Adventures in Bohemian Impoverishment, Vol III

Hello. I'm at the Garretts with John, who is wandering around the room singing "I don't wanna I don't care" over and over.
He has been begging me to push a button.
So, I'll let him:
jkkkkkkkkkkkl

Today I am taking him to the Vitales, a place he calls "The Big House." At 7:45am he asked me if it was 10:30 so we could go. I told him he'd have to wait a while. His response? "I hate your car."

Those who know me or know the abominable (sp?) snow van I have been fated with, know how I felt about that comment. But for those of you who have no clue how I feel about the vehicle, well, yesterday on the way home from the JET it stalled out seven times in the rain and acquired a nickname that once belonged to my laptop. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, well, the other day I told my wife that my plan for the van was to drive it until I can pack up all my things and move to Chicago, unpack my things there, and then push the van off into Lake Michigan. That way I won't need the van that I currently need too much.

I miss Stanley. Now that is Bohemian Impoverishment, but I really miss Stanley Kowalski, may he rest in peace.

Lately in the life of me...

Hello kids. I have a lot going on. Two more performances of Moonglow in Ann Arbor. My Uncle Paul and Aunt Faith are coming tonight, as well as my wife.

Last night I had a dream that I moved to Chicago, in with Leah, Faith's sister. I have been thinking a lot about moving to Chicago , lately, but my main worry is who I'd live with... So it was funny that my dream offered me that idea... It was summertime in the dream; I was about to go see the Cubs play the Tigers at Wrigley Field. How disappointing to wake up to my busy schedule in Michigan in cold weather.

The director for Moonglow saw our show on Thursday and mentioned that after six weeks, it was still quite fresh. This pleased me to hear. I wonder how we do that, repeat and repeat and still give a fresh performance. I think the audiences have a lot to do with it... the chemistry is different every night. Also, though we would never make them intentionally, little mistakes help too. But I feel that because my character is so vague--she's in and out and dancing, a ball of energy, basically "youth" personified, I'm discovering bits about her all the time. I am not tired of the show at all. I'm looking forward to taking it to Lansing at the end of the month.

We started Anne Frank Rehearsals on Tuesday. It's very odd to think that a year has passed since we last put that one on. I am almost too stressed to enjoy it at this point, but hopefully things will slow down a bit soon. I met Joel in Anne Frank last year, so that adds an interesting layer to the process (especially because last year I decided that my character, Margot, can't stand Mr. Dussel most of the time... He kicked her out of her bed, etc... Sorry Joel!) Annie and Roth-Cloth (Dan) are in the show too, and I think the four of us are going to be trouble, soon... Scheduling rehearsals has been a real trial because during the mere two weeks we have, I have Moonglow to close and three day-jobs... I'm trying not to think about that too much. I'm glad my character only has about a dozen lines to review.

I will miss my time with Bethany (Bose)... I'm at a coffee shop with her right now, playing on her wireless internet.

Well, until next time...

bored

You Are 46% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

INNER LIMITS

I WROTE THIS FOR LOS FRIARS (A BLOG I SHARE WITH JOEL, ROB, ROTH CLOTH, JOHN TODT, AND OTHERS. DID I SPELL TODT RIGHT?) I CHANGED IT TO BE MORE BROAD... BUT IT'S ALSO AT LOSFRIARS.BLOGSPOT.COM


inner limits

I was made over a decade after the flight. We stayed behind.
Our rockhouse (worn with new furniture) still stands yet
I am a stranger there. There is no room service. My room
Now belongs to guests. I am no guest. I guess
I cannot measure myself with habitat.

I arrived on time, to the day (I'm told) and on that day
My brother planted a tree out front. Taller than the neighborhood,
I found comfort in the height (my true place in the sky?)
Last week I found a pile of sawdust in its place. I guess
I cannot measure myself with nature.

I grew outside of my own skin. I searched for my face
In the child's den of imagination (sheets on chairs make Kenyan huts)
When no one had implanted my Anglo wall. I learned about
Inflexible features the hardest way I could. I guess
I cannot measure myself with exterior.

I let my spirit soar. It has not returned yet
So I wait for it in cigarette swirls. I like the way
They dance on sunlight. They say five minutes of me
Has gone up in smoke. I am supposed to care. I guess,
I cannot measure myself.

a new poem

LOVE IS THIS
I scald my lips and tongue
On steeping tea. The white
In the window frame blurs
Sky to ground. Everything
Hides behind gray between.

Forgive me, I went again
To the mailbox for encouragment.
Naturally, I found nothing.
What was I expecting? A line.
I desire a line across

This blank page. I'll loop
That line and dot it and wait.
I'll ignore the mailbox next time
(I'd like to promise). You say
Salt must be sprinkled

Here I am: a block inside
A crusted window. I watch
The snow descend and hope
To find, among the fractals,
A silver arrow pointed "next."

Sometimes there are no lines
And if we step our steps make circles.
In blank weather, drowsy tea,
Sinking couch, and silence: keep watch:
A streak of color from the clouds.

another step toward mental stability

Yesterday, George MacDonald described depression or low spirits in the little anthology I have... I'm going to have to paraphrase what he said because I don't have the book with me (I'm in the Angell Hall Fishbowl at UofM waitng for James McNaughton to finish his lecture on Great Books). Anyway, MacDONALD described that these feelings could be overcome, not by forcing ourselves to try to feel rightly spiritual, but by doing good works. By taking action.

I had a rough Tuesday day and then night after Dale's Bible Study--which may mean that the Bible study was good and the opposing forces were trying to keep me from retaining any of it--and I woke up Wednesday morning with a dark cloud hanging over me. I felt so crummy that I considered calling off my Hannan House class because I didn't think I'd be able to make it. Not physically, just mentally. But after I read the MacDonald, I felt like he was telling me to meet my responsibilities, despite my feelings, and they would somehow lift my mood. And I'm so glad I followed that advice because heaven knows what my day would have been like if i'd just stayed inside and stared at the wall.

Hannan house was hysterically funny. My grandma brought photographs of her paintings and took 30 mins of class time to explain them all to the her READERS THEATER classmates. I loved it, because of how much fun the others had while looking at her work, the way they praised her work, and the reminder that this woman is 87 and still productive, even if the process has gotten a little wacky. It wasn't a problem to start so late, since our Ichabod Crane arrived to our rehearsal/class just as my grandma was finishing up her presentation. (She called you Karl, by the way Ian.) One thing that struck me is when one of the classmates praised my Grandma's ability to capture shadows and light in water, my Grandma responded (a bit lucidly) with the fact that she's always been able to find beauty in simple things, without having to look too far.

After the class my mind started to clear--maybe it started to clear with my grandma's beauty comment. But that's what it's like--having a cloud over my mind so that I can't see straight and then some kind of positive idea pierces through that cloud and it dissipates into clarity. Anyway, I guess it all goes to say that I am NOT taking my time with my grandma or my hannan house people for granted.

gratitude

I'm grateful for Eric Bibb lately because he sings "Learn from everyone, that's what life is for." He's coming to the Ark next Thursday but I have a show.

To add to the adventures in bohemian impoverishment, i have been hanging out with john garrett some more for the van's sake. Our last adventure went something like this.

(Garrett House, 8:35 am. Breakfast nook)
JOHN: I want lunch.
NORA: It's not even 9 am. How bout a snack...?
JOHN: Lunch!
NORA: I'll make you a snack. What do you want?
JOHN: A just-jelly sandwich.
(She makes him one.)
JOHN: (screaming) I want only half!
NORA: Chill. You can eat it later, around Lunch Time.
(John finishes his half and then stands on his chair, reaches around to the cookie jar and sticks his hand in.)
NORA: What are you doing?
JOHN: I get a treat after lunch!
NORA: You didn't have lunch. You had a snack.
(Nora checks the cookie jar to see if they are oatmeal or peanut butter or other cookies acceptable before 9am, as it is now 8:55. She finds ho-hos, or whatever those individually wrapped chocolate covered cream cakes are called)
Nora: HA! No way, dude. You can have one after lunch.
JOHN: (Screaming again) But I did have lunch!
NORA: You did not have lunch before 9.
JOHN: I get a treat!!!
(John procedes to scream for no less than 20 mins. Nora leaves the room and goes upstairs so she won't have to deal with his constant "I hate yous". When he's quiet she goes downstairs again.)
NORA: I need to go to the grocery store. Wanna come?
JOHN: No.
NORA: I'll be getting food this time...
JOHN: Let's go right now!

Other news. At Hannan House we're performing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow next. This time my Grandma will play someone named Van Ripper. With this in mind, life won't be boring for a while yet...

We opened Moonglow this week. I hear the audience reactions pretty clearly. Tons of laughing or sniffling. The woman who plays Maxine (me when I'm old, sorta... you gotta see it) is astounding. I have a greater appreciation for the play as a whole since we've had good audience feedback so far, much which comes from my Joel. I had no idea how much his opinion mattered to me... but I guess I don't want to embarrass him any more so enough about that. But I'm glad that he liked it. I'm very encouraged after this weekend, from Joel, from the director and the from the playwright. I'm glad to be a part of the show.

It sure is nice to be paid to act... And it's nice to be paid PERIOD, since now I can go grocery shopping, etc. I have been well-taken care of in my time of broke-ness, and I'm super grateful to all that helped.

I leave you with something I caught Stevie Wonder saying today at the bit of pre-show I got to see between shows today. (And WHY he didn't have the halftime slot in the motor city is totally beyond me. Who makes these decisions anyway? He sounded great, by the way...) After singing "Now is the time for love" or something like that, he said, "Remember, it's not the religion, but the relationship..." I had no idea Stevie had been attending Dale Batten's Bible Study!

Adventures in Bohemian Impoverishment

Living from paycheck to paycheck is a fine way to live (I guess) until one of your paychecks falls through because the lady who is supposed to sign it went out of town. And then some of the kids you are supposed to be nannying get the stomach flu... So, I've been scrounging around for ways to put gas in the car so I can go to work in Ann Arbor. On Thursday, I had a little adventure.

I babysat John Garrett (who's parents are letting me pay for the van they let me use by babysitting for them for free). While he watched the Labyrinth in Erinn and my living room, I remembered the bottles and cans from the Christmas party that were bagged and in the basement. After the movie, I loaded John and the deposit-fest into the van and headed over to the Value-Plus grocery store where I knew there was a deposit despenser...

I did not think about it much. I didn't take into account that John has my coloring and therefore looks like my son. I didn't think about the fact that I would be entering a grocery store with a cart full of beer bottles, a four year old (who looks six), and no wedding ring. It didn't cross my mind that I would be going in there with bottles and a "son" and coming out with cold cash. It all just never crossed my mind until I got there.

While we were throwing the cans in the despenser (and taking joy at the crunch sound they make), an elderly gentleman parked his walker by the shopping carts to get a closer look so that he could display his obvious disapproval. I got tons of looks from other people and then wondered if this is what being a young single mother would be all about... Though I guess the beer cans were 60% of the reactions. We had to wait in line to get the slips cashed from the cashier. She gave me an amused look. On the way out John asked why we didn't get any food. "Because I need money for gas." He, also, glowered at me in disapproval. I never felt so poor in my life.

I couldn't help but be thankful that I'm no single mother. And wonder if this is the kind of mother I'd be...

happenings

i don't know if that's a good title for this post, but i am tired of just writing "update".

So, i live half my life in ann arbor with this show. the dancing is fun, but it doesn't seem like nearly as much dancing as when i started. the moves don't seem that difficult anymore (maybe because i've been sort of watching ice-skating, which looks sooo much harder than swinging.) because it's a new show, the playwright keeps adding lines so the other day i got three more pages of dialogue for the last scene. this is good but a little nerve-wracking. the show is coming together. we're moving into the theater tonight. i'm excited about that because the rehearsal room isn't big enough and i'm always afraid that i'm going to dance all over (and kick) the director and stage manager.

I'm still staying with Bethany a lot, but this week I stayed with Alec (from Inherit the Wind) as well and stayed up till 4am jamming with him. We may have written a song. I'd written the words earlier that day (while Ella and Olivia watched their daily Dora the Explorer marathon.) So we put my words to a chord pattern Alec had. That was a blast though we may have blasted the neighbors out of sleep. it was a fiday night, come on. I haven't been taking guitar lessons though, because a) no money and b) no time. I would like to get back into that.

I've been pretty upset lately because my theater addiction has been preventing me from meeting people's requests to sing at weddings and funerals. Well, one wedding and one funeral. Twice, I had to turn people down this week because I can't be let out of crucial rehearsals. This makes me question how much I should be doing theater. In a way, I'm doing it for the money (can you believe that?), but I was really bummed out about having to tell those people no. I guess it's because I like to feel like I'm using my singing to serve the community and I just can't. I wonder if all artists face this fear of selfishness, or if any other business is as rigid.

please excuse the typos. i didn't have time to proofread... i'll fix em later

LINKS

How does one put links on their blogger template? (Like you have, Ian).

George MacDonald quote of the week:

"For he regards men not as they are merely, but as they shall be; not as they shall be merely, but as they are now growing, or capable of growing, toward that image after which He made them that they might grow to it. Therefore, a thousand stages, each in itself all but valueless, are of inestimable worth as the necessary and connected gradations of an infinite process."

a silly poem and a more serious one

Bethany Goad and I started a braided poetry exchage (like I do has Meg, like Joel has with Rob, like they got the idea from Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser). She wrote a poem about tuna fish. I write one about

AN IMPRESSION OF CHILDHOOD

In my early childhood,
Chicken of the sea was all I'd eat.
The name disguised the fins in feathers,
That's probably why.

A cartoon mermaid graced the can
Another, the silver screen,
To my horror: Her face matched
The fins she'd sacrificed, when
Served palace seafood.
She had a nice voice.
I wanted that voice,
Those breasts, that face.
My tolerance for seafood
Washed away with the seafoam
Mr. Anderson originally wrote
As the mermaid's doom.
When Disney dumbed down the ending
For family audiences.

In my early adulthood, I find
The voice shrill, the breasts fake,
The face cliche for the company,
And seafood delicious.
---
The other poem I wrote was based on her wonderful line, "All ideas plagarized somehow." :

ORIGINAL THOUGHT

tell me an orginal
thought I'd tell you
about surprise: wit and
poetry: words

sewn and strung,
pulled, dunked and
hung out to dry on
the tip of my lips.

my lips are thin
my tongue, burnt
on boiled thoughts,
seeped and brewed

chewed to mush,
pulp: an unborn child
shall remain hushed in
search of an original soul.

in the beginning there was
the word and the word
was original and the rest
is xeroxed. I'll take the xerox
if it's a copy of the Original.

updatin

the theater thing continues. after the audition marathon the other day, when i had callbacks for both brooklyn boy at the jet and moonglow at the perf. network in ann arbor, i got cast in moonglow, replacing my dear friend shannon because she needed superbowl sunday off and they wouldn't get an understudy (so i heard). it has about a six week run, starting the first week in february. it's about dementia and nursing homes and swing dancing. i play "the girl" version of the protagonist, maxine, who has flashbacks to her days as a swing dancing gal. so i will be dancing a lot, which my grandmothers will like, but the rest of it might freak them out beyond sleep that evening or the evenings to follow.

in april i will spend three weeks at the boershead in lansing with this play. my my, what a commute.

christmas was busy as hell. is hell a busy place? busy as walmart. i had a party, my parents had three, the florkowski's had one, and rob had one. they were all nice and they were all a blur. i saw lots of good people all weekend, ate food that was just as good (though good in a different way) received some good ways to occupy my time as gifts, and ate lots of dessert. also good.

highlight of the week:
when i went to the gas station yesterday, i got a special discount from the guy behind the counter because he thought i was his middle-eastern cousin! and the name nora strikes again!

One more note: if you are in ann arbor, let me know! i need places to crash, esp. on saturday nights because i have to do sunday matinees.

discovery

my parents are in ny visiting jeff wilkinson and i am raiding their computer and their fridge and i found, from one of the christmas parties, someone left toffee/chocolate brittle in the freezer!

and some people think there's no God...

Tom Waits on Poetry

"Poetry is a dangerous word. It's very misused. Most people when they hear the word "Poetry" think of being chained to a school desk, memorizing "Ode to the Grecian Urn." When someone tells me they're going to read me a poem, I can think of any number of things I'd rather be doing. I don't like the stigma that comes from being called a poet--So I call what I'm doing an improvisational adventure or an inebriational travelogue, and all the sudden it takes on a while new form and meaning.

If I'm tied down to call myself something, I prefer "storyteller." Everyone has their own definition of what poetry is, and of who's a poet. I think Charles Bukowski is a poet--and I think most will agree to that."

Radio Heaven

On the way home from the Audition-Marathon, This Over the Rhine quote slapped me pretty hard.

i guess i never told you
'bout this life i'm livin'
it's heaven versus hell
in a split decision
this secret religion is
the best that i've found
i radio heaven
when no one's around
~I Radio Heaven

Thinking about Poetry

Okay, so I've been using a supposed Auden quote for nearly half a decade now... I shared it with Rob who, in a little less toned-down way, said Auden's philosophy was "self indulgent" (ha ha ha, Robby Z!). So, I'm going to retell the story that my poetry professor told me about the fellow and then discuss it.

I've often quoted the poet man as saying that poetry is playing with words. That is a rough summery of this story:

When Auden was teaching at some university (he taught at several including that big Blue one), a student showed up in his office and said, "I want to write poetry."
To which Auden replied, "How come?" and the student said,
"Because I have something to say."
And Auden said, "Then go ahead and say it."
Another student comes into his office and said the same thing. "I want to be a poet.
Auden says, "How come?"
The student says: "I like to play with words."
And Auden says, "Sit down."

Or maybe it was told to me that the student said, "I like words."


So, that's the idea that was put in my head by my poetry-as-lit-professor, Professor Powers while I was simultaneously taking my first poetry/fiction CW class. I liked this idea a lot--that poetry was separate from other writing forms because the author pays more attention to the words, their form, the way they sound--and not just the idea he's trying to convey.

(I don't think this story actually happened. It may have, but has the structure of a joke. I just enjoy the idea)

Rob's argument was that all writing is supposed to communicate, if not, it's masturbating. I agree with him on this--but i think both ideas are correct. I think Auden's poetry is a fine sample of wordplay and profound communication of ideas. I guess what I want to be, as a poet, is someone who can communicate and play at the same time. I think Shakespeare is one of the best at this, that I know anyway, at choosing words that convey ideas in their meaning and their sound. For example, in the Henry V prologue:

"Can this Cockpit hold the vasty fields of France?"
(meaning, can this theater hold the french fields we're trying to portray. Look guys! A reference to cockfighting! Where's the Cadieux?)

Can-This-Cockpit is abrupt sounding, limited sounding, if you will. And "Vasty Feilds of France" sounds huge--especially if you're trying to say it out loud, and the rhythm slows down.

So do you get what I'm saying? Anyway, I love discussing this stuff, and as many of you are poets, I'd like to know your thoughts.

seeing a lot and spending too much money

I apologize in advance for the typos. i've been making them like crazy today.

Hi folks. I have more movie reviews, but I'm going to give you my life in chronological order:

Friday, Dec 2nd: Over the Rhine at the Ark.
Lovely concert. Accompanied by Joel, Hawk, and what Joel calls my "Army of Blondes": Meg, Lisa, Bethany Patterson, Bose (Bethany Goad). Though the music was wonderful, my favorite part was when Karin referred to Linford as her, "Bohwa" (Boy). I liked "Little Did I Know" the best out of all of the songs they performed. It's very impressive to me, how a couple of people from 2005 can write a song that sounds like 1935. I guess I liked the concert so much that I jumped at the opportunity to see them again, on the 18th, in Lisa and my Roadtrip Reprise down to Ohio to see them forst in Cincinatti and then go up to Clevelend to check out the R&R Hall of Fame because they are showing an exhibit about Tommy: The Amazing Journey. I hope OTR performs Blue and Jesus in New Orleans there. And what's that other one: Who will guard the door when I am sleeping. I love that song and wanted to hear it.

After the concert, Hawk, Joel, Meg, Bose and I went over to the Hiedleberg (someone help me with the spelling)and enjoyed the German downstairs. The bartender was cool, but not as cool as listening to Bose order in German!

SATURDAY, Dec 3rd: Saw Nickel and Dimed. Why did someone turn a book of essays into a play? As a result, the play had no climax, no structure. But the actors did a nice job and it looked good.

SUNDAY, Dec 4th: Saw Handel's Messiah at the DSO. That was a fine experience. It was fun to dress up with Joel. The singers, the leads, were amazing. And MSU's choir did a fine job as well. After that show I got a fantastic squash-paste pasta dish at the Traffic Jam. YUM.

TUESDAY, Dec 6th: Saw a wings game for free! God bless Joel's hook-ups. Shanahan scored twice, Yzerman scored once. Had a nice time, despite the fact that my friends got yelled at by some fans sitting in front of us for being rowdy during a hockey game!!

WEDNESDAY: Started guitar lessons with Thornetta Davis' guitar player, Brett Lucas. It went well, but it's a lot of work to practice every day. I think it will be good for me. It's just hard to imagine keeping it up, once I get a busy schedule.

THURSDAY: Went to Uncle Tom's Bible Study after auditioning for the JET porduction of Brooklyn Boy. Saw a lot of old favorites there. I had a good time at the audition, though the part isn't really right for me. I mean, I hope it's not, since it's a valley girl. The Bible Study was nice. We're studying Corinthians. I'd just heard Dale teach this, not too long ago, so his stuff was still fresh. But man, are those teachers different,

FRIDAY: What did I do on Friday? Oh, I babysat and then met Joel and Annie at a bar in corktown called the Lager House. I was so beat that I can't remember the band very much. What was their name, Annie? Something and the Holy Ghost Church? I liked their sound. The girl was supposed to have a violin but it got stole. OH! That's what the song that Kelly from Destiny's Child sings: Life is Stole (oh oh, now we'll never know... Benny was in that video.) Sorry! Like I said, I was beat...

YESTERDAY: I went to my Grandma's B-day dinner at Paesanos in Ann Arbor, then I went home and watched three movies back to back (one in the theater)

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS: I enjoyed this, disturbing as it was. It had good characters and a clever twist. But it was a hard one. So sad!

HOTEL RWANDA: Saw it before but wanted to show it to Joel. It made Dirty Pretty Things seem like a Disney Flick.

THE CHRONICALS OF NARNIA: A disney flick! I tried not to be too critical. It was nice to look at but I like my imagination better. The kids looked good. Do you think it's a coincidence that Peter looks just like Prince William? My favorite part was when Aslan walked across the beach below Cair Paravel, right after he was resurrected, and I said aloud, "Footprints!"

And the winner is... Hotel Rwanda. Life is a competition.

Mooovies.

well, with thanksgiving out of the way, we're on our way to christmas now. I wouldn't know, i'm not in retail or anything... i had a lovely holiday week. let me tell you about it.

on sunday i went to see savion glover tap dance to classical musica and it was fantastic. he's amazing, there ain't anything else to say about him. oh, and i saw otis there, which was a real treat for me. i gotta get some more tap lessons quick! though watching savion makes me never want to ATTEMPT to tap dance again...

i rented a whole load of movies. let me tell you about all the movies i've seen lately:

1) The Virgin Suicides. Already told you about it.

2) Harold and Maude. I saw this for the first time. What a trip! A trip up the old staircase, as I used to say. I agree with lisa, that the best one is when he takes out that meat cleaver and chops off his hand. if you don't know what i'm talking about, rent it yourself!

3) Closer. This movie just made me mad. Good performances, but trashy writing! Do people actually ever talk like that? Eww. Gross. Come on people... Where's the love, black eyed peas?

4) A Very Long Engagement. Description: Amelie with more sex and waaaay more blood. It was heart wrenching but i really like that director's style. There's something beautiful and quirky about his movies with all those adorable anecdotes (which, in this movie, included horrific ways of killing people in WWI. Yuck!) Maybe it's just that he's French? I wouldn't mind looking exactly like Audrey Tatou. I've tried her hair a couple times. It suits me. She was great. The movie had a disappointing ending though, i thought. Not that I know of a better way to end it. But can you beat Amelie's ending?

IN the theater: Walk the Line. I enjoyed this one. I didn't think it was dull (as did my brother). I thought reese was fantastic and the singing was cool. In hindsight, would have liked to see a bit more about Jesus. But it was about June and Johnny, that was the plot, not really his conversion, I'd say. It was a tight film to me, and Dan Miller from Blanche was cool to see on screen.

Okay, enough with the movies. Friday night was fun. Had a big crowd (the faces i saw that night were: ian my bro, lisa, rebecca r, rachel my cousin, and then briefly marty. also saw uncle matthew) at the bar after seeing two shows. The first was ACTION at the Abreact. It was nice to see Rollo Rollin rollin' around the stage in a big old chair, and Mr. Maher gut a fish. YUM. And the next was a drama developed through improv down at the ANT late-night. Got to see my friend Katie Thomas on stage. She was in my acting class at UM. I half expected John Neville Andrews to stop the performance with a "hold please!" and then give some anecdote of his own about some whore somewhere. And then hear Kevin Bradley Jr. giggle. Is anyone getting any of this? my point was to say i felt like i was in my acting class again because we had to watch each other act so gosh darn much. I enjoyed her performance though.

After that we all went to the "O Brothers" and danced around to Dan Kahn on the juke box.

On Sunday I bought a new battery for that van. i'd call it cursed, but that would be rude. Looks like I'll be driving it for a while, anyway. And that's it folks. That's what I have been up to. This week is packed with activities... i'll tell you about them after they occur.

Oh for the record, musie knows about joel now. so i guess everyone else will, soon. her reaction: "How old is he again?"

bringing in the snacks

Well, Inherit the Wind is so over. I'm glad, though I did have a good time with my foursome--Alec, Ian, Carly and I--who spent the last week writing the afterglow skit. Many hours in my living room. We kept my roomate up too much, I feel bad about that, but the skit was a success. (The afterglow is when the stagehands put on a show to spoof the original.) The theme was about bringing in snacks at rehearsal, since the Park Players have made issues out of that. You have to sign up, etc. And you get in big trouble if you bring in snacks and don't clean up.

I would tell you highlights, but as you can imagine, it's mostly inside jokes for the cast. We did quote one of the finest directorial spewings ever noted by a director in community theater history:

"No guys! It's supposed to be more like sex! More like Sex! The best sex you ever had... except for you kids, for you it's like Christmas."

Also, we had a little girl selling "Hot dogs! lemonade! eskimo pie! birth control!" which was appalling and shamefully hilarious. I shake my head and crack up everytime i think of it.

The actual show ended up being s success critic-wise, i think. I had a darn good time but will not miss saying some of those lines: "A thought is like a child, it has to come out!"

Backstage I read "The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffery Eugenides during my 20 min break during act two (except for those times i chatted away with lisa instead). It was great. I saw the movie last night which I enjoyed as well. But the book was better, of course. It was, I interpretted it as, a commentary on life in Grosse Pte. during the Detroit riot years. It was beautifully written. In the movie, Kirsten Dunst played a real slut. Who knew she could be such a slut?

--Slut is such an ugly word, isn't it?

Also to note, I went to Cleveland last week to tour with I WAS JUST KIDDING. It was uneventful. except one of the schools had a book mobile. It reminded me of when I played Popeye Jackson and had a monologue about a traveling book mobile. There were also little books for the Narnia Movie coming out. It looks like it's going to be pretty and add a lot of unnecessary stuff. Mr. Joel will probably drag me to see it. But I won't say I won't be kicking! At the same time, I get annoyed when people don't like the LOTR movies, because as movies they are great. As books they are better but if the books were taken verbatim and thrown on screen, they would make terrible movies. So, I KNOW they are different avenues of creative expression, but I kind of like the way the characters look in my own head....

Anything else? Happy Thanksgiving, I guess, considering the fact that I probably won't update before then.