Proof of my continued existence.

Hello internet.

It's been a while, as usual, so I'm just going to hit the big stuff as I can recall it. First order of business is, of course, my amazing girlfriend. Tabitha and I are sickeningly cute still and that doesn't look to change any time soon. We've done a few nice dates though that has slowed since I no longer have money. most of the cool stuff I've done in the past month has been with her by my side since we can't bear to be apart too long.

The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.artic.edu/
This was a wonderful date. We went to exercise our mutual love for fine art. The impressionist exhibit was lovely though not as extensive as I would have expected which is too bad sine it was %50 of the reason for going. The gallery did not disappoint overall though. Their collection is massive and wide ranging. Their collection of tapestries was truly incredible, though not very varied. There was a lot of work from the same few artists and while they were excellent I would have liked to see more variety. We quite enjoyed their statue garden and their, in process, Chinese collection. The Egyptian artifacts and religious jewelry they had tucked into the passage between the big galleries was also quite lovely. Overall we had a grand time and got to be really cute in the vicinity of some truly great works of art.

Repo, The Genetic Opera
http://www.repo-opera.com/
This movie seems to be largely the product of blogging so I should probably have added my salmon to the run before now. That said we watched this movie a few wekks ago as part of it's first national tour. The film is trying to gain support so that Lions Gate Films will make a larger release later.
Repo is an interesting film combining a dark latex vision of the future and a goth-rock sound not unlike Evanescence. The basic premise is that in the future a organ plague will bring modern society to its knees in response a biotech company finally perfects man made organs and offers payment plans to those who cannot afford the transplants in time to save their lives. The downside is that as time goes on it becomes fashionable to attempt to overcome ones own genetics and not only perfect one's cosmetic appearance but to perfect one's internal structure as well. designer organs become the vogue The natural train for this is, of course, when you have financing options for high ticket items which are in demand there will be people who promise more than they can pay and repossession becomes an issue.
But how do you repossess an organ though, you might ask. You call the night surgeon, played by Anthony Stewart Head. He's a legal assassin with the singular task of tracking down debtors and forcefully removing the unpaid merchandise from them without anesthetic or sanitary measures. When on the job he is known as the Repo Man. This isn't just a dark gothic slasher flick though. Nor is it just a musical. It is also the story of the Repo Man's other life. His daughter, who he raised alone has a dangerous genetic blood disorder and cannot be allowed out of the house. His love for her overrules all else in his life and his devotion and desire to keep her safe are his only concerns. Throw into the mix the family running GeneCo, the company responsible for the organs and the repo man's employer, who are nothing more or less than classic operatic archetypes albeit viewed through a looking glass darkly.
It was enjoyable though I found some of the music to be noticeably sub par and many of the characters to be almost entirely superfluous. It was a fun show but I would wait to see it in a second run theater or wait until it comes out in a, no doubt extra sanguine, DVD release.

Now, of course, we in America celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday. For those unfamiliar it's the day we celebrate some people having dinner a long time ago. We celebrate by having dinner every year. Sure, you can talk about overcoming the troubles of early colonization and peace between the colonists and the natives they were soon to destroy. When you get down to it though, this is a holiday about our country's love of eating dinner.
That said, it was great. Tab and I watched the Macy's parade together and got to see the balloon hitting the NBC booth and the national rickrolling perpetrated by Cartoon Network's submission. We will be making sure to watch the NBC coverage from now on. as we mistakenly watched the CBS rubbish for about half of the parade and didn't get to see most of the floats or their performances.

After a little while with Heather we all three of us headed out to the Barrett's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The assemblage of misfits and family had a lovely time though I'm sure I don't remember half of the names thrown at me. I look forward to making their dinner a part of our tradition for the years to come. For the facebook crowd there promises to be photos coming soon.

There was something special about the "first holiday" with Tabitha. I found myself often thinking about how as the years go on I'd like us to grow as a couple. I'm so glad I got to share this first holiday with such friendly, welcoming people. That said, I get to meet the parents next weekend in a similar setting, I can only hope that I make a good impression.

Today's Gems are from Repo-

I found a really cool cache of videos on YouTube. They are from the original stage version of Repo. What makes this cool is that you can see just how far the material has come since it's inception as what looks like a pretty low budget art house piece. For most of the songs available from the original the change was very much for the better. I've chosen to give you the one song which, aside from much better orchestration, might have been better in the original.

This is a copy of the song as it appears in the film, sadly no video was available. So you get to watch the thrilling performance of the logo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT2aLJmS_48

And this is how it appeared in the stage version. I think the song is more effective as a soliloquy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saCfVhAUP0I

Sadly, my favourite song was abysmal in the original version.
Thrill to the logo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm5FBc906qY

And now see the finest father daughter confrontation scene in the film as it was without the daughter. I'm not sure if this came from the same part of the show or if it was moved but it seems a lot weaker without Shiloh in the picture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvaaAXR_vGY

I believe that's all I have at the moment, I know I missed a lot of material like Heather's performance in "I Ain't Stingy", Leslie's performance in "A House With No Walls" and my own performance in "Queen Elizabeth's Dwarf". Hopefully there will be another post next week with all theatre content. I'm only waiting so I can lump them all together as well as including Heater's performance in "The Right Answer" this weekend.

If anyone would like to come support Heather the show is at the Gorilla Tango Theatre in Bucktown.
http://www.gorillatango.com/chicago/index.htm
Saturday at six and Sunday at five. Tickets are $20 and seating is general.

-That will be all.-

Cabbages and Kings

Get yourself something to drink because I've got one or two things to say and since no one's making you read this I feel no reason I should be brief. For those of you who read regularly or who care enough to read what is to follow, thank you.

That being out of the way let me take care of the business first. I have a new cell phone number. My old plan did not allow me to call Tabitha enough so I have made that last step out of the house and got myself my own cell plan. The old number will still get you through to me for a little while as I'm not sure how long it will be before my folks decide they don't want the plan anymore. However, it may cease to get you in contact with me in a timely manner soon when I get tired of carrying two phones with me all over the place.
Ansel's New Cell Number- 7738963975
Consider yourself informed.

The Halloween party was a smash. The attendance was good and we had a generally brilliant time. I was pleased with the caliber of everyone's costumes until leaving college and seeing people's costumes out and about in the city on Friday I didn't really realize how blessed I am to be friends with artistic people. some of my favourite offerings included "guitar hero" Rachel Wells, "Frank Einstein" Shane and most amusing of all, sexy Lincoln by Fara. They win for clever costume. For cultural references who could ask for more than 1/3 of the crew of Serenity? Katie Chin as River Tamm, Tabitha as Zoe and myself as Wash, as well as Katie K's Pikachu, Derrik's Voldemort and Faith's Death. Most convincing reproduction goes to Heather as Giselle from "Enchanted" and Josh as Hellboy. Let's be fair, Josh already looked like Hellboy so it was all a matter of horns and red makeup. Heather's reproduction of the dress from the film is a titanic feat not to be rivaled.

As some of you may have noticed I am no longer employed at the Corner Bakery. Now that I am honest with myself I was not truly happy with the job. I was tolerating it and letting it mistreat me. Something I told myself I would not do after ACCR. I was little more than a glorified delivery boy. Knowing that I made more money than anyone else outside of management which was not even beginning to be as much as I deserve or need also did not bode well for advancement. As if that were not enough I was not being given enough hours so my paycheck, which should have been twice what I was making at ACCR was hardly better by $100. That being said I did enjoy the experience of working with the colourful people of the Corner Bakery. I was picking up a little Spanish as I went and slowly making the kitchen my own.

I find it hard to be worried though. Being with Tabitha has made me start looking to the future. It has made me think of many things about myself and how I see the world. Tabs and I largely agree on most things. Seeing my own needs and desires reflected back to me has been enlightening. I am reminded that at this point in my life my dreams are the most important thing in the world. Moving toward those goals should be my only focus. It bears thinking then, what are those goals? When I look into the future I see a few things clearly. By the time I am thirty-five I would like to be solidly in academia involved in my studies and imparting my knowledge either though application in conservation and translation or through teaching. By the time I am sixty I would like to have found the comfortable place where I can rest for good. Preferably a cottage in England. The thing these two images have in common is that in each of them I have found love. In both scenarios I am most content because I have a hand to rest in mine and a head to rest beside my own. With those snapshots of the future in mind I have been reminded of the imperative behind my current state. Continuing to let myself be comfortable now will not help me to be comfortable then. I have to take the chances which will make me great. I need to fight for the things I'm owed and I need to protect the beauty I've found.

To that end I am slightly glad that I no longer work at the Corner Bakery. It allowed my to be pleased but it did not make me happy. I need a position which allows me to not worry about money any more. I need a job which allows me to pursue myself as well. At the bakery I was limited by the hours and the pay. I hope that my next job or jobs will allow me to change that. Allow me to make the money I need to pay for the tuition at Loyola, allow me to buy myself a bed to sleep on and a dresser to put my clothes in. To pay my Electric bill for crying out loud. At 9.00p/h I was eating and living, no more.

Things with Tabitha have been amazing in ways I cannot even begin to tell you. the level of connection we feel is like nothing I knew could be possible. I say this only because I cannot do otherwise. She makes me so happy I cannot contain it within myself. I look forward to continuing to tell you all about this relationship for a long time into the future. We've gone on a couple "dates" now which are only differentiated from every other day by our having specifically designated them as such and making the effort to get into the city. A day does not go by without us touching base and every day we try to see each other if there is any time at all. Luckily, there tends to be time hidden away in the mundane tasks of life.


I suppose in retrospect I may have overestimated the length of this post. I had a lot to say when I started and I suppose in the need it wasn't as hard to express as I had anticipated. Tabitha and I have something special and I look forward to exploring that connection I've said it and I feel good for having done so.

Today's Gem of the Internet- For those of you with cats here is a gem first shown to me by Katie Stauffer a few months ago and brought back to my attention by the Breos

Simon's Cat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s13dLaTIHSg

Also Check out the other two videos posted by this artist. Cat Man Do and Let Me In! I nearly died laughing.

I can has girlfriend!

So, as amazing as things were last week they have only gotten better since. All checks are checked. For those not on the facebook the news is out. Tabitha and I are now an item. A few weeks ago we just clicked and it's been inevitable ever since.

I've known Tabitha for a few years now since we both work at Bristol and for all of those years we have been friends. With my move to the street cast this season I began to see more of her and we got to know each other better than before. Post season we continued to hang out since we live really close to each other here in the city.

We work together really well and so far our friends have been thoroughly thrilled to hear the news. I thought you might too, oh my readers. No more sad posts in which the only thing missing from my life is a woman. No more assertions that I've lost. You were all right. To everyone who said I'd find the perfect woman some day and we'd be incredibly happy I say, well played. You were right. I did find an amazing woman with eyes I can get lost in and a beautiful soul, a woman I want to be near all day.

Thank you all for believing.

Since I still have some time before bed I figure maybe the other things bear mentioning.

+ dating, I covered this one already but could not resist crowing again. Tabitha is incredible!
+ employed, work is going well. Business has been picking up this week and the customers are starting to ask for me by name when they call.
+ eating food, regular paychecks begin this week meaning I'm no longer as poor as I have gotten used to.
+ roof over my head. Yep, haven't kicked me out yet.
+ place to sleep. I kinda live in a bouncy castle as I have not gotten myself a proper bed yet.
+ modern conveniences, my room mates practically came with attachments.
+ time with friends, having a weekly D&D game ensures that I see at least some people once a week but I am pleased to say that more often than not my laundry is not done on time because my friends came up with something awesome to do. Like going out to Dim Sum in Chinatown or singing karaoke at a hole in the wall bar. Living with two good friends doesn't hurt either.
+ acting- "Cripslam" charity gig at the Biograph Theatre November 23rd. Entertainment for a good cause.
+ reading good books, I don't know what made me mention this one last time but it's true. Finished "The Magician's Guild" really good read and am now working on "Cryptonomicon", "Odd Fish and Englishmen", Moonclaw" and "A Real Boy". I also have a small stack of comic books which need reading, not the least of which are a couple of Batman comics lent to me by the lovely miss Tabitha.
+ maintaining homeostasis, core temperature still roughly 98.6 and all functions and organs working well.
+ metabolizing sugars, still going strong. The enzymes are running on all cylinders.

I also promised updates on a few other things. For one the Halloween party.
The date is set for the thirty-first at 8:00 pm. Drawn heroes is the theme and we are encouraging compliance though, of course, not enforcing it since that would take like work and stuff. You can check out the facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=33495095806

The Bow tie went smashingly, as did the rest of the tux. It went well with the incredible elegance of a certain teal dress I might mention. The wedding was beautiful. It's always good to see people happy but the smiles and emotions flying about at weddings make me wish I played organ, just so I could go to more of them. Doc and Keith have been perfect from the day they met. At this point most people assumed they were married already so the wedding may have come as something of a surprise to some. I wish them years of bliss and know that if I want to be happy in my life it's a good job I have such models to base my efforts off of.

Julia has made the decision to move to the city finally and I got to help her go apartment hunting for the one day she had with us. She is now the proud lesee of an apartment in Logan Square which means she will be quite close to casa del nerd. It's good to know she'll be able to come hang out again. Now, just to pull the rest of my college friends into my gravity. Twaffle, Scott anyone else not doing anything right now, I'm looking at you.

Well, laundry is done. I hope that finally blogging will assuage some and having a girlfriend will excite others (special prize to those in both categories if you can name the graph most commonly used to express your situation). I look forward to your comments and promise that I will try to keep up more closely.

Say it like Dr. Venture- "I feel freaking amazing!"

Things are pretty much awesome right now. Work has been great, though I wish I had more hours. I'm getting the hang of things enough that I'm starting on working out ways to make myself indispensable. The way I see it our store needs a catering guru and I aim to fill the position.

In other news the Halloween party is looking good. We've had some good response and I'm looking forward to finishing off my Dr. Orpheus costume for this year though I may have to call it a miss on the cloak.

In other fashion news I am now the proud owner of a burgundy bowler thanks to Josh who got it free from work. I think it looks rather dashing. I have also invested in a tuxedo and bow tie for the upcoming wedding. I know I'll be overdressed but I wanted an excuse to get myself into a tux again. Ragstock had a bunch of ex-rentals so I found one which fit and was in good shape. The thirty dollars were well worth it. It's at the cleaners now, of course, being pressed and otherwise rehabilitated. As for the bow tie, who doesn't need a good bow tie. I searched all over town with Shane for a proper tie-it-yourself bow tie and may have secured for myself the only one in the metropolitan area. Attempts to tie the thing are coming right along. I've got the knot down, now just to make it look pretty every time.

The wedding promises to be quite an event. It's so nice that I get to be there for Doc and Keith's special day but it's also an amazing experience to see people I haven't seen since the close of faire. Things have changed in many lives and I'm excited to see where they've gone.

So, for the happy life checklist:
Employed: check
Eating properly: check
Place to live: check
Time with friends: check
Reading good books: check

Dating: probably approaching the vicinity of checkdom.

Acting: no check, must find auditions.

All in all I think I'm doing pretty well. I will, of course, keep you all updated as things progress.

Catching up a little

I think I can safely declare myself deficient in my blogging. once again I have gone almost a full month without a post. I hope the twitter feed has kept you mildly entertained though I know it would not me. That being said I once again beg your forgiveness and continued readership as I get over my blog apathy. I care, just apparently not enough to be consistent.

That said there are a few things of note which bear reporting.

Most excitingly I now longer sell books over the phone. Last week on Tuesday I went in to the office to tell them I wouldn't be coming in anymore. That Thursday I got the call hiring me on to be the catering coordinator for the Lake and LaSalle branch of the Corner Bakery Cafe. This last week has been my training at the Wacker and Michigan branch but on Monday I get to start at my true post. Not only have I taken a pay bump but I get full time hours without getting up at 5:30 am which makes me exceptionally happy. The catering business is awesome. I'm still getting used to the POS system and coordinating it with the paper backup system and it's going to be interesting learning to work with the completely different system at my real location. So, if anyone wants a giant basket of sandwiches or sweets I'm your man.

The Geekend went swimmingly. perhaps not as we planned but I think it was all the better for being fluid and more of a hanging out time. It also exposed me to the funniest movie I've seen in a long time, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. This movie is a must for all people with two brain cells and a sense of humour. The movie plays on the old sci-fi monster movie stereotypes. There are space aliens, mutants, transformations and stupid dialogue to be had in spades.
Here are some trailers. I say you should watch them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe9Fs10IIk0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTqOtXEeG3s&NR=1

We are planning a Halloween/ housewarming party for the last weekend in October. consider yourself invited. More information will be forthcoming.

If you feel like bringing something we're shooting for games, toys and a mop. Otherwise bring yourself, your costume and your desire to have a good time. The theme is Animated heroes. We're talking comic books, cartoons, comic strips, commercials, if it was drawn it's fair game.

For those of you wondering, yes it counts if the character was only drawn in secondary material (serenity fans) and no, we won't be enforcing the theme.

An Incomplete and General Faire Update.

Well, it's been almost a full month since the last time I had a chance to update so, no doubt, some things will fall into the vague ether of my memory. Hopefully you all had a great time over the last month but for reasons not dissimilar to the ones which kept me from posting I have not been able to keep up with everyone else's.

The end of the season was excellent. I realised that I had been falling back on some of the same tendencies I had displayed in Frobisher's weakest bits and managed to pull myself back into Bernard for the last few weekends. It was rewarding since the patrons immediately returned to loving Bernard. HE was a sweet character and I got caught up in making him big. Calming down and letting him be smaller was infinitely more rewarding.

Unfortunately I didn't get to interact with a lot of my fellows over the season. I say unfortunately because I heard some amazing things about their bits. Everyone I did see was incredible. I Think this year's cast has been amazingly strong and the results of our good choices manifested in a more varied and compelling ensemble than we've had for a long time. Of course all of the returning cast members have continued in the high caliber of performance which we have come to expect at Bristol. What was truly impressive was the amzing rookies. Across the board this year's newcomers have proven to be both some great friends and some truly incredible performers. I found the cast at large to be tenfold more open and accessible this year. My change of guilde likely had a lot to do with that but I also think that this year's incoming cast had much to do with adjusting the alchemy of our show.

I especially liked interacting with Rachel and Kel. Since we were all of the same station we had a certain camaraderie. We also had developed relationships (Winifred and Bess were cousins) which made us a great team. Reveling in being simple country folk was great fun and I'm glad I had two such talented performers to share it with.

Rachel and I, of course, developed a pretty good relationship. Since we go to meet in the pre season, even before BAPA began I got the special opportunity to attempt to introduce her gently into the sea of madness she was to encounter. Her season must have been quite the trip. To spend the pre-season coming to grip with this new paradigm and then to be thrown a curve ball like playing the queen she certainly surprised me with her resilience and professionalism. If there is one thing to say of Rachel it is that through it all she is a consummate professional. I wish I could master myself enough to conduct myself even half as well as she does.

I also particularly enjoyed interacting with Arne. I've had the pleasure of working with minds like Arne's only a few times in my life. Once he realizes the full scope of his powers God help us all. Such cleverness and originality is rare, exceptionally so.

Everyone in this year's fight cast has been amazing. Sadly, I did not get to play with many of the bad guys save through the Improvables or Twelfth Night. What I have seen though was encouraging. It is nice to see such a talented class coming in and I very much look forward to seeing where they all go from here. For those of you uninvolved with Faire we had a very different fight cast configuration this year. We always team the sheriff up with a new group of bad guys but this year the team was an international foursome of smuggler women. I rarely got to play with them but watching their work was refreshing. The season also brought Josh, the Sheriff's enforcer and Patrick, the sheriff's secretary. Altogether the bad guys were pretty much awesome and all new save Jimmy. I enjoyed very much seeing a bad guy crew with depth and a premise based on more than "they're evil [insert group here]".

One of the people I made the best connection with this year is Angela. She played The Baker's Wife for the first few weeks and we really had a good time with the characters even off the stage. Afterward we continued to hang out backstage and I spotted for her a few times when she played the giant marionette. It proved to be a great bit for Bernard to stand in slack jawed awe of the puppet and I helped them stay safe. Angela is such a clever and fun loving individual I cannot even begin to tell you about the lengths of her skillfulness. Suffice to say that when presented with the idea of returning to KK The concept of doing it alongside Angala made the idea sound actually attractive. For those of you who know how I feel about working with children this should demonstrate to you how fun it is to work with and spend time with Angela.

It's working with people like these that make the faire so very addictive. As if it weren't enough to work at quite possibly the finest faire of it's type and size to be surrounded by such exuberant, effulgent and loving people makes the time spent at Bristol the finest I could ask for. I am reminded once again that my highest highs and lowest lows occur during the faire season.

This season has been no exception. I have once again hurt more than I knew I could hurt and found heretofore unknown heights of joy as well. As per usual I have yearned fruitlessly and missed chances. As usual I have found that through being myself my finest talents manifest and by allowing myself to step outside of boundaries I can reap the greatest of rewards. This season saw me taking on six roles in four shows (the faire as a whole being top among them). I feel blessed for the chances which led me to be a part of these wonderful casts.

A questing we will go!

Just in case I don't get around to a proper post here are the bullets.

+ Discovered the joys of celery roots.
+ Ate well on veggies.
+ Took out a goat again, this time with Rachel.
- Goat was a giant pain in the butt. Word to the wise, full grown goats are get heavy after a while.
+ The mighty Rachel bashed a hole through our frying pan. A child still thought I won the fight.
+ After the narrator says "she ran naked through the streets" a child responded "that's inppropriate."
- No T-walk this week.
+ Married Bess and Little John once again.
+ Wooing lessons all the time.
+ Discovering Bernard's close affiliation with Winifred Humpleberry, and Big Bess Little.
- Flat tire in Gurnee trapped at Shell station.
+ Night in hotel room across the street and subsequent hanging out with Derrick and Shane.
+ Ride back to Chicago with Dietrich and Casey with stops for Toys-R-Us and Steak and Shake.
+ Decided to drive back to Gurnee to retrieve the car with Jake's spare.
- Spare did not fit.
+ Ended up getting AAA to tow the car back to Chicago and drove back home.

Today, work was fine but uneventful. Erin and Megan both showed up to stay here in the apartment for a while. We then drove to Evanston to get Shannon, Erin's Cousin, to Erin's sister's house. Adventures are fun.

So eventful I couldn't tell you about it.

Bless me readers for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last posting. I have committed a number of sins in the intervening time but I don't really have time to go into it in satisfying detail. Instead I have been forced into brevity and concision.

suck.

Weekend of Faire
+ T Walk
+ Getting out into the street more often.
+ I'm sure I did other stuff. Anyone?
Tuesday Night Movie- Blues Brothers, you haven't seen this film until you've seen it with a mob of Chicagoans.
Wednesday Game- I am a nerd, this makes it better because there are other nerds there.
Thursday- I'm sure I did something. Did I go out with Kel? Was this the night I went to Karaoke with Josh? Did I kill a hobo?

Weekend of Faire
+ T Walks.
+ Country Wedding.
+ Improv Night at the Pig and Whistle as an honorary "Don".
+ Frobie's visit went really well. Thank you Mary for saving me from the mistakes of poor planning.
Tuesday of room mate bonding
+ Hellboy II actually really a lot of fun.
+ Lunch at El Pollo Loco.
+ Tuesday Movie- The Day the Earth Stood Still, which is a legend for a reason.
Wednesday Game
- I Wish more of my players could make it consistantly.
+ That said I'm happy to have Carrie in the game now.
Thursday
+ Trip to Shaumburg with Shane and Derrick to see Carrie.
+ Dinner at Samurai Sam's .
+ Dark Knight- just as good the second time.
- Should have been doing Laundry.
-/+ Hung out with Jake while doing laundry until 2:00 am.

Of wives and wooing

This weekend was special in a few ways. It marked the probably last weekend of Angela as the Baker's Wife and Rachel as the Queen. I'm not sure how to properly articulate my feelings on these matters as I was pleased with both of them in both roles and am sad and happy simultaneously to see the shift happening.

I look very much forward to finding my way back into the dynamic that Rachel and I had as I have gotten used to Angela and the way we ran together. I'm excited to see what a full faire day will be like with Rachel. I wonder if we'll end up naming cookies and giggling about the back story of the Bakers. I look forward to re-learning a marriage.

Someone this weekend pointed out that being cast like this was actually not unlike an arranged marriage. The parties have very little input into their chosen spouse so it is only through exploring the marriage itself you learn about each other. I feel very fortunate to have been married off to such wonderful women. I should be so lucky in real life.

Incidentally, as a side note, it was interesting to note that my own family contains Bakers. The name chosen for the Baker's wife is Johanna which is strikingly similar to JoAnn, my Grandmother. More surprising though is that my character got named Peter. My Great Grandfather was Pete. Anyway, I only noticed it this weekend so I thought I would share.

This weekend also marked my return to the T-walk. There was a T-walk the weekend before but in the morning and it was more of a "roguing" since it was less parade and more aimed. The photos looked amazing and I'm sure the lady of honour was tickled pink. Also, due to it's timing I didn't get to go. So I've decided it is my job to keep it alive. On Saturday I had one announced and we had a pretty good turnout. Good enough,in fact, that I plan to reprise the walk both days next week. With a group like this we can have a really crack squad by the end of the season. Jim Estrella, Arne Parrott, and Meredith formed the original quartet. By the way, having a lady on t-walk was great and Meredith is pretty much the perfect woman for the job. As we moved about though we picked up some fantastic additions. Best of all was running into Mary Kebabick. We kept snagging people to add to the line at that juncture including Willem, the Turnip Farmer (one of the inspirations for Bernard). It was very special to get to compliment Mary like that. I hope she enjoyed it as much as we did.

Aside from that Bernard was pretty low key this weekend. I need to work on making him a little more exciting because at this point he's pretty much just a hit and run character. This weeks homework, therefore, expand upon that. On the upside, Bernard is much better for playing with others than Frobisher was. Frobisher didn't work well with other characters in many contexts. Bernard, on the other hand, is open, giving and based almost entirely on the needs or reactions of others. Frobie was big and funny but Bernard is genuine.

In other news, I made an appointment to get contacts on Wednesday. I'm interested to find out what a faire day actually looks like. I haven't seen one since my first year.In other news

Now, in a more generally interesting vein I've been doing some reading of late and I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Magic Kingdom: Sold by Terry Brooks.
What started off as a cute novel turned out to be a very clever and thoughtful approach to the responsibilities of royalty and the universality of fantasy kingdoms. The main character gives up his normal life as a rich lawyer to become king of a fantasy kingdom. What he does not know going into the transaction is that all is not as magical as it might have been advertised. The people of the kingdom no longer recognize the rule of their king even though they are magically tied to the office. the story lays out his quest to synergise the return of their allegiance with the removal of his biggest problems: among them a witch, a dragon and the loss of the king's traditional (enchanted) protector. His lawyer skills allow him to asses the situation and of course, bring out a happy ending.

What makes it particularly interesting are the parts of the books where the reader is presented with the psychology of the character. He is dealing with the loss of his wife and his trepidation in jumping into this kingdom feet first. The conflict of the requirements of his new position and the desires he had coming in is well written nd compelling. It also makes the character all the more sympathetic. Without this element the book might have been just another sword and sorcery, Conneticut Yankee in King Artur's Court, style book. Instead it became a compelling look into the mental faculties of the character and what it takes to be what one must be to fulfill a promise.

I reccomend it.

I'm currently in the middle of The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. I'll keep you all updated on them as I finish them. They've all been very good so far.

"Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog" was fantastic. Joss Whedon did his magic once again and created a touching story in an otherwise comedic scenario. In the world of superheroes and villains Dr. Horrible starts as an amateur. Through the progression of the brief story we learn that he got into the racket in an attempt to affect social change. He sees corruption in the system and pain in humanity and wants to rule the world so he can change that. He also wants to find love with the girl of his dreams, whom he met in the laundromat. The story is sweet but I'm uncertain how much I liked the third act. Acts one and two did a brilliant job of establishing the characters and the conflict between them as well as making Dr. Horrible a compelling and sympathetic character. In Act three though I feel like Whedon dropped the ball. It was good and a satisfying ending, just not up to the level of acts one and two.

Faire, non-faire and the in between.

So, I only have a little time to write up the entry that should have gone up on Monday. Forgive any lacking that you may, therefore, perceive. I encourage you to supplement my account with your own additions.

The weekend was a cavalcade of awesome. That is, if you except the rain related injuries which marred the whole weekend. Amie from the fight cast and Jeremy from KK both managed to damage themselves in the early hours of Saturday. Jeremy slipped on the KK stage and managed to hurt a tendon in his lag which is bad. Compared to Amie though he got off easy. There are a few things that one tries to avoid in the average life. leaping unsupported from a great height without some kind of mat below is one of those actions. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the ropes used for the rope stunts were very wet so when stunt call began and Amie leaped from the balcony of the Cheshire Chase her descent was unexpectedly quick. Usually the friction of the rope would slow her descent and allow her to gracefully arrive on the stage. instead she simply fell holding onto a useless rope and arrived on the stage with no way for the spotters to save her.

Therefore, what was otherwise a great weekend was a bit darkened by concern for damaged friends.

The show has gotten tighter and tighter with every run. What was once a 23 minute production is now about 15 minutes long. The fight scenes are really sticking and the flow of the lines has been corrected now that I've picked up my, usually languorous, pace. I cannot say enough how much I love working with Angela and Char on this production. There was also a wonderful experience for both Angela and myself last weekend as children redeemed themselves by being both adorable and complimentary. A little boy told me how much he enjoyed the performance and then went on to tell me how I must be a great baker. After the final show of the weekend Angela was called back onto the stage where an adoring mass waited for her with flowers from the verge of the stage and compliments. The best among them being "you're pretty". I don't like kids, but I'm coming to the conclusion I like entertaining them.

Bernard had a great weekend as well. Though I need to work on getting out on the street more I did get to have a bunch of fun with Bernard. Among the usual Bernardisms (prostration upon the street, looking for goats and telling women they are pretty) were a slow motion chase with Molly O'Reilly, a run in with a drunk patron woman's bum and, to top it all off, he found Geraldine. I managed to borrow a goat from the petting zoo (surprisingly easy, actually) and for about an hour and a half in the late hours of Sunday I had a Geraldine to carry about and present to the Queen. Geraldine, as it happens, is a young goat of a few months, still nursing and, despite my descriptions up to now, black and white. She is also the cutest thing on four legs. Her real name is Nala and she was the perfect accent to Bernard's character. I got to walk around being pleased about my goat and everyone flocked around to see her and pet her. Good times.

As for non-faire activities; yesterday I held the first session of my D&D game which went well and tonight I'm going to watch the final performance of Neil Arsenty's show at second city, "Big City, Small World".

I also recently had the pleasure of viewing "Death at a Funeral" which was a riot. Absolutely amazing performances all around and unpredictably outlandish at all points. The compounding series of events is cringeworthy and awkward but also fully hilarious.

The tip top of the non faire activities has to be my recent excursion to Medieval Times with Shane and Derrick to see Carrie who is a wench there. I refuse to comment on the lack of historical accuracy which rode rampant over the joust pitch. History was not the point. It was a fun show to watch full of well done fights and dramatic music. I've never seen so many sword sparks in one evening, what's more the actually very talented combatants seem to have performed tirelessly throughout the night. Kudos to them. I did enjoy that there is no silverware at Medieval Times, there is, however, Pepsi. This was followed by one of the most amusing car rides I have ever taken part in. Thank you Carrie. We did not die but we definitely should have.

Today's Gem of the internet- Watch it before it goes away. Here is Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Acts one and two are out now. Three comes out this weekend and they all disappear on Sunday. so you have a narrow window to catch them.

http://drhorrible.com/

you can also buy them on iTunes. Like I did. Sigh. That's right. Mr. Whedon finally forced my hand. I had to have it and the only way to get it was to incline my head slightly to the evil of Apple. You win this round Mr. Jobs. I'll just put it on my...iPod.

I'm disappointed in me. Apple is creeping in on me. Next I'll have a Macbook Air and an iPhone. items I hate with all of my self.

Queries and Nerding

I have a few questions for you, my readers.

Firstly- are you enjoying the current flavour of the blog/ do you have any requests or comments? Anything I can do to make the blog more readable is something I would like to be able to do.

Secondly- Have you had an opportunity to check out the new D&D 4.0 books? I am trying to decide whether or not it would be a good idea to pick them up for my upcoming game. Does the system look as good to you? Will gameplay be as rich? Are the books printed poorly?

Lastly- Do you live in Chicagoland? Do you want to be in on a weekly game?

Any resemblance between this and an actual blog makes me very happy.

So, it turns out that after a while you can do my job without a whole lot of thought. I get lots of time to do other small tasks while on hold, leaving voice mails and listening to the phone ring. today I spent that time writing game plot for the game I may be running soon. I also tried to think of things I'd been meaning to blog about. The result of that list is as follows.

Kung Fu Panda- While I would not have otherwise thought to look for or view a "fat guy feel-good" movie I was pleased to walk out of the cinema and realise that I had been watching just that. Kung Fu Panda was a clever, cute and well put together film. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing at times so hard that it hurt. The premise was good, the film well unified and the storytelling well done. I am almost sad to say that I have not seen a film for adults as well made for some time.

In amongst the rollicking humour of the film flowed a couple of story lines which were, in fact, quite touching. A couple of the characters had really compelling stories. Jack Black's character, Po the panda was actually a very compelling depiction of a self conscious (fat) guy whose insecurities drive him to dream big and hope small. The development he undergoes through the course of the story was very touching, honest and well written. Also quite compelling was the story of the Kung Fu master challenged with training Po. His desperate attempts to overcome himself and the mistakes of his past have changed him and his return to the equal footing of a master is also remarkably rendered. That being said there are also lots of really simple jokes and funny sight gags. Greatest among them being Po's father who is a goose. This is never mentioned or explained.

Wanted- If you're looking for a movie which is fun to watch and entertaining Wanted is a good one. There are plenty of cool action scenes and unbelievable special effects tricks. The premise is interesting the plot's conclusion, while predictable, is well done. I quite enjoyed it.

"Baby Daddy" as an example of Ebonics on the forefront of grammatical innovation.

Last on the list of things to get to is this. I am sure many of my readers will be familiar with the colloquial phrase "baby daddy". Which refers in most usages to a man who has fathered a child which he neither supports nor raises. The item which has piqued my interest on this subject is the grammatical difference between this colloquialism and the traditionally correct "baby's daddy". The notable difference here is the removal of the possessive form from the phrase. The "'s" which denotes the baby's ownership of the male parent has been omitted to make this common phrase. What makes this interesting instead of just annoying as most Ebonic colloquial shifts tend to be is that it has, in fact, made the wording more correct for its usage and I believe it to have happened accidentally. I have seen, so far, no evidence to the contrary.

If you think about it this phrase has made for a more precise phrase to describe a male parent to which a child has no claim. He is not the baby's father, he is the "baby daddy".

Todays gem- Urban dictionary has an entry for "baby daddy". Here it is. Be warned, Urban dictionary is not for the squeamish.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=baby+daddy

-Thank you, that will be all.-

Updates on England, real and imagined

I've got one or two things to say. So gather round the chairs, couches or throw pillows on the floor because it's probably going to bit a bit of a story.

Before I forget, I learned a few things in the last hour. The first of them is that Wil Wheaton, The guy who played Wesley Crusher in TNG had a twitter. I then found out that he did the voice of "Aqualad" on TV. I then went on to find out who "Aqualad" is. It turns out he may be the saddest of the sad people in a world which does not exist. I had thought Aquaman had a hard lot what with getting the scrapings from the bottom of the super power bucket. Let us be honest, having the power to talk to marine animals is not that cool. When it comes with the caveat that you cannot actually spend and great amount of time on dry land it becomes even more like someone stuck a target on your back, handed you a squirt gun and then kicked you into an open field full of sharpshooters and ninjas. you get to be special but not in the way one generally wishes to be. So when I say that "Aqualad" gets a harder lot I want you to understand what I mean. He has the same powers as Aquaman (wah-wah) with a shorter land to water ratio (wah-wah). He then goes on to gain much cooler powers before becoming a super cripple with amnesia. It's so bad that Aquaman's autistic (yeah, that's right) archenemy takes pity on Aqualad (now "Tempest" in adulthood) and doesn't put him out of his crappily powered misery.

This one is for you Aqualad, I am so sorry you had to be super.

That being said the real world has sustained a few developments. Bad news first. I will not be in York come this autumn. Instead I will be spending the next few months in the US of A trying to support myself, find some theatre to do and learn thing or two about Latin or textile conservation (maybe both).so for those of you who like to flip to the back of the book that's probably what the next few chapters will be about. Oh, and to ruin any suspense, Harry dies, twice, kinda.

All in all it's not a terrible thing. I have been continually in school for the past seventeen years. I'm not very good at maths but I know that out of 22 that represents a fairly high percentage. No matter how hard schooling tried to stop me from learning it I have found that in the real world the finest lessons are learned though mistakes and turnings one never meant to make. I've learned that sometimes you have to take a plunge when you aren't ready. Above all, though, I know that my future will continue to be there for me, even if I screw it up. Maybe I'll find love, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be able to support myself, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be around for all of those wondrous occasions you've been planning, maybe I'll have gone. All I know is that if I try my hardest and go in the direction of what seems right I'll come out okay in the end.

- Faire Update -

Yep, it's that time again.
Friday, for those of you disinclined to notice, was the fourth of July. the day on which we commemorate the independence of our country by yielding to our basest instincts. We cook on an open fire and go to shamelessly watch things blow up with no context or story to sully the pure joy of a colourful fiery conflagration.

I had the day off, which I guess is a good reason to celebrate. So I was free to entertain Rachel (who had some time to kill before we drove up tot he faire site). It was really nice to have a chance to just sit and enjoy a cup of tea and talk about England, theatre and life in general. Too much these days I'm too busy to have a personal moment of quiet with someone. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you, Rachel.

This was then followed by a gathering to put meat into a box full of fire (the most manly activity this side of mammoth hunting in my opinion) and watch things explode (see above).

It was fantastic. I want to say that among other things this years has been marked by a wider, more active social circle. Where once my time was devoted almost solely to St. George I now have opportunities to hang out with people from a variety of casts along the full spectrum of responsibility. It's so good to have the opportunity to hang out with such vital and enthusiastic people. Kenosha's fireworks were lovely, as was the company.

Bernard
The day started off with my one-time-only performance in the opening gate scenario. The part I had has since been cut for time, which is just as well, but I got to be a part of opening on opening day which no one can take from me.

Bernard turned out to be a hoot. I had told all of the first years not to worry if they didn't have tonr bits, that the best bits happen without any warning, but in a private part of my mind I worried about my own ability to pull it out when the time came. When the time came though, it turns out I had been right all along. Bernard was intuitive. I'll be honest, the majority of my time as Bernard is spent face down in a silly reverance. It's kinda become the analog to Frobisher's one man parade. I can do it with anyone regardless of dress gender, station and relative attentiveness. I bank a lot on just being sweet which is a nice change from the brash and sonorous nature of Frobisher. Bernard draws a patron in and tells them sweetly and simply exactly what he means and what he wants. Exploring the range of that kind of interaction and learning to expand it is going to be a load of fun.

Devil and The Baker's Wife
The Devil and the Baker's Wife has been widely acclaimed as being "adorable" and "quite funny actually". The quick changes are still a bit sticky but not too horrible. I'm going to have to run the Devil transformation a few times next week on my own time. I'm just not getting the physicality I want to open which kills it for the rest of the show. Angela and Char are doing a fantastic job and I'm really enjoying the dynamic we've built. The show is eating more of my street time than I might have otherwise have wanted but it's totally worth it for the joy of doing a show like this.

The Bakers have taken to giving out cookies on the ship in Kids Kingdom between 2:30 and 3:00 since our afternoon shows are so close together and changing costumes would be impractical. So if you're looking to meet the Bakers that is the time. I don't know if we will continue to stay on the ship once Rachel come back from the regency but I have a feeling that half hour will remain as Baker time.


The thing I really must say is that I have been exceptionally impressed by several of our newest cast members. OF course the top of the list is Rachel, who has somehow managed to step boldly into the role of HMQ without a sigle failing I can perceive. She has really made the role her own and brought a vibrance and beauty to the role which I cannot really quantify. What's more from behind her in the mid day spectacular I could fell her roguish smile from behind her. Her Elizabeth has all the sass and mirth that one could hope for. I'm certainly going to have to come visit the glade this weekend.

Also particularly impressive have been the scads of new fighters. more than ever before they have made themselves a presence upon the street. Perhaps I'm simply noticing it more now that I too am on the street more but it seems to me that Stevens Point and Columbia have been exceptionally blessed by these talented individuals. sitting pretty at the top of the heap is Amie who pulled out all of the stops and ran circuits around the site after the fighting was done for the day. She is merely standing slightly forward though of a formidable line. Each and every one of them was in the street being awesome and I had the pleasure of seeing most of the fighters in their element being wonderful. They all kicked me at the end of the day too. That was pretty great. Though I wish I had been more with the movement. I don't feel like I telegraphed the reactions well at all.

My only regret is that with the exception of Arnie for about three minutes I didn't interact with most of the other street cast members and, as such, cannot comment truthfully on the awesomeness which I'm sure was manifesting all over the place.

Now for icing on the cake time. Among the scads of people I saw over the weekend, not to be forgotten is Mike Meyer! He came all the way from Florida! That was a surprise. I only regret that I didn't get to see him in the street. We found each other at the Phoenix after for a joyful reunion.

+ Having a codpiece randomly in my backpack for two weeks finally paid off.
+ I seem to be surrounded by pretty people all the time.
+ I finally got my fix of lemon egg soup.
+ I finally got a fix of patron interaction.

- I need to work on my recipe for "gollum" juice. It was a bit too weak to be terribly effective.
- There seems to be a shortage of Gatorade and V8 in my life.
- I spent buttloads of money!

Today's Gem of the Internet-
I don't know if you've noticed but I can be a bit self conscious about whether or not I'm understanding social mores. As such something about the misanthropic and self conscious nature of the work of Lev Yilmaz has charmed me. The thoughts placed here are far more awkward than I have ever been, that is comforting.
Check out his site here.
http://www.ingredientx.com/

I couldn't find one which was meaningful and indicative of my present situation and emotional state so don't read too far into this one. It's been a few months since I had to do this and I didn't date the woman in question so the things to not think about were far less interesting and... just watch the film.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PSdjixBTNE

The Fairer Season.

So, I don't know if I've made it clear but I work at a Renaissance Faire. This may come as a shock to newer readers and people who got here via a google search for underwater basket weaving, women's red underpants, how to fix the blue screen of death or why is the sky blue. (Did I put those tings there to try to attract misdirected googlers? I'll let you be the judge.) Why might that be unclear you ask. Well, it occurred to me that I've barely mentioned faire at all this season. This is a travesty because really as far as my life goes I have nothing that makes me as happy as the time I spend at Bristol. I learn more from each BAPA session I sit in on than I did in whole semesters with Rod. I fall more madly in love at Bristol, I feel more drastically elated at Bristol and I yearn when I am away from Bristol more than anywhere else.

That being said you may now prepare for the blog to focus on the escapades of myself and my brilliant castmates and almost completely ignore the events between Monday and Friday for the rest of the season. If the past years of blogging have been any indication anyway.

From here on out you may assume the following events have taken place.
Monday, I sleep in and get to work sometime around 11:30.
Tuesday, I wake up as early as I can. (The goal is 5:30. Hasn't happened yet)
Wednesday, see Tuesday.
Thursday, see Wednesday.
Friday, see Thursday but they let me out early so I get extra time to prep for Faire.

You may safely assume I will have made a smattering of sales here and there exceptional sales will no doubt warrant some mention. It will likely appear on the twitter.

And So It Begins...

The rehearsals for Devil and the Baker's wife have been going steadily up. The show looks better every time and so far we've managed to make it a pretty good show. I think it's going to be really quite adorable. We've worked out most of the kinks, we're off book and the show gets funnier with every run. I'm looking forward to seeing the little changes that will now inevitably fall in here and there. I 'm also looking forward to finally having a devil transformation which actually works.

So, I'm The Devil, The Baker and The Devil's Messenger in that show. Needless to say I'm a little excited about it. Ever since I first started going to the Ohio faire I've wanted to do a show like this one. The Swordsmen were (okay, kinda still are) my idols and the Mud Show (www.moremud.com) guys dedication continues to amaze me.

So when I say that my street character is eating my brain more I want you to understand how odd that seems. I have fallen completely in love with Bernard. I really enjoy the simplicity of the interactions I can have with him. It removes the pressure of being clever. Bernard is not clever. Any cleverness that comes out of me while I'm being Bernard will actually have to come out as a mistake. I love it. Bernard's humour is more about being simple. He's the person who knows less about Renaissance England than the patron by virtue of only ever having been in Renaissance Pocklington until just now.

I'm also super excited about the rest of the street cast. We are, by and large, the lowest and most despised kind of people you could eer hope to love. peasants like myself and Odiferious Thunderbottom, criminals like Jasper Trustworthy and Maggie Pie. We have three witches, the Normyl Sisters, who are a cartload of funny. The closest thing we have to legitimacy is a free lance spy and the sisters Chatterly. The only legitimately employed one being our sole remaining town crier. We also have some hookers and who doesn't like hookers.

Today's Gem of the internet- More Poetry



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHmgK4fiNFs

-It's all for you-

Work

First things first I got the "blogroll" working. I say that like it's hard it turns out I just failed to save it last time. Sadly I may have forgotten your blog. If you know me and would like to be on the blog roll comment with your page address and I'll throw it up. It's mostly for my own benefit since I'm purely a creature of blogger now. Since blogger doesn't have a friends page I'm going to use this to keep up with blogs.

If your blog is friends only no worries, I can still read it from here but no one else can. Oh, the wonders of the internet.

Also, any comments about how "blogroll" makes you think of the British slang for toilet paper, "bog roll", will be appreciated. It would be nice to know that someone else had that problem.

So, housekeeping having been taken care of the two of you actually reading are probably wondering what the heck I've been doing with myself. It seems like I can't manage more than one post a week. I don't know why that is. It's not like I've been doing the sewing, memorizing or dialect work I should have been.

There have been a few developments in my life recently which bear mentioning. Employment has seem the most activity. I will hereafter itemize the list since there are five employers to be mentioned.

Hats Plus- I really enjoyed working at Hats Plus. It's a small company and the people there are super nice. Martin, the owner, was trying to mold me into a copy writer and I really enjoyed learning about hats and selling them. I was kinda good at interpreting people's vague fashion desires. I guess I can thank Donna and the costume shop for that. "I'm looking for a cowboy hat, but not really a cowboy hat. sort of cowboy style but with a flat top and flipped up edges" somehow translated into a concrete idea for me. It wasn't until afterward I realized it shouldn't have. That was literally the last hat I sold. I had been really up front with Martin the whole way through since the offers had come in the same day for him and ACCR so on Thursday I actually quit and Friday was my last day.

American Chamber of Commerce Resources- I started here last Tuesday and it is my current occupation. I am a telemarketer. basically I sell books to keep businesses up to date on labor law. It's a good service we're providing and it pays well. Even though I spend most of my day leaving messages and getting rejected I find I enjoy working there and the environment is pretty good.

The only downside is that the day starts at 7:30 so to make my full required hours I need to wake up at like 5:30 most days. I have yet to succeed. they don't sound like they're going to make life too hard on me for it though. I really like the people there and it's a family owned company. I like that.

Optics Plus- Jim Estrella, the Span Am from faire, referred me to the place where he works and I turned in my resume this morning. Within hours I received a call asking me to come in tomorrow for an interview. I'll have to drive every day if I decide to work there. it's a consideration to be sure. I'm willing to look into it anyway and we'll see how things go.

Tea Essence- I applied there about a month ago and for the longest time thought they might have gone out of business or something. today I went in by chance and found out the entirely mundane reasons they had been hard to catch and had a cup of tea. The really nice woman behind the counter recognized me from when I put my resume in and complimented me on it. She also mentioned how they're still looking for help. I'll be interested to see if anything comes of that.

Tony and Tina's Wedding- I got an e-mail from these guys yesterday asking me to put in an application for their costuming director position. I look forward to hearing from them. Basically it's the only theatre experience I've ever heard normal people refer to when trying to describe ren faire. I'm not sure its a very good analogue but I guess it's a sort of interactive theatrical experience. Anyway, I look forward to hearing more about this opportunity.

In other news.

It's official and public. I will be playing opposite Angela for first and second weekend of faire as Rachel will be playing the queen while Mary is out for medical reasons. So if you were coming to see the person I've been raving about all pre-season She'll be the one in the purple dress. If you want to see the person I've been raving about differently she'll be my wife instead of the marionette as originally planned. That's right, the marionette, I told you it was cool. You know, if I talked about this gig with you at all.

I need to work on faire a lot more during the regular week. Needless to say I usually do not have this particular problem. usually I spend all week doing faire prep to the exclusion of all else. Now here we are two weeks out and I don't have tights, shoes, pouches and haven't solidified my dialect or gotten the script cold. What is wrong with me? I'll be working on that for the next two days.

Well, it's late and I have an interview tomorrow morning so with no further ado here is today's gem of the internet, "Waiters who are Nauseated by Food"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3EEd9RVTo

I can has employment?

I can!

So, as of last week I have been employed. I started at Hats Plus on Irving Park on Friday. I really enjoy working there because, lets face it, hats are pretty cool. I spent my first day in the stock room sorting hats and whatnot. Hats, as it turns out, require more sorting than they do actual upkeep while they remain in the store. I was then introduced to the job that has occupied me there ever since. I've been writing copy for the store's website. The description on this page, http://www.hats-plus.com/detail.aspx?ID=106&Name=Stetson-Andover-Straw-Hat , is my work. It lost a lot of its soul in the editing process because my boss has very specific ideas about how he wants them marketed. That notwithstanding it is there and I did it.

Starting on Tuesday the tough part began. I have been splitting my days so that in the morning I go to work with American Chamber of Commerce Resources and then I ride for an hour on the blue line and a bus to get to hat's plus for a few hours work there. American Chamber of Commerce resources is an independent publisher which does in house business to business telemarketing. My job is to call businesses and sell them these human resource guides which outline labor law. They're really good resources and they are backed b chambers of commerce so it's all pretty easy to get behind. I still feel a little soulless for deciding in the end that it's the way to go. Basically tomorrow I'm going to have to go to Martin at Hats Plus and give him the "it's not you, it's me" speech about how I have to go here because it's where the money is and that I really enjoy working at Hats plus. maybe I'll stay on at hat's plus for a day here or there but I don't imagine it will be a big part of my life in the future. I've already learned a bunch about hats. I'm sad to have to let it go.

I know I haven't updated much of late and usually Summer is my most consistent time. hopefully I'll get back into the swing. I'm also continuing to add features to the page so that you will have something to check out more often than not. There's a section now on the bottom left where you can check out some of the blogs I (try to) read regularly. along with the twitter feed out should be well rewarded for each visit (I'm using Pavlov's theories here). I'm also working on a way to put the gems of the internet in a separate column. We'll see how that goes/ if it helps at all. I was impressed in the early days of my blogging by Adam Scott of the Monkey Chow Diaries (http://www.angryman.ca/)in that he had different sections of his site for the different features he did. I'd like to have something like that here. not tht you are likely to care all that much.

On that note, here is today's Gem of the Internet. The last gem contained a video of a fellow named Jonathan Coulton doing a rendition of Baby got back This got me on a kick of checking out his music. I have since walked to work all week singing my favourite song of his and spent inordinate amounts of time on YouTube finding new songs to which I can listen. Long story short I highly advise you check out his stuff. The amazing thing here is that for once I seem to have stumbled on a true gem of the internet. Just as I happened upon the Monkey Chow Diaries while Adam was still making them I seem to have found a real, honest to goodness, sensation on the rise.

Jonathan Coulton has released his music under the creative commons act and allows amateur film makers to make MVs for his stuff for free. He also seems to be nothing if not a creature of the internet and a product of the information generation. I na a world in which Google has made the amount of information which once comprised entire degrees our 18-35 year olds are fascinated by nothing so much as Zombies, Ninjas, Pirates, robots and the synthesis or competition of the four. The internet has allowed us to make these things into phenomena and Coulton's lyrics reflect this childishness cum adulthood which we seem to enjoy to the accompaniment of some of the best guitar compositions I've heard for a while. Anyway, here is his homepage, http://www.jonathancoulton.com/ . Now, of course it wouldn't be one of my gems without something to watch so here are some of my favourites.

Codemonkey, the story of an average, everyday working simian in love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4TnhemCEmc

I'm Your Moon, guaranteed to be the finest planetary love song you've ever heard. This one made me think, when they demoted Pluto it's a good job we didn't tell the Plutonians. They'd sure be confused because I'm sure that from where they're standing we look pretty small too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOExYm6xPYo

I Crush Everything, About a self loathing giant squid. He just loves too tightly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RFEzpUsUBk

Steady improvement on all fronts has led to a lovely outlook in general. However there are a few things weighing on my mind which I will here divulge.

My money is flowing steadily out and I probably won't see any influx until next Friday at the earliest. Yikes!

Also, I'm really worried about Mary. For those who don't know, Mary is the actress who plays the Queen at Bristol. I consider her to be one of my finest teachers and I count her as a special friend. We do not keep in contact as much as I might like but it is always wonderful to see her. I hope she's feeling well soon and I wish there were something I could do to help.

The gloomy part being covered let us brush right past to the happiness, sunshine and puppies portion of our program.

The faire season has started back up and rehearsals have been awesome. I've decided to work in the street completely when I'm not doing the Devil and the Baker's Wife so this last Sunday I got to spend most of the day with the street cast which is all kinds of brilliant. As for the Devil and the Baker's Wife, things are coming right along we've started integrating more props. I really think we've made this show our own and it feels particularly good to have the levity to change things that feel clunky and adjust things to make them fit our own style. What's more I really love working with Rachel, Char and Susan. Susan has proven to be a really fun director. She's open to our ideas but isn't afraid to tell us when they aren't as awesome as they could be. It's a quality that is hard to cultivate the tendency is to either shut your actors down or let them run rampant. Char has been a treat to work with she really brings an element of play into the cast while Rachel and I tend to be a little more performative. That being said, I'm particularly enjoying the dynamic that the two of us have found.

Here's the sticky wicket. With Mary stuck in bed until her eye has healed Rachel has been tapped for the Queen understudy gig. I'm so pleased for her. It's quite the honour to come in one's rookie year not only to a stage show gig like ours but then to be placed as the queen is an incredible, rocket-like takeoff. I am amazed that I'm allowed to stand so near to someone rising s fast. On the same note, though, it means that we need a new baker's wife when Rachel is filling in for Mary. So that throws a little bit of a hitch into our getty-up. I'm looking forward to our newest cast member and I hope that it all come out alright in the wash. I can't think of a good reason for it not to.

In the world of employment I've been getting a lot of dead ends but yesterday I went in for an interview with a B2B telemarketing company which sells HR handbooks to businesses on behalf of various state chambers of commerce. It looks like a pretty good job though I'm a little put off by the fact that they refuse to allow their employees to attain full time status by putting the weekly hours cutoff at 38. Other than that it doesn't sound too bad. I'm not bugging people at home, I'm selling something legitimately useful. Also, I'm pretty sure they'll treat me fairly under the law as it would be pretty tough for them to do otherwise. They do make the handbooks. Upon arriving home from my day out (which also included mailing things and visiting the grocery store) I received a call from "Hats Plus" where I had put in an application last week. I'm supposed to show up on Friday morning ready for a full day of work. Which I suppose means I've been hired though it sounded a little tenuous. So I'm supposed to hear back from the B2B place on Thursday or Friday and I have the day at hats plus on Friday so I should have something solid by the end of the week. I'm still looking for other jobs. You know, just in case. My particular target is tea shops and bookstores. I think the reason should be obvious.

Now to the more blogg-y part of the blog. I ate lunch yesterday at the Elephant and Castle which apparently has branches all over the world. Someone mentioned that there was one in Chicago and I happened upon it. For those who aren't aware, the Elephant and Castle is a famous London landmark. So famous, in fact, that there is a tube station for it. I found this one to be enjoyable if a bit off the mark. I believe it to be nothing so much as proof that Americans still don't understand pubs. Y server, Jenny was excellent and from the looks of things the service is, in general, pretty excellent. Everyone was polite and quick. The soup tasted awesome and they have lovely tea service, even if they didn't have the proper spoons for tea (or milk for that matter). It is a bar restaurant in the fine American tradition. Not unlike a TGI Fridays. Not a pub but they tried so I give them credit there.

Today's Gem of the Internet- I don't know why but I love acoustic covers of pop songs. The more out of context the better. "Baby Got Back" seems to be one of the finest songs to cover amusingly as seen here.

This one is one of my favourites. This guy is pretty darn talented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gW6yQZyx5w

I just found this one today. I think you will agree, it's pretty amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmI0GijanyM

The creme de la creme. How could I pass up something as ridiculous as this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4

Thing have been coming right along. I have become more domestic (yes, Beth) since I am still unemployed so I have dinner ready when Jake comes home and we watch TV afterwards. It's become abundantly clear to me that landing Jake as a room mate was an exceptional bit of luck. We get along really well and have about the same clean to dirty threshold. So my life of late has been putting in applications and trying for all I'm worth to hold onto optimism. That said once again I cannot pay my rent in full and will have to borrow money to get by. It sucks but somehow it'll all come out in the wash.

I have also desperately been trying to get my Grad School application to England which has proven harder than I could have thought. It's come back twice already and hopefully will be in the UK on time. If not I don't know what I'll do. I wanted it out in January. What happened? I guess when it comes down to it this way I'll know not to plan for England until next year and it won't be because I'm not a good candidate.

All the being said. I'm sure if you read this sham of a blog with any regularity you'll notice that the box Quinn put in about Twitter being crap has been replaced with my twitter feed. If you aren't hip to the "Micro Blog" (I wasn't) it's basically a way for me to put in tiny entries to keep you updated (since lord knows you wouldn't be able to get by without knowing what I'm up to at all times) even if I don't have time to put in a full blog entry. So far I've found it to be helpful. Hopefully it'll give you a little more incentive to check my page regularly. I know I haven't been rewarding you often enough for going to the trouble. If I could make it so that candy fell out of your monitor as a reward for visiting my site believe me you'd be swimming in smarties already. If you're really insistent about keeping up with me (or my friends on Twitter) you can check out my twitter page. There's a link in the bottom of the box. My page is chock full of my "tweets" as well as the insightful tweets of Adam "The Beard", Quinn, Julia and Eamon. A-E and Jill update less frequently but I look forward to every tweet.

I was going to say something clever but instead I'm going to go watch "Weeds" which is a hilarious show from Showtime. Huzzah for Netflicks.

Gem of the internet- I... I have nothing to say that could make this any better.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_nQX-WZTKs

If there can be one argument against humans as communal beings that argument is public transit. we do not speak to each other or look at each other for more than a fleeting moment. We attempt to completely minimize any actual human contact while we are surrounded with the wealth of humanity. A train can be full with society, a bus brimming with connections but we hide from it.
She's pretty, he's distracted, they're up to something. We get these momentary glances into the lives of others before we return to our own thoughts or the front we hold. I'm pretty, busy or up to something. Leave me alone.

Today had me on the full range of public transport devices. Seriously if I'd thrown a cable car in I can't think what kind of mass transit I might be missing. Buses and trains are amazing things. I've also come to the conclusion that I need to stop worrying so much about my routes because Chicago's transit system is actually pretty intuitive. I'm convinced that if anyone (the mentally handicapped excluded) can't make do in a city like Chicago and find everything they need they should be neutered for failure to function as an evolved life form. That said anyone who cannot function here likely can't metabolize sugars either and, as a result, will likely be dead soon anyway.

I let Peter do the google search for a library so I could print off my resume. As a result I ended up spending like an hour trying to get to this place which was, ostensibly, "really close". I ended up getting there too late to print anything or even apply for a card. I ended up going to a Kinkos which was overpriced but necessary. I then went into Starbucks and filled out a new application because I left my old one in Kinkos and there's no way I'm going back there. I bought some kind of mint chocolate chip frappuchino thing to pass the time and make me look legit. All in all that was a ten dollar application. Here's hoping it pans out. It would be a great job since Starbucks is such a nice company to work for, I could transfer to one anywhere I go and it is literally one block away from where I am currently sitting. It might force me to figure out what kind of drink to buy there. something which has always eluded me. I would also be able to figure out why Starbucks coffee is always burned. The mysteries of the universe.

Today's Gem of the Internet- A gem from the comic I've most recently become addicted to, PhD, "Piled Higher and Deeper".

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=162

Yesterday I woke up unnaturally early. There's a good reason I don't wake up that early normally and I'm convinced that reason has nothing to do with me being fundamentally lazy and everything to do with the fact that with the amount of doing I do in a day I would run out of stuff to do, even in Chicago, before the month were out. I putzed around the apartment until the world opened (which is when I wrote the last blog)around 9:00. The first order of business one was to go to the bank to deposit money and then to find a grocery store where they charged prices I was willing to pay. Thus began the public transit odyssey. It turns out that Google lists a bunch of Associated Banks which do not, in fact, exist now, if they ever did. This led to me looking up the wrong address on the CTA trip adviser. I got to the appointed place with no trouble but there does not happen to be a bank there or any evidence that one could ever have been there. I called the Beloit branch and they gave me the number for a branch on a street which sounded familiar to me from the bus ride over. I called them and they gave me directions to the new location but the man on the phone did not know which buses to take so I had to wing it based on my spotty understanding of Chicago geography. I did eventually get there. The journey lat me know that there was a farmer's market going on and where the Old Town is. A place to which I am likely to return. The bank was nice. Afterward I had a brunch at Dunkin Doughnuts which was okay I guess. Their iced coffee is sub par, to be avoided since they just sort of make it and it lacks any flavour other than watered down, burned coffee.

The Farmer's market was cute but a little sub par. It was clearly more of an opportunity for vegans and earth moms to buy their free range, organic, flavourless grass clippings. It was nice and cute and all but everything was overpriced and pretentious. I left empty handed after reconsidering a thought to buy a houseplant there. I decided to go somewhere a little more reasonable.

After the market I was on my way home when I saw a comic shop. I got off the bus at the next stop and went for it. Unfortunately it was just that, a comic shop. Nothing more than that. Don't get me wrong, comic shops are lovely but unless they carry every D&D supplement I could ever want I just can't find much to hold me there. If you want to hold me, oh nerd store, I require cheap used gaming books and the potential for a gaming group. These guys told me of another store in a mall which might be more my type. Now, let me telly you something about gaming stores in malls. They are nice and useful but they will never be a storefront gaming store. Something to do with the dynamic of being among the normal people I think stunts the gaming mind's ability to be free. Exceptions seem to be those under the age of seventeen.

The store in the mall turned out to be just as I suspected. Run by a long haired beardless nerd whom I judged to be roughly my own age. They only carried new stuff and he told me, could not hook me up with other gamers over the age of seventeen with any speed or reliability. What's more he told me that it's one of the major lackings of the city that I can expect to find very few nerd stores and without any such meccas no way of finding a group. For shame Chicago, for shame. I'm still going to try but that sucks.

Luckily I was not too sad about it for too long due to the proximity of two bookstores (Borders and Barnes & Noble) and a record store in close proximity. I used the record store to pick up a couple copies of free music newspapers published around the city which informed me of gigs coming up. I need to pick up a new one since the useful one is published on Thursdays.

I, then, returned to trying to get home so I could try going to the right of my apartment as promised (since that's where I thought Aldi was). Turns out Aldi is, in fact, behind my apartment and a bit to the right. Another odyssey ensued though less lengthy or amusing. I got there eventually and did some shopping so I should be provisioned for a while. I don't eat much and what I do eat starts off as pretty basic stuff which keeps pretty well; especially in the freezer.

For the evening I resisted the temptation to go out and instead did some reading on the couch and went to bed early.

Today's goal was to pay my rent and buy a new toothbrush and hairbrush. I will make a long story short by saying simply - I succeeded. I went to the bank to take out the money, went across town (successfully winging it on the bus) and gave it to the office. I then tried to get home and found a Walgreens where I bought an expensive and kinda frightening toothbrush. I tried out the Metro and found it to be nice though it let out not near my house (on Logan Blvd.) but in "Logan Square" which is in fact centred on Milwaukee Ave. Riddle me that. It meant I got to visit a small grocery store which I quite liked and a general store where I bought a hairbrush. Success on objectives. I ran home and grabbed a sandwich and apple for dinner so I could make it back to Milwaukee in time for the 6:25 showing of "21".

The movie was cute although it was predictable and didn't develop most of the secondary characters very much. It also grossly misrepresented the benefit of counting cards. I get the idea that we were to understand that the film was showing us their winnings over time it just didn't come off as clearly as it might have. All in all it was fun to watch and well made. the storytelling was on par and the elements were cohesive. Though I did remember one other thing I didn't like about Forbidden Kingdom and which I wanted to mention about Absent Sound. Transitions. If you want to have a smooth transition then do that, if you want to have a stark transition do that but if you're making a film you need to not have most of your transitions consist of an audible camera blip. If you have a band and you're playing a gig you need to actually stop playing so that we can clap between songs or something. Forbidden Kingdom didn't so much transition from one idea to another so much as forget what it was doing and Absent sound's gig might, for all I know, have been all one song with quieter bits periodically. Just a thought, for what it's worth.

Today's Gem: For everyone who's been rejected.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS1NOXWVWgo

Well, I graduated. Four years of my life have come and gone and I have a little piece of paper with my name on to show for it. Or rather, they're going to mail me a little piece of paper with my name on because of a paperwork mistake which is fitting given the way my time here has played out.

I suppose more important than that piece of paper, though it was the goal, was the time. The important thing was not the destination but the journey. I've met innumerable fantastic people had such wonderful experiences and, on top of it all, I've exchanged caring with the people around me. I'd like to find a more poetic way to put that but it's the best I've got at the moment. through all of my activities and actions I've met people and between myself and them has formed a loving bond, an exchange of caring.

I'll do some sort of lengthy retrospective later. Do not feel obliged to read it.

In other news I now live in Chicago. I have a lovely apartment on Logan Blvd which puts me just to the left of the centre of the city. So far my fores into the city have revealed that I live in a somewhat Hispanic dominated area. We even have a fast food restaurant called "Pollo Loco". Needless to say I love this and will be abusing it for good food all summer long. The other thing my location has to offer me is easy access to all of the public transit lines. So if you're in Chicago for God's sake come visit me!

Yesterday was a pretty good day all told though I didn't get as much real important work done as I might have liked. however, the closing of all of the businesses I needed to deal with meant that I could devote the day to all of my waking time to exploring.

The day's exploration took me out my front door and to the left. Milwaukee Ave is an interesting place and full of things to do. I have a sneaking suspicion I will find that to be true about most of the city and that idea excites me in a way that might be illegal. Since I woke around 3:00 (Don't judge me. it's only the second good night of sleep I've gotten in the last week and a half.) and didn't get out of the house until about five my options were limited. I started with dinner at a local restaurant, "Taqueria Lolita," I recommend this place highly for dates and gatherings. It has wonderful atmosphere and the staff are super friendly and could probably pass their EFL exams. The only thing I can say against them is that my food took forever to arrive. On the one hand this made me fairly certain that they made it right then and that's something I miss in a lot of restaurants in my price range. On the other hand it almost made me late for the movie I wanted to watch so I was torn on my opinions of it. So I'd say bring someone you like talking to/ need to chat up in a quiet friendly environment because you'll get the time to do it and even if the date goes badly the food will have been worth it.

The dinners run between 8 and 12 dollars for most things and you can spend more if you're looking to. I got a lovely plate full of food the name of which I couldn't pronounce and now cannot remember and some orchata (to which I am now addicted) for about 14 bucks. It's more than I usually spend but I figure I can manage it this one time thanks to graduation (and the family members who graciously donated to the "Ansel is Poor" fund).

I followed dinner with a trip two doors down to the movie theatre. It cost me the steep price of three dollars to see a movie which I understand to have come out not long ago, "The Forbidden Kingdom". I will say this right off the bat it was not at all what I had expected, not that I'm sure what that is. I suppose I thought it would be more of a "Journey to the west" sort of story since I know the monkey king would be in it. I also expected Jackie Chan to be the monkey king which didn't turn out to be the case either. It turned out to a throwback for me tot he movies of the eighties in which a young person from a marginalized subculture gets beaten up for being different and then, through a series of difficult to believe events, is transported to a magic kingdom where he is a chosen hero. Our chosen hero must then use the magic item (in this case a staff), which he happened upon by chance in a shop full of junk in the real world (read: hard to believe events), to save said magic kingdom. Then, upon saving the magic kingdom which none of the fully competent combatants could achieve by virtue of not being the "chosen" hero foretold in the omnipresent prophesy. Actually, I think I may have seen this film before. It might have been called "The Neverending Story". now the "Neverending Story" was a long film but it was, by no means, as long as the other film(s) to which this movie hearkens, "The Lord of the Rings". That's right, since LOTR used every special effect known to man and then made up some more that man hadn't thought of yet just to get a jump on us this film fell into the trap of looking just like LOTR about once or twice a minute on average. It even had a lava pit into which the item of power which the "chosen" hero had carried up to the ancient mountain top was thrown. I really would have thought that was something they would have had the sense to avoid. Luckily one of the martially competent sidekicks (?) leapt in and saved the item of power (and the movie to a degree) from that horrible fate. I hope I didn't ruin anything there by informing you that the item of power does not get destroyed.

It was a cute movie and fun to watch until you get to analyzing it at which point you realize you've seen this movie before only now there are Chinese people in it.

Now, before dinner I had run into a Bald gentleman and a dreadlocked fellow from Winnipeg, Ca. They invited me to a show their band was doing that evening and described their music as "Psychedelic Rock". As such after walking back home and making sure that I had not, in fact, misplaced a huge amount of money presumably to pixies I unloaded all of my "muggables" and walked back down Milwaukee to "Elastic Arts". I walked in to an inviting cadre of Canadians and one local. It turned out that there were only two of us there to hear the gig so I hadn't missed anything by showing up late. In fact we waited around until about eleven before they got the show on the road. In the meantime I got to meet the band and discuss conspiracy theories and fuzzy economics with the sound guy whose name I should but do not remember.
The show was unlike anything I've ever experienced. They showed spliced together projection film in the background while the band members wailed on electric guitars, drums, a bugle, an organ and various other small wind instruments. Much use was made of playback functions and other effects pedals. Basically it was a cornucopic cacophony. I could describe it as confusingly clear, bizarrely entertaining and loud. I think the most apt description though was proffered by the other listener. It was "cohesive". I know, cohesiveness is like the basic unit of acceptability in most art. Unity of performance is paramount in holding an audience. This was different though. I say it was cohesive because it didn't feel like it should be. What might have been confused for people who have never met wailing on instruments with which they are only passingly familiar became clearly a closely rehearsed piece of well orchestrated art. Every piece of seemingly extemporaneous sound melded with the whole sometimes immediately and sometimes only over time but it all came together and it worked with the film playing, also seemingly by chance, in the background. All in all it was an exceptional experience which I would recommend to all with an open mind and an ear for good music.

Well, I woke up early today so I guess it's time to hit the city and see what lies to the right hand side of my door (and go to the bank and call Beloit).

Today's Gem. I promised more poetry. So even though there's all kinds of topical stuff about graduation you've been saved from a video set to "Class of '99: wear sunscreen" by my attempt to keep that promise. Here is a poem which echoes the kind of love I'd like.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5WgmbMW7Ek