The Daily News

1   Here's another great quote from 49er Coach Dennis Erickson:  "Offensively, if we continue to play like that we're not going to win."

2  Okay...

3  It's been said time and again, but I am amazed and know not what to say.

4  That goes for a LOT of things. Read between the lines.

5  I think I'm going to start listing the most annoying Christmas commercials of the season. So far, the Target Rap of the old rock song Joy to the World is way up there. Is there anything worse than a commercial rap written by white guys?

6  <thud>

7  Well, evidently Kenny the P. did his 17 storey plunge in Vegas. I was in the middle of a rehearsal yesterday when he came wandering in, promptly played a part in the rehearsal, and just as mysteriously, disappeared! Sorry, Ponch, but we had double-rehearsal Mondays, so we needed to make a Wendy's run before six!

8  I know; I know. Why Wendy's? The square burgers? The limpy fries? Well, anyone who KNOWS Wendy's has to KNOW of their chile! I've heard tell that a good bowl of Wendy's red is BETTER than a bowl at Chile's, which is NAMED after chile, for goodness sakes.

9  Hmm. I wound up having a square burger with limpy fries AND a flat cherry Coke. Not a great launch for the doctor's diet, but come on; these things take time.

10  On the other hand, Trami DID order the chile, and informed us that it had gone downhill since its high water mark last year, when we had around ten people eating and enjoying. I remember it distinctly, because someone snapped a picture of me in the midst of a gaggle of students, all cheese, and when I looked at the picture, EVERY single kid in the picture was flipping off the camera.

11  Somewhere, somehow, I feel somewhat that Dirty Jose had something to do with that money shot.

12  And no, I'm not doing that. I'm just smiling, unaware.

13  I also recall a whole bunch of us going out to the parking lot to a dead Trio!

14  We had to get the car jumped and everything, but ultimately, we made it out alive.

15  The chile? Well, let's just say it warmed a rather brisk winter night...

16  Well, it's Tuesday, a day I STILL feel should be eliminated as a day of the week, despite its long tradition. Tuesdays are DESIGNED to kill ya. Mondays...it's given that you just float through Mondays. Unfortunately, Tuesdays tend to be relentless, and it's not a good day to go into unprepared.

17  So I'm gearing up, baby. Go ahead and throw it at me.

18  You ready?

19  Okay then.

20  Ready, steady, GO!

21  No helmet.

22  I'll report back.

23  Happy Tuesday.

24  Out.

The Daily News

1  RAIDERS!!!! Who knew a fourth win this late in the season would bring such joy to people? Even I got into, and I'm <still!> a Niner fan!

2  Nothing like a few days off to give yourself a re-birth, and in some instances, a complete resurrection. Or perhaps even a purge. Listen:

3  I had my satchel, complete with homework assignments, grade book, and myriad other items in the back of the TUNDRA this weekend. You ever just forget something? Well, the TUNDRA needed gas and a wash, so guess what? Yep. I washed everything! It's all squeeky clean! Now THAT'S the way to clean up a final draft! Hilarious, walking it up to my door, all soggy and heavy. Sigh.

4  Ah! Here go. Broadcast Magazine of Great Britain announced recently that Baywatch, the ever popular television series starring David Hasslhoff and Pamela anderson,  was voted the worst-ever U.S. television import in a survey they conducted.

5  Let's hear it for the Brits.

6  Only-in-Ukraine, Dept:  Reports seem to be pouring in that the recent election in Ukraine was, according to  a resolution in the parliament, "at odds with the will of the people".  But the election, which resulted in a victory for Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych over challenger Victor Yushchenko, may result in a re-vote. Could you believe that? The nerve of someone trying to rig an election!

7  That's why I love living in America, land of the free, home of the Bernie Mac.

8  And Freedom Fries.

9  How-to-get-Rich-Quick, Dept: speaking of fried things, did anyone catch the story of that guy in Ontario who is selling a burnt fishstick that he froze a year ago, because it has a likeness of Jesus on it? He's putting it up on e-Bay. Hmm. I don't know about you, but my wheels are sure turning...

10  Yawning like the proverbial cat over here. I forgot how easy it is to get lost in blubberland this time of the year. I feel like a big fat cat, lying around on a warm sofa, enjoying the warmth of the winter sun pouring in through the window.

11  <yawn>

12  Oh yeah. Remember last week when I reported my blood pressure on these pages? I used some hperbolic nonsense to get the point across. Well! My xanga site got hit hard on that one, two days in a row, 'cuz I have a site-meter that tells me those things. I don't know if it was because of that, or just because I wrote a sensational piece, but thanks for worrying. The true facts are that it was 150 over 100, which is alarmingly high.

13  I instantly went to the doctor, and she started prodding, poking and all, and it had come down considerably, to a nice, cool 118 over 69. Go figure. I almost WASN'T exaggerating about how long it had been. I jokingly said 1979, but really, it had been ten years.

14  <turning embarrassingly red> m'bad.

15  Anyway, this doctor ain't letting  me off easy, so she's going to give me a well-deserved once-over. Right now, I'm healthy as a horse, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

16  Know what's cool? I spelled TWO demons correctly without even lookin'. I spelled "embarrassingly" AND "exaggerating". Want another? Restaurant. R-e-s-t-a-u-r-a-n-t. Ha!

17  Monday, Monday.

18  So good to me.

19  Just smiling. I had a nice time with family and friends. Puts all the other stuff way on the back burner.

20  And on Friday night, we had a sorta tech Thanksgiving dinner, complete with candles, good company, and LOTS of leftovers. I got a great surprise, because my goodly pal Thuy called and said she couldn't come, and later, she came in and surprised all of us, staying the whole evening and adding such a wonderful surprise to the evening that I have been smiling ever since!

21  PLUS, we all thought Sparky and Jose weren't going to get in, and BOTH of those guys arrived, appetites in tow, and we all just sang, laughed, and relaxed, one of those very fun nights in the Theatre. Anyone who has ever had a laugh, a song, some candles, lighting, and the warmth and humor that always seems to find its way into the Theatre will understand. Just one of the great, magic nights, warm and wonderful. Thanks to all those who came and made it so memorable: Maggie, Tony, Thuy, Thuy Ann, Sparky, Jose, Peter, Hanh, Nhat, Sunshine, Trami, CB <goodness! am I forgetting anyone?> Fun, awesome night! Thank all of you!!!!

22  That's it. You guys rock.

23  Peaceout.

SPECIAL FEATURE!!!

Here are a few rare photos that actually came out!

Here is Maggie, a bit blurry, but a fun shot!

The lighting was MUCH better than this, but you get the idea!

Here is Thuy Ann passing the corn!

A rare photo of Jose NOT flipping off the camera!

Thuy and Trami jammed! Notice the lighting...

Here's Thuy, our surprise guest!
Hasn't she gotten TALL???

Classic chillin' in the Theatre...

Here's Thuy Ann corrupting Jose!

Maggie and Tony. Where's the 3, Mags?

Jose, clearly a carnivore.

and here's Sparky with some Final Thoughts...

These are the good ol' days...

 

 

 

well, xanga just wants those words to corner around the lower-left
ends of the shots, and i'm afraid that if i try to fix that, it might
mess up the pictures, so i'll just leave it!

anyway,

hope you had a great thanksgiving too!

 

h

 

 

The Daily News

1  Okay, what are the odds of this? I miscalulated the anniversary of JFK's assassination yesterday, incorrectly identifying it as the 40th anniversary, when in fact it was the 41st. Not that anyone is counting anyway, but man! I get ANNOYED by people who aren't accurate in their information. So this is a big, fat, embarrassing M'BAD.

2  I absolutely LOVE m'bad. Seems the second someone does something completely stupid and you call them on it, they automatically blurp that out, like it's an apologetic burp for having burped much louder and more obnoxiously a second earlier.

3  M'bad.

4  Someone sent me an e-mail wishing me a happy turkey day. I used to sort of always say, "It ain't so happy for the turkey!" Ever since we had Veteran's Day as a four-day holiday, a celebration of world peace (remember the Armistice Day/Vonnegut piece?), Thanksgiving seems like...well, traditionally, it is a great holiday for family and friends to feast and enjoy the good life, and to get together with the people who really matter and all, but REALLY...

5  It sort of celebrates a time when sea pirates finally trained people who were already here in how to live like THEY live.

6  I pretty much got that perspective from Vonnegut.

7  Ah, I ain't trippin' or anything, but it is a thought.

8  I mean, by now, the meaning of Thanksgiving is just a celebration of autumn, warmth, family, and friends, and it is a really lovely holiday, for what it's worth.

9  I mean, we could tear apart all the holidays, if we want to be a Grinch. Don't EVEN get me started on Christmas. Immaculate Conception? Manger? Three Wise Men? December 25? Oy. But you know, it's the holidays, and they are now celebrated as a season of good cheer, and jolly good fun!

10  So, I actually LOVE all this hooplah. Yeah, it's pretty-much commercial and all, but it's also a time when people think about others, give freely to charities, and enjoy being with family and friends, if it's all working correctly.

11  And the best part: here at school, we get a minimum day!  Yess!!!

12  Not that I feel we deserve it, but actually, I do.

13  I'm flying in low, and landing gear is out. Comin' in for a nice, smooth landing after a pretty hectic three months.

14  Happy Birthday, Ponch, two days early! We love you, man! Frankly, I think you are a KOOK for wanting to bungee 17 storeys two days in a row, but heck, that's why I LOVE you! FRICKIN' CRAZY FOO!!!

15  Actually, it's really pretty cool. You rock, man.

16  You all rock.

17  Have a great turkey day.

18  Peaceout.

The Daily News

1   The Blood Drive. What a great thing for our school, and what a proud thing. Vampires...

2   Of course, in all my ridiculous busy lately, I completely forgot about the Blood Drive, which is fine with me. I'd rather just show up and do it without giviing it much thought. I thoroughly enjoy watching the students involved in such a great effort. Love the day, hate the finger prick. But hey, you can't hurt steel.

3  But they make the mistake of taking my blood pressure, which is ridiculous, because when they tell me my blood pressure, I always just about have a heart attack, I swear. At least in recent years.

4  Over the years, I have been cool as a cucumber, despite the tremendous pressures of getting a play out there. More recently, my blood pressure has been going steadily up, so that yesterday, it was like a kajillion million over a jillion million. The lady started asking me when the last visit to the doctor was (1979?) and things like that.

5  Well, it wasn't REALLY a kajillion million over a jillion million, nor was it 1979, but it was worrisome, so much so that I have made an appointment with the doctor.

6  Scary, really, because I don't feel stressed, or tightness, or pain, or shortness of breath, or any other supposed symptoms of heart problems, but it's pretty clear SOMETHING's up. 

7  So the way I look at it is, my body is sort of like my car, and it just needs a little work. I feel no different or anything, but I totally made an instant appointment,  because you just don't mess around with stuff like this.

8  They STILL took my blood though!  They had trouble with my vein, and started moving things around in there 'til I winced, so I told them to go into the other arm. Felt great, 'cuz when I got out, I was the only guy with TWO big, red bandages, one on each of my arms. Two holsters, two guns. Bring it.

9  Of course, I told the kids that they got a gallon from each arm, and naturally, there were kids who believed me.

10  Anyway, it certainly alarmed me enough to get examined, so please don't anybody trip. I feel great, and I am pretty happy and alert these days. I don't smoke or drink, not even wine, and I have moved the Fall play into January to ease the pressures of an early December deadline. I am already changing my diet to remove sodium, and I am joining an athletic club over by where I live.

11  Fine time.

12  I love life too damned much, dude. Whew!

13  So hopefully I am changing some habits and increasing both exercise and rest.

14  As soon as I am done with this HUGE barrel of KFC and Sunny Select...

15  A new computer game that let's YOU try to assassinate President John F. Kennedy came out yesterday on the 40th anniversay of his assassination. Spokespersons for the Kennedy family called the game "despicable". To me, the most "despicable" aspect is that it just has one assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, who, there's a good chance, never pulled the trigger. IF they are going to put a game like that out there, they REALLY ought to include George Bush, Sr., Clay Shaw, Lyndon Johnson, Arlen Spectre, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Clint Murchison, David Ferrie, the CIA, the FBI, RuPaul, Scott Peterson, Garregos, R. Kelly, Pink, Howard Stern, Pee Wee Herman, the makers of Teletubbies, Ben, AND Jerry.

16  Did I mention Woody Harrelson's father, Charles?~

17  One day at a time, baby, one day at a time...

18  Peace, yo.

 

The Daily News

1  So...Yasser Arafat walks into a bar.

2  He runs into O.D.B. and they play da Wu Tang coverz.

3  Jose lived for O.D.B., and only O.D.B. he says, prior to the Thugs cast party, to which we are headed right after I craft these wise words.
I've heard tell that O.D.B. lived for Jose as well. Wu Tang, baby!

4  Wu Tang.

5  But WHOOPS!!! There goes Xanga, changing fonts and haunting the DN. I thought we were well into November!

6  It's all good.

7  Thugs worked; it rocked and reeled, and in the end, a lot of people went home singinginna da songs.

8  It's really how I spent my four-day weekend, just chillin' in the good ol' Theatre watching a great play, cruising to Joe's the other night, where playwright David Tucker dined and held court with the Cast and Crew, and just another in a series of seemingly never-ending nights in the YB Theatre.

9  You all remember what it was like: pre-set music, the start of the show, the audience giggling and enjoying, the Cast running into the Piano Lab, and then back out to make an entrance...

10  It's like one of them mid-Eastern poets once said: ya gotta have life to love life, and ya gotta love life to have life.  It's what they call a vicious circle.

11  Or words to that effect. Comes from the classic Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, a show I did years ago, my second as a Director, and it remains tied with Godspell for my favorite show ever.

13  I just went into a HUGE cat yawn. Seems all the stresses of the past two weeks are finally coming to fruition, and I could now hopefully get back some sense of normalcy.

14  I hear O.D.B. was kicked OUTTA Wu Tang, because he was an Old Dirty Bas#$d. Stands to reason, and if you ask any of us, it's pretty ironic.

15  I also heard the same thing happened to Alanis Morisette when she first tried to cover her own, "Ironic", WITH Wu Tang.

16  Ka-BOOM!  Nape of the neck. Seat of the pants. Lawn.

17  And isn't it moronic, don't you think?

18  And a little frosty on the seat.

19   Okay so  time to get going.  I'm thoroughly convinced that O.B.D. has flown through the radio, which is on KSJO, never noticed the diff, and flew right into my Xanga, changing fonts, and haunting things to the point that I think I'm gonna bail.

20  Peaceout.

The Daily News

1   Tonight we have the dress rehearsal for David Tucker's Thugs.  We tried to work on things last night, but just ran out of gas. We have probably put over twenty-five plus hours in three days, and just got jittery. The set looks pretty good; thank goodness we have Thursday off. The show proper runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 3 p.m. Donaation.

2  I'm exhausted. Thank goodness for Armistice Day.

3  Yeah, I know. It's Veteran's Day. But it used to be Armistice Day, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the World stopped a war, and there was peace at that instant, signed between the Allies and Germany. Here is a favorite piece of mine from the great Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s epic, Breakfast of Champions. It's really all I wish to say today. It's just a lot of what I am feeling.

from the introduction:

So this book is a sidewalk strewn with junk, trash which I throw over my shoulders as I travel in time to November eleventh, nineteen hundred and twenty-two.

I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' day is not.

So I will throw Veterans' Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don't want to throw away any sacred things.

What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.

And all music is.

 

 

that's it.

peace.

h

 

The Daily News

1   We did an amazing turnaround on Saturday and Sunday. After coaching the Senior Class to their 2005 Spirit Week victory and getting home at 2 a.m., a crew of us went back down to the Theatre and spent all Saturday and most of Sunday building, painting, and getting the stage ready for this Thursday's opening of the Pigeon Players' production of David Tucker's farce/romance/Godfather-meets-Romeo and Juliet Thugs, this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. After over thirty hours (seven of which were spent cleaning the champion Seniors' trash!) we successfully turned the Theatre into a cartoon! The set looks great; needs a little touching up, but otherwise, it is pure eye candy.

2  "I'm a competitor.  I want to compete like a sonuvagun."
                                               Coach Dennis Erickson, SF 49ers

3   Well, coach, you can't make chicken soup out of chicken feathers.

4   I was actually so tired when I read that this morning that I at first thought a Sonuvagun was some Warrior from Gladiator days. Pronounced So-NEW-vauhgoon. I cleaned the stupid out of my eyes and it finally materialized. "OH!" sez I. "Son-of-a-gun!" 

5  What a dork.

6  Amid all the pomp and craziness of the Homecoming game, I made a few misjudgments with some of my wonderful Seniors, and wound up hurting some feelings. As always, I felt terrible at the days' end yesterday, shaking my head as to how I can do that every now and again.

7  I kept my head up, kept smiling, but any time I hurt someone, I go through tremendous sadness. It's just the way I am. It also hurts the class when I demonstrate that all is not always perfect at the top. Hey, all is not perfect ANYWHERE. Still, there were certainly a few misunderstandings during Spirit Week, and the usual words were exchanged. Our class isn't invulnerable, although pretty close. We still have differences of opinion, etc. like any human beings.

8  I tend to take it pretty hard though, especially when I know I caused tears. People could sense my sadness yesterday, which is like saying people could sense that Eyeore is bummed every now and again.

9  So I drove some kids home, and wound up taking Sparky last. I was sharing some of my concerns, and how I wanted to make things right, and how hectic things were, and blah, blah, blah, when Sparky looked at me and said, "Pull over man, and stop the truck."

10  I pulled over and stopped the truck. "Get out," he said.

11  Amused, I got out of the truck and walked over to him. He was standing at a small garden patch over by where he lives. He went to one of the prettiest red roses I ever saw, smelled it, and said, "Smell this."  It was just beautiful. Seems roses in stores no longer have that fresh, wonderful fragrance that I caught right then. Sparky then said, "Okay man, now you can take me home."

12  It was quiet for a second. Sparky then looked at me and said, "You know what, man?"

13  I was still a recovering Eyeorholic. "What?" came my response from under my big, sad eyes.

14  "You need to do this more often."

15   "Do what?" I asked, stupidly.

16    Sparky just smiled.

17    Peace. 

The Daily News

1  CONGRATULATIONS, SENIORS!!!!!!!!!!

2  What a fun Spirit Week! I totally enjoyed the Homecoming Game, the spirit, and I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of the entire Senior Class when I say that EVERYBODY won! We all put in a TON of effort; we all bonded not only with our own classes, but with the entire school as well. And congratulations to the WARRIORS for a great game, and a great night!

3  So...Howard Keel walks into a bar...

4  Sadder still: Okay, Drama Workshop, here is a significant item for you.  I just got an e-mail that was forwarded to a friend, who forwarded it to me, stating, that "Larry La Prise, the man who invented the Hokey Pokey, died peacefully at the age of 93.  The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into his coffin...

5  They put his left leg in, and then the trouble began..."

6  M'bad.

7  In all the craziness of Homecoming, the excitement, the floats, the team, the noise, the agony and the ecstasy, I got to watch the Band marching proudly through the mist, pinpoint precision, looking sharp, and sounding right on the money. It was difficult really to hear, because I was driving the Seniors' eye-candy float, but the patterns and sudden turns looked spectacular, especially with the colour guard swirling around, stepping up, and everybody supporting. The drumline came in later and I was yelling out the window, "YEAH BAND!" YEAH, GUARD! YEAH DRUMLINE!!! and most importantly, "YEAH, HOOPER!!!!" You guys looked sharp and awesome, on a night that for me, couldn't have been closer to perfect!

8  And to my Seniors:  AT LAST!!!!!! You know that Etta James song? AT LAST!!!

9  Amazing night; exhilarating, exhausting, but full of fun and spirit, which IS, after all, the whole point!

10  So congrats to all the kids for making it a super-victory for all four classes, all the judges, advisors, parents, and everybody else affected by it all. Just a great Homecoming!

11  This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights the Pigeon Players are putting up Thugs, a Godfather-meets-Romeo and Juliet farce that should be a great time. We finished Spirit Week, dug through the nightmarish hotel of poster paper, chickenwire, paint, tools, clown clothes, and cardboard boxes to FIND, at last, the Theatre floor, there to begin turning the Theatre into the outskirts of Chicago, circa 1929. What fun, but what a LOT of work, the very day of the Homecoming Dance.

12  Makes me look forward to our own one-acts, A Love Letter, coming soon, in December.

13  I'm already thinking of Under-the-Clock right before opening night, the excitement, the flowers, the hugs, the makeup, and the audience...

14  Oh! AND the hokey pokey...

15  You put your left leg in...

16  I'm WAY out.