In boca lupo

I was recently talking to an opera singer and asked if they said "break a leg" in the opera would. Apparently, the traditional "have a good show" saying in opera is "I was recently talking to an opera singer and asked if they said "break a leg" in the opera would. Apparently, the traditional "have a good show" saying in opera is "In boca lupo," which translates to "In the mouth of the wolf." The traditional response is "Crepe Lupo!" She roughly translated that as "Break that fucking wolf's jaw open, god dammit!!" (although it is closer to "break the wolf").

Well, Bobby, tonight face fuck the wolf 'til it chokes.," which translates to "In the mouth of the wolf." The traditional response is "Crepe Lupo!" She roughly translated that as "Break that fucking wolf's jaw open, god dammit!!" (although it is closer to "break the wolf").

Well, Bobby Moynihan, face fuck that proverbial wolf 'til it bleeds.

(This blog does not endorse the actual forced oral sex with any wild animals. Except manta rays because I hate them.)

More baby stuff

Yes. You can scream in horror now.

One Day More

(via Doug Gordon)

Sophie Can Walk

(via Boing Boing)

Upcoming Shows

Both VEAL and THANK YOU, ROBOT have shows this weekend. Actually both are on Sunday.

VEAL will be at Under St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place) at 7pm. KAPE is opening. Costs $7.

TYR is in another System Error show at The Parkside Lounge (317 E Houston St). BAD DATA and HUMERUS (which is made up of all med students) are also performing. 8pm. It's free but we encourage you to buy a drink or four.

I will not be at either show. I have my last 501 class until the 600 class starts (which is a week later). Speaking of my 501 class, we have a class show on Tuesday at 6:30pm at The Upright Citizens Brigade. As far as pure talents, this class is pretty mind blowing. I hardly ever push my class shows any more but this one will be worth it. $5.

And then next Friday THANK YOU, ROBOT has another Summer Fridays show at Under St. Marks. The other teams are OLD ENOUGH and UCB house team BANGS. The Summer Fridays have been pretty damn great so far. This one should be super special.

There are some other shows in the works for October. Some pretty exciting stuff (at least to us). Stay tuned.

Homebrew Dr. Who, or Best Family Vacation Ever

Family goes on vacation. Make a Dr. Who episode. Davros wears a Mr. Happy shirt.


(via Boing Boing)

My Sept 11th Post

We're all supposed to do one right? But what hasn't already been said a 1000 times already? It's good to talk about and say it again and again. However I've already done my sharing today.

But do you remember those days and weeks after when it seemed like we would never laugh again? When the height of the tragedy seemed to coat everything and the world suddenly seemed so so much scarier than it had been?

There are two things that I remember so clearly at giving me hope.

Jon Stewart's speech the night The Daily Show returned to the air and the first post 9/11 edition of The Onion, specifically Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake.

Take care.

Matt & His Pesky Appendix

Comminity Organizer

Apparently a new talking point for the right about Obama is to say "Community organizer? I don't know what that is."

For the life of me, this boggles my my mind. Seriously? You don't know what that is? Is your ignorance so willful.

It is one who helps organize the community to make improvements in their community, tackling issues they see as a problem. A community organizer helps people help themselves. They work for minimal pay. They work long hours for little praise. They fight the apathy of bureaucracy and the apathy of the very people they are trying to help. If you want to know what Obama did and couldn't do and how it affected his view of the world, do yourself a favor and read Dreams from My Father.

But of course they do know EXACTLY what it is. But it is a brilliant ploy to pretend that they don't. That makes it seem like (1) Obama has never been clear about it, (2) it is a useless job, and (3) can't be discussed further.

I'm trying hard to not be biased. Yes, I already know how I'm going to vote but I also want to be able to look at both sides claims and judge them clearly. But ever since the conventions, the arguments from the right have been harder and harder to judge. What I am seeing from the left (in general) is an asking of questions and answering questions they are asked. From the right (in general) I am seeing a total ignoring of any question they don't feel like answering and answering questions no one is asking. I once respected McCain a great deal but the more and more INSANE ads that have McCain's voice saying "I endorse this message"... well, it appears that McCain has begun to listen to the Roves in the Republican party.

I also know that the right is using a successful strategy. Make outrageous claims and never admit you are wrong. No matter how many news stories that come out about how their claims are distortions (or straight up lies), the media will be ignore. Why? Because the right has painted them as the "biased liberal media."

I keep telling myself there are still 50 plus days left. But I just heard Laura Bush say "Community organizer? I don't know what that is." And she's a librarian.

Squirrel Melt

For Matt. I'll make you one when you get better.

"He's kinda cute. I'm gonna put his little tender butt in there."

(via Boing Boing)

Obama: Master of Wolves

I post this because it made me laugh (in a sad way).

To be fair, I am glad I was it because I read the FactCheck.org stuff and it clarified some issues for me about Palin (especially the stories about book banning, etc). But the video sure makes it look like the "attacks" were coming from Obama's campaign and not mostly from one woman's comments on a blog. This video is a wonderful example of how powerful images are over actual words.

And it sure makes it look like Obama is personally in control of a pack of wild wolves that he has sent into Alaska to do his bidding and hunt down Palin.

Issues of Blogging

This is a somewhat pointless post since it is about not posting.

There are a handful of things that I would like to write about but can't. Well, I can but they are personal. Hell, I have no problem sharing things about myself but these are things that, one way or another, involve other people.

This is one eason I don't write 95% of my thoughts on improv. I have TONS of thoughts on shows I done and scene and on classes I'm taking and and on being on teams and on the improv scene in general... but they aren't all positive. In my brain they are interesting thoughts/observations/questions, but other people connected to them could very well fell, well, annoyed. Besides it feels icky to very publicly crap on people who are doing something for zero to negative money but are doing it for just the love of it. Not that I think my thoughts are "crapping on." I just like analyzing things. I like to think about why things work and why they don't.

But the fact is there is no point to blog about them just to hear myself pontificate. (Buy me a drink or two and I share my views pretty openly.)

Then there are juicy topics of sex and relationships and all that steamy jazz. These were easy to blog about when I'm not involved. Heck, there are plenty of times that I have hidden "super secret messages" (to quote Alan K.) in these posts. Messages to women I've had crushes on (from "mild fleeting crushes" to "why can't I get them out of my head crushes"). I try, when I can, to get away from the specifics of any particular situation and post about my feeling on a broader issues. But that's not always possible. For example... actually I can't give a good example with out revealing too much.

So I am stuck with wanting to rant about Sarah Palin... until I remember that I wasn't going to vote Republican anyway and she is just the VP candidate.

A couple of days ago I mentioned a class I wanted to take. Well, I was accepted. It's not a huge deal, but I had a weird hang up since I was rejected from taking the last three advanced classes to which I applied. I am excited though. I'm excited about learning something new and working hard with new people to create something specific. So "yay" for me.

A Dramatic Reading

Gordon Freeman has new job CERN

Popgive noticed something about a photo at the Large Hardon Hadron Collider. Yes. That is Gordon Freeman, previous of Black Mesa. And, yes. He is thinking that the long handled ratchet might work as a make-shift crowbar/crate smasher/headcrab killer.

Yes. We are all gonna die.

(To be fair, they are only running the Collider in one direction tomorrow. So that means no actual colliding. Still, I'm going to start work on my zero point energy gun this evening.)

Website of the Day

FiveThirtyEight.

FiveThirtyEight is a bit of a Presidential polling mash-up. I have a love/hate think with polls. I think they are meaningless this far away for election day. They emphasize the horse race aspect while folks show vote for who they believe will be the best for the country. They often are biased in the way they ask questions and their numbers can be manipulated. As we have seen in the past, "margin of error" is a meaningless phrase. I also love numbers.

FiveThirtyEight tried to take all of the polls out there, mix them up and come up with something that might be closer to the truth. This has some scientific basis. (I recently read a story about how if you have a 100 people guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar, there is a good chance no one will get it right. BUT if you take all of their guesses, their average (or median... I forget) will be darn close.) They also give different weight to different polls based on past history and other factors. It's interesting stuff.

What I've Been Thinking About Lately

After it kept coming up in conversations, I decided to re-read Infinite Jest. It's been about ten years. After just three chapters it's back at the top of my favorite books. I can't quite put my finger on it. The characters – Hal's in the opening scene...his disconnect to what is going on around him and even what is going out of his mouth... "We witnessed something only marginally mammalian in there, sir"... heartbreaking and hilarious. The themes – addiction, family, consumerism, entertainment. The straight up love of words. And it is dense and unforgiving to the reader but in such a way that is so rewarding in the end. It's not a book I am going to devour this time. I plan on savoring it this go around.

•••

My back started to peal on Thursday and hasn't stopped. Yes, it is disgusting. And it itches like hell. The sslowly flaking front line has finally reached the small of my back to the small injury I received during my 201 Musical Improv show. I have no idea why that tiny injury refused to heal right. Yet another silly minor scar with a silly story. (To go with (1) "That was from a vacuum cleaner while playing Ed Norton in a separatist-feminist version of Alcestis," (2) "That was from making clockwork awning for a theater," and (3) "That was when I cut myself with a bagel... no, not while cutting a bagel... I cut myself WITH a bagel.")

•••

Related confession: I really enjoy and am fascinated by the process of pealing long sheets of skin off my arms and legs.

•••

The complexity of age has crossed my mind lately. It's a hard thing to talk about. Age is relative but there are aspects of it that do affect you. You go through stages. They aren't clear cut but they are there. It's not about maturity. It's just about "stuff that happens." For example, before you turn thirty you might scoff at the idea of crossing that artificial mile marker. (I know I did.) "It means nothing. There is no greater difference between 29 and 30 than there is between 28 and 29 or 30 and 31." But when you are in it, late at night, reflecting back at life's pile of failure and regrets and looking forward at the diminishing amount of future available to you... it affects you. That is just one example. Explaining to someone what having a seven year relationship end in failure (even if you know that the relationship made you into the you you are now and you like that you and are glad you are that you and not another different you) will never quite be understood if they haven't experienced something similar. Empathy only goes so far. But it is hard to explain to people why age makes a difference without coming across as condescending.

•••

When asked my favorite part of the U.S. Constitution, I usually go with good ol' Amendment numero uno. I think there is a reason it was first. I don't hate the media and the press. Sure, they make me angry at times but I firmly believe that they are MASSIVELY important in this day and age. So my hackles were certainly raised by charges that the "left-wing biased media" were asking "unfair and mean" questions and Gov. Palin's past and record. You know what? You pick a basically unknown to be your candidate for Vice President a few scant days before your national convention (which, lets be fair, is just a four day commercial), it is the media's job to ask fucking questions. You didn't give them a whole lot of time to figure out what questions to start asking so they had to ask any ones that came up. Half the questions they asked were "So, how do Republicans at the convention feel about this thing?" And the answer they got was "We love it!" So, hey, Republicans? You got some mighty fine coverage last week. Enjoy it. You came out looking good... except when you were whining like little bitches that the media was attacking you. You make an off-the-wall "maverick" choice, well, guess the fuck what? People are going to try to figure out the whys, whats and whos. (I normally refrain from swearing here but sometimes it's called for.)

Also go listen to On The Media this week. I heart Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield so much.

•••

I do love good dramatic exit lines. I really appreciate people who want to make their lives like a movie, especially a smart movie. I do it all the time. I once gave the greatest speech of my life as an exit line. After she told me that we couldn't continue (or even get past the opening moments of) our starting relationship because in the past she always hurt people she loved and she could tell she was falling for me hard and she didn't want to hurt me, I just stood up, put on my shows and walk to the door... not saying a word. My had rested on the doorknob for three long breaths. I turned back to her. She was sitting on her couch, clutching a throw pillow to her chest. And I began to laugh slightly.

"You," I began, "are stupid. Not a stupid person because you are one of the smartest people I know. You are smart, funny, kind, entertaining, talented almost beyond measure... and, well, extremely sexy and beautiful. But, right now, at this moment, you are stupid. I couldn't care less about what you did in the past. I don't want to be with who you were in the past. I want to date the you right here in this room. And I'm not any of the men you have dated in the past. I am me. And we have something. You just said so. There is something between us that could be something incredibly special. But you want to run and hide behind your pillow because you are scared of the past and the future. Yes, you might hurt me. I might hurt you because god knows I've done that too. Yes, it may all end badly. Let's be fair. Most relationships do. But to not even try because you like me too much? That, [her name], is just plane stupid."*

And I smiled, opened the door, and walked out.

Great moment. But of course life isn't a movie. She didn't throw open her window and yell at me to come back. That's the problem with most well-crafted exit lines in the real world: the other person hasn't learned their part.

*As true as this event is, I am sure time and my ability to romanticize just about anything has tweaked some of the details in my memories.

•••

I made a milkshake today that was so super-delicious that I am filled with bliss.

•••

It is possible to be super jealous of someone and super happy for them at the same time. These are the times I think to myself, "Why am I giving them advice on this? Why don't I take my own advice sometimes and place myself in that position?"

•••

There is an up coming class that I really hope I get into. It's with a teacher I really want to continue with, working on a form I think I'd be really good at and that I'd learn tons from. I also have this issue/anxiety about advanced classes since I keep not getting to them. I don't seek out praise or confirmation but I'd like a shot at least. Again, if I don't get in, I will be super-jealous and super-happy for those that do.