The Numbers For 2011

For the first year of my life I left the state 0 times.

I took 0 vacation days.

I did around 150 shows.

I had 4 court appearances.

I rode my motorcycle everyday for 3 months.

I worked at Groupon for 11 months.

Salute Jive had 10 shows.

The Album had 9 shows.

Rick had 33 shows.

I watched 1 sunrise.

I got my bicycle repaired 3 times.

I watched 5 different BBC television series.

I had roughly 170 days of sobriety.

I watched 50 movies in the theater. Half of which I would watch again.

I made approximately 10 new friends.

I tried 1 cuisine I had never tried before.

I lost my temper 3 times.

I coached 6 rehearsals.

I went to 2 plays.

I went to 1 concert.

I flew in 0 planes.

I attended 0 weddings.

I attended 0 funerals.

I went to 1 graduation.

I fell in love, once.

Steve's Guide To Roommates

1. Cleanliness- Your living space should be as clean as the neatest person would like it to be. It doesn't take much energy if everyone knows what is preferred and pitches in.

2. Bills- One person should handle the bills. The other person or persons should make sure to pay their share within a week following the bills being sent.

3. Shower Time- Remember to coordinate schedules if everyone gets up around the same time.

4. Significant Others- They have free reign of course but within reason. Your significant other is still a guest and your roommate probably wants to see you alone periodically. If you're spending every day and/or evening with your significant other, after a certain point, you should probably move in together.

5. Borrowing- I firmly believe in 'what's mine is yours'. Food, movies, books, condoms what have you. That may not work for everyone but it eliminates the stupidest roommate argument. "Did you eat my leftover ________?" There's no reason to get upset about your left over kookaburra wings.

6. Talk- If you're friends with your roommates don't forget to hang out with them. If you don't like or are indifferent to your roommates make sure to check in with them now and again. You don't want to wake up one day and feel like your living with a stranger.

7. Toilet Paper- If you notice you're low buy some. There's nothing worse than a family member coming over and using the restroom when there's no toilet paper.

'A Dangerous Method' A Review

'A Dangerous Method' is a film about the early application of psychoanalysis by Carl Jung. The film follows Jung(Fassbender) through his early professional days treating Sabina Spielrine(Knightly). As Jung progresses with his treatment he befriends Freud(Viggo) and develops a relationship with Sabina.

There is no plot to speak of, simply these characters living in and around each other. But it doesn't require the structure of a plot to be entertaining or interesting. The best scenes in the film are between Jung and Freud discussing the different methods and application of what is becoming 'modern' psychology. There are also a couple scenes where they analyze each others dreams, which don't add anything but feel authentic giving the characters another dimension.

The sexual relationship between Jung and Sabina could have been the main focus of the movie but its just a subplot. The focus of the movie is: who were these men? how did psychology begin? Two interesting questions which they explore but don't fully answer.

The acting was great, other then Knightly laying it on a bit thick at the beginning, and the story engaging but not overwhelming.

See It.

The Elusive Brian Damage

How to 'Ace the ACT' with the worlds only test-prep magician- Brian Damage!

Wilting Winter

Cold slips gently
over the shoulders of a city.
Wheels slowly turn,
tempers quicken,
and sneers pull at cheeks.

Puddles of water freeze and thaw
and crack
------------------------the concrete.

Flowers limp and brown and bow low,
we layer and hunch and hurry,
and prepare for the inevitable snow.

You can't escape the cold.

Ace The ACT

Andel and I taking a standardized test from a Rick show.

Recently Rick has been going really well. I've been having a lot of fun and I'm proud of the work we've been doing. Come see us next Thursday at iO.

Happy Holidays!

'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' A Review

(This poster is ridiculous)

I've read the Steig Larrson trilogy as well as watched the original Swedish films. As with any adaptations previous encounters with the story shape how you view the film. The original novel is sweeping and interesting and attacks some pretty dangerous themes. It also address misogyny more directly than most American fiction.

The Swedish film was a pared down version of the novel and the American adaptation is even more so. The most compelling thing about the story is Lisbeth Salander the title character. Damaged, intelligent, independent, and violent. This film lacks a clear picture of Lisbeth and we only get a short glimpse of the gradual friendship developing between Blomquist and Lisbeth.

When I left the theater I overheard many people saying things like "that was weird" or "I don't get it." I don't know if I liked the movie. At this point I know the story so well I don't notice omissions and automatically fill in the gaps. I imagine this American version wouldn't make a lot of sense to the average viewer. I imagine it would be confusing because the theme of violence against women was there but jumbled and rearranged and slightly dimmer than in the novel. Danial Craig was too confident as Blomquist, Rooney Mara too distant as Lisbeth.

In the original Swedish the title of the book is "Men Who Hate Women" which I think makes a much stronger statement and attempts to make a much more emphatic point than the Americanized American version ever attempts.

Did I like this movie? Would you?

I Don't Know.

Graffiti 45

"A tree against the sky possesses the same interest, the same character, the same expression as the figure of a human." -Georges Rouault

"A tree growing out of the ground is as wonderful today as it ever was. It does not need to adopt new and startling methods." -Robert Henri

"A tree is an incomprehensible mystery." -Jim Woodring

Street Talk 4

(outside of work)

Me:(smoking)
Guy: Hey! Merry Christmas! Spare a cigarette for the holidays?
Me:(nods, produces cigarette and lighter)
Guy: This neighborhood has changed man. You work here?
Me: Yeah.
Guy: Use to be the old Montgomery Ward Building. And up the street, you know that church?
Me: Yeah.
Guy: Use to be a chop shop. Middle of the the night tow trucks would go out, bring back some cars, and when they came out you wouldn't recognize 'em. I told my kids. That church. Turned 45 last week. I'm old. I feel old, down in my bones.
Me: 45 isn't old.
Guy: Maybe. I grew up around here Cabrini Green. The projects. For Christmas one person would get a toy he'd share it with everyone. There was a sense of community. But...my parents got killed in '68, the riots. Raised by my grandmother. There were some things missing. If I grew up in a country club things might be different.
Me: Maybe, maybe not. You never know.
Guy: The more things change...
Me: ...the more they stay the same. Take it easy.
(exits)
Guy: Merry Christmas big man!

'My Week With Marilyn' A Review

My Week With Marilyn is a movie about a Colin Clark's time with Marilyn Monroe during her filming of The Prince And The Showgirl. The film is based on the real life diary of Colin during this time period and feels more like an imaginative fantasy of what he would have liked the week to be like as opposed to anything resembling reality.

The main character Colin is totally unlikable. He's a spoiled little rich boy who just has to be in the movie business. Because of his families wealth and the ease in which he inserts himself into the making of the movie(his family has connections) he garners no sympathy.

Michelle Williams portrayal of Marilyn Monroe is vapid, two dimensional, and painful to watch. She delivers all dialogue in pseudo-babyspeak. If the movie was an effort to show Marilyn Monroe as anything other than her stereotype(stupid, sexual) it's an absolute failure. If the movie wanted to show Monroe as a caricature it was successful.

The plot is not much to speak of. Colin meets Marilyn and they develop an unstable friendship. The movie ends with her finishing filming and going back to the US. We don't care about either character, they're selfish and so underdeveloped they don't seem like real people. The supporting characters get so little screen time(not to mention actual depth) they have virtually no reason for being.

The other slight was the casting of Williams as Monroe. The worlds most famous voluptuous pin-up shouldn't be played by someone so slight.

All in all it was a huge disappointment. No substance, no depth, no truth.

Don't See It.

Weird iO Conversations

(During the opening of Damian's last 5B performance)

Brian:(guy I barely know) Hey Steve.
Me: Hey man.
(shake)
Brian: Why are you here? Do you know someone?
Me: Um...yeah. I'm here for Damian(points). He's on my Playground team.
Brian: The Night Shift. He's really good.
Me: Yeah he's great(back to watching show).
Brian: How long have you and Punam been dating?
Me: Ah...ah...around 6 months.
Brian: I thought you guys were. I didn't know for sure until I saw you guys kiss the other night.
Me: ...
Brian: We were in 5B's together. She's a real catch.
Me: Yeah. She's great.
Brian: Seriously, she's a catch. You did it.
(exits)
Me: ...woof...

Middle School Dance

A group scene from the last Rick show. This is one of my favorite group scenes I've ever done. I don't know if the clip does it justice but watching it and then participating it was like...pieces of a puzzle fitting together.

First Pants and Ryan set up the scene.
John and Katie dance on the side creating an enviorment.
Pants mentions his son b-ball dancing which I start doing off stage.
Kate enters and dirty dances alone.

It was a simple premise built patiently one step at a time.

Rick has our one year anniversary show tomorrow at iO. It's been a good year.

Graffiti 44

This is a little cleaner than I like and is obviously sanctioned/commissioned by the business but I like it. It makes me think of my dad and his favorite TV show 'The Prisoner', there's an episode called 'Hammer Into Anvil'.

Number Two: You shouldn't have interfered, Number Six. You'll pay for this.
Number Six: No. You will.

Number Two: Du musst amboss oder Hammer sein.
Number Six: You must be anvil or hammer.
Number Two: I see you know your Goethe.
Number Six: And you see me as the anvil?
Number Two: Precisely. I am going to hammer you.

Number Six: I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own.

Broken Art

Punam and I spent a nice day together doing a little casual Christmas shopping. I spotted this in the alley next to 'Threadless'.

Punam: Is that the top of a door?
Me: I think its a window. You ever hear the expression "you make a better door than a window"?
Punam: You know I'm bad with sayings and idioms.
Me: It's what you say to someone when you want them to get out of your way.
Punam: Oh.
Me: I always hated it.

Looking at it, I imagined it was broken because of a relationship fight...

Jared: Hey sweetie we need to leave now if we're gonna catch 'Melancholia'.
Karen: (painting window pane) Hold on just one second, I'm almost done.
Jared: Come on, Kay. You know I don't like missing the previews and we're pushing it...
Karen: Just a sec(continues painting).
Jared: ...(watching)
Karen: (puts brush down, picks up clean brush, dips in white paint)
Jared: A new brush Karen! A new brush! Are you SERIOUS!?!?!
Karen: (painting) I'm in a groove Jared, just give me two...fucking...seconds. You don't understand the creative process.
Jared: I don't understand the creative process? Maybe not but I sure as hell appreciate it! We have painted windows all over our fucking living room! (gestures) There's no where to sit!
Karen: Why don't you go to the movie by yourself.
Jared: I don't want to Karen. I want to spend time with you.
Karen: I'm sorry I can't quit now.
Jared: Ok fine. (picks up a painted window, walks over to apartment window, opens it) Fly. (throws painted window out of apartment window). I'm going(crash) to the movies.

'Beginners' A Review

'Beginners' is a quiet, sweet film. The film follows Oliver(Ewan Mcgregor) as he gets over his father Hal's death and falls in love with Anna(Mélanie Laurent). The story is told through a now relatively conventional non-linear plot device. The film starts shortly after the death of Hal and periodically flashes back to when Hal came out to Oliver and started to actively engage in a gay lifestyle.

The relationship of Oliver and Anna develops subtly and truthfully, there are silent moments that say and imply a lot that most films would cram with dialogue couples don't actually have. Hal and Oliver's relationship is also light and engaging, serious but never depressing or sad.

The highlight of the film was the relationship between Oliver and his father's dog Arthur. Quirky and fun. It weaves a playfulness throughout the film.

See It.

Danse Macabre

I've heard this song a lot of different places recently. Sometimes I think it's playing just for me, behind things, hidden, warning me of things to come . Other times I think it's disembodied encouragement from the ether, a quiet message. Press on, move forward, be ready.

It makes me think of risk and shadows and joy and despair and inevitability. And adventure.

I'd like to Dance with Death.

Salute Jive Is Back

Julia and I have another show! You can see us December 28th at 10pm at the Skybox. We also got a run in the Skybox starting February 16th at 1030pm. From our last iO show.

Pete the dog and Marissa have a 'relationship talk'.

'The Descendants' A Review

'The Descendants' is a film about a father whose wife is in a coma. We find out she's not going to recover. She has a living will so Clooney will have to have to turn off her life support. When Clooney brings back his older daughter the 'wild child' she tells him that her mom had been cheating on him before the coma. That's when the movie really begins. The rest of the film is Clooney and his two daughters juggling finding the elusive lover, dealing with the mothers impending death, and a large land deal Clooney is handling for his family.

The film is called 'The Descendants' because Clooney is one of many cousins who collectively own a large underdeveloped property in Hawaii. Originally one of their family had married a local princess and the land has been in their family for years. This subplot is underdeveloped and doesn't make much sense in conjunction with what the film is presumably about, dealing with the death of a loved one(who 'betrayed' the family).

The movie is unclear. It doesn't seem to be about anything because it's trying to be about too much. It's about the death of a family member. It's about infidelity. It's about the gentrification of Hawaii. It's about white socio-economic privilege in the wake of colonialism.The movie is well acted but there are so many balls in the air it doesn't matter.

More confusing than satisfying.

Rent It.

Steve and Joey's Movie Corner 2

Me: So for our Christmas addition we'll discuss the Tim Allen hit 'The Santa Clause', Joey your thoughts?
Joey: Well, it's perfect. I mean, find me a better Christmas movie. Find me a better holiday movie!
Me: I can't. Arguably Tim Allen's best work. It has it all: magic, whimsy, and family. Although I don't know if it'd be great to be Santa. I think his life would kinda suck.
Joey: And it shows that! Also, there are shades of every other holiday movie ever, in this ONE movie.
Me: I don't think it does, it shows that it would be weird to transition into being Santa.
Joey: He's grumpy at the beginning (Scrooge, The Grinch). Yeah! That's what I'm saying! Like, oh, it sucks to have gained all this weight. This sucks. Ya know? Also, he's won over by it (Miracle on 34th st.). And Sally Fields is looking GREAT.
Me: I prefer Sally Fields in Mrs. Doubtfire but both movies she plays kind of a neurotic bitch. Which I think is unfair.
Joey: I mean, seriously, killin' what I can only assume was a role written for Diane K (the urbanite intellectual).
Me: He's fun loving and she's like serious bitchy ex-wife
Joey: in both movies! But, isn't that really what all men really want?
Me: What bitchy ex-wives or Sally Fields?
Joey: We want to be the fun ones! BOTH!
Me: But its like he's a man-child. So the only thing for him is to be Santa.
Joey: (Miami's leading Oakland, 13-0) No, he kills Santa, he's super successful.
Me: Movie Corner not Sports Corner. But maybe it's a comment on single parent households.
Joey: Addison and Sheffield! Give us Gift Cards!
Me: Cause he has to leave his kid.
Joey: Who?
Me: Tim Allen
Joey: But, it's that age old question, do you want your dad to be a regular dad? Or do you want your dad to be a star? What's better?
Me: Regular Dad hands down.
Joey: I see both (off)sides.
Me: I don't want my dad to be a movie star or Santa. Stop it.
Joey: #sportscorner (I want free stuff from that bar on Sheffield and Addison) Yeah, you're right! I LOVE my Dad! But, if my Dad, then became Santa, I kind of win, right?
Me: I just think that we're ignoring that this dad is literally abandoning his kid because we're so wrapped up in the elves flying in to save him in jail(love that part). You don't win. Didn't you see The Santa Clause 2?
Joey: Kind of though. I do. I win. I saw all 3!
Me: (spoiler alert) His kids on the naughty list.
Joey: Yeah, but that's the kids fault.
Me: No it's not. I would say that it's a societal problem of what's 'right' and 'wrong'.
Joey: Is Sally Fields in 2?
Me: The kid is doing pro-Christmas graffiti and gets caught. I don't think so.
Joey: Who? The main kid? Tim Allen's kid? Is doing graffiti?
Me: Yeah dude.
Joey: But, it's like pro-cool stuff though, right? Like Christmas? So, then, not really?
Me: That's what I mean, why is graffiti inherently bad? It's not.
Joey: It's like, you can't arrest someone who's robbing a rich person, to give to the poor.
Me: it's this pre-set standard of what puts you on the naughty list, it's bullshit.
Joey: Graffiti? That IS bullshit.
Me: Yeah he like repels into the gym.
Joey: The gym?
Me: And does like a Christmas tree or something.
Joey: Working out?
Me: The school gym dude.
Joey: What's that? A workout move? oh, oh.
Me: God damn it.
Joey: How old is the kid in this one?
Me: High school. The love interest is the principal, she was in 'Lost'.
Joey: I've got an idea for a 4th movie.
Me: What is it?
Joey: He's going to college, and Tim Allen's like, I could go back; I want to learn more, or whatever. And then it's essentially "Back to School".
Me: Like The Santa Clause: Higher Learning.
Joey: Yeah! Who was in Lost?
Me: His love interest in 2. Cause the premise of 2 is that he has to find Mrs. Clause.
Joey: Who was she?
Me: The blond lady who was an other but then hooks up with Jack.
Joey: Did Tim Allen write the 2nd and 3rd ones?
Me: He didn't write any of them. Whats your favorite part of the first one?
Joey: When he's trying to shave, but his beard keeps growing back so fast haahahahahahaaha. You?
Me: My favorite is the part where he comes down the chimney and it's a radiator but it turns into a fireplace.
Joey: hahahahaha that's pretty good, too. What about that part where he's like gaining all that weight and his clothes don't fit, and he's got that big presentation?
Me: Final thoughts Joseph?
Joey: I LOVED it! And Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays!
Me: If you ever become Santa or another magical figure make sure you have weekly visitation rights for the kids you leave behind. The world isn't all cookies and cocoa. Happy Holidays.
Joey: All the movies in the world!
Me: We've seen 'em!

Breaking

When you laugh during a performance as your self not as the character it's called 'breaking'. I broke super hard in the last iO Salute Jive show.

I accidentally said George Hamilton(the actor) when I meant to say Alexander Hamilton(the guy on the $10 bill). There are two types of breaking- good and bad.

Good Breaking- When your scene partner surprises you so much that you can't help but laugh. The joy of the moment overcomes you so much you have to laugh. You make a mistake so blatant that you laugh at yourself.

Bad Breaking- When you get embarrassed or confused so you laugh. You laugh at yourself. You constantly laugh at your scene partner. You break so much that(or at a time when) it derails the scene or show.

There are a couple different schools of thought when it comes to breaking. Some coaches totally forbid it and harp on it when giving notes. Others never mention it no matter how distracting it is. For the most part I don't have a problem with it, especially when it's a genuine moment. I always get a real kick when my friends perform and they break.

For the most part, they're all good breaks.

Graffiti 43

Photo credit to Natalie

A line drawn taut
--against a mast
will not waver
--through a storm,
and all the gardens
--growing greener
will not keep your
--feet from rooting.
A white sail
--over black water
is where we come
--to know our bodies.

Jamison Talks Yelp

Recently I was thinking how much I hated Yelp, how pointless it is. Without divulging any of my feelings I asked Jamison for a 30 second rant about Yelp. Like a good friend he obliged. I wouldn't call it a rant, more like a thoughtful criticism.