with a little patience

I've been with LJ for 7 of its 10 years. In internet time, that's pretty ancient. Don't know how I feel about it, especially since I don't really post here that much anymore. Other social networking platforms and crazes have come and gone, taking up their allotted amount of my time. But hey, so it goes.

Things change.

For instance, I am apparently now rather severely lactose intolerant. I am in mourning.

Oh hey, in case I failed to mention it to you a million times already, my first book is available for sale right here. You should check it out. There's action, suspense, drama, humor, fisting, and narwhals. What more could you ask for?

Read a review of it here.

Consider this a great way to support my dirty writing habit, which, if left untended for too long, can cause me to sweat and shake and vomit all over everything. And who wants that?

Also, I was on this "show" the other day. You can watch me being interviewed while dressed as uber dorkily as possible right here (my bits around 35:20).

Spring is asserting itself, sometimes slowly, sometimes with breathtaking suddenness, and all I can think about is being stuck in an office building for 40 hours each week, missing this beautiful transitioning of seasons.

The Big Change is coming. I give it 1 year, max. And then? The thrill of uncertainty, and of doing more of what I wish to be doing.

On a completely unrelated note, I am not optimistic for the American remake of our beloved Ab Fab. Nor is this fella, who went to an early taping.

I think, in the end, regardless of best intentions and Saunders' own involvement in the new incarnation, it just doesn't translate without the Britishness. Or Lumley. Or Sawalha. Or Horrocks.

Baby spew.

I'm self-publishing a novel. I'm all a-twitter!

Close-up of awesome tat (done free-hand by my good pal Cara, who is also awesome):



For the record, all of four people got who I was supposed to be while I was out and about on Halloween. Nerds! The lot of us! :)

So I recently took over as co-director of Wis-Kino with Josh, because I don't already have enough to do, and my first screening in this position was last Sunday. I figured, hey, maybe I should actually help make a film for the damn thing, right? Do my part.

So I cajoled Rob into assisting me with this project, promising him that it would be short and easy. He was a little unsure when I told him it likely wouldn't involve guns or lesbians, but in the end he came around. I can be very persuasive.

Anyway, with Nick's help on camera, we threw together this little number, and I'm actually pretty pleased with it. It's just a silly little something, but if you're patient, there's a kitty at the end:

...when there's awesome didgeridoo music to listen to?

I've been downloading the Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast lately, and am catching up on it at the moment. From the 6/26 broadcast, we get some really good, trippy stuff from Tjupurru. Definitely recommended.

And while I'm on this "things I like" kick, here are some others:

Lee Rayburn on The Mic 92.1, who was kind enough to have me on, via the phone, again this morning.

Our Lives Magazine, which is doing good work in a market that's notoriously unforgiving.

Wild blueberry granola with Sugar River Dairy plain yogurt, all from the Willy St. Co-op.

Kubler Absinthe, which I think I liked more for the process of preparing it than the liquorice-like flavor.

Tags: absinthe, music, things i like

Finally got the official poster/ad for the Hot Mess show done. Many thanks to rob_matsushita for putting it together! Now, if you're anywhere near Madison on July 26th, you pretty much have to come to this. You'll be mocked and shunned for the rest of the year if you miss it. Seriously. I know these things.

Crazy! I was on the radio this morning - nationally syndicated radio, no less! I know what you're thinking: who on Earth would allow me to do such a thing? That'd be Lee Rayburn, on his early morning show on The Mic, 92.1 FM. Lee very kindly asked me to come in and chat about this and that, and I actually had a good time. Hopefully I don't come off like a complete jerk, but I'll let you be the judge:

Click here and download the podcast from June 19th, 2008

Crazy, man, crazy.

Filled this out last night in a fit of boredom, now I see fit to post it here, because that's what LJ is for, right?

YE OLDE THEATRE SURVEY

1) What was the first play you ever did? What role/job?
I was the head sheep in a play we did for the church Christmas pageant called "Ba Ba Bethlehem" - which was the story of Jesus' birth told from the POV of the sheep. My mother being the director had nothing to do with me getting the lead role. Really. I'm sure of it.

2) What was your most recent show? What job/role?
Ruffian #2 and Mrs. Elizabeth Barry in "Compleat Female Stage Beauty". My mother had nothing to do with this show.

3) What was your most fun show/role?
Tie between Puck in "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and Spit in "St. Stanislaus Behind the Bridge"

4) What was your most challenging show/role?
The Mother/Aunt in "How I Learned to Drive" - they were the most not-me characters I've ever played, and I was extremely grateful to the director for giving me a shot at 'em.

5) What is the most bizarre show or role you've ever done?
Spit in "St. Stan" was pretty awesome - I got to go on a weird philosophical rant and pull a knife. Also Hannah in "Homeland" - as I basically just acted like I was on drugs while wearing a bright pink dress.

6) Has anyone ever written a show for you?
I don't think anyone's written a whole show for me, but there have been a few characters. It's both flattering and frightening, especially when you consider that most of the characters that have been written for me have been assassins and/or gay.

7) Have you ever gotten romantically involved with a co-star?
Nope. I know, amazing, right?

8) Have you ever quit a show to accept a better one?
Heck no. That's what those of us in the industry call a "dick move."

9) Have you ever completely blown character on stage?
I once missed an entire scene, does that count?

10) What show are you just dying to do?
"The Lieutenant of Inishmore" - there's a role in it that's pretty much mine.

11) Have you ever done one of your "dream" shows?
Yep, "A Midsummer Nights Dream" was definitely one.

12) Who was your favorite director?
Tie: Jeanne Leep, Sarah Luedtke.

13) Who was your least favorite director?
I'd rather not say.

14) What is the most surprising role you have ever been offered?
Female Greek Chorus (Mom/Aunt) in "How I Learned to Drive"

15) Have you ever injured yourself onstage?
I challenge you to find an actor who hasn't injured themselves on stage. Thankfully, none of mine have been major--just a lot of scrapes, cuts and bruises.

16) Have you ever worked on an original play?
Several!

17) What show(s) have you done multiple times?
Weirdly, none that I can think of.

18) Have you ever done different adaptations of the same show?
Yep - well, the version of the show I was doing was a different adaptation from the norm. Did "Much Ado About Nothing" set in modern times, "Taming of the Shrew" as a western (*shudder*), and "Pippin" as a God-awful mess.

19) What roles do you usually get?
Strong women, assassins, punks, men.

20) Have you ever had an onstage kiss?
My first major play also involved my first onstage (and nearly first in general) kiss.

21) What was your scariest moment in a show?
That time I missed an entire scene.

22) What is your best show memory?
Really, there are too many to count. Up there would have to be the sheer amount of going crazy and no-pants-dances that went on during "The Edgewood College Story," which was otherwise an incredibly stressful run.

23) What is your worst show memory?
When there's stupid cast/crew drama backstage.

24) Have you ever pulled a prank on someone in a show?
Heavens yes. We're actors, after all.

25)Have you ever been the recipient of a prank during a show?
Of course.

26) Do you have any theatrical superstitions?
The traditional refusal to name "The Scottish Play" is about the only one I have.

27) Ever had a show open or close too early in its run?
I was in one show where our opening night was also our first dress rehearsal. That was a bit stressful. There were a few that I would have liked to seen run longer, too.

You should come see this play.



I'm in it, though just two small-ish parts. BUT, they're fun parts. I get to play both a man and a woman. I also get to hurl bags of "shit" at a fellow actor, shout abuse, beat someone down, and wear a fabulous Restoration-era gown. What's not to love?

Oh yeah, the other actors are good, too....

Anyway, you should come check it out. I can honestly say that it's one of the best casts I've worked with, and the show is quite entertaining. Plus I'm pretty sure you get a discount on your ticket if you show up in drag to one of the Thursday night performances.

More:

"A woman playing a woman? Where's the trick in that?"
-Ned Kynaston

OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 11

Get your tickets NOW at Brown Paper Tickets for "Compleat Female Stage Beauty"
by Jeffrey Hatcher * Directed by Cara Peterson

Compleat Female Stage Beauty is the story of Edward Kynaston, who was the most famous portrayer of female roles in 17th-century London. What happened to him when women were allowed to act? What he did he do when his life was suddenly turned upside-down?

Features Dave Durbin as Ned Kynaston, along with this sensational cast:
Bonnie Balke * Jamie England * Trevin Gay * George Gonzalez * Nicole Gottleib * Nick Kaprelian * Andrea Kleiner * Monty Marsh * Kelly Murphy * Dean Nett * Joshua Paffel * Elliot Shulz * Lee Waldhart * Colin Woolston * Becky Zaccard * Emily Mills

OPENING: Friday, April 11th 2008

PERFORMANCE DATES/TIMES
Fri. & Sat., 4/11 & 12, 8 pm
Sun., 4/13, 2 pm
Thurs.-Sat., 4/17-19, 8 pm
Sun., 4/20, 2 pm
Thur.-Sat., 4/24-26, 8 pm

SPECIAL OFFER: "Drag Thursdays" - $10 tickets on Thursdays If You Cross-Dress
LOCATION: Bartell Theatre's Drury Stage, 113 E. Mifflin St., Madison, Wisconsin
TICKETS: $15.00. Students/Seniors $10.00 all performances
ADVANCE FULL-PRICE SALES: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/17397
RESERVATIONS/QUERIES: 608-661-9696 x5

So we made this short last spring, for the Wis-Kino 48-hour filmmaking Kabaret. Rob whisked it away for some contest or another, though, so that it wasn't public until just recently. I've been wanting to show this one off, not for the acting, but for the totally rad decapitation scene that we managed to work in. Keep in mind that this whole thing was written, shot and edited within the span of about 24 hours. Anyway, I think it's fun.

I present to you now, "Complicated":



Enjoy!

I created this silly LJ page aaaaall the way back on January 18th, 2002. I would have been a sophomore in college then. Huh.

Thankfully, according to a handy internet quiz (which we all know are absolutely 100& accurate), I haven't let the longevity of my LJ get in the way of my life:

I'm 20% LiveJournal!



You're getting acquainted.
But you could do better.

The LiveJournal Quiz

Take Other Caffeine Nebula Quizzes

Whew, thank goodness!

In other news, if you're in the Madison area this weekend, you simply MUST come out for the gala premiere of "Massacre (The Musical)" - that little movie I worked on this summer - this Sunday, January 27th, 8:00PM at the High Noon Saloon. Not only will you get to see an awesome horror musical comedy, but my band, Aporia, will rock your socks off afterwards, too. Huzzah!

This is actually from a couple of weeks ago, as the glorious two feet of snow has since been reduced to a less fun few inches. Anyway, it was super duper fun, and the goonie look on my face should be testament enough to that.



Tonight is my first gig with the Buffali, one of my favorite local bands who recently (generously) took me on as their drummer. In the next couple of months, it's looking like we'll be trekking to a few other cities and states for shows, too, so I'm pretty excited. Hooray music!

89% Chris Dodd
87% Barack Obama
85% Mike Gravel
85% John Edwards
84% Dennis Kucinich
84% Hillary Clinton
83% Joe Biden
74% Bill Richardson
41% Rudy Giuliani
30% John McCain
23% Tom Tancredo
21% Mike Huckabee
21% Ron Paul
20% Mitt Romney
11% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Interesting.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty eventful, and not in the way you'd like it to be. The Boy and I were on our way back to Madison from Chicago when we hit the nasty fog in Wisconsin, followed shortly by a wall of tail lights. Fortunately, we and the cars around us were already going a steady 35 mph and were able to avoid colliding with anyone, but shortly after stopping, we listened in horror to around four loud crashes just a few car-lengths behind us. We then proceeded to sit and wait for 2 1/2 hours while only small bits of news filtered back to us. I got back to nature when my bladder reached critical capacity, and took the opportunity to try and see what I could: which was pretty much nothing. The fog was just too damn thick.

Finally, and apparently because we were near the back of the line of this mess, the state troopers were able to clear the accidents behind us so that we could all turn around and head south to the junction with Highway N, which we then took over to 51, which runs north into Madison. That drive was pretty scary, too, as by then it was both pitch black and wildly foggy, but we managed to get into Madison at around 6pm. This was after leaving Chicago at 12:45pm. Still, we were lucky. The multiple car pile-up that happened a couple of miles ahead of where we were was even worse. Hundreds of people were stranded, many were injured, and we found out later that two people were killed. Most of this because a few drivers decided to go 70mph in those terrible conditions. What. The. Fuck?

So yeah, feeling fortunate, but also glad I had good teachers when it came to learning about driving in hazardous conditions.

How is is that, even though I have "good" dental insurance through my employer, today's dental appointment for the filling of a few cavities is still going to cost me over $600 out-of-pocket? WHY THE HELL IS THAT? Oh yeah, that's right, because for some bizarre (and probably totally stupid) reason, said insurance doesn't cover the white fillings, only the silver ones. And hey, NOBODY USES THE SILVER FILLINGS ANYMORE.

Frak. Frak frak frak.

Nice way for them to say "Merry Christmas, now give us money you don't have."

Ba-humbug.

I write too much. I don't write enough.

True.

Many moons ago (uh-oh), I enjoyed every season of the year. In the springtime, melting snow would create rivers in the gutters, and we'd make tinfoil boats to sail the icy currents. Johnny Jump-Ups grew around the base of my favorite climbing tree, heralding the return of warmer weather. Lots to do.

In the summer, school let out and I could get down to the serious business of camping, building tree forts, playing music with friends, taking trips to far-off states and swimming, lots of swimming. Autumn was good, too, with its apple picking and pumpkin carving and hay rides and getting to wear goofy costumes.

And winter, yes, I remember a time when I enjoyed the wintertime. When I lived in Minnesota, our house backed up to a parking lot (and a church, but that's another story), and when it snowed the plows would come and, like the workings of tectonic plates, they'd create giant mountains in our backyard. We built elaborate forts in them--complete with ramparts, tunnels and spy-holes. We went sledding on the huge hill behind St. Mary's College, hiked through the snow-quiet forests along the bluffs, and sometimes I made little shelters there and built fires to keep myself warm.

What changed all that, of course, was getting a job and driving a car.

Once you rely on a vehicle to get you to a job (necessary for paying bills and keeping a roof over your head, or so I'm told), the thrill of winter starts to dissipate. Now the big snow falls mean terrible, slow traffic and dangerous driving. It means that by the time you get out of work, the sun has already set, leaving you with just a sliver of daylight during your morning commute. Gone are the dreams of snow days, sledding, building forts, etc. Sure, there are weekends, but now you have to shovel your driveway and sidewalks (lest the city fine you for slacking off!).

There are ways to change this. I just wonder if I'm brave enough to take them on.

As of Sunday, a whole 'nother year around the sun, survived. No small accomplishment. I'm happy each time the anniversary comes and goes, but honestly, 26? Feels about the same as 25. Really, I don't suppose I'll notice 'til I turn 35, at which point, should I be feeling particularly saucy, I could run for president.

Thanksgiving was lovely, especially since it involved very little travel, copious amounts of time spent with The Boy, delicious food and (mostly) good company.

I was especially happy to assemble a group of really fabulous friends for a Saturday night celebration. It has always been tricky to get people together for mah birthday, seeing as how it lands so close to, and sometimes directly on, Thanksgiving. But we had a marvelous dinner, then retired to the house for some serious Guitar Hero and DDR battle action. I'd never actually played DDR before. Quite the workout! Though a great majority of the song choices made my insides quiver with irritation. Ah well.

Good times, all around. How did everyone else fare over the holiday?

From Overheard in New York:

Hot girl on cell: She moved to Oklahoma? People don't go to Oklahoma -- people are from Oklahoma!

--72nd & Columbus

Overheard by: from Texas