A Lot To Do

I took today off because I've got a ton to do. A lot of the stuff I've been neglecting since I finished the show. I've just not had the money to do it all.

Well today I do! I love paydays! Ok here is my word of advice for everyone today: if you ever are or join a union and things lead to a strike situation you think very long and very hard about your decisions and prepare yourself for the consequences ahead of time. That is money and time that is lost and gone for good.

So today marks the day I'm officially back on track financially. Fortunately none of my bills got behind. The part time job helped a LOT. A lot of my coworkers who didn't have either the drive or the foresight are in trouble but getting out of it, me and The Date? We are good, just had to put off the stuff that was extras, things that weren't necessities.

Today I've got to get some ink for my printer, my truck tag, some light fixtures, take The Date to lunch, and make sure that my online bills got paid:) Doesn't sound like a lot but to me its been a goal for a few weeks now!

Tonight I'm also planning on going to Trey of Hearts for a drink around six. They usually have BBQ on Friday nights and I'll get some and take to The Date for supper:)

Thursday!!!!

Woohoooo!!!! The week is officially winding down towards the weekend! I look forward to Thursdays because they are like Friday junior.

I don't dread each day of the week, it just makes the week drag by. I look forward with excitement that each day will hold something new and I'll find out something I never new before.

Last night The Date and I went to one of her friend's house and played Wii for a couple of hours. That was fun, first time I've ever played on a Wii system. It really took a little getting used to.

The bowling took me a few tries to even line up the ball on the lane. I did bowl almost a two hundred though, like 186. Archery was fun but really hard. Sword fighting was a lot of fun, boxing...well I had six knockouts I think. That game wore me out.

Things Are Getting Fixed

Last night the dryer got fixed. Turns out it wasn't the dryer at all but a breaker that went bad. A friend with a volt meter came over and we started testing things. What made it hard to catch was that the breaker didn't trip when it went bad, it just went bad. Fortunately there was a 220 in the box that wasn't being used for anything so we moved it down, hooked the wires to it and BAM! Everything worked perfectly again!

Next up was the printer. It ran out of ink, The Date got the cartridge refilled and it didn't like that at all. Mandingo said to reset the cartridge and it should work. Did that and it worked for a couple of test pages then nothing. I did some adjusting in the settings and still nothing. So this coming Friday I'll just purchase two new cartridges and it'll be all good.

Then I wrote an article for the magazine. A good primer for the rookie owner. I put ten tips in there to give anyone a solid start and point them on where to being putting their teams together. Hopefully Skate will write a follow up article for the issue after that and then we can alternate. Skate has a pretty analytical mind when it comes to this passion of mine.

Speaking of fantasy sports, in my cigar asylum league I've captured first place out of seventeen teams in fantasy NASCAR! I've been second for two thirds of the season now and when I'd have a good week and the first place driver would have a bad week, someone else would have a GREAT week and jump to first while I stayed at second. It sucked! Now I'm in a great position to maintain this points lead for a while and hopefully gain ground on the field. Winner should get around thirty five premium cigars!

Nothing Much

Last night was the first night without a show in a handful of weeks. It was nice and sad. I had things to do anyway.

I came home after work and started to dismantle the dryer. It stopped yesterday morning and I figured there was lint trapped in the rollers. Alas no, that would be a simple fix. If I could find the thermal fuse it might be that but I can't and don't know where it is. Yeah I've researched online and still can't find it.

I've got a fix it all friend and he might give me a clue or two as to where to look tonight. No big deal, just inconvenient. I started to watch Torchwood and lost interest about as fast. I might have to give it another shot and stick it out since scifi is slowly disappearing from the American televisual landscape.

Have to take the dog out this morning. He is sitting in his crate and has been all night. He is quiet though. Sweet natured dog. I don't know how old he is but now I'm thinking he might be over one year old but under two.

The Date will have him checked out at the vet on her next paycheck. I get my next paycheck this Friday! Woohoooo!!!! First full full check in weeks! Even better than that is this one will have extra money since I paid most of my bills last check in a less than full payday. I have utilities coming out, satellite bill, and that's almost it! Woohoooo!

Vorvonic?

So there we were tearing down a set after nine weeks of work. Debate broke out on how to use a new vocabulary word when I whipped out Vorvonic! Go ahead and google that one! I dare ya!

Ok I admit I made it up. Its origin is from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which ironically The Date asked me if I remembered the show yesterday and I found it on Hulu. She watched a couple of episodes and really enjoyed the show!

Anyway Vorvonic: The feeling you got when you were a kid and saw something really scary and now is just hokey as an adult! Yeah you can say "scared" but what fun is that when you have Vorvonic in your vocabulary?!?!

Let me 'splain. There was an episode of Buck Rogers that featured a Vorvon. The space age equivalent of Dracula. I believe the episode might have actually been called The Space Vampire but I could be wrong about that. So this Vorvon is really scary looking, well when you are a kid it was terrifying, now it would probably come off as campy or worse. Instead of using his misshapen teeth he would use his fingers and touch them to the victim's throat which as a kid was oddly sexual to me....or maybe that was just Erin Gray.

The Vorvon was simply AWESOME to me as a kid and now that I haven't thought of that episode in years and years I am thinking that Hulu might have it! Not really sure I want to watch it though and get that vorvonic feeling and be disappointed. Yeah I did it, I used it in a sentence, don't dare me to do it again!

This might come down to a coin flip on watching it or not. I really want to revisit my childhood memories but alas it would likely fail the test of time.

Great Show

The show closed last night and there were tears and fond memories made. It was a ton of work and easily the most complex show I've been apart of to date as I've mentioned before.

The actors were great last night and added a little extra umph to the show, a little bit of added energy that made it fun for someone who has seen the show over twenty times to enjoy. I was happy and proud to be part of the show.

I was happy to have so many of my friends involved and new friends I've made because of this production. Everyone got along very well during the course of the show and everyone seemed sorry for it to be over with now.

So there is really nothing more to be said that hasn't been said before so I'll let it go now and keep the memories:)

Closing Night

This is the dog that The Date adopted last night. Sorry not from the SPCA but from behind a quick shop. She is calling him Zip so that'll be his name. What is weird is that this dog is so well mannered not to have belonged to someone.

The guy who worked at the quick shop said he had tried to find its owner but no one responded. Its a shame, they have missed out on a really nice dog. Zip is quiet, just wants to get in your lap and lay there, hasn't barked yet so I don't know if he is capable or not. All in all a very sweet dog. Next paycheck he is going to the vet and getting checked out.

The cats haven't really freaked yet, Howard though has hissed when Zip was trying to make friends with him. Won't be long before Howard is attacking him. Rocket has hidden under my chair, he doesn't like changes...LOL!

Last night's show was easily the best of the four we've done thus far. The crowd was into it, laughs were had in lines that hadn't produced laughs before. All in all it was the best of the bunch.

The cast party was fun but tonight's will be the grand finale!

Pick Up Rehearsal

A good time was had by all. The cast hammed it up on a Shatneresque level and laughs were plenty. Tonight's show will be solid as well as tomorrow night's, then it's closing time.

Next week will start the show withdrawl. Happens every show. You work on something every night and then suddenly its gone. Yeah it happens. Even the shows I didn't enjoy doing as much it happened a little bit.

After I went to bed last night and I'm not sure what time a transformer went bad on our electric line. The neighborhood was out of power for a couple of hours. Oddly enough it gave me bizarre dreams about power outages and how people would live, think Amish. No power, live fine, well after the initial freak out everyone would have they would.

The Date's magazine is filling up with content faster than she can plan it. Not only that but advertising is ahead of the curve as well. It has been a wild ride and it is just starting. The magazine is a week into its shelf life now and going strong! I can't wait to see the next issue now!

Rehearsal Tonight

Our last rehearsal is set for tonight. It is the pickup rehearsal, to shake the rust off after three nights off. Then tomorrow night is the fourth show and we wrap it up on Saturday night for good.

It's been a long run but a good one. Lots of hard work went into this show, many many hours. I've got a lot to catch up on though when the show closes in the evenings that I've been putting off.

I'm also about to start a dynasty fantasy football league. The current league I play in has been around for close to fifteen years now. It has been very successful in terms of core players and stability. I'm going to mirror the success of that league with one that isn't a redraft league and hold a rules meeting on August 1st.

I'm excited about it! Sometimes you become attached to your players over the course of a season and want to retain them over their careers. This will be an excellent way to do that!

The Watchmen

This is a modern day masterpiece of film. Based on the graphic novel of the same name it was once thought to be un-filmable, if you read it you'd know why. This is also not Batman or Iron Man, it is a very cynical look at how these characters lived.

Yeah there are a couple of action pieces but really it isn't as dramatic or as intriguing as the lives they lead while they weren't using their masks.

If you have read the graphic novel then you'll have seen this movie, it is a shot for shot recreation and sometimes panel for panel. There were some minor changes and one major change but only the geek in me would notice that. I really wanted to see the apocalyptic ending that the novel had but I understand the reasons it was changed to the way it is now. It is still just as effective but not as hokey as was in the comic.

This is also a very violent movie about violent people and it is set in a very violent alternate time line in American history. These people are hard, they do what they do because it gets done that way. They really don't feel anymore which is a big part of the movie. Some characters lose interest in the human race, some ache to feel what they felt years ago in their prime, some are afraid to feel and go through life as a shadow of what they used to be.

This movie warrants multiple viewings, easily. There will be an ultimate edition coming out in the Winter that will have Tales of the Black Freighter edited into the running time of the movie. It is a sub story in the comic. It was animated but due to the running time not shown in the theaters. Fortunately DVD will correct that mistake:)

No Rehearsal Last Night

And it felt pretty good! I really didn't want to cook when I got home even though I enjoy cooking a lot so I packed up Thing Two and we went to get Chinese food. It was really good, she had sushi for the second time. Her first experience with wasabi was over the weekend and it was really funny.

She didn't know it was hot. She steered clear of the wasabi last night.

I had a couple of my Blade Runner glasses of The Glenrothes. A sixteen year old single malt scotch that The Date purchased me a couple of weeks ago. No cigar. I've been re-seasoning my humidor and currently none of my cigars are in smoking condition. It would have been nice though with the lightning and mild temperatures last night.

Hopefully the cooler weather remains throughout the day. It'd be nice to have a couple of days of cooler weather before we get back into the triple digits.

Apollo 11

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11's mission to the Moon. I was born ten months after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked upon the Moon for the first time while Michael Collins observed.

What is amazing is that we as the human race had this kind of drive to accomplish something so monumental. President Bush set forward a program to eventually, someday, maybe, lay the ground work to eventually set foot on Mars. Somehow it lacked the passion of JFK's speech to make and achieve the goal of setting foot on the Moon and return safely to Earth.

Instead we have abandoned the Moon and nearly all space exploration except for a pathetic international space station, something unthinkable in 1969. I'm sure by now they had envisioned a lunar colony and regular flights back and forth.

Instead we have a worn out work horse of a space shuttle that is due to be retired before we even have a suitable replacement. Our space program has gone the way of the Sony Betamax player. Instead of solid Moon exploration we aren't even close to accomplishing another moon walk and likely wouldn't be for another twenty years.

Even though we have taken immense giant sized steps forward in technology we have at the same time taken bigger steps backward. My iPhone has ten if not one hundred times more computing power than the entire Apollo lunar lander.

These men were giants among men. Their courage was beyond belief. I'm a coward by the standards they exhibited in their time, nothing but a bug in their shadow. The sheer mental stress caused by being so far away from safety, home, Earth and being able to coldly calculate their mission is beyond belief.

If I could have five minutes to talk or share a drink with anyone still living who is a major historical figure it would be Neil Armstrong with Michael Jordan as distant second. Sadly we have relegated Astronauts as the forgotten past of American history. Yeah it was exciting once but now it is common place. Most people don't even know when the shuttle goes up unless there is a mishap.

After Challenger and then the stalwart Columbia disasters our space program was set back for decades. The victim of bad timing, shrinking budgets, and lack of interest.

We no longer have a goal that is seemingly impossible as walking on the Moon to rally around. Something that takes the country as a whole and unites us instead of divides us as Americans.

This might be a lament of what could have happened to our space program, to what could have been if we would have stayed the course instead of retreating, it might very well be an epitaph to a giant.

Hippie Fail

I have to confess something, I love me some whales. I'm not a tree hugging wacko as any of you who know me know however I do believe that whaling should be banned world wide.

There likely isn't any scientific reason to go off to the Antarctic and go whaling anymore. I could be wrong on that but this post really isn't to debate whaling, it is to talk about the show Whale Wars.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show on Animal Planet it follows the crew of the Steve Irwin as they attempt to thwart a Japanese whaling fleet. What usually happens is a bunch of hippies fail, get hurt, or likely get high and do nothing.

Nearly every time they attempt to take on the Japanese fleet they get lost in ice, attempt to deploy the small boats to throw acid onto the decks of the ships, it isn't harmful acid it just smells really bad according to the hippies. What results is a lot of nothing.

Tonight they attempted to foul the props of a harpoon ship with ropes. The first time they predictably were thinking about their bong on their home ship and failed to deploy the prop fouling ropes correctly but were able to capture and foul a small iceberg.

The second time they deployed the prop fouling ropes correctly (the weed was probably wearing off by now) in front of the ship. They were expecting the ship to come to a hard stop in the sea as the small, thin, ropes got entangled in the props and locked up the massive, powerful engine with sharp metal propellers.

They were actually stunned to learn that the sharp metal propellers cut up their fouling ropes into small pieces. Obviously the designer of the fouling ropes plan might have been spending some quality time with his bong while he came up with that one. He probably failed to take into account that these ships had very powerful engines with big metal propellers that are frequently in the Antarctic where there are lots and lots of icebergs that probably get around the propulsion area of said ship....

I again believe whaling should be banned and I have no love at all for whalers. Whale Wars is fun to watch because essentially you get to watch hippies fail week after week. I like watching hippies fail. These are radicals and they use terrorist tactics on law abiding ships who are quota whaling. I have no love for the whalers but I have even less love for hippies. Most of the characters on the show are not sympathetic people, they tend to be arrogant and elitist. They are quick to jump on and criticize any mistake made by their fellow crew mates, which happens a LOT. They have condescending attitudes and are just very unlikable.

Laughs are plentiful, well for me but I understand that not everyone enjoys watching hippies fail as I do. These idiots are a riot to watch. They have accomplished nothing but failure in the past two seasons of this show. Every ship is still operational, I doubt they have stopped the fleet from getting their quotas, the Japanese fleet have adapted to the terrorist tactics and have really solid counter measures now. It is unlikely they will be able to come up with anything to hurt whaling now. I guess they did succeed in one way, they pushed the Japanese far enough along technology wise to develop these counter measures to protect themselves so their job of protecting whales is ten times harder now....or wait is that another fail????

One More Show!

We have had full shows (although four were rehearsals) every day this past week since Monday. We have one more show today and then everyone gets a break for two days. I really doubt if we will have full tech and orchestra going on pick up rehearsal on Wednesday but with such a complicated show we might.

The cast party was great last night! The Date and The Things all enjoyed themselves as well as the vast majority of the cast and orchestra! Very fun! Good food, great friends, and a wonderful evening!

I came home around one forty last night and got up about fifteen minutes ago. This is why I do theatre, well one for the challenge and second for the great cast parties so I can hang out with my incredible friends:)

Opening Night

This is probably one of the most emotional and well lit scenes in the whole show. It has a great feel to it. Opening night was amazing. It was a full house and had a long standing ovation.

Opening night was a rousing success. I hit all of my cues, I always pull it together by opening night.

I'm proud of all of my friends who are involved in the show. Top notch work. Every one of you hit your marks, nailed your lines, and I have nothing but love and respect for every single one of you.

Better Rehearsal!!!!

It went really well last night. It was the final dress rehearsal which means that friends and family get to come in and for the first time the cast has someone reacting to their performance.

They get to know when to pause a little bit for laughs or applause. I blew two cues outright. I was adjusting the intensity of one light on two different scenes and saved them so that put off two other cues and I made them up too fast. They are saved now though and I'll nail them tonight.

To my rather small credit I nailed every cue in the second act. I should have been able to do that last night but it'll be good tonight!

There is a show tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon. That means it is one busy weekend!

The Date has a full day ahead of distribution. She has some of the area towns to get to yet. The response she has gathered from the magazine has really been incredible so far! Advertisers are literally lining up now. I've never seen a business take off with this kind of initial success that I've been around or a small part of. I know as the reputation of the magazine grows it'll get better and better too!

Much Improved Rehearsal!

Last night's rehearsal was very much improved over the previous two nights. That's three down and now final dress is basically showtime from here on out! I've pretty much got my cues down now and really don't anticipate any problems or late cues. Some of you long time readers and personal friends of mine will notice I asked someone to come in and help with sound cues. There are two reasons why.

First I've got my hands full anyway and some sound cues and light cues are synchronized and its a pain for me to do both.

Second she is a long time friend, over ten years. The past couple of years she has been in a rut in her parent's house. She has desperately needed adult interaction and new people to talk to and has grown lonely. I almost begged her to come and help me and to meet some new friends. Since I basically have the best friends in the entire history of the world, I think these friends will do nicely. So I would consider it a favor on which you can call me at any time and ask me for help (not that I wouldn't anyway) for any of you to introduce yourself to her, hug her, and treat her like a regular at the Theatre. She really needs that kind of help right now. She is very shy and that would go a long way into cracking that loneliness shell.

The Date started to distribute her magazine yesterday. At the start she was anxious it would be rejected where ever she went. A natural reaction to anyone who has put this kind of time and love into a project.

Turns out people took more copies than she imagined they would. She got calls already asking them to put it in their business as well. She picked up advertisers from here and the area and the reception of her magazine has been far better than she imagined it would be. She has picked up several offers for contributions that would go nicely into the magazine as well.

She also has a scheduled radio interview for today set up. She's nervous about that but I think it will go better than she thinks. I'm proud of her. I'm happy this is working for her. I can't wait to see where this magazine takes her!

A Success!

The magazine was printed yesterday morning and by the early afternoon The Date was on her way to pick up the thousands of copies! She sent out a mass text to the entire circle of friends, minus a couple that she didn't have a number for but I did so I made up the difference.

Everyone has been super supportive and I know that it has had a huge effect on The Date. She was emotional yesterday morning after being anxious the previous few days about what could go wrong next. I'm sure she half way expected the printing press itself to be the victim of a terrorist attack for being a radical infidel.

It wasn't and it printed. She arrived to find the people who work at the printing location actually sitting on the dock and reading her magazine. Keep in mind they had no idea when she would arrive as she did not call ahead but had a general open window of arrival.

After loading up the entire run into her car she started to make her way back home via a few small towns to start the distribution process. She was tired but hit a few places already. This morning she will continue distribution from her car and then hopefully finishing up tomorrow and if necessary Friday.

It is very early yet on how well the magazine will be accepted but I believe the area is big enough for the big newspapers as well as this magazine. Newspapers will never fully go away as they are expanding their online presence more and more now. I feel most people do want a physical newspaper or magazine in their hands to start their day though.

Yes you can get your news faster online and when it breaks but there is just something about reading something in your hands that feels better.

Congratulations baby, you have done a great job! I am sure this will be a long and successful endeavor!

First Tech Rehearsal

This is just my own critique of my job last night at the tech rehearsal: Train wreck. I was late on at least a dozen cues and blew a half dozen others out of over one hundred and twenty cues. I believe there are a couple of cues that are mixed up, I'll fix them tonight and get them into the right order.

I got lost at least twice in the script, a couple of times because one actor wasn't there and it threw me for a couple of pages. I'll have it down though by the time opening curtain rises....or splits I guess.

Tonight will be a little bit smoother, Wednesday night smoother still. Thursday night's show will be what it is supposed to be as well as on through the weekend's shows.

The Date's project [five eighty} prints today. In fact by eight A.M. it should be nearly done or finished even! There are a lot of hopes riding on this first issue! She even got a business call yesterday and the magazine was brought up in a business meeting and as I said it isn't even printed yet! That is pretty good word of mouth so far!

There are two local radio stations who have traded advertising for advertising so there are now radio ads going on to promote the magazine! How cool is that? What I've found really cool is the amount of support The Date has had so far in this endeavor. She has been a nervous wreck the past few days but has kept it together and last night got the final two pages sent to the printer.

Personally, and yes I'm biased, I think that once these issues hit she will have to expand the size of her magazine before September, not only the page count but the run as well. She is starting small and leaving room for potential which it has a lot of.

Over the next two to three days she will start to circulate the issues. There have been a some businesses who have put in requests of at least one hundred issues to distribute. The really amazing thing is that she ran out of time before getting to many of the area towns! Those are probably ninety nine percent untapped at this moment! Now THAT is potential!

Rehearsals Are Set

Spent about eight hours over the weekend programming light cues. You long time readers will recall that Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause was a very complex show and had a ton of light cues.

This show has probably fifty more cues than Yes Virginia, well over one hundred cues. It is complex show, a lot of my cues are orchestral cues. I've been to rehearsals the past two weeks now and despite me not sticking around the whole show or being back stage I'm actually pretty familiar with how the show flows now.

That's not to say I'm not going to blow cues. I've got a lot to do in the booth as I'm relaying information to my sound partner and the spot light guy as well as my own cues. It's a job.

Every night is a full rehearsal now with everything going at once. It'll go slow tonight as tech, music, and actors are synchronized. Thursday is the full dress rehearsal then the shows begin. This is the toughest week. Next week will be easier.

Thirty Perfect Rounds Post Script

I wrote a blog post some time ago called Thirty Perfect Rounds about three perfect fights between "Irish" Mickey Ward and Arturo "Thunder" Gatti.

Find it if you want to know the context of what I'm going to tell you next.

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti was found dead yesterday in Brazil. HE was an amazing fighter, a rock hard chin, a thunderous punch, gritty and mean! He was everything you wanted in a boxer. From reports I've read he was also a great guy outside of the ring.

Boxing is on its way to becoming obsolete while MMA takes its place. It is a shame in a lot of ways as there aren't many fighters like Gatti in any sport.

Rest In Peace Thunder.

Mad Dog Meltdown

I know this isn't going to make a lot of sense to you regular readers who don't have Sirius but stick with me for a minute. It was a compelling story anyway. Usually on the way to work I listen to Mike and Mike on ESPN radio however due to a tremendous amount of commercials I've started switching to other channels in the morning to see what else is out there. It is Sirius after all and there are over one hundred channels to pick from.

You would think it would be set on the NFL channel all the time, sometimes you would be right too! But I'm just browsing around in the mornings now and seeing what is on. So I come across Mad Dog Radio yesterday morning. The morning host is railing against his boss, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, a former New York sports radio legend apparently. I knew he had jumped to satellite radio and they made him a manager of some sort and power to program his this whole channel.

First he is very New York, I find him hard to listen to. He cares about who pitched in the fourth inning of the 1952 World Series and all kinds of minutia like that. He is gold on baseball history but to me, I don't care. My main sport I follow is football. Everyone who knows me knows that. Stick with me, it will make sense in a few. Russo wants his hosts to know and care about golden age movies, to know things like the entire Gone With The Wind cast, to be able to break down a game that happened over fifty years ago, and he gets angry if you don't.

So as I'm listening yesterday morning the morning host plays a clip from the previous afternoon during Mad Dog's show. Russo ripped his entire staff that he hired...for five hours then fired his update man and friend for over twenty five years! He ripped every host, producer, and assorted staff. Keep in mind he is the man in charge of the channel and hired every individual that works on that channel.

As I'm listening it becomes apparent that Mad Dog got some bad numbers about how his channel ranks. His internet numbers are way down he has a "greatest baseball team of all time" tournament on his site. People go and vote on who they believe is the greatest team of all time. Now that could get me off on a baseball rant and about how it just isn't as relevant as it used to be anymore, NFL is king, and a few other sports that beat baseball on a regular basis in my viewing hours but this is about the drama, baseball isn't the subject.

The morning host was angry. He ripped into Russo for the length of his show! Then the next show came on, The B Team and THEY ripped Russo for four hours! Then finally Russo's show came on and he responded. He not only didn't back off of his comments but enforced them! Callers called in and defended the hosts and pretty much told him how unprofessional he was!

The general mood was Russo was an idiot who cared about things that just aren't relevant in today's radio listening environment. Seems that one day last week Mad Dog went stroke by stroke with commentary over his golf game, now if that isn't compelling radio I don't know what is! A trucker called in and told him he wanted to drive off of a cliff, that's how bad it was.

I was able to form the opinion that if this was the first time I was going to listen to Mad Dog's show it would likely be the last. Mad Dog seems stuck in the past and unable to become up to date on anything that is relevant in today's world, not only that but he doesn't even care to give his listening audience outside of statistical baseball fanatics anything to listen to.

If you would top that with his unprofessional attitude towards his people, who he should be defending and not throwing under the bus and firing at will then you have a channel that I am kind of hoping fails and is replaced with sports talk that I want to listen to.

Hire Dan Patrick, let him program the channel! Now THAT would be entertainment! He stays abreast on everything that is relevant today, stories I want to know more about, and pop culture. I love the Dan Patrick show, the only problem is that Sirius doesn't run it live for some stupid reason so I have to catch the delayed show in the afternoon.

That's the story of the past two days at Mad Dog Radio and why for the first and likely last time I'll be glued to that channel.

One More Week!

Then next Friday I'll have my first full paycheck in seven weeks! It's true! Next week is week seven of the screwed up remnants of the strike. I'm very glad I went and found a second job for three weeks now.

It really kept my bills up to date! Some guys at work didn't and are really struggling now. I just wanted to make sure everything was taken care of and was willing to take on extra work to do it. No big deal at all. It wasn't torture but I really didn't like working the weekends. I did it though and now I'm glad I did.

I should be getting my final check from there in the next day or two! Woohoooo!

Rehearsal has gone well. I'm really not able to do much right now except bring The Things to rehearsal so they can practice and paint respectively. Next week I can actually get to work and start with the lights. I'll be busy then but just not a lot to do until then.

Yesterday's Memories

I had to actually stop myself from calling my dad's number in my phone yesterday. In the past we'd talk about Deadliest Catch the night before. He got to love the show. I went into the room where I could get some good phone reception and then I stopped and remembered.

Force of habit I guess. I wasn't thinking. I know his phones are turned off but I haven't erased him out of my contact list. I doubt if I will. In six months those phone numbers will probably belong to someone else, that's fine. The world doesn't stop living because someone has died.

I might actually reach for my phone again soon, I'm impulsive like that sometimes. If you see me do it, let me, I'll catch myself before I dial.

Set Phasers To Fail

How do you alienate a large(r) audience than you already have? Well in the past they have questionable programming changes. You lose focus on what made you a success to start with and lose your niche. You start airing wrestling for instance.

Then if that wasn't a big enough kick in the crotch you change the spelling of the name of your channel for no apparent reason other than to make sure the fanboys never watch again.

Scifi is now Syfy, I'm not joking. I wanted to gouge out my eyes with a spork when I read this. I had come to grips with Scifi losing its way and becoming the bad movie with a big CGI monster channel. They did away with Stargate: Atlantis despite good ratings. Destination Truth was ok but every single show ended the same way! They didn't find ANYTHING!!!! Cha$e, Estate of Panic, and Scare Tactics were their experiment into reality TV....eh. Not really that exciting to me. Yes Warehouse 13 looks mildly interesting. I never got into Eureka. Loved the Stargate franchise. Battlestar...well depends on who you ask about that show. I didn't get into it, a lot of people did. That was some serious and gritty scifi though and a perfect example of what the channel was capable of when they were focused!

They insist on getting bad newer movies instead of classic scifi movies that made the genre a genre to start with! They run dreck over and over again while they should be focusing on what made scifi popular to begin with and start from there!

While I love me some Ghost Hunters and GHI is interesting enough for me to watch I believe they can add more original programming that is scifi based. There is so much potential for this network and it is now in flailing mode...a few steps from fail mode.

I believe this rebranding is just going to usher in more non scifi product I have no desire to consume ala ECW wrestling. Before long it will be TBS light. You want a channel that your audience will take seriously? Take a Star Wars geek, give him some programming choices, a modest budget, and some freedom and you'll have some ratings!

I'm so mad I can't see straight but thankfully there are plenty of choices online for me to get my scifi fix! Bones! I needs some Alpha Centari Scotch, bring Scotty along, that Vulcan can't handle his drink!

Nothing Interesting

Nothing really other than a couple of very interesting things. Skate and I have decided to put my soap theory to the test soon. We will do about five different soaps and see if soap is really soap. The Date is concerned it might ruin the washing machine. I contend there isn't a lot to ruin as long as the water drains it is good. The soap certainly won't hurt the big metal basket that holds the clothes.

The Date's project made a big leap yesterday when the articles started coming in. She found another really good writer who will write on every issue! They came from Tulsa where they did a regular weekly feature! This is a big addition and will make a splash!

The feedback just on her idea has been 110% positive thus far. Everyone has embraced the idea and the concept behind the idea. Five Eighty will be in print very soon! Something really cool will start happening this weekend as well;) Stay tuned for that!

She got her first cover picture yesterday and has started to edit it into the very first issue! She has been very nervous about the project. It is understandable to deal with anxiety on a project this big. She is risking a lot but I think when we are in a position to look back on this she will realize that the benefits have far outweighed the risk involved. This is just something I believe people will look forward to, something they will enjoy reading, something that will bring a lot of people with common interests together!

Soap Is Soap!

Ok so if you have been in this scenario then you are NOT alone! You find that you are out of laundry soap....you have forgotten to go to the store to get some, you find yourself having to go to work in the morning and might be a little (or a lot bit tipsy) and have decided to play it safe and stay in.

What do you do?
1. Wash your clothes in water only?
2. Wash your clothes in shampoo and/or dish soap?
3. Throw some scotch in the laundry with your clothes and hope you don't get pulled over in the morning.

That's right ladies and gentlemen! YOU THROW IN SOME SOAP, any soap will do! Soap is soap! It cleans what you want it to clean! If you have dirty hair can you use dish soap? Absolutely!!!!

If you have dirty skin can you use laundry soap?!?! YES! Why not? It cleans, gets the spots out, and leaves you feeling summery/lemony fresh on top of all that!

Don't believe me, try it! So in summary, soap is soap, it cleans, cleanses, freshens, and will do just as well on your hair, skin, or clothes.
Your clothes go on your SKIN!!!! Anyone want to care to dispute that?!

Didn't think so! So what works for one should work for all. And that concludes my presentation for the day. Do you want to know what I'm going to try next?! Next time I've got something fairly white that needs to be washed, I'm going to throw some Colgate on there and see how white it gets my clothes!

Awesome Day

Yesterday was the kind of day I love. Such a monumental holiday as the birth of our nation was celebrated for the two hundred thirty third time, it always calls for moments of reflection to start the day as to where we started and where we are going.
I did that, during the very pleasant rainstorm with a cigar.

Then it demands that you see or speak to your family. Did that, my brother and mom both came over and talked for a while, mom with cupcakes:)

Thirdly a great holiday needs to be shared with friends. That took up the bulk of the day and evening! I could not ask for better friends, no one could. First we stopped by my filmmaking buddies house for shishkabobs. Then Skate, Jassie, KN, DK, MAC, Ky, and a half dozen others (whom I just don't have nicknames for yet so don't take it personal that I don't mention you here) from the cast of Into The Woods showed up at the director's house for a cookout, pool fun, and general frivolity....and singing...

I could do without the singing but I loved every part of the day...save one. Our local sportscaster had left and stopped back by with some sad news. Former veteran quarterback Steve McNair had been found shot and killed. McNair was always a class act, one of the good guys in the NFL from what I have read. He never posted Manning like numbers but his teams were always happy to put the ball in his hands and let him make the plays. No one is sure what has happened at this point yet but a murder/suicide is suspected.

It has been a sad couple of weeks for celebrities. What I find morbid however and beyond bad taste is that there will be tickets drawn from a lottery for people to attend the Michael Jackson memorial service. I understand that a lot of people want to go but to me it just seems like a hot ticket event and something I would have no part of. It is ghoulish to me, the jackals will be there.

Don't believe me? I bet you that whoever is selected for the event (if you can call a funeral an event) will be scalping their tickets for thousands of dollars. The tickets are free but someone has to profit from this. Its sick.

Rainy Morning Cigar

Freedom. Yes this is the freedom to appreciate a beautiful Saturday morning. It is cool, rainy, a slight breeze. A Cusano cigar. The Date and The Things are inside waking up.

It is quiet, peaceful, and I can grab a few moments of solace:)


-- Post From My iPhone

Happy Independence Day

Two hundred thirty three years ago our forefathers had decided to challenge the rule of the British Empire. The superpower of the age, they ruled the seas with their armada, and the land with their army.

Our ragtag army decided we had had enough and wanted the right of self rule instead of being a colony of the Empire. They wanted many rights. They wanted to do something as radical as limiting what the government can do to its people.

Their concept was simple, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Seven amazing words that summed up what is inside everyone's soul. People gravitate towards liberty and freedom naturally. Governments limit freedom, curtails liberty, and want to guarantee equal outcomes despite people being individuals and different.

Millions of people are smarter than I am and have more ambition than I do. I should not be guaranteed the same outcome as someone who works twenty hour days, seven days a week. I should also be able to do better than someone who wants to stay at home and watch TV all day when they refuse to get a full time job. Failure is ok as long as we have the opportunity to go back to the beginning and start again without government interference.

People are different, each and every one of us. We should all have the same starting line but different finish lines.

On this Independence Day lets remember the principles of our Founding Fathers and what they fought for. Concepts such as I described above, not for another entitlement from the government that tries to equalize individual people.

Friday Part Two

Finally payday is here! Yes it is only for four days however it is still a huge help! I've had an appreciation for my job since the layoffs last year but there are some people who even after the strike are back to being unappreciative and are more comfortable in their bad mood groove.

They just aren't happy unless they are unhappy. It sucks to be around them. I just want to grab hold of their shoulders and punch them, tell them to wake up, tell them that you are really fortunate to have a good paying job with good benefits.

No we aren't like the UAW, we don't get lifetime benefits and eighty dollars an hour. We do get really good pay and good benefits as long as we are employed. We aren't rich but we make a good living too, and federal holidays:)

The Date's project is still rolling ahead full steam. Bad news is that the printer moved the deadline up to this Monday, a few days before it originally was scheduled. She is working like a mad woman to meet the deadline! Amazing to watch!

I think she will meet it but it isn't the end of the world if the printing is rescheduled, the magazine will come out one week later than originally planned, since it is the first issue there really isn't a precedent as to when it comes out. No big deal but I think she will make this deadline and hit it perfectly!

Advertisers are in place, outlets are in place, the software she ordered got here yesterday, and it is all coming together like a jigsaw puzzle! It'll be great to see the whole picture!

Friday Part One

Friday's are so good that you just have to have two of them per week! Today is my first Friday, tomorrow my second....which will also be payday! A much needed payday! It'll only be for four days but still a little is better than being on strike and getting nothing.

Thankfully I still have some of my strike fund money left even after fueling up. Plenty of food about the house. Bills caught up. Everything is really good:)

Yesterday I went to rehearsal and watched as they went through the show. Complicated show, there will be lots and lots of technical stuff added to this one. The cast has their hands full and the orchestra will be another challenge for the sound guy as they will be playing with actors but trying not to overpower them.

This show will go down in theatre history and one that is talked about for years to come among the cast. A stellar cast too. That is why I wanted to be involved with this one, musical or not, most of the cast I count as friends and those I'm unfamiliar with, well they will be by the time the show is over.

Thednesday

Again not a real name of the week if you are illiterate or if you have a learning disability, but then again if you do how are you reading my blog so no worries, usually only very smart people read this so I don't have to dumb it down at all.

I have been thinking about the massive tax called the Cap and Trade but I get pretty frustrated by even thinking about the largest tax on the American public in history so then I thought I'd blog about cleaning out my dad's truck last night so I can surrender it to the dealership. There wasn't anything exciting about that other than I broke down a couple of times as I was doing it.

The Honduran President coup, that was pretty interesting but only our President's response to it. This guy decided he wanted to unconstitutionally change their law and stay in office past his four years (like the dictator Hugo Chavez) so the military kicked him out of the country. Our President was on that President's side....as well as Hugo Chavez and Raul/Fidel Castro...

Moderately interesting but again something that ticks me off so I won't write a whole blog about it.

So The Date ordered her software last night for laying out her magazine, it will likely be here tomorrow as I don't believe it had time to ship overnight from where it is to us at the time she ordered it. She also got a big advertising deal that I can't talk about until this weekend I think.

She has been riddled by anxiety of it not coming out on time, the unexpected things that crop up, not hitting deadlines, things like that but she has plowed through all of that and it will happen now!! The software or lack thereof was a major anxiety source but not anymore! Now when it gets here the layout will begin The actual nuts and bolts work of building her dream in the physical will start!

This is going to be a great magazine, a fun project, and a dream fulfilled all at the same time! I hope that those of you who are reading this have a passion for something similar and will follow it, make it real, and if you need an extra hand hit me up about it. I'll help you:)