
12. Do you like painkillers?
Ibuprofen is my b#tch right now. (Always is during fight shows. Especially now that I'm doing two) The heavy stuff not so much. It usually leaves me feeling like I'm having an out of body experience (Not very comfortable in my own skin. Well, less comfortable than I normally am anyway) And it interrupts my sleep pattern to a greater extent. (W/in the last 1.5 years I've taken painkiller/muscle relaxants twice. Both times, instead of putting me out? I was lucid and frassy until the wee hours)
13. What do you do to lure in the opposite sex?
My all new old cheap moves, bold behavior, a certain fading bedside manner, a knack for subversive double-entendres...and roofies.
14. Do you have A.D.D.?
I'd say I qualify as a...hey! A bunny!
16. Middle Name?
David
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
1. I have a runny nose, sneezes, and a sore throat. If working/rehearsing/studying 7 days a week for the last two and the next 2 weeks is doing this to me...I'll be pissed. 2. When will my federal refund come, dammit! 3. I've got a lot of s#it to do this week.
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought?
Veggie burrito from Little T's/Garlic skin roller from Kitchen Window/Shared brunch for buddies at the Independent.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Water/Any Diet (Mt. Dew, Coke, Caffeine free Coke)/Pinot Grigio
22. Current worry?
The same. Debt. Health. Time.
23. Current hate?
My washing machine and refrigerator. The former, b/c it still doesn't work and I haven't had a lot of time to f#ck with it before seeing if it requires actual replacement. (And then, do I want a stacked W/D set up to make room for the future "2nd downstairs bathroom?") The latter, b/c it's old (Energy Hog)...ugly (Really old)...and doesn't have a working light fixture (Broke).
And the City of Mipples, for citing my old garage for being ugly and needing re-painted...or else I get a fine. F#ck you, city.
24. Favorite place to be?
Right now, home and bed would be stellar. Meesa tired.
25. How did you bring in the New Year?
At Dorajar and Magrooder's casa. It was keen!
26. Where would you like to go?
As in on a trip? Ideally, Dorajar and I have been frassin' about going to Paris then Rome (via Ryan Air) and doing Europe on the cheap. Right now it's come down to (hopefully) flying to CO and renting a car, then driving South to camp throughout the upper Southwest. We may just settle for a weekend in Two Harbors. We're both booked until the end of June it seems. : (
27. Do you own slippers?
Oh God yes. Do you understand what state we're in?
28. What shirt are you wearing?
Black Baccarat dress shirt with tiny white pin stripes. Probably more fashionable two years ago when the verticle stripe fad was in. (And it was much less "fade-y"...I suck at laundry)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Mmmmmm, beer...
So, Five Fifth's has come and gone. It was a fun, successful, and sold out evening. The day started kinda pucky, with my needing to drop off the old purple Easter egg for the inevitable tranny repair. (The thing that has been a thorn in my flesh since last Summer had to get done) Moses Supposes lent me her ve-Hickle, and I set about to do some chores/studying/exercising before meeting her at Wasabi for cheap sushi lunch. (Wasabi. Where you should all-go-to lunch if you are jonesin' for Sushi in DT Mipples. $7.50 for two rolls. Two honkin' BIG rolls.) Anyway, I figured I'd take a quick naplet post-shower and ended up oversleeping, nearly missing sushi- Forgetting my wallet. (Which is grand, coz it's not like I LOVE having my GF pay...or driving her car sans liscense.) After dropping her off I headed back home to prep for the evenings bidness.
I met up w/her at the Towner (After a quickie tech) where we nibbled TERRIBLE dinners and had a mutual pint. And headed in to do the show.
It was grand, being able to frass w/peeps backstage. Watching the other peeps business (Ari and co. 3-Sticks, The Scrimmy-scrimmy-buck-bucks w/CeeJ, Bedlam, and we goofs. We happy goofs) Dorajar made her singing debut (Hence, the powering down of pints) and the night was a s#it-ton of fun. Which is the way it should be. Word.
After schmoozing w/Mama and Papa-san, we grabbed our free beer. (What? Summit is a sponsor you say? Shut UP!) before heading to the Towner for another sad pint. (It should be said, that at this point? Dorajar felt really good.) I had almost forgot how much I like beer on warm days.
The next day, I had remembered how much I despise beer bloat. (And prefer cocktails/wine over da beer)
Back to frassin' w/the High School kidlets and getting "GMIKFTH" up and running. We only have, what, 4 or 5 rehearsals left until tech?
Not a problem.
I met up w/her at the Towner (After a quickie tech) where we nibbled TERRIBLE dinners and had a mutual pint. And headed in to do the show.
It was grand, being able to frass w/peeps backstage. Watching the other peeps business (Ari and co. 3-Sticks, The Scrimmy-scrimmy-buck-bucks w/CeeJ, Bedlam, and we goofs. We happy goofs) Dorajar made her singing debut (Hence, the powering down of pints) and the night was a s#it-ton of fun. Which is the way it should be. Word.
After schmoozing w/Mama and Papa-san, we grabbed our free beer. (What? Summit is a sponsor you say? Shut UP!) before heading to the Towner for another sad pint. (It should be said, that at this point? Dorajar felt really good.) I had almost forgot how much I like beer on warm days.
The next day, I had remembered how much I despise beer bloat. (And prefer cocktails/wine over da beer)
Back to frassin' w/the High School kidlets and getting "GMIKFTH" up and running. We only have, what, 4 or 5 rehearsals left until tech?
Not a problem.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Diary-uh...
"I'm going to be an extravagant womanizer until I find 'Ms. Right'..."
From the diary of Baby P, circa Spring 1990.
It's a little weird that Dorajar and I have been reading each other's old journal excerpts to one and other. (Although, she WAS jonesin' to get to the naughty bits about lost virginity, etc.) Weirder still (to me) is that 1990 had very...different meanings to each of us. The following are some excerpts of my journal circa 1990. Please note, I wasn't just angsty and hormonal in every single entry I wrote in my hasty scribble. I did have some interesting current events that I wrote about, including my "at the time" political leanings. (Which, remarkably, were similar to my folks. Go fig. They are posted later for your pleasure)
Highlights from my archaic journalling...:
"I'm feeling love pangs towards________" ("Pangs"? Really?)
"I'm taking _________ to the Sculpture Gardens for some spiritual release"
"I'm excited because I might get (RSvP's) room!"
"They had a party with out me. B****!"
"I played an ultra-good game of hockey, scoring with .00001 seconds left"
"The teacher accused me of cheating on the test but I didn't. I guess God likes me"
"It was an uneventful weekend in an uneventful life"
"I got a call from 5 different girls!"
"French kissing is the BEST!"
"And I DIDN'T have sex with her, thank you. And I'm VERY proud of myself for that." (How proud can you be when you're 15 and hormonal? Pretty proud I guess.)
"Went to the party. _______ sat around like a lump. Great"
And for the aforementioned political/current events of 1990-1991-
"Gorbachev visited today. My dad met him, shook his hand, and gave him a hat"
"Go Bush!"
"Well, the ground war started today in Iraq. Pray for our troops"
(And a later thread...when the journal was tapering off)
"Bill Clinton was just elected president. The first Democrat in over 12 years."
(I could smell the love pangs at losing a Republican president. Smell 'em. Funny that I don't remember leaning that way as a kid.)
All of this, contained, in a black velvet diary from B-Daltons. Complete with a silver unicorn on the cover. Yup. My gernal. Wow.
So, If anyone wants some cheap fun I encourage you to read (if you kept them) any and all old letters/journals/diaries. Hands down, the best entertainment you can find.
From the diary of Baby P, circa Spring 1990.
It's a little weird that Dorajar and I have been reading each other's old journal excerpts to one and other. (Although, she WAS jonesin' to get to the naughty bits about lost virginity, etc.) Weirder still (to me) is that 1990 had very...different meanings to each of us. The following are some excerpts of my journal circa 1990. Please note, I wasn't just angsty and hormonal in every single entry I wrote in my hasty scribble. I did have some interesting current events that I wrote about, including my "at the time" political leanings. (Which, remarkably, were similar to my folks. Go fig. They are posted later for your pleasure)
Highlights from my archaic journalling...:
"I'm feeling love pangs towards________" ("Pangs"? Really?)
"I'm taking _________ to the Sculpture Gardens for some spiritual release"
"I'm excited because I might get (RSvP's) room!"
"They had a party with out me. B****!"
"I played an ultra-good game of hockey, scoring with .00001 seconds left"
"The teacher accused me of cheating on the test but I didn't. I guess God likes me"
"It was an uneventful weekend in an uneventful life"
"I got a call from 5 different girls!"
"French kissing is the BEST!"
"And I DIDN'T have sex with her, thank you. And I'm VERY proud of myself for that." (How proud can you be when you're 15 and hormonal? Pretty proud I guess.)
"Went to the party. _______ sat around like a lump. Great"
And for the aforementioned political/current events of 1990-1991-
"Gorbachev visited today. My dad met him, shook his hand, and gave him a hat"
"Go Bush!"
"Well, the ground war started today in Iraq. Pray for our troops"
(And a later thread...when the journal was tapering off)
"Bill Clinton was just elected president. The first Democrat in over 12 years."
(I could smell the love pangs at losing a Republican president. Smell 'em. Funny that I don't remember leaning that way as a kid.)
All of this, contained, in a black velvet diary from B-Daltons. Complete with a silver unicorn on the cover. Yup. My gernal. Wow.
So, If anyone wants some cheap fun I encourage you to read (if you kept them) any and all old letters/journals/diaries. Hands down, the best entertainment you can find.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Chiisai Ryu*
* Little dragon
Just. Prepare yourself, okay? I'm not changing the tone of the blog or nuttin'!!! But you gotta admit, that's kiiiiiinda cute. Right?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A week or so, in photographic art...
B/C I'm beautiful...but no Claire Fisher. ("Six Feet Under" reference anyone? No? Bueller?")
Here's my last week or so i n a quasi-Herb Ritts-y spread. Okay, no. Here it is anyway. Enjoy and stuff. (Sans cute baby pictures this time. I will probably soon be filling cyber-space with pictures of my nephew)
The newlywed Jennybenny @ Kung Fu rehearsal, posing with faux-firearms. Ry-Kath stated that we needed guns. I brought the guns. (Aren't they cool? Before they started making toy guns safe and dayglo! I'm glad I kept the dang things!)
Hot tub at Davey's circa October 2006. Okay, okay...so it isn't Redwrights FAR superior hot tub. I just don't have any viable photo's of me or she in them anywhere. So there. Note cocktail firmly planted in the pink jams-wearing monkeys hand.
The WOLVES! While they were winning! And I was digesting! Yup, those suckers lead through almost 3/4ths of the game. Then they frickin' blew it.
Baby P and Ry-gonn...stuffed with tubesteak. Looking disappointed. See the angle and how high up we were? Yup, I keep forgetting the mild case of vertigo I get (and did get) going up and down stadium stairs. I have another (really?) unnatural fear of tumbling over high heavily raked stadium seats and not stopping. I grab the bar on the stairs down. Dork-pie. So if you're planning on gifting me tickets to a major sporting event? Courtside only, please
Seven dollars. Baby P is drinking seven dollars. Pop was $5. The more the Wolves started to stink, the more I was inclined to want to drink. Happy National Poetry Month. There's your poem.
Kung Fu Bunnies at Ma and Pa Per-Per. Lookit the lil' pugilistic lepus! He's treating that big guy like he's a Bop'em Clown. Heh. Clown Boxers.
How to cope with the holidays. That represents the largest portion of white wine our festive group of 8 imbibed. It's almost beautiful. And did it ever make us pass out. (Along with the crusted chicken breasts, 4 different spreads, bread, cheese, cheesy potatoes, sauteed vegetables...etc) We feasted. And laughed a lot. At Dorajar's melodramatic reading of her 4th Grade Journal. Quite angsty and political for a 9 year old.
Yours truly. Speeding from one gig to the next. (Insert Simon and Garfunkel tune here: "Slow down...you move to fast...you gotta try to stop the frass!")
Here's my last week or so i n a quasi-Herb Ritts-y spread. Okay, no. Here it is anyway. Enjoy and stuff. (Sans cute baby pictures this time. I will probably soon be filling cyber-space with pictures of my nephew)
The newlywed Jennybenny @ Kung Fu rehearsal, posing with faux-firearms. Ry-Kath stated that we needed guns. I brought the guns. (Aren't they cool? Before they started making toy guns safe and dayglo! I'm glad I kept the dang things!)
Hot tub at Davey's circa October 2006. Okay, okay...so it isn't Redwrights FAR superior hot tub. I just don't have any viable photo's of me or she in them anywhere. So there. Note cocktail firmly planted in the pink jams-wearing monkeys hand. 
The WOLVES! While they were winning! And I was digesting! Yup, those suckers lead through almost 3/4ths of the game. Then they frickin' blew it. 
Baby P and Ry-gonn...stuffed with tubesteak. Looking disappointed. See the angle and how high up we were? Yup, I keep forgetting the mild case of vertigo I get (and did get) going up and down stadium stairs. I have another (really?) unnatural fear of tumbling over high heavily raked stadium seats and not stopping. I grab the bar on the stairs down. Dork-pie. So if you're planning on gifting me tickets to a major sporting event? Courtside only, please
Seven dollars. Baby P is drinking seven dollars. Pop was $5. The more the Wolves started to stink, the more I was inclined to want to drink. Happy National Poetry Month. There's your poem.
Kung Fu Bunnies at Ma and Pa Per-Per. Lookit the lil' pugilistic lepus! He's treating that big guy like he's a Bop'em Clown. Heh. Clown Boxers.
How to cope with the holidays. That represents the largest portion of white wine our festive group of 8 imbibed. It's almost beautiful. And did it ever make us pass out. (Along with the crusted chicken breasts, 4 different spreads, bread, cheese, cheesy potatoes, sauteed vegetables...etc) We feasted. And laughed a lot. At Dorajar's melodramatic reading of her 4th Grade Journal. Quite angsty and political for a 9 year old.
Yours truly. Speeding from one gig to the next. (Insert Simon and Garfunkel tune here: "Slow down...you move to fast...you gotta try to stop the frass!")
To re-cap...there is, so much
I know I haven't been as diligent with posting. Work has been keeping me busy, per normal. And there was a lot of lead up excitement/nerves/impatience to get my nephew good and berfed. On top of all that, the extra-curriculars:
1- "GMIKFTH" has been chugging along for the last 3 weeks. The 'Ography is coming back, slowly but surely. I miss having cats like MD and RSvP in the show, but HE selfishly decided to up and make his wife preggers or something. Jerk. We're doing the same goofy s#it, albeit rehearsing in a smaller room with (I'm hoping) less broken glass ground into the floor. Actually...Have we rehearsed anything besides "Oedipus"? Will we? Guys? FRASSSSSSS
2- "Five Fifths of the Fringe-2007" This coming Monday we'll (And by "we'll", I mean "No Refunds") be performing at the Fringe Fundraiser @ the Southern with 4 other theatre companies. We've been given the last 5th of "The Wizard of Oz" to Kung-Fu (ck) up. Rehearsals for that beast have been up and down pour moi. (Feeling old, frassy, sore, and not very martial-artsy) ASIDES from all that, it'll be good times I'm sure. I think people are going to like what we do. Annnnnnd we have one rehearsal left before we are at go-time.
Eep.
3- "Kung Fu Hamlet" at Centennial High School, Circle Pines. Well, I got tapped to be a fight choreographer. There I said it. TLC obtained the rights, and I'm actually getting PAID to do this shite!?! Can you believe it? I'm putting together scene breakdowns, watching the tape (reviewing the tape? Isn't that what fighters do?) yadda yadda. I showed up to the school last night for a preliminary warm-up/fitness check. I got to explain the show and concept. Then I led the kids through a bunch of stretches, got a head count of who has previous martial arts experience (0, with the exception of a guy who did Tung So Doo 4 years ago. He's maaaaybe going to be our Hammy. We'll see.) teach them some basic stances/punches/kicks so that the director can see how they move. I talk to the kids about who can do kip-ups or aerials (0..but they seemed eager to learn) And we watched the movie.
I seem to be doing a lot of kung fu stuff. I might need to slip a "straight" play in one of these days. Most folks'll think I can't act unless someone is reading my lines off stage and I'm trying to punch Shinobi-wan in the throat...
And I rehearse almost Every. Single. Day.
ION:
Ry-gonn and I hit a T'Wolves game last Saturday where I ate way too much brat-age, french fry-age, and Miller Lite Beer-age out of plastic bottles. (Note to self: Bring your own flask and buy soda. At $7 a pop, those beers be expensive.) Dorajar and I have been frassin' over when and if we'll ever be able to take a vacation this year. (Current ideas are: Flying to Colorado, renting a car, and driving down through the Southwest, ala' 4 corners.) Still trying to do practice tests for my "6" and get my score up over 80% (I'm still down in the 60%ile) I've gone over to Redwrights for a couple of soaks, and I'm fixing to sneak over more often. Annnnnnnd, I need to do my frassin' taxes.
I hit a sushi lunch at Wasabi with buddies, and that night we ate an Early Easter Greek din-din at the Gardens of Salonica with ma and pa P. Easter itself was spent studying, and then hit Ma and Pa Dorajar's with X, Chenny, Pad, and G-ma. We ATE all day some wonderful nibbles and managed to polish off...(sigh) go with me: 3 magnums of Pinot Grigio and a couple of other bottles of wine. Oof.
Oh, and the big brother baby factory. That's pretty huge news too.
1- "GMIKFTH" has been chugging along for the last 3 weeks. The 'Ography is coming back, slowly but surely. I miss having cats like MD and RSvP in the show, but HE selfishly decided to up and make his wife preggers or something. Jerk. We're doing the same goofy s#it, albeit rehearsing in a smaller room with (I'm hoping) less broken glass ground into the floor. Actually...Have we rehearsed anything besides "Oedipus"? Will we? Guys? FRASSSSSSS
2- "Five Fifths of the Fringe-2007" This coming Monday we'll (And by "we'll", I mean "No Refunds") be performing at the Fringe Fundraiser @ the Southern with 4 other theatre companies. We've been given the last 5th of "The Wizard of Oz" to Kung-Fu (ck) up. Rehearsals for that beast have been up and down pour moi. (Feeling old, frassy, sore, and not very martial-artsy) ASIDES from all that, it'll be good times I'm sure. I think people are going to like what we do. Annnnnnd we have one rehearsal left before we are at go-time.
Eep.
3- "Kung Fu Hamlet" at Centennial High School, Circle Pines. Well, I got tapped to be a fight choreographer. There I said it. TLC obtained the rights, and I'm actually getting PAID to do this shite!?! Can you believe it? I'm putting together scene breakdowns, watching the tape (reviewing the tape? Isn't that what fighters do?) yadda yadda. I showed up to the school last night for a preliminary warm-up/fitness check. I got to explain the show and concept. Then I led the kids through a bunch of stretches, got a head count of who has previous martial arts experience (0, with the exception of a guy who did Tung So Doo 4 years ago. He's maaaaybe going to be our Hammy. We'll see.) teach them some basic stances/punches/kicks so that the director can see how they move. I talk to the kids about who can do kip-ups or aerials (0..but they seemed eager to learn) And we watched the movie.
I seem to be doing a lot of kung fu stuff. I might need to slip a "straight" play in one of these days. Most folks'll think I can't act unless someone is reading my lines off stage and I'm trying to punch Shinobi-wan in the throat...
And I rehearse almost Every. Single. Day.
ION:
Ry-gonn and I hit a T'Wolves game last Saturday where I ate way too much brat-age, french fry-age, and Miller Lite Beer-age out of plastic bottles. (Note to self: Bring your own flask and buy soda. At $7 a pop, those beers be expensive.) Dorajar and I have been frassin' over when and if we'll ever be able to take a vacation this year. (Current ideas are: Flying to Colorado, renting a car, and driving down through the Southwest, ala' 4 corners.) Still trying to do practice tests for my "6" and get my score up over 80% (I'm still down in the 60%ile) I've gone over to Redwrights for a couple of soaks, and I'm fixing to sneak over more often. Annnnnnnd, I need to do my frassin' taxes.
I hit a sushi lunch at Wasabi with buddies, and that night we ate an Early Easter Greek din-din at the Gardens of Salonica with ma and pa P. Easter itself was spent studying, and then hit Ma and Pa Dorajar's with X, Chenny, Pad, and G-ma. We ATE all day some wonderful nibbles and managed to polish off...(sigh) go with me: 3 magnums of Pinot Grigio and a couple of other bottles of wine. Oof.
Oh, and the big brother baby factory. That's pretty huge news too.
To re-cap...there is, so much
I know I haven't been as diligent with posting. Work has been keeping me busy, per normal. And there was a lot of lead up excitement/nerves/impatience to get my nephew good and berfed. On top of all that, the extra-curriculars:
1- "GMIKFTH" has been chugging along for the last 3 weeks. The 'Ography is coming back, slowly but surely. I miss having cats like MD and RSvP in the show, but HE selfishly decided to up and make his wife preggers or something. Jerk. We're doing the same goofy s#it, albeit rehearsing in a smaller room with (I'm hoping) less broken glass ground into the floor. Actually...Have we rehearsed anything besides "Oedipus"? Will we? Guys? FRASSSSSSS
2- "Five Fifths of the Fringe-2007" This coming Monday we'll (And by "we'll", I mean "No Refunds") be performing at the Fringe Fundraiser @ the Southern with 4 other theatre companies. We've been given the last 5th of "The Wizard of Oz" to Kung-Fu (ck) up. Rehearsals for that beast have been up and down pour moi. (Feeling old, frassy, sore, and not very martial-artsy) ASIDES from all that, it'll be good times I'm sure. I think people are going to like what we do. Annnnnnd we have one rehearsal left before we are at go-time.
Eep.
3- "Kung Fu Hamlet" at Centennial High School, Circle Pines. Well, I got tapped to be a fight choreographer. There I said it. TLC obtained the rights, and I'm actually getting PAID to do this shite!?! Can you believe it? I'm putting together scene breakdowns, watching the tape (reviewing the tape? Isn't that what fighters do?) yadda yadda. I showed up to the school last night for a preliminary warm-up/fitness check. I got to explain the show and concept. Then I led the kids through a bunch of stretches, got a head count of who has previous martial arts experience (0, with the exception of a guy who did Tung So Doo 4 years ago. He's maaaaybe going to be our Hammy. We'll see.) teach them some basic stances/punches/kicks so that the director can see how they move. I talk to the kids about who can do kip-ups or aerials (0..but they seemed eager to learn) And we watched the movie.
I seem to be doing a lot of kung fu stuff. I might need to slip a "straight" play in one of these days. Most folks'll think I can't act unless someone is reading my lines off stage and I'm trying to punch Shinobi-wan in the throat...
And I rehearse almost Every. Single. Day.
ION:
Ry-gonn and I hit a T'Wolves game last Saturday where I ate way too much brat-age, french fry-age, and Miller Lite Beer-age out of plastic bottles. (Note to self: Bring your own flask and buy soda. At $7 a pop, those beers be expensive.) Dorajar and I have been frassin' over when and if we'll ever be able to take a vacation this year. (Current ideas are: Flying to Colorado, renting a car, and driving down through the Southwest, ala' 4 corners.) Still trying to do practice tests for my "6" and get my score up over 80% (I'm still down in the 60%ile) I've gone over to Redwrights for a couple of soaks, and I'm fixing to sneak over more often. Annnnnnnd, I need to do my frassin' taxes.
I hit a sushi lunch at Wasabi with buddies, and that night we ate an Early Easter Greek din-din at the Gardens of Salonica with ma and pa P. Easter itself was spent studying, and then hit Ma and Pa Dorajar's with X, Chenny, Pad, and G-ma. We ATE all day some wonderful nibbles and managed to polish off...(sigh) go with me: 3 magnums of Pinot Grigio and a couple of other bottles of wine. Oof.
Oh, and the big brother baby factory. That's pretty huge news too.
1- "GMIKFTH" has been chugging along for the last 3 weeks. The 'Ography is coming back, slowly but surely. I miss having cats like MD and RSvP in the show, but HE selfishly decided to up and make his wife preggers or something. Jerk. We're doing the same goofy s#it, albeit rehearsing in a smaller room with (I'm hoping) less broken glass ground into the floor. Actually...Have we rehearsed anything besides "Oedipus"? Will we? Guys? FRASSSSSSS
2- "Five Fifths of the Fringe-2007" This coming Monday we'll (And by "we'll", I mean "No Refunds") be performing at the Fringe Fundraiser @ the Southern with 4 other theatre companies. We've been given the last 5th of "The Wizard of Oz" to Kung-Fu (ck) up. Rehearsals for that beast have been up and down pour moi. (Feeling old, frassy, sore, and not very martial-artsy) ASIDES from all that, it'll be good times I'm sure. I think people are going to like what we do. Annnnnnd we have one rehearsal left before we are at go-time.
Eep.
3- "Kung Fu Hamlet" at Centennial High School, Circle Pines. Well, I got tapped to be a fight choreographer. There I said it. TLC obtained the rights, and I'm actually getting PAID to do this shite!?! Can you believe it? I'm putting together scene breakdowns, watching the tape (reviewing the tape? Isn't that what fighters do?) yadda yadda. I showed up to the school last night for a preliminary warm-up/fitness check. I got to explain the show and concept. Then I led the kids through a bunch of stretches, got a head count of who has previous martial arts experience (0, with the exception of a guy who did Tung So Doo 4 years ago. He's maaaaybe going to be our Hammy. We'll see.) teach them some basic stances/punches/kicks so that the director can see how they move. I talk to the kids about who can do kip-ups or aerials (0..but they seemed eager to learn) And we watched the movie.
I seem to be doing a lot of kung fu stuff. I might need to slip a "straight" play in one of these days. Most folks'll think I can't act unless someone is reading my lines off stage and I'm trying to punch Shinobi-wan in the throat...
And I rehearse almost Every. Single. Day.
ION:
Ry-gonn and I hit a T'Wolves game last Saturday where I ate way too much brat-age, french fry-age, and Miller Lite Beer-age out of plastic bottles. (Note to self: Bring your own flask and buy soda. At $7 a pop, those beers be expensive.) Dorajar and I have been frassin' over when and if we'll ever be able to take a vacation this year. (Current ideas are: Flying to Colorado, renting a car, and driving down through the Southwest, ala' 4 corners.) Still trying to do practice tests for my "6" and get my score up over 80% (I'm still down in the 60%ile) I've gone over to Redwrights for a couple of soaks, and I'm fixing to sneak over more often. Annnnnnnd, I need to do my frassin' taxes.
I hit a sushi lunch at Wasabi with buddies, and that night we ate an Early Easter Greek din-din at the Gardens of Salonica with ma and pa P. Easter itself was spent studying, and then hit Ma and Pa Dorajar's with X, Chenny, Pad, and G-ma. We ATE all day some wonderful nibbles and managed to polish off...(sigh) go with me: 3 magnums of Pinot Grigio and a couple of other bottles of wine. Oof.
Oh, and the big brother baby factory. That's pretty huge news too.
Yeah...busy pants
Hey. This is Zachary Ryan. (Heretofore known for the purposes of this blog as "Zerp") Born last Thursday, April 5th @ 2:23pm. 3.37 kgs. 52cm. Heeeeeeeee's a button! And I would have been completely remiss if I didn't post a picture of this handsome little man. Congratulations you two!
He's gonna be a great dad. And to all the aunties and uncles out there, I get it. I used to think it was such a strange and trivial thing when all the aunties and uncles I know got worked up about future nieces and nephews. It always struck me as sort of a guest-starring role in terms of child birth, with the wife and hubby taking center stage.
Nope.
I got myself super excited over that frassy, poopy baby. And since I don't have any goals for chitlins in the immediate future- I'll take him. He is beautiful, like mama and papa. Everyone who reads/lurks/etc. Do me a easy favor?
Cyber send them all your love.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Ugh
I...didn't sleep last night.
Wait, rewind.
Sunday was a day of rest. After a frassy Saturday (The afore-blogged foot injury) a great night at Mario's (Happy B'day Chowsie. Hope you didn't find yourself at the bottom of too many boots) moving onto another great b'day at Nye's (Ugh. I am glad I missed the vomtastic action behind us. Gross gross gross.) it was, in a few words...a long assed day.
So Sunday we slept, got up , studied for a while at Wilde Roast, and headed to the new Lunds to get some lunch/dinner (Thanks Dorajar's Mom for the gift card.) That new NE Lunds is pretty sweet too. No pay parking. Clean. Friendly staff (Like. Friendly friendly small town friendly.) An amazing deli (Including Mediterranean/Indian food area's) If it wasn't so cost-prohibitive I'd probably do a shite ton more shopping there. We headed back home for lunch and a nap where I had a s#itty dream that I lost my house to a new owner without prior knowledge. Yeah, I show up and this lady that looked kinda like Christine Baranski was putting a massage studio in my bedroom and putting up all of this faux rock/brick inlay where the hardwood was. I was pissed.
Afterwards, we hit a matinee of "300" (Which you should all. See. F#cking cool.) before heading home for dinner and another movie ("Little Miss Sunshine". Which you should all. See.)
Din-Din was devine: Fresh caught salmon, steamed rice w/lime & cilantro. Garlic rosemary bread. And spinach salad with a balsamic soy dressing. W/full bellies, we headed upstairs, watched the movie. And bed.
Which circles back to my first train of thought. I don't think I got more than an aggregate 2 hours sleep last night. I was suhWEATING bullets, and I'd switch between under the covers, above the covers (Dried, cooled off) then back under the covers (sswwwwwweat) and above the covers. 2:00 am (Okay, 3.5 hours. Plenty of rest.) 3:17am (Sighs..still 2+ hours) 4:30 a.m. (This isn't going to happen, is it?) 5:26 am (I bet I start to sleep, right about BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP)
Urf. So it was probably the rich late dinner which caused my metabolism to race like a demon, the nap earlier in the day, the diet coke during the movie (I was groggy before we sat down to watch it...and belching is fun)
Anyway, feeling out of body today. May post something appropriately rambly later. Urf.
Wait, rewind.
Sunday was a day of rest. After a frassy Saturday (The afore-blogged foot injury) a great night at Mario's (Happy B'day Chowsie. Hope you didn't find yourself at the bottom of too many boots) moving onto another great b'day at Nye's (Ugh. I am glad I missed the vomtastic action behind us. Gross gross gross.) it was, in a few words...a long assed day.
So Sunday we slept, got up , studied for a while at Wilde Roast, and headed to the new Lunds to get some lunch/dinner (Thanks Dorajar's Mom for the gift card.) That new NE Lunds is pretty sweet too. No pay parking. Clean. Friendly staff (Like. Friendly friendly small town friendly.) An amazing deli (Including Mediterranean/Indian food area's) If it wasn't so cost-prohibitive I'd probably do a shite ton more shopping there. We headed back home for lunch and a nap where I had a s#itty dream that I lost my house to a new owner without prior knowledge. Yeah, I show up and this lady that looked kinda like Christine Baranski was putting a massage studio in my bedroom and putting up all of this faux rock/brick inlay where the hardwood was. I was pissed.
Afterwards, we hit a matinee of "300" (Which you should all. See. F#cking cool.) before heading home for dinner and another movie ("Little Miss Sunshine". Which you should all. See.)
Din-Din was devine: Fresh caught salmon, steamed rice w/lime & cilantro. Garlic rosemary bread. And spinach salad with a balsamic soy dressing. W/full bellies, we headed upstairs, watched the movie. And bed.
Which circles back to my first train of thought. I don't think I got more than an aggregate 2 hours sleep last night. I was suhWEATING bullets, and I'd switch between under the covers, above the covers (Dried, cooled off) then back under the covers (sswwwwwweat) and above the covers. 2:00 am (Okay, 3.5 hours. Plenty of rest.) 3:17am (Sighs..still 2+ hours) 4:30 a.m. (This isn't going to happen, is it?) 5:26 am (I bet I start to sleep, right about BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP)
Urf. So it was probably the rich late dinner which caused my metabolism to race like a demon, the nap earlier in the day, the diet coke during the movie (I was groggy before we sat down to watch it...and belching is fun)
Anyway, feeling out of body today. May post something appropriately rambly later. Urf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)