Street Talk 3

Outside during a smoke break from work.

Guy #1: I told you it'd be an epic weekend.
Guy #2: I thought we'd at least take Sunday off.
Guy #1: Naw man. Ragin'.
Guy #2: You see that sexy Freddy Kruger?
Guy #1: Oh yeah bro, those rips in her shirt were strategic.
Guy #2: Yeah, dude. She can haunt my dreams anytime, dude.
(they both chuckle, I get an image in my head of two dogs with tongues lolling out of their mouths)
Guy #1: Get ready for tonight man.
Guy #2: We're gonna take it to the limit.
Guy #1: For sure. Trick or treat bro.

Steve's Guide To A Good Show

1. Punctuality- Get to your show on time. If your group or cast meets 30 minutes or an hour before the show starts, that is the time you should get there. Being late is unprofessional. There is a reason you are asked to get to a show at a certain time. You need that time to get ready for the show with your cast/teammates. If you are running late, you are putting undue stress on your cast/teammates. If you are chronically late you are showing disrespect for your cast/teammates and the work you are doing.

2. Pre-Show Ritual- You have to warm-up in some way. This can be a standard warm-up game, doing bits with each other, or simply checking in about how you are doing. Some people have specific things they do before each show, I often have a Red Bull and right before I go on I jump up an down. You should also develop a specific way you come on stage (like a particular song), a specific way you introduce your show, and a specific way you ask for a suggestion. Start the show before the show. The show starts the instant the audience can see you.

3. Your Idea- At some point give yourself permission to do what you want to do. Make a move and have it be exactly what you want it to be. If it's a sketch show, there will probably be at least one sketch where you are the focus, embrace it and drive it.

4. Someone Elses Idea- At some point laser in on someone else's idea. Lift it up, make it the most important thing you can, set someone up to look smart and funny. Feed them. This will make them look good as well as you look good. It'll also make you feel good. People love watching teamwork and joy on stage.

5. Pace- Have a sense of how the show is going, how long the scenes are, and where they are in relation to the beginning and the end of the show. Vary it up. Imagine a show like a song, sometimes you need to speed it up, slow it down, solo, or take it to the bridge. An audience loves variety, give them as much as you can.

6. Clever/Fun- Be clever. People love watching witty people banter about funny subjects. Also have fun and be stupid. Sometimes after an intense relationship or political scene, a fart scene really hits the spot.

7. Sing- In an improv show, think about doing a song either in a scene or as a group. Songs are fun and audiences give you a lot of leeway if they know you're improvising. They also go nuts for it. It's like a parlor trick, "Hey look! They're singing!" In a sketch show, whatever songs you may have, practice them and sing them well. If you can't sing, don't know how to sing, or don't have a good singing voice: don't sing. A scripted song can look terrible if the performers are uncertain either about the material or their abilities.

8. Physical- Get physical. Play animals or objects or the weather. Get on chairs, play inanimate objects, run in place. Varying up the stage picture and how you use your body, this will excite and engage the audience. Don't rely on this, we're not clowns or mimes. But be aware of what you're doing, change it up and then change it again.

'The Three Musketeers' A Review

The best thing I can say for 'The Three Musketeers' is that I didn't get up during it to use the restroom. I was mildy entertained during the movie but any kind of reflection makes it fall apart. The first question I asked myself while watching it was "why?" there is no reason to remake this movie, they didn't top any of the earlier incarnations and brought nothing new to the story. This is officially the worst rated of any Three Musketeers incarnation.

The movie was so unoriginal I recognized specific lines of dialogue from the Disney Three Musketeers with Chris O'Donnell. It also seemed to have taken inspiration and concepts from the Sherlock Holmes reboot.

The acting was flat, the characters shallow, and the 'advanced' technology aspect was laughable. I've never been a fan of Orlando Bloom but he really outdid himself with an exceptionally awful performance as the Duke of Buckingham. At one point he plays with a butterfly knife in order to intimidate a prisoner. His acting and the fact that he's using a butterfly knife in the wrong century make the whole thing laughable.

The adaptation/reboot was poorly concieved, poorly written, and poorly executed.

Don't See It.

Panang Curry: Siam Country

Well, I'm on quite a losing streak. Went to Siam Country and had another sub-par Panang. The curry itself was very thin yet chunky as if it hadn't been cooked long enough. The dish as a whole tasted like nothing. No peanut flavor, no spice, no nothing. Some of the chicken was rubbery and undercooked. The red peppers were limp and there was a weird sharp leafy herb in there that seemed out of place. All in all a huge let down. Although I will say the owner/waiter was amazingly friendly and pleasant. Would I go again?

No way, no how.

Graffiti 38

"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease." -John Muir

-----"It is fortunate
------to be favored
with praise and popularity.
------It is dire luck
------to be dependent
on the feelings of your fellow man."
-Viking Saying

Archive Art

This is the door to my Junior year college apartment. Bob, Beanpole, and I(me especially) went through a brief but intense hippy phase. We were listening to Keller Williams and The Grateful Dead like crazy.

Whenever we'd spend a night in together Bob and I would always goad Beanpole into doing some kind of art project. He got some kind of paint spray gun thing free and painted a dead head on our door but then it was painted over by our landlords so he did this one in sharpie. Needless to say we didn't get our security deposits back that year.

One night I had Beanpole draw a snake curling down my arm in sharpie. From my neck to my finger tip. I was flirting with the idea of getting a tattoo for a long time so I had him do stuff like that often. I had a 9-9 rehearsal the next day and was unable to wash any of it off. My director just looked at me and said "Fun night?"

It always was. Miss you guys.

Clouds

Sad and fluffy
000light and gay
000000float around
000000000all night and day.

0000000000000000000000000000000000Dissipate
0000000000000000000000000000000000000and form again
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000rolling on
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000without an end.

Melissa

Julia makes the case to Steve for naming their child Melissa, after the influencial Melissa Rivers.

Mammogram

A scene from last night's Salute Jive show. Julia does stand-up and shares something a little personal...

Panang Curry: Satay

Went to Satay for some Panang and I have to say it looks a lot better than it tasted. The curry at the very least had some peanut flavor and another veggie besides peppers(peas!) but it was lacking in many ways. There was no spice and the consistency was incredibly thick almost gelatinous. Anytime I get Panang and the waitress doesn't ask me how spicy I'd like it that's usually an indicator that it's not going to be very good. Also, Satay is a Thai/Sushi place which I feel like always means their Thai cuisine is lacking. Punam also got the Panang.

Punam:(dramatic frown) This is the worst Panang I've ever had.

It wasn't the worst I've had but certainly up there. Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on them because it's not exclusively Thai but still...For the second week in a row the highlight of the meal was the Thai iced coffee. Time to break out of this streak and find some good Panang. Would I go again?

No.

'Drive' A Review

'Drive' starts out as a good film. A strong complicated protagonist, nice action, quiet moments, a compelling love interest. Gosling is a stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver who has aspirations of stock car racing. He meets Carey Mulligan and her kid and finds out what a real family life could be like.

The movie takes a turn about forty minutes in with pointless violence, unrealistic character motivations, and plot lines that make no sense and others which are abandoned. It feels like the studio took over about half way through the movie with no consideration to telling an interesting story or making a cohesive narrative.

The score of the film as well as the titles have a distinctive 80's feel which doesn't mesh well with any part of the film. The acting is OK, certainly not bad, but the film doesn't really make sense. It's not clear what the film is suppose to be or how we're suppose to feel about any of the characters.

Rent It.

A Song of Ice and Fire

I just finished 'A Dance With Dragons' the most recent in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. The fifth of seven. The fantasy series seemed to take the improv world by storm last winter before the HBO series premiered. A lot of people got hooked on it, including myself. As I progressed through the series however I became slightly turned off because it seemed George didn't really know where to go with the story. The fourth book in the series is set in the same time frame as the third but with a whole new collection of different characters. Not that the characters aren't interesting or their stories compelling but to me it seemed a delaying tactic. He's set up this really compelling interesting story where you want to know what happens and he's drawing it out to a painful length.

'A Dance With Dragons' came out this past July and I didn't really hear much about it after the initial release date. I just finished it and I realized why. No real action takes place. Don't get me wrong it's well written, interesting, and a page turner but it never gets anywhere. Every storyline is just a work in progress with no resolution and no end in site. At this point Geroge has written so many chapters from the perspective of so many characters we only get to hear from any given character two or three times in a thousand page book.

I enjoy the story, I can't wait to see how it ends but this most recent book left me wanting in every way. We got hints and glimpses of possible revelations to come but after a thousand pages I want and deserve more. Also there was a six year gap between the 4th and 5th book in the series so who knows when the next one will come out.

Talk about literary blue balls.

'50/50' A Review

'50/50' is a film about a young man who gets cancer and how he deals with it. It's funny, light, touching, and rings both true and false at points. Adam(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has a flaky girlfriend who he doesn't know how to deal with, an over anxious mother, and a best friend Kyle(Seth Rogen) who takes nothing seriously. The movie plays out through his relationships with these three and their reactions to his cancer diagnosis.

A big part of the film is his frequent chemo treatments and his subsequent visits to his therapist Katie(Anna Kendrick). The most touching truthful parts of the film Adam's scenes with his fellow patients. The scenes are brief but you get a palpable genuineness from them, a playfulness.

The friendship between Adam and Kyle is great. It brings a lightness to the serious situation without making light of it. Just because you have cancer doesn't make you lose your sense of humor. Some people don't know exactly what to say to someone in that situation and the movie addresses that. There are two big black spots on the film for me. First is the doctor who gives Adam the news. He's so obtuse and distant he almost doesn't tell Adam he has cancer. A doctor with the worst bedside manner of all time would have been clearer and more compassionate. The second is Adam's girlfriend Rachel(Bryce Dallas Howard). She was played like a mustache twirling villain when they could have made her a real person and added a dimension to the film.

The movie was funny and (for the most part) felt true.

See It.

Graffiti 37

I can't decide if this is a mohawk or a Spartan helmet.

"We bow down before no man." -Spartan Saying

"I think punk rock, especially for me, was a big middle finger to this whole talent thing." -Mike Watt

'Real Steel' A Review

'Real Steel' is a fun, simple, predictable movie. The formula is age old, the only new thing is fighting robots, and I guess that's enough. It's best not to think to hard about the movie, just sit back and enjoy. Hugh Jackman is our down-on-his-luck former boxer trying to make it back to the top. The year is 2020 and human boxing has been replaced by robot boxing.

The movie opens with Charlie(Jackman) at a rodeo pitting his robot against a two ton bull. How the bull is actually suppose to have a chance, I don't understand. Charlie makes a bad bet and get's distracted by a pretty girl at a crucial moment and the bull destroys his robot. He welches on the bet and as he's sneaking off he's approached by two men. They tell him his former girlfriend is dead and he needs to go to a custody hearing for his son.

He takes custody of the kid, Max, and thus begins their reconciliation. They teach each other things and grow. Max finds Atom a sparing robot that they teach to box and brings them together as well as success and confidence. There is a climatic 'Rocky' type fight at the end with the undisputed robot champion.

It's cheesy and you can see every twist in the plot coming a mile away. But its fun and the chemistry between Jackman and Max is playful and sweet if not totally convincing. There are some major holes in the plot as far as how these robots work and what, if any, artificial intelligence they have. But who cares. It's a decent movie about a father reconnecting with his son...and robots fighting.

Rent It.

Panang Curry: Azha

Evidently I took a movie instead of actually taking a picture. The good thing is you can hear the odd classical music playing. It wouldn't be so odd if they didn't have the Bourne Ultimatum playing with subtitles in the restaurant as well.

Azha is in the running for the worst Panang I've had. The rice was overcooked and reminded me of the rice they served in my grade school cafeteria. The curry was thine with virtually no flavor whatsoever no spice and no peanut flavor. It did have green, red, and orange peppers but those in of them selves can't anchor the curry. The waiter was very nice but the atmosphere and the food left something to be desired. My Thai iced coffee was the highlight of the meal. Would I go again?

Nope.

Hand Of Fate

I do not believe in God, I believe in Fate. I believe we all have a purpose, a great arching purpose. And on the way to the big purpose you have many small purposes along the way. Some thing, some greater design or plan, puts you in certain situations because you're meant to be there. You're meant to make a difference, to help, to stand up and act.

I went to college at Illinois State University. All the dorms there have Subway's on the first floor. I OD'ed on Subway, always a foot long chicken teriyaki on wheat with cheese, olives, and sweet onion sauce. I was in the same dorm as a close friend of mine from high school, Drew, but didn't room with him. It was Sunday evening May first, May Day, my best friend and roommate was working at the local Bennigans so I had the room to myself. I was ignoring my calculus homework in favor of leveling up my characters in Final Fantasy 10. I got hungry around 8. I went down to get a sandwich and when the elevator doors opened there was Drew, dirty and crying.

Me: (concerned) Drew! What's up man? You OK?
Drew: (bawling, drunk) Fuck, man. I'm fucked up man.
Me: Drew, what's going on man, what happened.
Drew: LAX house(pronounced Lacrosse)...bands all day...this fucking hill man...slipped in the mud...shit man I think my ankle is broken...
Me: (very concerned) You broke your ankle?
Drew: Yeah. I heard a pop and then awwww...
Me: You walked from there?
Drew: Yeah.
Me: Jesus man. (all business) Stay right here, don't move.
(goes to subway, fills up a Subway to go bag with ice, returns)
Me: Alright, lets get you up to your room.
Drew: (slings arm around shoulder and hobbles)
Me: Here's what were gonna do. Were gonna go up to your room, you're going to lie down and ice your ankle. You have your car keys?
Drew: ...yeah...
Me: Give them to me. (he does) Good. Where's your car?
Drew: ...um...ahhh...
Me: Come on man.
Drew: ...Hester...Hester and School.
Me: Good. After we get you situated I'm going to go get your car, pull it out front and then comeback here and get you. I can probably be there and back in 15 minutes. Can you handle that or do you need an ambulance.
Drew: (tears leaking out) Naw man. Come get me.
Me: Alright. Then we're gonna go to the ER and get you fixed up. I'm here man. I know it hurts but I'm here and this will be OK.
Drew: (starting to cry)...My dad is gonna be so mad...
Me: (sharply) Fuck that. You're gonna be OK and that's the important thing. Look at me. Look at me(he does). It hurts, you're fucked up, I know. Everything is gonna be fine man. You're gonna be OK. You walked home from the LAX house you crazy fuck(grins). I'll take care of the rest.

He was fine. The ER checked his leg and it was a hairline fracture. He needed to wear a brace for two months and it was tender after but he came out OK.

Afterwards I reflected. Why did I come down at the exact moment he was coming up? Would he have called me when he got to his room? It seemed to me too perfect, too much of a coincidence. I think I was meant to be there. I was meant to help my friend who I eventually became estranged from. He wasn't a great friend, we didn't get along in college. But I was glad. I was happy to help my friend who had befriended me in high school when not many did. I was glad to help out someone who was hurt and lost and needed someone to take care of them. Something put me there. I was guided there...

By the Hand of Fate.

Graffiti 36

This was outside the movie theater, it made me wonder, who put this up? Was it the girl, is she really into herself and puts up stickers of herself. Or is it the ex-boyfriend of this girl and he's trying to send her a message to let her know he wants to get back together. Or its some total creep who just likes the person who he saw across the street and became obsessed. Is it her current boyfriend who is making a statement of his unfailing love. I don't know.

"A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." -Oscar Wilde

"If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." -George Orwell

'Rocket Science' A Review

'Rocket Science' is an off-beat coming of age movie that came out in 2007. The movie centers around Hal, a high schooler with a stutter. The star of the debate team, Ginny, inexplicably recruits him on her quest for the debate championship.

What follows is an interesting investigation of first loves, first heartbreaks, and ambitions. Hal fights against his position the whole movie. Fights against the fact he's an outcast, fights against his stutter, fights against his waning adolescence. He fights against the fact he's horribly outmatched by Ginny intellectually and sexually. The film is very unique in the fact it approaches growing up from a very real place. It has a wonderful score that extenuates many moments in the film. The fast talking back drop of debate also adds a playfulness to the film. All the characters are large and real. They talk how normal people talk and want what normal people want. They want a place, they want validation, they want some kind of explanation. It's a moving, fun film that even if you don't enjoy, rings true of growing up.

See It.

'Moneyball' A Review

Went to see the late showing of 'Moneyball' with Tisher tonight. It came highly recommended from my mom.

'Moneyball' is about the Oakland A's GM and his frustration about how the MLB works with all the rich teams having an unfair advantage over the poorer teams. Brad Pitt meets Jonah Hill and they implement a new idea, to stack the team by statistics of who gets on base the most. They attempt to structure the team to optimize runs rather than anything else. The idea behind this may be very interesting to sports fans or baseball fanatics. I was mildly interested in exactly what they were implementing but more interested in their passion for it.

What carries the movie is Brad Pitts fervor to change the game, his need to reinvent it, his desire to be remembered. Also the chemistry between Pitt and Hill is great. Pitt as a mentor and partner, leaning on hill for his ideas and his smarts but also teaching him how to work at the MLB. There's a scene where Pitt makes Hill let him go because he says hill have to cut, trade, or bust down a player one day. That scene really pays off when Pitt and Hill make a big trade and they both have to release players. It's the first time I've ever scene Jonah Hill be still or quiet or low status and it was great. The idea of what their trying to implement and their passion for it makes for a really interesting friendship between both characters.

The low points were few. Philip Seymour Hoffman as the manager was one. There seemed no point for him even to be in the movie. Whenever he was on screen he just frowned. He showed no emotion and no range. That could have been what they were going for but in that case there's no need to hire Philip Seymour Hoffman. It seemed to me the only reason he was in the movie was to have another star on the cast list. The movie also felt kind of long but to be fair I did see it at 10:20 on a Wednesday.

The acting was great, the chemistry between the characters drew you in, and the story was compelling.

See It.

Day Of The Dead

Beanpole's submission to a Day Of The Dead art show.

"Even at our birth, death does but stand aside a little. And every day he looks towards us and muses somewhat to himself whether that day or the next he will draw nigh." -Robert Bolt

"Unbeing dead isn't being alive." -e.e. cummings