Sunflower

It's the small things
the things you miss
that get you through.

the lick of the sun
on your cheek

the soda-fizz
that tickles your nose

the warm nuzzle
from a passing dog

a single flower
that sees you
and smiles
and says

I'm here too.

Graffiti 35

This stencil was on the sidewalk next to a playground by my house.

"The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop." -Mark Twain

"Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." -John F. Kennedy

"Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them." -Oscar Wilde

Arduous Journey

Another scene from the Ping Pong show. Craig's arduous journey to get his one-of-a-kind glove paddle.

Steve's Guide To Getting Cut

Recently some close friends teams were cut from iO. This doesn't pertain to anything other than iO so I apologize in advance for the inclusive nature of this post. Suffice it to say at iO every two months a new schedule comes out. At this time some teams are cut, the people on those teams are put on a new team created at that time, put on existing teams, or cut entirely. FireCup was cut last year around this time and I posted about the experience then. Some thoughts and advise for my friends, and people in general, who get cut.

1. Don't be bitter. It's a waste of energy. You may have been on a team you loved. You may think you're great and weren't placed. Channel that energy into being a better improviser. Take getting cut as inspiration to try things you've never done, stretch yourself, play with abandon. Don't place blame. It shouldn't effect how you see yourself or how you perform. If you want to be an actor you're going to have thousands of people tell you you're not good enough or not right for a specific project. If this is something you want to do get use to rejection.

2. New Team. If you get placed on a new team come at it with an open mind. Don't place judgement on it before you start it. You may feel raw from getting cut which is understandable. Don't bring that angst or that emotion into the new team. Come at it fresh and open, like you would to a scene, it'll pay much more dividends that way. Who knows it could be the next great team. At the very least it'll be a learning experience, as is most everything.

3. No Team. If you don't get put on a team that doesn't define you or your improv. If you love it no one can ever stop you from doing what you love other than yourself. Being on a team here or a team there doesn't define you. What defines you is what you love. If you nurture a love for this art form you should always do it, no one can stop you. Getting cut shouldn't make you 'give up.' Giving up might prove you were never meant to do it in the first place. I don't mean that to be harsh but some things are hobbies and some things are how you define yourself. I'd rather improvise with someone who loves it not someone whose hobby it is, like a fantasy football league.

4. Confidence. One of the most important traits of any actor or improviser is confidence. Live it, play with it, and let nothing shake it. I've known since I was in third grade I was a performer. Something small like getting cut doesn't change that. You're just as good and as talented as you were last month, as you will be next month. It's just a matter of what you're doing and where.

5. Don't Take It Personal. A lot of stuff goes on behind the scenes, some of it is politics, that's to be expected. Someone's attitude, judgement, or perception of you does not define you. You are great, you are interesting and important. Take a moment and do something you've wanted to do for a long time but didn't have the time to do. Go out, refuel your cruise, and come back.

With A Vengeance.

Tom And Dick

Another installment in the Ping Pong show. Craig and I pair off with the most irritating doubles partners the US has to offer.

Graffiti 34

Found this in the Pick Me Up bathroom. I went there to escape the totally off-putting heavy metal song that was playing. For whatever reason it calmed me down, made everything better.

"A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil." -Victor Hugo

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves." -Albert Einstein

"I would kiss you, had I the courage." -Edouard Manet

Oscar Season

I recently read this article on Moviefone and it really put me off.

2012 Oscar Nominations: Our Early Predictions.

Good movies come out all year long. The best movies of the year aren't calculatedly released in October and November. Studio's release the movies they think are the most likely to win awards during this time. They are not necessarily the best movies of the year. Defining a movie by when it comes out during the course of a year is stupid. A movie doesn't have to be serious, take on an issue, or be a biopic of someone famous in order to be great. It's a formula and the studio's exploit formula because they know it works. Studios and sadly the Oscar's aren't interested in what movie is the best, what movie is the most artistic or enjoyable. They're interested in advertising a different type of movie in a different way in order to get you to buy tickets.

I urge you to boycott at least one of these movies this fall. A movie with a big star playing a historical figure or addressing a 'big' issue. Don't give them your money, instead go see the Hugh Jackman movie where he boxes with robots.

My take on this year in movies so far.

Top 5 Movies Of The Year
Another Earth
Cedar Rapids
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
The Guard
Page One- Inside The New York Times

Top 5 Disappointments
30 Minutes Or Less
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest
Midnight In Paris
Priest
The Tree Of Life

Top 5 Honorable Mentions
Drive Angry 3D
Hesher
Hobo With A Shotgun
Source Code
Terri

Worst Movie Of The Year
Suckerpunch

Panang Curry: Anong

HP took Punam and I to a Logan Square Thai place. Recently I've felt like I've exhausted most Panang options near my house so moving forward I'm going to have to branch out. I asked HP to take us to a neighborhood place so we went to Anong. It was ok. Much thinner than I would prefer. Spicy but with virtually no peanut flavor. The chicken was good and there was plenty of it which I appreciate. But there wasn't any additional veggies other than green and red peppers. I have to say the best part of the meal was the cucumber salad I got as an appetizer. The company was great but Would I go again?

No.

Dew and Drops

Anticipation gathers dew on an anxious petal
and fights off the first kiss of the sun.
A shield against the hardships of the day
but dew evaporates and clouds converge.

Rain trickles down and tickles each leaf,
some drops bead and crystallize the light.

Sometimes I feel like a flower.

Penn Pen

Another scene from Middle Age last Sunday. Craig has a meeting with a Penn executive and we find out why owls are better than falcons.

Panang Curry: OH Fusion

Punam and I again tried to go to Tac Quick but were foiled this time by them painting their interior. We went across the street to OH Fusion. The whole experience was odd. We got there shortly after the place opened and the server had yet to arrive. We had an odd conversation with the sushi chef when we first walked in.

Punam: Are you opening?
Sushi Chef: (unintelligible)
Punam: I'm sorry?
Sushi Chef: (thick accent) The server's not here yet.
Punam: Um, ok, should we come back?
Sushi Chef: (pause)(unintelligible)
Punam: I'm sorry?
Sushi Chef: He's not here yet.
Punam: Um, ok.
(we start to awkwardly turn around)
Sushi Chef: It's ok.
Punam: We can wait?
Sushi Chef: You can wait.
(we sit, he goes in the kitchen)
Me: Wow.

The server arrived and we ordered. Some guy came in and started to, what looked like, film the interior of the restaurant with his phone. The server repeatedly and slightly aggressively asked the guy multiple times if he was 'in it.' The guy had to re-film the place in order to make sure the server wasn't in the shot.

We finally got the Panang which was bland, thin, and was full of limp veggies. A huge disappointment other than the odd dining experience. I should say too it seemed it was primarily a sushi place. Would I go again?

No Way.

Jimmy Of Nazareth

Jimmy has been working on a one man show, it opens next week. I read through it with him last week. It's surprisingly sweet and personal. Funny too! It's nice to see someone take such a risk. Honest and refreshing. At points biting. Come support Jimmy's labor of love.

I'll be there, so should you.

Middle Age Comeback 2

I had the pleasure of playing with Craig again tonight. This was our opening. Suggestion: Ping Pong.

'The Debt' A Review

'The Debt' is a movie about three Israeli spies who go into East Berlin to track down and capture a Nazi war criminal. The story is told from 1997 in a series of flashbacks to 1966. There's a twist of course which you can see coming a mile away. The acting is good but the story and the script leave something to be desired. Some of the characters don't really make sense or you don't get a fully formed idea of who they are or why they do what they do. The cast is amazing but you just wish they had better material. It was great to see Ciarán Hinds in the film but he only had about 7 minutes of screen time total. The twist is predictable and the ending leaves a lot to be desired. You leave unsatisfied with a "huh" feeling. It's not clear what the movie is actually trying to say.

Rent it.

Panang Curry: Asian Mix Cafe

Punam and I tried to go to Tac Quick but we neglected to look up the address before we left. We went to Asian Mix Cafe instead. The meal was ok. The consistency of the curry was too thick, like a pudding. The ingredients seemed relatively low quality- the chicken, peppers, and carrots. The peanut taste over powered the spice so it didn't really have much kick. Probably one of the most disappointing curry's so far. Would I go again?

No.

Graffiti 33

"My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all." -John Lennon

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

'Our Idiot Brother' A Review

Punam put it shorter and clearer then I ever could.

"The movie was simple, light, and easy going. Like the main character."

Rent It.

Geeking Out

I was searching through past pictures and I found this one. I rode my motorcycle out to Richmond back in '09 to visit Matt. This picture made me think of this odd bit of poetry from college.

The door is open.
Opened is true.
The truth behind...

Bob, my college roommate, is a great musician. We lived together all four years. He would jam with all different types of people from time to time. One time this guy named Chris came over with a friend who played an instrument to watch them jam. A week or so later I get a call from Bob while I'm at rehearsal.

Bob: Steve, it's me. Don't come home right now. Call me when you're on your way home.

Evidently this guy had taken LCD everyday, all day, for 7 days straight. He had got it into his head that me and Bob were 'good people' 'truthful people' people he wanted to be around. He came into our place while Bob was working on some guitar riffs and Bob tried to calm him down. He told him to write his thoughts down on a piece of paper. The above poem is what he wrote. Bob kicked him out eventually cause he was being such a creep. But the guy didn't want to leave. Not in an aggressive way but just wanted to be around Bob and me, he wondered where I was. Thus my voicemail. When I got home he had cleared out and Bob told me the story. We were both shocked and weirded out.

The next day we found out he had been found on the lawn of one of the dormitories that morning in his underwear and subsequently committed.

There are terms sometimes you don't understand. After this experience I understood the term...

Geeking Out.

Graffiti 32

"You reach a point where you don't work for money." -Walt Disney

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. " -Bob Dylan