I mean, you really can't cover it all. Not after over a month of non-blogging. So your options are either ignore everything and pick up as if you never went away, or else give an inadequate recap of the past month. I'ma go with option B!
--Robbie's last day of preschool has come and gone. He was pretty sad, so we let him pick dinner that night. Naturally, he chose New York Pizzeria. Now it's been twenty-one days of keeping both boys at home with me throughout the day. We had some struggles early on, since we don't have cool things like playgrounds and classmates in abundance, and transitions are always hard anyway, but we've been doing better lately, getting into our groove. And I actually got him to (with help) clean his room, so we can play with the toddler in there now as well. I try to fit one "outing" in per week, and maybe two trips to the park as well. I'm pretty darn sure we'll all survive the summer :-)
--I threw out my back about a month ago. I've strained it before, but I was completely incapacitated for a full day. And mostly incapacitated for two days after then. And then, I could function fairly normally, just with a lot of pain, for a while. I cannot think of a time I've been in that much pain in my life. Kim had to help me walk back to bed, and I almost passed out from the pain. It was crazy. Anyway, I had my first completely pain-free night of work this past week, so I feel pretty safe in saying I'm just about out of the woods. Now, time to work on getting out of terrible shape and back into marginally poor shape.
--The Kings won the Stanley Cup. I know you were probably expecting something epic from me about that, but it's now a part of the "too much to cover" cloud. It was pretty awesome, though. They pretty much steamrolled through the playoffs. First Cup in franchise history, and there's always been a pretty fantastic core of hockey fans in the LA area. Like my dad. So happy for him to get the chance to finally see his boyhood team lift the Cup.
Also, really happy for a lot of guys on that roster, especially good soldier Willie Mitchell. The man has played steady if unspectacular hockey for years, and to see him finally get a Cup win is a huge part of what makes the SCF so fantastic every year.
--Finally, by now I sincerely hope everyone has seen the Les Mis trailer twenty or so times. But in case you haven't,
--And that, of course, reminds me of the Les Miserables Street Fighter-style fighting game, Arm Joe. Because you always wanted to see Marius beat the snot out of Eponine, and because you thought the story needed a cyborg Jean Valjean, right?
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Flightplan
I just booked an airline ticket from Oklahoma City to Houston on July 5th. We're going to be in the Kansas/Oklahoma region for a week after Robbie's birthday, but I'll have to head back to work just as most of Kim's family shows up for the slightly-belated holiday. (At one point, we'd thought about my flying down to work that weekend and then driving back up to bring everybody else back, but it's gotten to the point where it'll actually be cheaper for me just to fly one way) I love all those web sites like Expedia and Priceline where you just plug in your desired departure and arrival site and dates (and whatever criteria they ask for) and they just give you a ton of options from all the different airlines. Sometimes the choices you get can be pretty funny. Today's example: I could leave OKC at 9:30 in the morning, then stop in Dallas for an hour and forty minute layover, then fly to Denver for a two hour and forty minute layover before arriving in Houston, nine and a half hours after I left. All this convenience for only three times the cost of a direct flight from OKC at 10:45 a.m. on another airline.
On the other hand: this roundabout way of getting home would have included freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. If I were a rich man, that would have been quite the temptation.
*****************
An old college chum of mine is currently posting a blog series called "Where did our Bible come from?" Worth checking out, if you're into that sort of thing.
****************
It seems a lot of the whole "turning thirty" process is coming to grips with the fact that, really, thirty isn't all that old. And it's true. Your life isn't over. Chances are, your life isn't even half over and, while you are technically just past your physical "peak," you've got quite a few years ahead of good physical condition for just about any activity you'd choose to engage in (unless you want to do something like play professional football or hockey, in which case your ship has sailed). There's still time to fall in love, get married, and have kids if you haven't, you'll still have energy (relatively speaking) to chase around the kids you do have if you have them, and while it'll probably be difficult, it's still totally feasible for you to change your career if you're starting to feel "stuck." Objectively speaking, you're not that old.
That said, you're also not as young as you used to be. And if you want a fairly tangible reminder of that, I recommend going to a college graduation. I recently got to work at one, which required me getting to work by 6:30 a.m. to stand around, directing people to the working elevator, for five hours. Man, college kids are young! I mean geez, when did that happen?
I will say, however, that I was pretty proud of myself for managing that day. It had been a while since I woke at 5 a.m. on purpose and went through a grueling work shift. By the end of the day, I found myself wanting to go back on bookings to perform plays at elementary schools. I don't know if I've ever talked at length about that on here, but that may have been my favorite thing (artistically) that I've ever done.
That, in turn, got me thinking back about the old faux rock/folk band my last touring unit and I joked about from time to time. I decided that, if we ever went through an angst phase, we would write a song called "Like Pop Rocks In an Open Wound." Or maybe that's more of an album title.
Ooh, maybe both!
***************
I've been trying to read Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book, which is--no surprise--a sequel to The Jungle Book. I thought maybe there'd be something in it I could use in an adaptation/reimagination of the first story. And about 40 percent of the way into the book, I gave up on it. Not a single story managed to hold my imagination like the first installment had. I realized then that the reason I haven't read much in the past few months is that I haven't gotten my hands on anything that I can really dive into. I've been working on Dune, and it's good, but about a hundred pages in it hasn't really got me to that "page-turner" point, and I need some of that addictive narrative quality to get my head back in the game. I therefore decided to turn to some authors that I knew I enjoyed and picked up Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna (I've been meaning to read more Kingsolver since my senior year of college) and, because he was right next door, Mr. King's The Green Mile. In addition, I just got an email that The Wind Through the Keyhole is waiting on hold for me at the library. So hopefully this'll help jump-start me back into being a Reading Guy and, by extension, a Writing Guy again. (Oh, and I'm also picking through Eats, Shoots & Leaves when my wife leaves it lying around)
And then, back to Dune, I promise. But probably not back to The Second JB.
****************
Finally, I posted this on my FB earlier this week, but this is crazy, and I think anybody who deals with schedules or managing work forces or other administrative tasks will appreciate it. LA's Staples Center has three main tenants--the Lakers and Clippers of the NBA and the Kings of the NHL. Never before have all three teams been in the playoffs at the same time. Never before have they all been scheduled to play home games on the same days. This weekend, however, ALL THREE TEAMS are scheduled to play not one but TWO home games between Thursday and Sunday. Six games in four days. Six complete changeovers, six crowds to usher in and out of the building. Jobs I'm glad I don't have this weekend: event changeover staff at the Staples Center.
*****************
All right, I'm out. Enjoy the music, peeps!
On the other hand: this roundabout way of getting home would have included freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. If I were a rich man, that would have been quite the temptation.
*****************
An old college chum of mine is currently posting a blog series called "Where did our Bible come from?" Worth checking out, if you're into that sort of thing.
****************
It seems a lot of the whole "turning thirty" process is coming to grips with the fact that, really, thirty isn't all that old. And it's true. Your life isn't over. Chances are, your life isn't even half over and, while you are technically just past your physical "peak," you've got quite a few years ahead of good physical condition for just about any activity you'd choose to engage in (unless you want to do something like play professional football or hockey, in which case your ship has sailed). There's still time to fall in love, get married, and have kids if you haven't, you'll still have energy (relatively speaking) to chase around the kids you do have if you have them, and while it'll probably be difficult, it's still totally feasible for you to change your career if you're starting to feel "stuck." Objectively speaking, you're not that old.
That said, you're also not as young as you used to be. And if you want a fairly tangible reminder of that, I recommend going to a college graduation. I recently got to work at one, which required me getting to work by 6:30 a.m. to stand around, directing people to the working elevator, for five hours. Man, college kids are young! I mean geez, when did that happen?
I will say, however, that I was pretty proud of myself for managing that day. It had been a while since I woke at 5 a.m. on purpose and went through a grueling work shift. By the end of the day, I found myself wanting to go back on bookings to perform plays at elementary schools. I don't know if I've ever talked at length about that on here, but that may have been my favorite thing (artistically) that I've ever done.
That, in turn, got me thinking back about the old faux rock/folk band my last touring unit and I joked about from time to time. I decided that, if we ever went through an angst phase, we would write a song called "Like Pop Rocks In an Open Wound." Or maybe that's more of an album title.
Ooh, maybe both!
***************
I've been trying to read Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book, which is--no surprise--a sequel to The Jungle Book. I thought maybe there'd be something in it I could use in an adaptation/reimagination of the first story. And about 40 percent of the way into the book, I gave up on it. Not a single story managed to hold my imagination like the first installment had. I realized then that the reason I haven't read much in the past few months is that I haven't gotten my hands on anything that I can really dive into. I've been working on Dune, and it's good, but about a hundred pages in it hasn't really got me to that "page-turner" point, and I need some of that addictive narrative quality to get my head back in the game. I therefore decided to turn to some authors that I knew I enjoyed and picked up Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna (I've been meaning to read more Kingsolver since my senior year of college) and, because he was right next door, Mr. King's The Green Mile. In addition, I just got an email that The Wind Through the Keyhole is waiting on hold for me at the library. So hopefully this'll help jump-start me back into being a Reading Guy and, by extension, a Writing Guy again. (Oh, and I'm also picking through Eats, Shoots & Leaves when my wife leaves it lying around)
And then, back to Dune, I promise. But probably not back to The Second JB.
****************
Finally, I posted this on my FB earlier this week, but this is crazy, and I think anybody who deals with schedules or managing work forces or other administrative tasks will appreciate it. LA's Staples Center has three main tenants--the Lakers and Clippers of the NBA and the Kings of the NHL. Never before have all three teams been in the playoffs at the same time. Never before have they all been scheduled to play home games on the same days. This weekend, however, ALL THREE TEAMS are scheduled to play not one but TWO home games between Thursday and Sunday. Six games in four days. Six complete changeovers, six crowds to usher in and out of the building. Jobs I'm glad I don't have this weekend: event changeover staff at the Staples Center.
*****************
All right, I'm out. Enjoy the music, peeps!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Birthday presents
Well folks, I just turned 30. Which is apparently a pretty depressing birthday for a lot of folks. Me, I've sort of known it was coming for a while, so I wasn't too put off by it. I actually got some pretty nice gifts this year.
*The Astros gave me a 3-game sweep of the Mets for my birthday.
*The Rangers and Capitals gave me a triple-overtime game for my birthday.
*Disney and Marvel were a day late, but they made up for it by giving me The Avengers for my birthday.
My wife and sons also got me a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups, and my sister and brother-in-law sent me the cast recording for the new Newsies musical. Aside from that, it's mostly checks and gift cards these days. Which is actually kind of nice. The past few years, it's gotten a little stressful when people ask what I wanted for my birthday. I don't know! I don't think I need any more stuff! Which is, in turn, stressful for the gift-giver, because they want to give something that you'll like, but they have no clue what that'll be. So most people just go with gift cards, and that takes a great deal of pressure off of everyone involved.
Let's face it: birthdays just aren't a huge deal once you become a grown-up. Case in point: My third annual birthday Astros game drew seven folks including Robbie and I. That's down a bit from the twenty (or so) the past few years. Thirty, schmirty. People have got places to be! (Also, both mine and Astros' popularity has been trending downward the last ten months or so) And that's fine. We seven had a good time, though Robbie and I had to leave early because Isaac had a small seizure at home while we were there. (It was a pretty dull game, anyway. Two out of the three games I've gone to for my bday have been pretty lame. Probably time to put that "tradition" away)
Oh, right, Isaac was sick the weekend after my birthday. Had a pretty intense fever. However, our thermometer was still lost from the move last fall, so we didn't know how high it actually got until it was on the way back down. I took him in to the pediatrician, and she said that seizures in babies Isaac's age are not unusual when they get sudden high fevers, and that it's not indicative of any long-standing condition unless it happens more frequently and with greater duration (his last one was only like five seconds). Since then, his temperature has returned to normal. So, no reason for worry. Though I guess that would be the one un-cool thing that happened around my birthday this year.
You ought to go see The Avengers if you haven't yet. It is so dang entertaining. If you've enjoyed any of the recent Marvel Studios movies, you need to see this one on the big screen. Obviously, there are a lot of little things you could quibble about, as there always are with these films. However, the action is incredible, the dialogue is snappy and often hilarious, the characters are extremely well-managed, and the cast is solid. I can't think of a single time I've had more fun at a movie in the past, what, ten years or so. If you're a fan of summer popcorn movies, this is the one you need to see.
Okay, getting tired of writing, and I have some work to do on a script for a publisher before I get to bed. Lightning round!
*Had a great day today with the boys today. Fresh bread for breakfast, took Kim to work, an hour of play time at the park, visited the library, got lunch for all three of us, had storytime, and everybody still managed to get a 2-hour nap before Kim got home from work. Some days--and admittedly, they're rare--you really think you might be able to "do" this whole Parenting Thing.
*Just wrapped up a long homestand for the 'Stros which saw me working seven nights in the last 10. We were 6-1 on nights that I worked and 0-2 on nights I had off. Conclusion: I'm supposed to work more.
*Tomorrow, Kim's sister Christina is getting into town, and she'll be here almost a week, so I probably won't be around online late at night for a while.
*Despite the 'Stros being out of town, I am working Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. Boo. Afterwards, Kim and I are going out on a late afternoon-to-early evening date. Yay! We're doing to see...The Avengers! Yay!
*No, seriously, what is up with those L.A. Kings??? (Also, Philly is done. Yay!)
*Dang, I didn't get to blog about the awesome wedding idea Sherri and I had the other night. Oh well. Next time...
Well all right, I'll give you a clue: imagine the bride riding down the aisle on a rhinoceros.
*The Astros gave me a 3-game sweep of the Mets for my birthday.
*The Rangers and Capitals gave me a triple-overtime game for my birthday.
*Disney and Marvel were a day late, but they made up for it by giving me The Avengers for my birthday.
My wife and sons also got me a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups, and my sister and brother-in-law sent me the cast recording for the new Newsies musical. Aside from that, it's mostly checks and gift cards these days. Which is actually kind of nice. The past few years, it's gotten a little stressful when people ask what I wanted for my birthday. I don't know! I don't think I need any more stuff! Which is, in turn, stressful for the gift-giver, because they want to give something that you'll like, but they have no clue what that'll be. So most people just go with gift cards, and that takes a great deal of pressure off of everyone involved.
Let's face it: birthdays just aren't a huge deal once you become a grown-up. Case in point: My third annual birthday Astros game drew seven folks including Robbie and I. That's down a bit from the twenty (or so) the past few years. Thirty, schmirty. People have got places to be! (Also, both mine and Astros' popularity has been trending downward the last ten months or so) And that's fine. We seven had a good time, though Robbie and I had to leave early because Isaac had a small seizure at home while we were there. (It was a pretty dull game, anyway. Two out of the three games I've gone to for my bday have been pretty lame. Probably time to put that "tradition" away)
Oh, right, Isaac was sick the weekend after my birthday. Had a pretty intense fever. However, our thermometer was still lost from the move last fall, so we didn't know how high it actually got until it was on the way back down. I took him in to the pediatrician, and she said that seizures in babies Isaac's age are not unusual when they get sudden high fevers, and that it's not indicative of any long-standing condition unless it happens more frequently and with greater duration (his last one was only like five seconds). Since then, his temperature has returned to normal. So, no reason for worry. Though I guess that would be the one un-cool thing that happened around my birthday this year.
You ought to go see The Avengers if you haven't yet. It is so dang entertaining. If you've enjoyed any of the recent Marvel Studios movies, you need to see this one on the big screen. Obviously, there are a lot of little things you could quibble about, as there always are with these films. However, the action is incredible, the dialogue is snappy and often hilarious, the characters are extremely well-managed, and the cast is solid. I can't think of a single time I've had more fun at a movie in the past, what, ten years or so. If you're a fan of summer popcorn movies, this is the one you need to see.
Okay, getting tired of writing, and I have some work to do on a script for a publisher before I get to bed. Lightning round!
*Had a great day today with the boys today. Fresh bread for breakfast, took Kim to work, an hour of play time at the park, visited the library, got lunch for all three of us, had storytime, and everybody still managed to get a 2-hour nap before Kim got home from work. Some days--and admittedly, they're rare--you really think you might be able to "do" this whole Parenting Thing.
*Just wrapped up a long homestand for the 'Stros which saw me working seven nights in the last 10. We were 6-1 on nights that I worked and 0-2 on nights I had off. Conclusion: I'm supposed to work more.
*Tomorrow, Kim's sister Christina is getting into town, and she'll be here almost a week, so I probably won't be around online late at night for a while.
*Despite the 'Stros being out of town, I am working Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. Boo. Afterwards, Kim and I are going out on a late afternoon-to-early evening date. Yay! We're doing to see...The Avengers! Yay!
*No, seriously, what is up with those L.A. Kings??? (Also, Philly is done. Yay!)
*Dang, I didn't get to blog about the awesome wedding idea Sherri and I had the other night. Oh well. Next time...
Well all right, I'll give you a clue: imagine the bride riding down the aisle on a rhinoceros.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
More of This, Less of That
How to get everyone all caught up? Hm...
*My new job is awesome. I've only had one night that was kind of a downer. It's been a while since I've really looked forward to heading to work on a daily basis. Of course, we have a stretch of 9 games in the next 10 days at home. First long homestand of the season. I do have a couple nights off, but still, we'll see how I hold up. That's a lot of standing!
Anyway, even when the team's losing, it's still great to be at the ballpark. Most of the people you meet are nice enough. I've actually met some pretty cool folks already, including one guy who went to the same high school where my parents met. Crazy, eh?
Got some major sunburns the one open-roof day game I worked. Been a long time since I've really had to worry about sunburns.
Also surprising: public transit is kind of fun. In a sort of boring, monotonous way.
*I've been thinking some pseudo-Ecclesiastical thoughts lately. I've always liked Ecclesiastes, and I think it gets a bad rap as "the depressing book" in the Bible. I'll blog on this at some point in the future, maybe, but I've come to realize that a lot of this past year has been God showing me how many wonderful things I've been using as crutches of moral and emotional support. (I.e. friends, art, dreams, family, etc)
Also: I've always considered "Ecclesiastical" to mean something along the lines of ponderous, meditations gravitating toward the melancholy focusing on the purpose of existence. Turns out, it really only means "of or relating to a church." I learned this because one of my 3rd-through-6th graders asked me what Ecclesiastes means. Kids are geniuses! I would have never bothered to ask that question! And the title basically means (in a more contemporary context; I'm also simplifying here) that it's basically a sermon of teaching. That's all the name means: for a gathered assembly.
Try teaching kids some time. They'll make ya learn stuff!
*Isaac is a full-time walker now. He's also developing a sense of how to get his older brother into trouble. Kim told me the other day that Isaac tried to take the toy Robbie was playing with, and Robbie started to fuss and grab for it. Kim shouted out a quick, "Hey!" and apparently Isaac gave a somewhat smug look toward his big brother. When Kim said, "Isaac, you have to leave Robbie alone," she insists he looked taken aback. I wasn't there, I didn't see it, but I've seen them play and I believe it.
*Hockey season ended. Playoffs going on now. Due to no TV, I'm not watching them, but I am listening to a lot of games over the Internet. (Thank you, NHL, for streaming radio broadcasts free!) I do get to watch Sunday afternoon games on NBC's web site, too. What to say? None of my teams were anything to be proud of. The Bolts and Avs both missed out, and the Pens embarrassed themselves on and off the ice in a six-game loss to the Flyers. Out of it in the first round: the last 4 Stanley Cup winners, three of the last four Stanley Cup losers, and all four of last year's conference finalists. Who does that leave? Nashville, Phoenix, LA, St. Louis, New York (R), Washington, New Jersey, and Philly.
The Aeros ended a frustrating year, bowing out to OKC in four games. A few things: 1)Yes, it was a pretty remarkable feat just to make the playoffs with the circumstances they had this year. 2) Best-of-5 series' are dumb. 3) Even tho I'm glad the team fought to a playoff berth, it was still a frustrating, disappointing season. It just wasn't a real fun year to be an Aeros fan. 4) There's actually reason to believe that next year, however, should be awesome.
*This video just makes me smile. A lot.
FIF played their first show in 8.5 years last night. The entire crowd screamed along every single word to every song all night. This is my favorite of the videos I've found (so far) because you can tell how much fun the band is having. They all have such huge smiles on their faces. It seems like it was an incredible night for all involved.
Here's another video, which includes a set list in the comments.
*The Avengers starts this week. I'm heading to the midnight showing with some friends. This may be my retirement from midnight movies. We'll see. I am turning the big 3-0 this week. And I don't know what midnight movie experience could really top The Avengers.
I'm going with my own team of Avengers. But we don't have code names, super powers, or costumes. But if called upon, I'm pretty sure we'd save the world while being entertaining.
And if we couldn't save the world, you can be damn well sure we'd avenge it.
*By the way, click that last link.
*I will not update this blog again until I've given an update on my reading blog. So hopefully I get to that soon. Until then, adios!
*My new job is awesome. I've only had one night that was kind of a downer. It's been a while since I've really looked forward to heading to work on a daily basis. Of course, we have a stretch of 9 games in the next 10 days at home. First long homestand of the season. I do have a couple nights off, but still, we'll see how I hold up. That's a lot of standing!
Anyway, even when the team's losing, it's still great to be at the ballpark. Most of the people you meet are nice enough. I've actually met some pretty cool folks already, including one guy who went to the same high school where my parents met. Crazy, eh?
Got some major sunburns the one open-roof day game I worked. Been a long time since I've really had to worry about sunburns.
Also surprising: public transit is kind of fun. In a sort of boring, monotonous way.
*I've been thinking some pseudo-Ecclesiastical thoughts lately. I've always liked Ecclesiastes, and I think it gets a bad rap as "the depressing book" in the Bible. I'll blog on this at some point in the future, maybe, but I've come to realize that a lot of this past year has been God showing me how many wonderful things I've been using as crutches of moral and emotional support. (I.e. friends, art, dreams, family, etc)
Also: I've always considered "Ecclesiastical" to mean something along the lines of ponderous, meditations gravitating toward the melancholy focusing on the purpose of existence. Turns out, it really only means "of or relating to a church." I learned this because one of my 3rd-through-6th graders asked me what Ecclesiastes means. Kids are geniuses! I would have never bothered to ask that question! And the title basically means (in a more contemporary context; I'm also simplifying here) that it's basically a sermon of teaching. That's all the name means: for a gathered assembly.
Try teaching kids some time. They'll make ya learn stuff!
*Isaac is a full-time walker now. He's also developing a sense of how to get his older brother into trouble. Kim told me the other day that Isaac tried to take the toy Robbie was playing with, and Robbie started to fuss and grab for it. Kim shouted out a quick, "Hey!" and apparently Isaac gave a somewhat smug look toward his big brother. When Kim said, "Isaac, you have to leave Robbie alone," she insists he looked taken aback. I wasn't there, I didn't see it, but I've seen them play and I believe it.
*Hockey season ended. Playoffs going on now. Due to no TV, I'm not watching them, but I am listening to a lot of games over the Internet. (Thank you, NHL, for streaming radio broadcasts free!) I do get to watch Sunday afternoon games on NBC's web site, too. What to say? None of my teams were anything to be proud of. The Bolts and Avs both missed out, and the Pens embarrassed themselves on and off the ice in a six-game loss to the Flyers. Out of it in the first round: the last 4 Stanley Cup winners, three of the last four Stanley Cup losers, and all four of last year's conference finalists. Who does that leave? Nashville, Phoenix, LA, St. Louis, New York (R), Washington, New Jersey, and Philly.
The Aeros ended a frustrating year, bowing out to OKC in four games. A few things: 1)Yes, it was a pretty remarkable feat just to make the playoffs with the circumstances they had this year. 2) Best-of-5 series' are dumb. 3) Even tho I'm glad the team fought to a playoff berth, it was still a frustrating, disappointing season. It just wasn't a real fun year to be an Aeros fan. 4) There's actually reason to believe that next year, however, should be awesome.
*This video just makes me smile. A lot.
FIF played their first show in 8.5 years last night. The entire crowd screamed along every single word to every song all night. This is my favorite of the videos I've found (so far) because you can tell how much fun the band is having. They all have such huge smiles on their faces. It seems like it was an incredible night for all involved.
Here's another video, which includes a set list in the comments.
*The Avengers starts this week. I'm heading to the midnight showing with some friends. This may be my retirement from midnight movies. We'll see. I am turning the big 3-0 this week. And I don't know what midnight movie experience could really top The Avengers.
I'm going with my own team of Avengers. But we don't have code names, super powers, or costumes. But if called upon, I'm pretty sure we'd save the world while being entertaining.
And if we couldn't save the world, you can be damn well sure we'd avenge it.
*By the way, click that last link.
*I will not update this blog again until I've given an update on my reading blog. So hopefully I get to that soon. Until then, adios!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Just enough to keep you watching
Sarah recently noted that I haven't blogged anything lately.
Yeah. I'll let the irony of that particular observation sink in for just a moment ;-)
It all started when I went to the Children's Pastors' Conference in San Diego. That got me out of the habit. Then, when I got back, I found the stuff that was on my mind was not really stuff I wanted to blog about. See, I've been thinking about serious stuff lately, about art, about faith, about human relationships, and I have come to the conclusion that I don't care to write discourses on these subjects. I want to talk to people about them. I'd sit down to blog about, say, the western church's (general) failure to teach people about worship, but I couldn't get into it. I've talked about it a couple of times with my wife when one kid is sleeping and the other is watching a movie/playing in his room/running back and forth through the living room making train noises, and those conversations have been awesome! I had a conversation via chat about the use of cheap/vulgar humor in theatre for children with a former coworker, and it was great! I tried to blog about these subjects, and it just wasn't the same. So I guess the reason I haven't been blogging much isn't that I haven't had anything to say, it's that I've had too much to say, and the limitations of the blog have been discouraging me.
Don't worry, I don't have anything important to say tonight ;-)
I hope you got a chance to see The Velveteen Rabbit over the past month. I'm not just saying that because I wrote it and I want you to tell me how good I am, either. I'm saying it because I saw the show two times, and it was a really sweet, heartwarming show. It made me feel good, and I know from reports that it did the same for a lot of the audiences who came. My favorite was the report of two hardcore VR fans who saw an adaptation of it last year that they hated so much, they were afraid to go out and try again. (That whole I've been hurt before thing, I guess) Fortunately they decided to risk it, and apparently they loved this VR. Despite the fact that I added an antagonistic cat storyline that had nothing to do with the original book. (Trust me, it was for the best)
I also say I hope you saw the show because there's a great chance that script will never be performed again. As with most public domain works, there are already several dozen VR scripts in publication, so most publishers aren't exactly looking for a new take on the old story. And those companies who don't end up spending the $35-75 for royalties (like the Players) just write their own. So I'll be surprised if there's much life for this one beyond this run. Hope you liked it!
That reminds me of a thought about humility and contentment that I meant to blog sometime in the past three months. Maybe I'll get around to that one of these days.
Can I say that I think MLB's new playoff system is DUMB?? (Actually, maybe I can't, now that I'm an employee of a MLB team...) Well then I won't get into it, but I'll just say that, while including more teams is a GOOD idea, having them play ONE GAME to decide who will be the Wild Card team is STUPID. Furthermore, my opinions in no way reflect those of my employers. That I'm aware of.
Oh, I've been sick the last few days. And tomorrow I'm doing some work as a lighting dummy. So here's hoping a good night of sleep will make everything better. Plus, I have to teach children's church on Sunday, so I'm going to need my voice.
Speaking of, it is getting a little late, so I really ought to be going. But I may as well pass along some awesome Internet videos I've found. Because that's what y'all expect of me.
The first is a video from a gal who plays video game music and television theme songs on her violin and piano. Apparently, she does them all by ear. Also, she apparently love Halloween, because in half the videos she dresses up as a character from the show or game. She's found her Internet niche and it looks like she's really having fun with it. Plus, the music absolutely kicks. I can't embed a video, but you can check out her youtube channel here.
And finally...I don't know how else to describe this, really, other than to say that, if Jesus had taught a parable that used hockey as its subject matter, this may be what he would have come up with.
Yeah. I'll let the irony of that particular observation sink in for just a moment ;-)
It all started when I went to the Children's Pastors' Conference in San Diego. That got me out of the habit. Then, when I got back, I found the stuff that was on my mind was not really stuff I wanted to blog about. See, I've been thinking about serious stuff lately, about art, about faith, about human relationships, and I have come to the conclusion that I don't care to write discourses on these subjects. I want to talk to people about them. I'd sit down to blog about, say, the western church's (general) failure to teach people about worship, but I couldn't get into it. I've talked about it a couple of times with my wife when one kid is sleeping and the other is watching a movie/playing in his room/running back and forth through the living room making train noises, and those conversations have been awesome! I had a conversation via chat about the use of cheap/vulgar humor in theatre for children with a former coworker, and it was great! I tried to blog about these subjects, and it just wasn't the same. So I guess the reason I haven't been blogging much isn't that I haven't had anything to say, it's that I've had too much to say, and the limitations of the blog have been discouraging me.
Don't worry, I don't have anything important to say tonight ;-)
I hope you got a chance to see The Velveteen Rabbit over the past month. I'm not just saying that because I wrote it and I want you to tell me how good I am, either. I'm saying it because I saw the show two times, and it was a really sweet, heartwarming show. It made me feel good, and I know from reports that it did the same for a lot of the audiences who came. My favorite was the report of two hardcore VR fans who saw an adaptation of it last year that they hated so much, they were afraid to go out and try again. (That whole I've been hurt before thing, I guess) Fortunately they decided to risk it, and apparently they loved this VR. Despite the fact that I added an antagonistic cat storyline that had nothing to do with the original book. (Trust me, it was for the best)
I also say I hope you saw the show because there's a great chance that script will never be performed again. As with most public domain works, there are already several dozen VR scripts in publication, so most publishers aren't exactly looking for a new take on the old story. And those companies who don't end up spending the $35-75 for royalties (like the Players) just write their own. So I'll be surprised if there's much life for this one beyond this run. Hope you liked it!
That reminds me of a thought about humility and contentment that I meant to blog sometime in the past three months. Maybe I'll get around to that one of these days.
Can I say that I think MLB's new playoff system is DUMB?? (Actually, maybe I can't, now that I'm an employee of a MLB team...) Well then I won't get into it, but I'll just say that, while including more teams is a GOOD idea, having them play ONE GAME to decide who will be the Wild Card team is STUPID. Furthermore, my opinions in no way reflect those of my employers. That I'm aware of.
Oh, I've been sick the last few days. And tomorrow I'm doing some work as a lighting dummy. So here's hoping a good night of sleep will make everything better. Plus, I have to teach children's church on Sunday, so I'm going to need my voice.
Speaking of, it is getting a little late, so I really ought to be going. But I may as well pass along some awesome Internet videos I've found. Because that's what y'all expect of me.
The first is a video from a gal who plays video game music and television theme songs on her violin and piano. Apparently, she does them all by ear. Also, she apparently love Halloween, because in half the videos she dresses up as a character from the show or game. She's found her Internet niche and it looks like she's really having fun with it. Plus, the music absolutely kicks. I can't embed a video, but you can check out her youtube channel here.
And finally...I don't know how else to describe this, really, other than to say that, if Jesus had taught a parable that used hockey as its subject matter, this may be what he would have come up with.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Associations
It's funny how your mind connects things.
The other day, I was at Lifeway picking up some Bibles for some kids in the church. Playing in the background was a series of contemporary Christian hits redone as instrumental pieces. It was really nice background music, actually. (Though it was a bit of a trip listening to Baby, Baby as classical piano) One of the songs that played--actually, the first song that got me to realize what exactly I was listening to--was this:
Now, every single time I hear this song, I always, always, always think of Abby and Jason. They both love this song, and I think they used it in their wedding. So it's one that I have no choice but to associate with those two lovebirds.
HOWEVER, thanks to the former Slackerlitgeek, there is another association that always pops up when "I Will Be Here" plays.
(Man, I don't wanna crash into a pier either. That looks brutal!)
Normally, these two very different memories just sort of clash whenever I hear that song. Yesterday, however, they managed to find a point of intersection. Six years ago (WOW!) I was in a traveling drug awareness play with Jason and two gals. Abby choreographed the "Say No Dance". And it (the play, not the dance) was bad. I mean, the production was pretty good, but the script itself was not. It was pretty painful. And it made for a lot of awesome memories. (Or traumatic ones. One of my castmates from that show still crawls into a little ball and rocks back and forth if you bring it up around her. I'm pretty sure she'll never say the words "embarrassed zebra" again in her life)
I played three or four villains in the show, including the bully, the head of the gang (the gang consisted of the bully and two small girls), the tough kid who tries to get Max to--you guessed it--drink beer. By the end of the show, Max has learned to stand up for himself and say no. So I hand Max a paper sack that supposedly has a six-pack inside, and he's supposed to say, "No, Duke," and then shove the sack back in my chest. "No beer." And then I get all mad and leave.
Only, the last performance, it didn't quite happen that way. I handed him the sack, just like usual, only instead of "No, Duke," Max said, "No, Beer." I doubt anyone in the audience heard it, because half the kids are just screaming "NOOOOOO" and hoping they can pop some more balloons (um, don't ask), but I knew he caught it because immediately I could see his eyes register that he'd said something wrong. And then I saw him racing through his mind to find a cover (No matter how good you all are, by the end of a year of touring to schools, everyone in the cast will be able to recognize when anybody else is scrambling). After a brief moments pause, he sighs slightly, shakes his head--from the audience, it looks like he's just saying no, but I can tell the actual meaning is Dang, I got nothin'--and then he shoves the bag in my chest and repeats "No beer." Our eyes lock, and we share an imperceptible acknowledgement that yes, this is awkward, and then the show goes on.
What's the point of all this? Simply to say that, yesterday and Lifeway, I kept picturing Jason standing just around the corner, dressed as a gigantic nine-year-old, holding out a paper sack with a six-pack in it and wearing an awkward grin. And that I'll likely have that particular visual every time I hear that song for the rest of my life.
The other day, I was at Lifeway picking up some Bibles for some kids in the church. Playing in the background was a series of contemporary Christian hits redone as instrumental pieces. It was really nice background music, actually. (Though it was a bit of a trip listening to Baby, Baby as classical piano) One of the songs that played--actually, the first song that got me to realize what exactly I was listening to--was this:
Now, every single time I hear this song, I always, always, always think of Abby and Jason. They both love this song, and I think they used it in their wedding. So it's one that I have no choice but to associate with those two lovebirds.
HOWEVER, thanks to the former Slackerlitgeek, there is another association that always pops up when "I Will Be Here" plays.
(Man, I don't wanna crash into a pier either. That looks brutal!)
Normally, these two very different memories just sort of clash whenever I hear that song. Yesterday, however, they managed to find a point of intersection. Six years ago (WOW!) I was in a traveling drug awareness play with Jason and two gals. Abby choreographed the "Say No Dance". And it (the play, not the dance) was bad. I mean, the production was pretty good, but the script itself was not. It was pretty painful. And it made for a lot of awesome memories. (Or traumatic ones. One of my castmates from that show still crawls into a little ball and rocks back and forth if you bring it up around her. I'm pretty sure she'll never say the words "embarrassed zebra" again in her life)
I played three or four villains in the show, including the bully, the head of the gang (the gang consisted of the bully and two small girls), the tough kid who tries to get Max to--you guessed it--drink beer. By the end of the show, Max has learned to stand up for himself and say no. So I hand Max a paper sack that supposedly has a six-pack inside, and he's supposed to say, "No, Duke," and then shove the sack back in my chest. "No beer." And then I get all mad and leave.
Only, the last performance, it didn't quite happen that way. I handed him the sack, just like usual, only instead of "No, Duke," Max said, "No, Beer." I doubt anyone in the audience heard it, because half the kids are just screaming "NOOOOOO" and hoping they can pop some more balloons (um, don't ask), but I knew he caught it because immediately I could see his eyes register that he'd said something wrong. And then I saw him racing through his mind to find a cover (No matter how good you all are, by the end of a year of touring to schools, everyone in the cast will be able to recognize when anybody else is scrambling). After a brief moments pause, he sighs slightly, shakes his head--from the audience, it looks like he's just saying no, but I can tell the actual meaning is Dang, I got nothin'--and then he shoves the bag in my chest and repeats "No beer." Our eyes lock, and we share an imperceptible acknowledgement that yes, this is awkward, and then the show goes on.
What's the point of all this? Simply to say that, yesterday and Lifeway, I kept picturing Jason standing just around the corner, dressed as a gigantic nine-year-old, holding out a paper sack with a six-pack in it and wearing an awkward grin. And that I'll likely have that particular visual every time I hear that song for the rest of my life.
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