A Good Day!

Yesterday was pretty nice. It started out kind of cool/cold but warmed up to a wonderful sunny day! Work was work, nothing much there.

I cooked some supper upon getting home and texted Wendy to come over and eat with me. She showed up around six thirty and we watched the NBA playoffs and a movie before she headed home.

It was nice to have company as I was really getting used to being around a lot of people during the last show every evening. Now it is kind of....quiet? Even though my evenings (and work days) are now filled with email and IM'ing my Edmond friend it is nice to have talking from time to time as well.

Anyway it was nice to have company last night. I slept really well and looking forward to today to see what kind of mischief my Edmond friend gets into!!!! Shes funny!

Lars And The Real Girl

This isn't your average guy with a sex doll movie. In fact this might be as far away from that as you can get.

Ryan Gossling plays Lars Lindstrom, a painfully shy man who feels agony when touched by a real person battles his intense loneliness by purchasing a top of the line real doll named Bianca. At first his brother and sister in law don't know what to make of it but play along as Lars creates an elaborate back story for Bianca.

They take Bianca to the doctor with Lars under the guise of having her checked out. The compassionate doctor plays along while attempting to treat Lars. Next stop is the church. Lars is a spiritual person and attends church on a regular basis. The brother and sister in law approach his pastor to ask for guidance and after talking with the church elders they agree to play along as well which leads to the entire town pitching in to help Lars and his harmless delusion.

Before long Bianca is volunteering for a hospital shift and modeling clothes at a local store.

This is one of the most original, heartfelt movies I have seen since The Straight Story which you long time readers will recognize as one of my perfect movies. This is a positive movie which despite its strange subject material on the surface, has a wonderful story full of compassion, hope, and kindness. Yes those of you who know me well enough to know me will know that I got misty during this movie as the layers are gently peeled away to reveal Lars' character and how he learns what living is about.

It is a very moving story about how much a town pulls together to care for and love a man. Ryan Gossling gives the performance of a career here in this gem of a movie.

Fit Club Finale

Kind of went out with a whimper rather than a big Dustin Diamond meltdown. There was a little bit of drama about him not getting paid when he thought he should and AJ laid down the law on him but other than that part Screech was pretty quiet this time.

I'm still thinking somehow he will wind up with his own show so he can be a thorn in VH1's side for a long time to come. He is ratings gold as the villain in any situation! The guy you just love to hate and hope everything bad happens to! Of course you have to be careful because he has the skills to gut you!

Yeah yeah yeah. He is a walking weapon alright, very sinister.

I'm sure his lawyers are regretting ever taking his retainer fee since he appears to have them on the phone every ten minutes to combat the injustices of the world which are solidly lined up against him at every turn or at least in his mind they are.

Well after watching him in two seasons of Fit Club I've got to say that YES he sucks enough that all of the world's forces should be lined up against him! He is just a bad guy, doesn't try hard enough, will whine at every turn, and just an all out pain! BUT if he gets his own show then I'll watch it to see what humiliation can be heaped upon him!

It's Going To Be A Good Day!

It is going to warm up. Hopefully be calm and not windy.
I've got two Netflix movies I'll watch today or in the next couple of days. I'm nearly done with laundry already.

I'm expecting company this afternoon and all is right with the world.

Yeah it is going to be a good day.

Starter Removal

Yesterday I noticed my starter was starting to drag and hang up. That is usually always a sign that your starter will begin to give you problems and will strand you eventually if it isn't replaced.

So I decided to take the initiative and remove it before it goes bad and does strand me somewhere that it would be really tough to change.

Changing a starter is really easy on my vehicle even though it is pretty heavy. I put down some cardboard and stuck a light under there. All easy enough and and in about a half hour, most of that was looking for a ratchet which I finally found on my back patio, once that was located in a matter of a couple of minutes the starter was laying on the ground!

My brother is going to pick me up in a bit and I'll exchange the starter at O'Reilly's. In probably fifteen to twenty minutes it'll all be back together and then eventual problem averted!!!!

It is a good feeling of accomplishment and will save a bad situation from happening later on, cause you just know that it would go out at the worst possible time!

Rodan

One of the best Japanese giant monster movies post Godzilla was Rodan. Rodan was unique in that it was filmed in color and had some very intricate model work. Rodan had heart. It knew how big Godzilla had been but wanted to offer up something a bit different.

This is actually a serious movie though, it is of course "Nukes are bad" and all that but as far as you can treat a giant rubber monster as serious then Rodan was it. Godzilla was a terror to Japan, Rodan terrorized the whole world at supersonic speeds. It dominated, Godzilla, and as much as I love Godzilla, wasn't the terror that Rodan was in this one movie.

The ending was outstanding. I remember seeing this movie on KSHB 41 out of Kansas City when I was a kid at my grandparents house on summer vacation and how amazed I was with this movie! The ending alone really effected me then. It is as powerful today but not like it was. I could imagine that it would effect a kid who was my age though. Around 10ish give or take a year or two.

Rodan is one of the elite monster movies of all time!

Gimme Shelter

The documentary of the Rolling Stones during their 1969 concert tour which culminated in the notorious free Altamonte Speedway concert is one of the best documentaries out there on rock and roll.

The Hell's Angels were hired for security and paid in beer to keep people off of the stage. What resulted is chaos and a murder caught on film. A man with a gun rushed the stage, an Angel intercepted him with a knife and then he was stabbed and kicked to death.

What was supposed to unofficially be Woodstock West brought down the sixties idealism with a thundering crash. Mick Jagger tried to control the crowd and looked like a skinny, impotent, self absorbed rock star. He was clueless on what to do to control the chaos.

He watched the murder footage and was aghast, likely on how close he came to someone shooting him. More likely at how ridiculous he appeared when it counted.

If you like documentaries like I do, this is one of the elites. The carnival of freaks at the concert alone is worth watching!

Operation: Spring Cleaning Day 3

Last night I cleaned the Drinkbusters set out of the dining room. Kind of a sad moment too. That was a fun project!

Anyway the dining room is now freshly mopped and vacant. The bathroom was attended to but I have a little bit more to do in there and then the kitchen is next. That'll be a chore. It isn't that it is a wreck, it is just cluttered! Tomorrow is trash day so I'd like to have everything sitting on the curb tomorrow morning if possible and not leave anything for next week.

It has been slow at work. Boring. I don't have a lot to blog about because I'm not up to a whole lot right now. The fanfilm project will start to gear up in May, the theatre doesn't need my assistance right now, and work is work.

After the busy start to the year it is nice to have a little slack time though!!
I should be thankful that I'm not as busy as I was, be happy I have some resting time.

Operation: Spring Cleaning

In honor of a visiting friend I've undertaken the rather gigantic task of cleaning up my bachelor style living accommodations and putting everything in a more neatly order.

Those of you who are used to seeing my place as the haphazard place it was will be shocked the next time you visit. I've started in the living room. Next I'll move into the dining room and dismantle the Drinkbusters set. Yes it still stands sans the greenscreen background.

I believe the Drinkbusters might be over with for good but you never know when everyone wants to get back together and ride again. Never say never.

The problem I'm running into is that I have a massive amount of stuff which has either sentimental value or monetary value and limited places to place it. I could use a four thousand square foot home with lots of shelving and closets!

Yep that is what I could use for sure! Anyway I started Sunday and picked it up again last night. I'm nearly finished with the living room now and soon the dining room, bathroom, and kitchen will be next!

An Affair To Blah

Watched the Cary Grant movie An Affair To Remember yesterday. I have to be honest here and say it wasn't the best movie to me. My friend enjoyed it as it went along but not at the start so I wasn't alone in my opinion. The weak spot was Deborah Kerr. Grant has had much better costars than her.

She just wasn't very likable. He was Cary Grant though and carried the movie to me. He is amazing in nearly everything he was in even though the movies might not have matched him. Comedy was what he was best at though and he knew his strong point and stuck to it most of the time.

I'd say watch it if you are in the mood for a romance, don't if you aren't.

Here is another fascinating thing though! For those of you who are long time readers and recall my Bacon, Sex, and the Internet post someone else shares my love of bacon! How cool of an idea is that?!?!?!

NBA Playoffs

Started yesterday and I watched most of all four games. I missed out on a few minutes of the Utah/Houston game but that was about it.

The NBA playoffs are pretty compelling this year. I paid attention to the Western Conference as all of the top eight teams were very close in wins. The Eastern Conference was blah at best with the Celtics being the runaway top seed.

The Spurs came back from sixteen down and won in double OT against the Suns, great game! The Cavs played tag with the Wizards and pulled it out at the end. Utah manhandled the Rockets while the Hornets edged out the Mavs.

Today's games will be so so with Boston headlining and Los Angeles takes on Denver. Everything else is mediocre at best. That is fine, I have a movie to watch today!

Yesterday

Went pretty well! I was scheduled to go in at three and everything was ahead of schedule! I was done by four thirty! I was close to an hour early as I was rolled into the operating room a little after two!

That was really nice. The first time they were about an hour and a half late. My throat isn't sore this time so they did an excellent job on that!

I'm a bit sore this morning but not too bad. I'm tired though and a little beat up but in decent shape. I believe I'll be able to make the Battlestar Galactica fanfilm relaunch tonight. At least for a little while.

Last Time

I am going in at one today and having lithotripsy at three today, likely for the last time! Especially if they tell me what I need to adjust in my diet to keep these things from coming back.

With the water I've been drinking if I can take something away that will keep me from developing these things I'll be ecstatic! This stuff is becoming very easy now but I'd rather not go through it anymore after today.

I watched Invasion of Astro Monster also known as Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. When the people on Planet X have to live underground because of King Ghidra they offer to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to rid their planet of Ghidra. What the Earth doesn't know is that they have designs on invading Earth with their newly controlled monsters!

Alright in case you haven't noticed I've been on a Godzilla kick lately! I watched these as a child when I could, they were hard to find without cable or satellite. So you really had to watch them when you had that chance as it might be six months or longer before you could see another one.

I think Godzilla vs. The Thing (Mothra) will be on tap for today! One of the better movies in the entire series! Sometimes I could do with less story and more Godzilla fighting but for the most part they are entertaining and just plain fun! For those of you out there who read on a regular basis I'd purchase the Godzilla Collection from Classic Media. This is a great set and they have the original Japanese versions which tend to have a bit more story in them and the dubbed American versions which have less story and more model pounding action!

So if you love Godzilla as many of us do, give yourself a treat and find this set! You'll love it!

Godzilla's Revenge

Last night my scheduled Netflix movie failed to arrive so I went with Godzilla's Revenge, a children's fantasy movie.

When a bullied latchkey child is lonely he dreams of going to Monster Island where Godzilla lives. He learns about courage there and how to stick up for himself by watching Godzilla and his son. This is a pure children's fantasy movie, very underrated too. Anyone can enjoy it!

You can show this movie to a five year old and they would enjoy it as much as you! It is a unPC type of movie that probably couldn't be made today without all sorts of thin skinned protesters standing outside, hopefully in the rain as that is typically the only bathing they usually receive.

It is GODZILLA! It is fun, lighthearted, and suitable for any age. Watch it, you might like it!

Power Problem

I was all in the middle of writing my blog this morning about the
movie Vertigo when the power flickered and the pc rebooted! I didn't
have time to wait as it was time to leave.

So when I get home I'll post it.

Vertigo

Was on the movie watching agenda last night after FINALLY moving the flats over to storage to put the punctuation mark at the end of Misery.

Vertigo is said to be Hitchcock's most biographical and personal movie, I believe it after reading a couple of books about Hitch. He would take someone and sculpt them into the image he wanted. He would alter every aspect about her that didn't fit his vision for months.

He was furious when Grace Kelly retired from Hollywood to get married. She was his most famous blond. Kim Novak, Tippi Hedren, and Janet Leigh were among his stable of women he sculpted over to become his stars.

In Vertigo he sculpted Kim Novak over on screen. Showing her, changing her, and changing her back yet again into the person he wanted. He famously tortured Hedren during The Birds by tying a string to Hedren and the birds that were to attack her. He refused to yell cut until he felt she was properly distressed. Yes you can read about it online if you look.

Vertigo is easily the most personal movie for Hitchcock. He laid out his obsessions for the world to see. Even the dark ones.

Running Scared

This is what it would have been like if Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarrantino had directed The Sopranos.

Wayne Kramer developed a hyperkinetic masterpiece of action and violence here. Bullets fly, people die, and lies are told.

A simple premise of a gun has to disappear in a drug deal gone bad. We follow the gun over eighteen hours as it passes from bad guy to bad guy with Paul Walker chasing it down all night long.
It is worth watching for the style alone. The story is really secondary to everything else.

This is a bullet ballet in the most modern sense with few sympathetic characters, in fact two are out and out evil. You'll know the couple I mean when you see it. It'll make your skin crawl.

Back To The Hospital

On Friday for a final lithotripsy treatment on my right side kidney. The largest stone is still there however it is smaller than it was previously.

The doctor said he wouldn't use a stent this time and that is the silver lining! The other silver lining is that it is on Friday this time so I'll burn less leave than before when the procedures were on Monday.

This should be very easy now! Three times since early March! I'll be excited to finally be done with kidney stones for good. They sent off the fragments to analyze today so I'll know exactly what is causing them, hopefully by Friday! I don't know exactly how long it takes but I'm sure they will let me know!

Striking The Set

Deconstruction

Almost....

Finished

....and we are done!

It Was A Great Run!!!!

Yes as I was saying yesterday I wasn't ready for it to end, I meant it. I'm not ready but it is ending anyway.

Sometimes that is what happens to me......well a lot of times more than sometimes. Anyway it was a blast, I had company drive up from around the city and we had a great time! The cast and crew asked me about her quite a bit, well it might have been closer to a grilling but they had a good time with her and so did I!

Today is when we take the set down and put the props away. It will take about four hours, give or take an hour or so. I'm not looking forward to it however it has to be done as that is a part of the show like every other part.

Great Show!!!!

Last night was easily the best show we have had so far!
The crowd was great! The actors were really on! The effects worked in every way!

At the cast party we were talking about how after last night's show the actors weren't ready to say goodbye to their characters yet. They want to be able to play their characters again and now the show will be closing after tonight. They felt they were really hitting their stride now.

I pointed out that now would be the actual normal time when we would be starting a two week run instead of closing a two week run. The normal rehearsal time is six weeks on a show and we only had four from start to finish on this show.

It will be sad for me as well as this will likely be my last show for quite a while. I have really enjoyed this show a lot and I'd like it there to be a couple of more shows.

I know I know, I can say that NOW after I have had nearly a week off from the show but I'd still like there to be another weekend of shows.
Nope, not ready to say goodbye to this show either. It has been really special.

Home Stretch

Misery is nearly over with now. Last night we learned that the final two shows are nearly sold out!
The rehearsal went well. It was fast, the rust came right off.

Two shows left and its over with. I'll be out of the theatre business until called upon again and who knows when that will be. Its alright though, it'll give me time to do some spring cleaning which I desperately need right now!

Rain Rain

It hasn't stopped raining or sprinkling since yesterday at noon. As I look at the radar now it might just be over with though!

My intersection is flooded, no big deal since the houses are far enough away though it won't bother them but a real pain for low sitting cars. It'll mostly be gone this afternoon if the radar is correct though.

Tonight is the last rehearsal, the pickup rehearsal. They go through the lines really fast, no props, no lights but work lights. It takes about half the time of the regular show. This just keeps the rust away for the actors.

After this show I'm done for quite a while I think. Bob applied to direct Dinner Theater next year and I hope he gets it, he would be great! He wants me to do the tech part of it!

There Will Be Father Goose

Last night I enjoyed a double feature of movies. I vicariously watched with a friend online the Cary Grant classic Father Goose. Walter Eckland is a lovable drifter who is forced into the coast watcher service during world war two. Finally a chance arrives to fetch his replacement and he finds Catherine Freneau, played by the lovely Leslie Caron and her charges. A group of children.

Hilarity ensues as they force Eckland out of his own hovel, take his whiskey, confiscate his clothes, and make an uneasy peace. This is a lovely and fun movie. A lighthearted romp in the South Pacific and the chemistry between Grant and Caron is comic timing heaven.

Next up was There Will Be Blood. A portrait of an oil baron at the turn of the 20th century. We follow thirty some years in the life of Daniel Plainview, masterfully played by Daniel Day Lewis, as he unofficially adopts his partner's son after an oil field accident and buys up land by spinning tales of trust and decency.

He soon meets the Sunday family and purchases their farm. Eli has a goal of being a faith healing preacher and comes off as shady as Benny Hinn does. Slick and smarmy. Needless to say Plainview and Sunday clash multiple times, neither person is good and you really don't have anyone to cheer for.

Lewis is his usual incredible self. Getting into every nook and cranny of the Plainview character as he disintegrates before our eyes, showing one layer at a time how he hates everyone around him. Paul Dano tries to match the performance of Day Lewis but how do you match him? You can only hope to stay out of his way.

A good movie, borderline great with Paul Thomas Anderson's direction. Better than Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love.

March Madness Ends

And while I had Kansas winning it all on two sheets the scores of those sheets were too low to compete. However I was in the overall lead on one sheet going into last night!

I just needed Memphis to win to stay in the money. They had a shot too, up by nine points with less than two minutes to go and KU rallied and forced overtime. KU just took over at that point and dominated the final five minutes likely leaving me out of the first place money and maybe out of the money altogether.

We'll see how the scores shake out today but I don't think I'll be getting anything back, but I had a great shot!

Dustin Diamond Is Back

And more of a douche than ever before in this season's Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp!
He is also really the only reason to watch. Just to see what kind of meltdown he is going to have, how many times he is going to call his lawyer, or who he is going to threaten to gut like he did yesterday.

A drunk Screech sat on the side of a pool table and threatened Brian Dunkleman, claiming he had the technique to gut him in his sleep.

Screech is just a pathetic loser of a person. If he was going to be this kind of headache then why did he agree to be on the show? Eh, who cares, I'm just watching to see when his own teammates or Harvey is going to have enough and pound him into the dirt first.

I made a prediction last season that he would have his own trashy VH1 show but that hasn't happened yet but he is back on this show. Will he sleeze his way into his own reality show? If the producers want interesting then yes, if they want Screech to be the most hated person in the reality world then yes, I'd hire him in a heartbeat.

I'd expose this punk to every humiliating thing I could.

So with all of that said, I'm looking forward to the next episode where it appears that Erin Moran has a meltdown!

Man I love this stuff......!!!

Man Hall Of Fame Part 21

One of the greatest epic movie actors of all time has died. From the sprawling epic The Ten Commandments to one of the greatest epics of all time Ben-Hur to El Cid and The Greatest Show On Earth, to the scifi classic Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston took a role and made it bigger than life.

His muscular build and craggy, chiseled looks helped him become a man that men admired and women loved. One of his lesser known roles but a true classic, also known as the perfect B movie A Touch of Evil, he plays a Mexican DEA agent on a border town. Orson Welles directed this thriller and the chemistry between Welles and Heston just created an electric chair's worth of electricity!

Charlton Heston was also a man of principle, elected as president of the NRA for four years. He did more to promote what the second amendment is really about than anyone before him or since. He knew that he wouldn't get another role in Hollywood for his outspoken support of the Constitution but that is the price he paid for doing what he wanted to do. He was also a civil rights activist in the fifties, very daring at the time but a very conservative cause to be for.

Mr. Heston, you'll enjoy the company here. May you rest in peace sir.

Ballad Of Rocketman

There is a long monologue in Misery about a chapter play or serial. It is about Rocketman and how Annie Wilkes didn't like it when the studio cheated the viewers out of a proper ending. Well I decided to investigate and see if this was a real serial or not.

Turns out it might be! I have found King of the Rocketmen and Radar Men from the Moon. King was the original and done in 1949. Radar Men was done mostly with stock footage from King of the Rocketmen. I believe footage was also used again in Zombies of the Stratosphere but I have no first hand knowledge of that.

I do enjoy serials and have three Flash Gordon serials and one Buck Rogers serial on my DVD shelves. They are fun, lighthearted romps that inspired many modern filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Yes I know I am very critical of Lucas and his treatment of the Star Wars franchise. How it started off good, got better, went to good, and then tailed off.

The Indiana Jones series though is just about as direct a inspiration of the age of serials as you can possibly get though. With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull coming out this Summer you can revisit the days when serials were king.

I'd also recommend shopping Ebay or Amazon and finding one or two if you have an interest in them. They can be a little dry with lots of fist fights however that was the movie martial arts of its day. Yes we have seen bigger explosions, better car crashes, and the cliffhangers aren't as cliffhangery as they used to be.

But the point of them is that it is fun. If you can watch some of the dreck, such as a new Will Farrell movie that Hollywood puts out today then you can handle this fairly easily!

A Successful Opening Night!!!!

It went very well! The audience was great tonight!
They laughed at the right times, cringed at the right times, and applauded when it was over with!!!!

This is a great gig but while you are doing it you are exhausted with all of the work that goes into it. I've talked all about being tired this week. I am. It is nearly midnight and all of us went to get a after the show drink at the pub when it was over with and we relaxed for the first time in a month.

I'm going to bed. I'm tired but I feel great right now!

First Performance Down

Four more to go.

Curtain time last night was a very late eight thirty. It was after eleven thirty before I got home finally. We didn't reset the entire stage yet but we did most of it to prepare for tonight's show which opens at a much more reasonable eight o'clock.

I'm exhausted, this week has been a killer for me. Next week there is only one pickup rehearsal which goes very fast and then two final shows. We only show up once and get a break after the past month of every evening.

I know I'm going to miss this show and doing this in the evenings but right now I don't feel like I will. It'll be a while before there will be another show I help with as well. I don't really know anyone who is putting on a show that I'd help with. I know Catina isn't directing next season either so it could be a long time before this happens again.

Bob has approached me about doing a film project which I'd be extremely happy with. That's the passion, theatre is a diversion but a fun diversion. I am enjoying this quite a bit and this show is really good!

Man Hall Of Fame Part 20

Today's inductee is a very necessary part of any culture. They are the people who dig when it is cold, crawl under muddy houses in filth and freezing temperatures, avoiding spiders, snakes, and other creepy crawlies. All of that just to fix your pipes.

They are the unsung heroes of everyday life. You never think about them until you need one and then you can't have one fast enough just to forget them when the job is done.

Plumbers deserve a place in the hallowed halls of the Man Hall of Fame. Society today would be a much different place if we didn't have them. Outhouses would be commonplace again. Who wants that? No one!

Next time you step inside your warm shower and feel refreshed, give thanks for the plumber that made it all happen.

Welcome Plumbers into the Man Hall of Fame, you are welcome and we have a leak in the bathroom if you don't mind.....

Close Call

After the grueling rehearsal schedule so far this week the alarm surprised me. I was thinking why in the world I set it on a Friday night since today was Saturday morning as it was blaring above my head in my sleepy daze.

I almost clicked it off and went back to sleep. That would have sucked! I would have burned more leave time than I wanted to since I'm trying to build it back up now to previous levels. I am going to have to shut impulse leave taking down for a while.

Anyway I remembered pretty quickly it was only Wednesday and I have to go to work today and be at the theatre at sixish. The show starts tonight at seven thirty. Tonight is the final dress rehearsal. We'll have an audience of family and friends of the crew. It is how we start to get the cast used to being in front of an audience.

Tomorrow night is the first real performance. Producer's night. It starts at eight and we will likely not get out of the theatre until eleven or after. I am looking forward to next week's schedule!

Tired Already

I didn't get to go home after work yesterday. We had more to do on the set after the floor was painted Sunday so that took some time. I stopped by the pub after work and got a very quick bite to eat and then went to the theatre to get things arranged.

The rehearsal let out at eleven. On the positive side I slept well all night, no noisy storms came through, no tossing and turning, I slept. If I can sleep like that the rest of the week I might be ok except on Thursday's performance. It starts at eight thirty, a full half hour later than then other shows.

I also reserved the room for our high school reunion which is now set for July twelveth. I've had a nice response so far from everyone and believe that this will have more people attending than the last reunion!