This Coffee Is Weak

3D Projects

2010-04-26T16:45:00.008-05:00

This semester has been pretty tough for me. I definitely feel like I have taken a huge step backwards compared to last semester. My drive isn't there and I have spent the majority of the past few months feeling behind in almost every class. But, what can you do?

The one class that at the beginning of the semester that I thought was going to be my toughest class, 3D Design, ended up being the one class that I have had the most fun in and put forth the only projects that I am proud of.

Here are some of them:

This project was all about paper manipulation. basically bending, folding, creasing, tearing and doing whatever to paper to give it new form. The above are only a couple of a handful that we had to do. The project was more of a preparation into the next project, which was another paper manipulation but on a bigger scale.

All of these were created without use of glue or tape. All folding, all of the time. Well, I lied. There is glue holding the pieces to the board, but that's it. It seems like each project is suppose to prepare us for the next one - the egg basket.

We started with a fruit or vegetable, I choose a red pepper, and then cut it up. From there we were to draw inspiration from the shape of the pepper, inside and out, and then use that to come up with a pattern to create something that could hold an egg.

Good times.

The overall basket is to hold at least 8 eggs, the eggs couldn't be touching each other or the ground, and the basket had to be able to stand on its own and be lifted off the ground without falling apart. Again, no glue or tape could be used.

I had designed my basket to be displayed like it is in the very first picture, but as I was assembling it I noticed that the bottom of it had an unintentional design to it as well. So that's why I took so many pictures at different angles.

Go Eggs!!!

Why Cows Don't Talk

2010-02-27T19:23:00.004-06:00

Today Collin and I had a little conversation in the car about a time when we were at Chick-fil-A and the giant cow mascot was walking around the store.

Collin: "Dad, do you remember that time when that big cow at Chick-fil-A gave (his stuffed animal) puppy a mint?"

Me: "Of course I do."

Collin: "Yeah, that was funny."

Me: "Why do you think the cow didn't say anything?"

Collin: "I don't know. Maybe he is deaf."

13 Days Until Pitchers and Catchers Report

2010-02-01T13:44:00.003-06:00

Okay, I know its early, but i'm taking a break from school work and I had baseball on the mind.

Based on the current Royals 40 man roster, this is who I would want on the opening day 25 man roster.

Lineup:

Scott Podsednik - LF
David DeJesus - RF
Billy Butler - 1B
Jose Guillen - DH
Rick Ankiel - CF
Brayan Pena - C
Alex Gordan - 3B
Mike Aviles - 2B
Yuniesky Betancourt - SS

Bench:

Brian Anderson - OF
Willie Bloomquist - INF/OF
Josh Feilds - 3B/OF
Chris Getz - INF
Jason Kendell - C

Pitching Rotation:

Zack Greinke
Gil Meche
Luke Hochevar
Brian Bannister
Robinson Tejeda

Relief:

Joakim Soria - CL
Roman Colon - R
Juan Cruz - R
Kyle Davies - R
Kyle Farnsworth - R
Dusty Hughes - L

Alberto Callaspo will be traded for a relief pitcher.

Okay, back to school work.

Suicide Hill

2009-12-31T15:26:00.003-06:00

We went sledding down suicide hill last year and it was fun, but I think this year we actually got to experience it in its fullest. By that I mean a full understanding as to why its called suicide hill. It is dangerous. Fun yes! But very dangerous. The bottom of the hill is full of obstacles: trees, telephone polls, picnic tables, people, and lets not forget about... the street.

Here are just a couple of shots of some sleds that didn't quite cut the mustard. I decided not to photograph some of the blood-colored snow stains that we saw.

There has been snow on the ground since Christmas Eve. We went Christmas Day but we only stayed about 20 minutes because we were not prepared for how cold it actually was. So we bundled up and went 2 days later. It was overly crowded so we didn't get to go down as much as we would have liked, but we still had fun.

We went again today, 8 days after the first snow, allowing the hill to get fully packed down and slick enough to reach the fastest speeds yet.

Here is Collin and I's first run of the day.

Here is one of Collin going down by himself and nearly, NEARLY sliding right into the street. You'll notice at the end, he was unfazed by this. Please, no comments about me being a bad father and letting this happen.

This last video does nothing but prove that Collin and I had the fastest sled there. If you pay close attention (I know, it's hard because of all the shaking) you can see us passing several people AND see the looks on their faces.

Fun dangerous times!

Just a Couple of Projects

2009-12-07T10:18:00.005-06:00

These are a couple of my past design color projects that I plan on including in my portfolio review this week.

color transparency

color vibration

Thug Life Follow Up

2009-11-08T22:00:00.002-06:00

Collin got off the bus on time. If I remember correctly it was raining outside and he did not have an umbrella, so I ran outside, grabbed him, put him over my shoulder and ran him inside. Then the normal after-school routine began.

He took off his shoes off at the door and placed his jacket and backpack in his room. He then ate a snack at the dinner table while he did his homework. Once his sentences were done, we started talking about his day. I decided to give him the opportunity to tell me what happened.

He didn't.

According to him gym was great! They played dodgeball. Yay!

Well, after a bit him doing a little dodging himself I flat out told him that I knew. I didn't tell him what I knew. I just let him know that I knew that something happened at school and that I was ready for him to tell me about it. I assured him that he wasn't in trouble, that he had already been disciplined at school. I just wanted to hear it from him.

Still nothing. Nothing bad happened at school, and gym was still great.

Then I informed him that the behavior specialist had called mommy at work and told her everything.

His response was, "Oh? What did she say?"

Priceless.

After a couple more times of me stressing that he was not in trouble, that whatever happened happened and its over with and all I wanted was for him to tell me the truth, he broke.

His story was that he was dancing in the line while waiting to get back into the dodgeball game. His arm had "grazed" against the kid next to him, and that caused the kid to push Collin down. Collin never admitted to punching the kid in the eye. He says that he just got back up, started dancing again, and that his hand "grazed" the kid right in the face.

Sounded unlikely, but I didn't press it anymore. I was just happy that Collin finally fessed up about the whole thing. And I could tell that Collin did not want to talk about it anymore.

Thug Life

2009-10-29T13:38:00.001-05:00

The time is currently 1:38 on Thursday, October 29th.

Collin will be home in from school in 2 hours and 12 minutes.

I am going to have a little talk with him. Apparently he has gotten himself into a little trouble today, well, thats what the behavior special said when she called Lisa this afternoon.

While standing in line for an activity during gym class, our little first grader decided to pass the time and do a little dancing. His arm then hit the kid standing next to him in the chest. That kid, not waiting for an "excuse me" or an "I'm sorry", which I am pretty positive Collin would have done, took offense and pushed Collin to the floor. Collin then reacted to the offense with defense, and punched the kid in the eye.

I should not find this funny.

But I do.

According to the behavior specialist, who we have dealt with only once before, both boys have talked it out and everything is okay. Neither of them had to leave school for the day, but instead have to spend the rest of the day in the "buddy" room. She thinks the boys are handling the situation very well. Which is fantastic.

I really don't know why I find this funny. I think its just trying to picture my boy actually taking a swing at another kid. Again, not funny, but I can't stop laughing about it. A part of me is kinda happy that he defended himself. Makes me think that any kid that watched it will think twice about pushing Collin to the floor. Way to stand up for yourself, Collin.

I'm real curious as to what he has to say about the whole thing.

Heeeeeeeey Yoooooou Guuuuuuuuuys!

2009-10-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

For our family movie night last night we watched The Goonies. I bought it on dvd at the mall for like $3. Both Lisa and I thought Collin would enjoy it. As it was starting, we both realized that we were only one year older than Collin when that movie came out. He loved it.

The dvd came with only a few cool special features, including deleted scenes. One of the deleted scenes answered an almost lifelong question of mine. At the end of the movie when the Goonies are answering a reporter's questions, they mention escaping an octopus. Even as a kid this confused me because, well, they DIDN'T escape an octopus.

Here is the deleted scene.

Now it all makes sense. Except that if they cut this from the movie, shouldn't they have cut the line about them escaping it?

What if they would have kept this scene in? I mean, the movie is all fantasy anyway. But a breakdancing octopus? Come on Spielberg.

School Flies When You Are Having Fun

2009-10-16T10:12:00.000-05:00

The Fall semester started in August. It is mid-October and we are already registering to pre-enroll for the Spring semester at the end of this month. Crazy. This week has played tricks on my mind. All of this preparation for the Spring (speaking with teachers, planning out a schedule, and registering) makes one think that this semester is close to being over, when in all actuality, it is only the midway point. Like I said, Crazy.

Another reason why I believe registering for pre-enrollment has played with my mind, is that I feel like I have only been pumping out projects two out of my four classes. Design Color and Typography (Type has become my favorite class so far) has been giving me the most work that lead to results. Results being finished projects accompanied by grades. Drawing and Photography have taken slower approaches. We just turned in our first project in Drawing last week, and the Photography teacher simply wants us to get comfortable with the whole photo development process before anything is due. Which is all good, I guess. I just hope these two classes aren't calms before the storms leading up to portfolio review.

And now for another one of my current Typography projects.

We had to write a research paper recently on a graphic designer. I picked Saul Bass even though I didn't know who he was. To be honest, the name stood out because of a Seinfeld episode. Kramer thought he saw Salman Rushdie at the gym and he was going by the name Saul Bass. Anywho, among a lot of design work, Saul Bass is most known for designing title sequences and posters in the 50's and 60's. Our next project, after the research paper, was to create a poster for the Nelson, as if it were holding an exhibit on your subject. The poster itself it to be strongly influenced on the subject, so in my case, Saul Bass.

Here are a few of his most famous posters.

Here are a couple of rough drafts that I have put together.

I like the second one a whole lot better than the first. Only because the second feels less like I just copied one of his old posters. After showing the teacher my thumbnail sketches for these, I was very surprised when she said that, after all of the years that they have assigned this Nelson project, that nobody had used the shuttlecock images in their posters. I found that extremely hard to believe.

School stuff

2009-09-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

One of the classes I am taking this semester is Typography, or the history of type. It is a very interesting class and I can very much see how the knowledge of this subject will enhance some of my future projects. Here is my most recent project for this class. The object was to look through magazines and whatnot and focus on the type in advertisements. I was to then find a couple of ads that I liked and then think about how I could apply that idea to three separate panels with this specific quote:

"Great is the person who sees the need, recognizes that responsibility, and actively becomes the answer." - Author Unknown

Here is the advertisement that stuck out to me.

Here is what I was able to do with it.

Speaking of Thunderdome

2009-08-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

This season of Thunderdome will mark the first time that I get on stage and participate in the improv madness. And I am looking forward to it. In the beginning I had told myself that I would be perfectly happy organizing everything and then sitting back and watching, or perhaps teching, or perhaps even hosting every now and then. But performing, I never thought I would do it. Mainly because I knew there would be people out there that would think it was unfair. Durning season three, there were people that quietly made it known that they were unhappy that the Trip Fives (minus me) even performed. They ended up not winning only because a handful of people that came to see them ended up not voting. To be honest, I'm happy they didn't win.

Anyway, this season we did the draft, which was what I wanted to do from the beginning. Too many experienced improvisers, that I knew would be needed to help make this a success, weren't interested in the draft. But now after three seasons of nearly sold out crowds, the draft looked like a good idea to try. My goal was to get a mix of 36 experienced and not-so experienced improvisers, and then randomly draft 9 teams of 4. I was one short the day of the draft. I had been holding out on a couple of people and hoping that I would not have to throw my own name it. I was getting so comfortable sitting back and organizing. Plus the thought of the same people who criticized the Trip Fives for their involvement. What would they say about the organizer joining in the fun. In the end, I thought "Screw it" and put my name in.

My team, Temporary Sanity, has had two rehearsals to date. We have one more scheduled before the September 19th show. My team consists of me, Jessica Robins (Roving Imp/Anomaly Orange), Wade Meredith (CounterClockwise Comedy), and Rob Grabowski (Loaded Dice/Tantrum). I have to admit, I LOVE the process that we experienced as a new group to decide on what format we wanted to do. We spent the first 20 minutes of the first rehearsal discussing formats, in which we came up with three that we would like to try. Then we spent the rest of rehearsal practicing those formats. By the end of rehearsal we all knew that one of the three formats would be too much trouble to continue. So that left us with two formats to play with for the next rehearsal.

So, of course, one rehearsal with my Thunderdome team made me very excited to be apart of this. My team is extremely fun and that's all I can really ask for. I am really looking forward to performing with all of them. It also made me really anticipate our second rehearsal, in which we ran the remaining two formats and decided which one would work best for Thunderdome. We ended up picking the format originally suggested by Jessica. It's kind of a combination of a few shortform games I have played. We'll do some scenes and the audience will vote on which scenes should be continued. Lather, rinse, repeat until there is one final scene declared the best. It's sort of a "mini-dome" within Thunderdome.

I am also excited to see the other two groups performing that night. Team Number Nine, which is Trish Berrong, Erik Johnson, Steve Jones and Nick Rigoli, was oddly the only team completely not in attendance during the draft party. They were the ninth team out of nine, and no one was there. Funny. That aside they will be very good. Trish and Steve are veterans to the Kansas City improv scene, and just the energy of the two of them being on stage together again should alone be reason to watch them. Throw in Erik Johnson (A funny man with CCC who I have only seen once but was extremely impressed with) and Nick Rigoli (One of my favorites to watch and someone who I consider to be a "secret weapon" on stage) and what you've got is a very strong team. If what I hear is correct, they should be doing a "Twilight Zone" format created and coached by Ed Doris. If Rigoli is allowed to anything Sterling-esque, the watch out.

The other team is, what I consider to be, the sole reason I wanted to do a draft in the first place. Four improvisers (in this case, 4 dudes) who have never performed together at all, and really don't even know each other. Bob Dusin, Jeremy Danner, Sean Hogge and Jim Sturgill. All four extremely talented individuals. All four laid back personalities. All four of them like beer. Their first meeting together took place at the Boulevard Brewing Company, where they did nothing but drink beer and talk improv for a couple of hours. Jealous? I know I am. The possibilities are endless on what a team like this can do. No matter what, it should be funny.

This post ended up a lot longer than I had originally planned. I guess all I really wanted to say was, in the beginning Thunderdome was something that I only wanted to organize and not actually perform in. Now that I'm about to perform in it for the first time, there is an improv excitement inside me that I rarely feel anymore.

Ha Ha Ha Ha

2009-08-04T13:41:00.001-05:00

The title is merely me laughing at the fact that I have blogged twice in the past two months. I find that funny. This blog is very unimportant to me, yet I feel as if I should be blogging more. Oh well. I guess I'll just bulk a bunch of things together like I did in May, which happened to be one of my busiest blogging months.

So, here is more stuff.

School starts up again this month and officially begins my journey into the world of graphic design. I will be taking four classes: Design Color, Drawing and Media Methods, Fundamentals of Photography, and Typography. All four of these class will be crammed into a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday evening schedule, which both is cool and sucks at the same time. I am very excited to be taking all of these classes, but due to the limited amount of class times that I had to chose from, there will be a lot of difficult planning around both Lisa and Collin's schedules. These are the heartaches of a "one car" family.

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Last weekend we were invited down to the lake by Lisa's Uncle Tom and Aunt Judy. Lisa's cousin Kelly and her daughter Macy were down there too, all the way from San Diego. Macy is two years older than Collin, so they were keen on hanging around each other. Also Collin, the big boy that he is, was as comfortable as he has even been jumping and swimming in the lake.

Coming in from jumping off the boat.

Being wet. Very wet.

About ready to take a jetski ride.

Enjoying the speed of the boat.

Cousin Macy, Collin and Lisa on a huge tube.

Collin and Macy.

A funny thing about that last photo, Collin lost his second tooth durning that dinner while eating corn on the cob. He actually swallowed the tooth. This was a big change compared to how he lost his first tooth. We still need to right the Tooth Fairy a letter explaining what happened.

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I have an idea for a graphic novel. After a couple of conversations during frisbee golf, I have put together a small outline. The outline consists of a brief description of the premise, brief descriptions of all of the main characters and some side characters, and all of the chapters mapped out with brief descriptions of what should happen in each chapter. I guess the next step would be to look at each individual chapter and outline those in more detail. The outline has been shared with a couple of friends.

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Lots of stuff going on improv-wise: Two shows at the Westport Coffeehouse (BareTV and Improv Thunderdome), another show at the recordBar, and at the end of the month the Trip Fives are finally heading up to the Roving Imp Theater to do a show. I'm not sure which one I am more excited about.

The last two run-throughs of BareTV have been a lot of fun. The concept is very different from the show we did in 2000. And the addition of a live band really give it a talk show feel that we didn't have before.

The first round of Thunderdome with the drafted teams was a hugh success in my opinion, even though it was not a sold out crowd. The teams were very impressive and put together formats that were very entertaining. My team doesn't perform until September. I have had one rehearsal with my team, Temporary Sanity, so far and it was a blast. We spent the first 20 minutes or so talking about formats, and then came up with three we'd like to try. Then we spent the rest of rehearsal trying each format. The process was fun and I am excited to perform with those on my team.

On a side note, I am toying with the idea of putting Thunderdome on hiatus until I am done with school, which should be a couple of years. Thunderdome takes up a lot of time and the whole process wears on me mentally. However, there is something in the works that might change my idea of shelving it.

The Trip Fives will have their second show at the recordBar this month, sharing the stage with Improv-Abilities. Our first show with Loaded Dice was big for a Tuesday night. We had over 85 people in attendance. The bulk of the people ate and drank as well, which is a plus. I am very curious of how the next show will go. I think it will be better than the first.

The show at the Roving Imp will be a lot of fun. John Robison and I have talked about me and/or the Fives performing up there for a while now. The stars have finally aligned. We will either be performing as the Trip Fives, possibly honing the piece that we would like to present at the upcoming improv festival, or we will join a couple of the other shows that were originally slated to perform. Either way, it will be an exciting night.

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And lastly, my dad bought Lisa and I a new mattress and box springs as an early birthday present for both of us. The old one was so uncomfortable. It's very nice to experience comfortable sleep again. Thanks Dad!

Royal Moves

2009-07-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

As a fan of the Kansas City Royals, this year has been the worst I have ever seen. There is no way possible that this franchise will be significant in the next few years. Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently said that the Royals were "in the 11th year of their three year rebuilding program." Sooooooo true. Since this season has been nothing but huge steps backwards, I expect nothing out of next years team. That being said, as the trade deadline approaches, here is a list of Royals' current 40 man roster that i wish would stay and go.

Pitchers that stay:

Brian Bannister

Henry Barrera

Bruce Chen

Roman Colon

Juan Cruz

Kyle Davies

Zach Greinke

Luke Hochevar

Julio Cesar Pimentel

Carlos Rosa

Joakim Soria

Robinson Tejeda

Pitchers that go:

John Bale

Kyle Farnsworth

Devon Lowery

Ron Mahay

Gil Meche

Sidney Ponson

Doug Waechter

Jamey Wright

Batters that stay:

Mike Aviles

Willie Bloomquist

Billy Butler

David DeJesus

Alex Gordon

Tug Hulett

Mike Jacobs

Kila Ka'aihue

Mitch Maier

Brayan Pena

Batters that go:

John Buck

Alberto Callaspo

Coco Crisp

Jose Guillen

Luis Hernandez

Mario Lisson

Travis Metcalf

Miguel Olivo

Tony Peny Jr.

Mark Teahen

Yeah I know, because of stupid contracts and whatnot, all of my roster dreams will not come true. However, whoever they move this year, I hope it is not for the unrealistic hopes of winning next year.

Side note - I'd like to see either Cory Aldridge or Scott Thorman in the outfield soon.

Thursday, June 25th.

2009-06-26T00:17:00.000-05:00

Collin lost his first tooth today.

It had been loose for quite some time it seems. Every day Lisa and I would keep at him, telling him to wiggle it this way and wiggle it that way. But Collin, being the stubborn child that he is, stayed strong in his ways. This tooth was coming out on his terms. Until today.

Earlier in the day there was a little mishap. Two LEGOs were stuck together. Collin did the best he could to pry them apart with his little fingers, but that was no good. So he resorted to his teeth. A few seconds later, a startled Collin was sobbing and bleeding from the mouth. The loose tooth had been pulled forward way beyond it's usual wiggle room. I ran him into the bathroom to clean him up and calm him down. Even though I knew in my head it was time for the tooth to come out, I did not think it was the best time to discuss that with him. So instead, we walked to get ice cream.

Fast forward to dinner time.

Mommy arrives home from work just as I get the dinner on the table. As we are all sitting down, we tell her about the little incident that happened. Collin lets her know how much it hurt and how much blood came out. So Lisa starts talking about getting out the string and tying one end to the tooth and the other end to the door. Collin's eyes got big as his hand moved up to his tooth.

"Will it hurt?" he asks.

Both Lisa and I comfort him and let him know that the main reason that it is hurting is because it needs to come out. The gums around the tooth were becoming sore and that was where the pain was coming from, and once the tooth comes out there will be no more pain.

I don't remember exactly what Collin said at that moment, mainly because I didn't think anything was going to happen at that very moment. That and there was food in front of me. But he said something to the equivalent of "Well then" and reached back up to the tooth and flat out yanked it out.

"Look, it's out!" he said triumphantly.

Lisa and I couldn't believe it. It took talking about tying a piece of string to it and slamming the door to get Collin to just pull the dang thing out himself. Lisa joked that it was his stubborn side. He wasn't going to let any door take all the credit.

For the next 30 minutes or so we discussed things like the tooth fairy and how much money he'll get for leaving it under the pillow, as well as all the other teeth that he will be loosing in the future. We even talked about the dentist's office and all the cool tools that he has there.

Collin looked, sounded, and I'm sure felt like a pretty big boy. And as soon as both Lisa and I thought that, he changed the subject with, "I wish my last name was octopus."

A Letter to the Kansas City Royals

2009-05-31T12:26:00.000-05:00

Warning: This post contains lots and lots of expletives

Dear Royals,

What the fuck is wrong with you? I mean seriously, you all fucking suck. What the fuck? Why do you continue to be so fucking awful? Yeah, whatever, you had a winning April for the first time since 2003, big fucking deal. That shouldn't be an accomplishment to be proud of. The only reason you looked so good in the first 30 games this year was because no teams had taken you seriously. Now we all have seen what happens when teams start paying you a little attention.

Seriously, you've fucking managed to play worse this past month than the past 5 years combined. What the fuck happened? Every pitcher you face becomes a Cy Young candidate, and every offense you face becomes the Yankees. What are you planning on doing to change this? How about this:

Quit giving up first inning runs, you pieces of shit!! Even you Greinke. I don't care what your record is or how many complete games you have. You all are getting paid well enough to get 3 outs without allowing a run in the first. This is fucking ridiculous. If I were Hillman, I'd have someone warming up in the bullpen the moment the game started. Once the first run crosses the plate, yank whoever is out there. Fuck them! Don't give up a run in the first next time.

Get rid of Jose Guillen. Fuck him and his legs. The offensive is so awful right now that who cares if he is gone, it wouldn't change anything. I don't know how many fly balls have dropped in front of him this year, but I do know that nearly all of them have led to opposing runs. Screw him. Get him out of here and put someone, anyone with fresh legs in right field.

When it comes to second base and shortstop, I am clueless. Everybody in the organization sucks at those two positions. Like the balls dropping in front of Guillen, I don't know how many slow rollers up the middle I have seen this year. If people are in the lineup because if their bat, good luck with all that.

Have a catcher fire sale. Get rid of both of them. They fucking suck in all categories. Neither of them can call a game worth of shit. Bring up the switching hitting Pena. If he sucks, well, he's a rookie and it's what is expected. Olivo and Buck have no more excuses for sucking so bad.

Make those changes (as well as trading Teahan to the Cardinals for Khalil Greene as soon as Alex Gordon is healthy) and I will be a happy fan. Or as happy as a Royals fan could be.

Until then, fuck you all for sucking so bad. The stadium looks great.

Stuff

2009-05-29T08:32:00.000-05:00

Has it been five weeks? Five weeks since I stopped drinking soda pop? It has! How do I feel? Normal I guess. I haven't noticed any big change yet, and I don't really expect to for quite a while. In this five weeks I have been substituting iced tea for soda. It's been okay. Recently, however, I have learned about a drink called the Arnold Palmer. It's iced tea mixed with lemonade. I like it a lot.

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I received my grades from school. All A's. I think this is the first time that has ever happened. Unless you were to go all the way back to elementary school, in which one year I got all S's. I may have even gotten a new toy out of it.

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Collin has been having an interesting last couple of weeks of Kindergarten. The usually angel-like school boy had done something so out of character that they school actually had to call me and ask me to come get him, 45 minutes before school was going to be let out anyway. I would say they overacted a tad, especially since we're talking about a 6 year old here. I won't go into detail about what happened. Instead, I will direct you to the blog of my lovely and talented wife, Lisa. She has described this event better than I ever could.

Lawnmower Man

2009-05-15T09:41:00.000-05:00

I should have mowed the lawn last night, but I put it off until this morning while the rest of the neighborhood was at work. It's because our lawnmower is dying. Or at least it sounds like it is. It's awful. It felt like I'd be doing everyone's ears a favor by mowing it early.

I caught a break this morning when a CAT showed up across the street and started destroying the driveway across the street. So I got out there and started in on the law. I think the noise of the CAT drowned out the mower, but it was hard to tell, over the GOD-AWFUL coughs and belches of our mechanical death cutter. I swear I saw the driver of the CAT give me a few "Dude. WTF?" looks.

I think its time to get a new mower.

I Know The Economy Is Bad, But Sheesh!

2009-05-08T13:58:00.000-05:00

Last night the family went out to eat at a local Chinese buffet in Waldo. We visit this place every now and then 1.) because it's close, 2.) because we love Chinese buffets, and 3.) because there is a claw game there that Collin likes to play.

This place is not one of the friendliest of places in town. However, this does not keep us from enjoying the food.

At one point last night, Collin accidentally spilled his drink on the table. Being the natural reflexing parents that we are, Lisa and I grabbed the closest absorbent objects we could find (which happened to be a basket of napkins on the table) and proceeded to mop up the table and floor with them.

When the lady at the front register caught wind of the situation, she rushed over and gasped at the sight of all the wet napkins.

"All those napkins" she muttered with a look of disbelief.

She snatched napkins from our hands and then started sifting through them, as if to be looking for ones that weren't that wet, right there at our table. Once she felt that it was a lost cause, she walked away shaking her head.

A few moments later, Lisa and Collin walked up to the register, with Collin holding the last of the wet napkins, to ask if we did anything wrong. The woman grabbed the napkins out of Collin's hands and threw then in the trash, shook her head some more and said that her english wasn't so good.

Whatever. She can be upset But it made me want to walk around to ALL the tables and pour soy sauce into every basket of napkins.

It's too bad the food is so good, otherwise we'd probably stop going. It might take them getting rid of the claw game to do so.

So THAT'S What Big Brothers Are For.

2009-04-27T20:48:00.000-05:00

I'm old enough to admit it now, I wanna be just like my brother, Derek. Although I am smarter, funnier and better looking, he leads in age, height and weight. We're about even on facial hair.

All kidding aside, he has done something recently that I am extremely impressed with and am going to attempt to copy - giving up soda pop for good. Derek is going on 14 months now and talks about the effects it has had on him at his blog These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty.

I've talked about my teeth before. I get worried about them from time to time. The best thing I can do is (Yes, Yes, go to the dentist. I know!) quit with the soda, which I drink a ton of. A ton is kind of an exaggeration. I don't even drink much at home. It's those restaurants!!! They get me with those "free refills" every time. I suck'em down one after another like its a natural reflex or something. Gotta stop.

Anyway, I haven't had a soda since Thursday. Not quite a week. Not quite 14 months. Baby steps.

Music I Am Digging At This Very Moment

2009-04-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

I so very much like music. Lately one of my most favorite joys, when being alone in the house, is blasting a cd on our Bose system while doing the dishes. The cd that has been occupying the player for the past month has been In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. The album was recorded in '98 and the group disbanded in '99.

Having only found out about this in the past year, a part of me feels cheated for liking the album so much. Like I wasn't "In on it" back when it was released, so it isn't really fair for me to like it now. I feel that way with most buzz worthy music that somehow reaches my ears years later.

Anyway. This album is probably now one of my all-time favorites. Here are two of the songs that have solidified my love for it. The first one is Ghost (track 9) and the second comes directly after it and is untitled.

Enjoy.

Not Much To Blog About

2009-04-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

It's Thursday night and I'm waiting for the Royals highlights to come on before I hit the hay.

I didn't want my next blog to be another art project, so I thought I'd throw a little something in here just to change things up. I've been busy with school. Today I had to have a meeting with one of the graphic design instructors to prepare for early enrollment for the fall semester. Kinda makes a person feel special, knowing that you get to sign up for classes before the rest of the school. Yes indeed. Today also painted a nice little picture of what the next two years will look like. I will have serious school on the brain. Which will be a nice little change from having improv on the brain.

Tomorrow looks to be a day of sweatpants. A full day of sweatpants. That is not to say that I won't leave the house. I might. In sweatpants.

Design 2D Project #3

2009-03-30T09:54:00.000-05:00

So far this has been my favorite project to work on. To start things off, we were given a stack of pictures of different types of tools and whatnot: hammers, wrenches, staplers, just to name a few. I chose a bicycle pump. Then we were to trace the picture, then single out an area using a specific shape stencil. I used a basic square, like so...

The area inside the square is now the focus of a pattern that we are to create. I scanned it into the computer, then traced it again using Adobe Illustrator.

Now that we have our neat little box, we are play around with it. Rotate it. Inverse the color. All that jazz. In the end we were to create a wall pattern that didn't necessarily look like it came from a grid. The students that chose a triangular pattern didn't have this problem. The teacher wanted us to come up with at least five different patterns, then picking one to present as the finished product. Here are the five I did, in order from my first attempt to the one I presented to the class.

What I liked about this project was that I could actually see my progression with each image. The first one I attempted ending up looking too blocky. Too dull. The more I did, the more I starting seeing the possibilities of different styles. I feel that it really took me four attempts to get to where the instructor wanted us to be.

Design 2D Project #2

2009-03-27T11:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so project two was similar to project one. But this time we had to focus on symmetry. The goal was to create four separate pieces (symmetry, rhythm, focal point and a combo of all three) that, when placed together, would show unity between the four. This wasn't my favorite project only because I didn't like my outcome.

To me, the finished product looks like a 1970's album cover. I ended up getting a B on this because not only was I suppose to include something symmetrical, but something "A"symmetrical as well. I guess I need to pay a little bit more attention durning class.

Project #3 turned out better. I'll post it next.

2009-03-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging that much lately. Not because there has been nothing to blog about, quite the contrary. It's just that I haven't felt in the mood to make the effort. But sitting here at home on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, messing around on the web, going from page to page and finally ending up on my own, I decided to post something.

Last night KU won their 5th straight Big 12 title.

This comes as a huge surprise to me. Still not having gotten over the fact that they won it all last year, my expectation of this years squad were extremely low. I wouldn't have been surprised if they didn't even make the tournament. Then they started playing well and beating some respectable teams. My hopes were high again. So high that when they would lose, it would crush my spirit. Make me forget about how bad they were "suppose" to be this year. The humiliating lose to Texas Tech actually wasn't that bad. That's they way this team should have been playing all year.

This team is unlike any I have seen in the past. They have won games they should have. They have turned the ball over 30 times and still found ways to either win or lose by a couple of points. They are sloppy. They are poised. They are young and inexperienced. They are unpredictable. I like where they stand at the moment, being a #1 seed in the Big 12 tournament. Who cares if they win it? Who cares where they will be seeded in the national tournament? I don't expect them to win it all. And I hope nobody else does. Especially those they're up against.

Design 2D

2009-02-19T16:00:00.000-06:00

Today I received my first official grade on my first project in Design class. The funny thing about this class is that Adobe Illustrator was suppose to be a prerequisite. Just so happens that I was taking said Illustrator class, the same time the first Design project was assigned. Isn't school great?

The project focused on 5 artistic points of view: Closure, Continuance, Proximity, Similarity, and a grouping of all. Here are 2 of my 5 that the class actually liked.

Continuance

The basic meaning of continuance is when your eyes naturally follow a path of the displayed image. So I guess I got that with this one.

Grouping

I was actually trying to go for continuance with this image, but the teacher thought it actually presented all four points of view. Allrighty.

My favorite out of the ones that I did was for Closure. It also happened to be the first one I worked on.

The basic meaning of closure is when your eyes make out object that isn't really there, but appears because of the objects surrounding it. Or something like that. See. Triangles!!!

Anyway, I ended up getting an A- on all five images. So I was happy with that.

I-435

2009-02-03T07:35:00.000-06:00

I am writing this from school. I left 15 minutes ago to get here. Now I am 30 minutes early to class. If I would have left home now, I would have gotten here 15 minutes late.

There is a stretch of I-435 between Metcalf and Quivera where driver's IQs drop below that a pickle. Once they reach that area they join forces to destroy time and humanity and create confusion and cause accidents.

Sometimes I am surprised people ever make it out alive.

What's Awesome?

2009-01-21T13:39:00.000-06:00

This is.

The Boy's 6th Birthday

2009-01-19T13:39:00.000-06:00

Collin turned 6 on Thursday. We celebrated by going out to dinner to the T-Rex restaurant out by Legends.

We had been here several times before and its actually not that annoying. It's dinosaur themed, of course, and different sections of the restaurant are set up as different stages. The upstairs is the ice age, the back area is the lava room, and the bar area, where we sat, is under the sea. The very first time we went here they sat us in the back, behind a boulder and next to the server station. Not very fun for a child, and even more upsetting to an adult. But we've had fun ever since.

Collin got to do something different this time. They have a station set up in the gift shop where you can break a rock in half. Special rocks with crystals in the middle. It was pretty cool.

Saturday afternoon was his bowling party with a few friends from school. We did this last year as well with twice as many friends, but decided to tone it down a little just to keep things less hectic.

As you can see, he's a big fan of the orange fireball.

The Ups and Downs of Comedy

2009-01-12T13:55:00.000-06:00

This Saturday was the first of the Second Saturday series of improv comedy shows at the Westport Coffeehouse. Ed Doris and I have been planning these shows since last July. We both thought that this could be something that could catch on, mainly because of the variety of shows that we'd be producing, and that if just one of the shows got a little press it would be hard not to mention the others in the same blurb.

The months leading up to the first show were filled with nothing but excitement and anticipation. The week leading up to however, was a different story. There's no business like show business. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. What goes up must come down.

UP - A week before the show we learn that there will be improv articles in both the Pitch and the KC Star.

DOWN - Monday rehearsal goes only so-so. Plus we learn that one of the members of the Makeshift Militia, the troupe that the Trip Fives are splitting the night with, might not be able to play.

UP - Wednesday arrives with the Pitch article and a mention in the Ink's calendar section.

DOWN - Wednesday evening our booth person remorsefully tells me that he forgot to mark the show date on the calendar and now has scheduling conflicts.

UP - Thursday arrives with a mention in the KC Star's Preview section. And I find a tech replacement.

DOWN - Thursday night I get a call from Jen Roser, of the Trip Fives, who informs me that, due to reasons that were out of her control, she would be unable to do the show saturday night.

DOWN - Friday mid-afternoon to late evening. Turns out my cell phone, one which I have been substituting for the improv reservation line, decided to stop playing the message when people called. It would ring, like normal, but instead of going directly to voicemail it would just be dead air. All. Day. Friday.

DOWN - After two hours of speaking to Verizon customer service and tech support, they come to the conclusion that they don't know what's wrong with my phone. They do know that it has to do with the messaging system and not the actual phone. But they don't own the messaging system, they have a contract with them.

UP - Saturday morning. I let my phone charge over night thinking that it's quite possible that the phone only acts crazy when it is not fully charged. That oddly seemed to do the trick. So I called back every number that wasn't able to leave a message and everything is fine. Oh, and the KC Star article came out. As I walked up the street and got closer to the newspaper machine, I could see the photo above in the top left corner of the front page. Very cool.

UP, UP - Collin had his first basketball game at the Cleaver YMCA. It was not at all as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were plenty of coaches, assistant coaches and referees on the court to point all the kids in the right direction. Collin played a lot but didn't take one shot, which is totally fine. His defense however, was tenacious.

UP, UP, UP - Now, I don't know this for sure, but I would guess that 50% of both Saturday night's audiences came because of the Star article. Something felt different, in a good way. There was just this overall feeling of newness all over the place. The Trip Fives/Makeshift crowd was way more than expected, and because we split box after rent, the two members of makeshift walked away with a pretty penny. Thunderdome was close to a sellout, maybe by 10 seats or so. But what please me was knowing that half of them were new and neutral. And even though all three teams put on entertaining sets, the crowd picked the one that deserved it.

DOWN - The night ended.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T09:26:00.001-06:00

It's 2009! Hooray!!!

Resolutions are so cliche that I don't even feel like doing any. Its like the only reason people have them is to let other people know about them. It is the one time to impress others with your own personal objectives. So you better make them good ones. How can I make my resolutions interesting enough to make people go, "Wow, I actually believe that person when they say this. I hope they go through with it. I'm rooting for them." Of course, resolutions are things that people should be doing for themselves on a daily basis. "I will NOT eat any more skittles today."

In a sense, resolutions are a lot like blogs. People only create them so other people can read them. In the end, it's for your own personal pleasure.

So, with that said, here are a few reasons Why I Am Excited About 2009:

FAMILY

I love them dearly. Last year was wonderful. Our first full year in our new house. Collin going through kindergarten. Lisa loving her job. Me not being a slob.

SCHOOL

This spring semester will be the last of all my prerequisites. The following semester I will begin the Graphic Design two-year program. One small step closer to a Associates Degree, which will then be another step closer to me obtaining a real job for the first time.

SECOND SATURDAYS

Ed Doris and I have put together, what we feel is, a enormous variety of improv comedy shows on the second Saturday of every month. (Here's a link to the schedule) What started out as just a way to figure out how the Trip Fives can do more shows on a regular basis, has grown into a full production of improv comedy. And just about every troupe in town is involved in some way, whether they are splitting a show with the Fives or competing in Improv Thunderdome or writing for BareTV. Even the name "Second Saturdays" feels like it could catch on here in KC. It rolls right off the tongue.

IMPROV THUNDERDOME SEASONS 3 & 4

I hate to say it. I can't wait for season 4 to happen, and season 3 hasn't even begun yet. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely excited for season 3. We've got a lot of Thunderdome vets back for more, and we've got a lot of new blood looking to prove why they belong. The talent is there. Season 3 will be fun, but I am hoping it will be the end. The end of an era.

In the beginning, my goal for Thunderdome was to establish teams by way of a draft. With the format being so new to the community and certain performers egos getting in the way, there was no way of this happening. So we allowed people to create their own teams. Now, three seasons later, it is time. We WILL hold a draft, create 9 random teams of 4, and they will compete. I hope, that from season 4 on, this will be the way.

BARETV

Back in 1999, I worked at the Westport Coffeehouse as the morning barista, on top of performing in the theatre on weekends. It was my second home. The owner, Tom, had the equipment and the ability to broadcast anything he wanted over the internet. After a brief discussion behind the counter while Tom made himself a latte, BareTV (scroll down on the right. Please do not watch) was born - A weekly 30 minute somewhat scripted/somewhat improvised mock talkshow that should have never been created.

Nearly 10 years later we will give it another try. We're all grown up, a little more professional, and a lot soberer than we were back then. The name will be the same, but the show will have some major tweaks. The newer version will be a completely improvised late-night talkshow, complete with host, monologues, guests, commercials and live music courtesy of the very talented Billy Brimblecom Jr. Aside from the main people on stage, a group of improvisers will work as a team backstage to supply the show with whatever it is called for. Writers on the fly, if you will.

Also, this show will be every other month starting in April. Much, much better than weekly.

SPORTS

King Carl is gone. This can only lead to positive things for next year's Chiefs. I honestly don't care what happens next season. In my mind it will be a success because Carl is gone. Should Herm be gone? Probably. But personally I'd just like to see what he does with Carl involved. If he still stinks, GET'EM OUTTA HERE!

The Royals won 75 games last year and didn't finish in last place. That's good. They should win at least 10 more games in 2009. So far I've liked what the front office has done with the exception of finding a new shortstop. Other than that, I'm very exciting. Which isn't saying much because I am very optimistic at the beginning of every new baseball season.

Here is the lineup I would like to see:

Coco Crisp - CF
Mike Aviles - 2B
Davis DeJesus - LF
Jose Guillen - RF
Mike Jacobs - 1B
Billy Butler - DH
Miguel Olivo - C
Alex Gordon - 3B
Alberto Callaspo - SS

As for the rotation:

Gil Meche
Zack Greinke
Brian Bannister
Luke Hochevar
Kyle Davies

But Jared, where is the necessary lefty starter? My answer: What good has lefty starters done for us in the past? Chris Haney anyone?

The KU football program beat Minnesota in the Insight Bowl last night. I do not expect the basketball program to have similar success. Why should I? They're national champions. They lost their whole team. Conference play is almost upon us. These games will determine how good this team really is.

There. I'm done.

GO GO GADGET 2009!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-24T07:28:00.001-06:00

Awesome!

2008-12-16T07:55:00.000-06:00

Goodbye, Carl!!!!

1988 - 2008

Christmas Performance

2008-12-15T08:09:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday was Academie Lafayette's Christmas concert, and Lisa and I's first official Christmas concert as parents. While in preschool, Collin had a couple of roles in the Nativity story. One year and the Angel Gabriel and the other as one of the Wise men. But this year was bigger.

Here we are all packed into the school's auditorium. Lisa, her aunt Susan, my dad's wife Mary, and that dark figure next to her is my dad. Lisa's step-father Kevin was there too, but he got there a little late. He had to watch from the balcony.

Wednesday was only grades K through 3rd. There would have been NO WAY POSSIBLE to get all the grades in one night. The French like sardines, don't they?

There were lots of skits about trash bags. I think they wanted us to purchase them or something. This here is the principal wearing one.

Sorry the picture isn't so good, but thats with a flash and everything. We were so far back that if I tried to zoom in any closer it starts blur. This is the all of the Kindergarten classes. There are 22 kids in Collin's class, so I'm guessing there are around 4 or 5 K classes total. It is definitely the largest in the school. Can you spot Collin?

What you can barely spot on the left is a guy in a brown leather jacket. He stood in the aisle during the whole Kindergarten song. Lisa and I could see Collin perfectly, but he caused a freak out session by her aunt and my step-mother.

After messing with the camera I was able to zoom in a little more. Right there in the middle is Collin, singing "Must Be Santa" with all of his classmates. I think the dark photos look kinda creepy, especially when you focus on the kids eyes. When we got home and view all the photos, I zoomed in on this one because I thought I saw something weird.

If you look to the right, it kinda looks as if Batman's nemesis the Scarecrow is singing behind him.

WTF?!?

2008-12-09T17:06:00.000-06:00

Sunday night I tried to force myself to stay up and cram for my Business Math final. I was dead tired when I began, so I got a cup of cold coffee out of the fridge that I was saving for the morning. An hour went by when I realized that this was totally out of my normal study pattern and wasn't going to do me any good. The more I worked the more frustrated I got. My mind felt like mush so I decided that I'd have better luck cramming in the morning. Procrastination fits more into my kind of study pattern anyway.

So I left everything on the table, put the rest of the cold coffee back in the fridge and got ready for bed. Even though I was tired my mind was racing with thoughts of improv (it never stops) and now math problems and formulas. I knew I was not going to fall directly to sleep. This happens to me more often than not. Dead tired from the moment I decide its bedtime to the moment I hit the pillow. I won't be able to sleep even if I have one thing on my mind. It's like a habit or something. But strangely Monday night was different.

I laid there for five minutes thinking about the final, which consisted of things like depreciation value, simple and compounded interest, and everything that is taxes. As well as improv, which consisted of new possible formats, marketing techniques, and things that happened in past shows. I knew I HAD to sleep, the final was very important to me. Then something happened. I envisioned myself in my brain, floating upright and directly inside the middle of a gigantic cube. The walls of the cube were transparent but defined. I could visually see myself floating there as well as see what my eyes were seeing. The cube itself resembled something out of TRON, and I resembled something out of the virtual reality scenes in The Lawnmower Man.

Anyway, I started seeing thoughts come towards me through the cube. I knew the only way for me to sleep was to keep all of these thoughts on the outside the cube. So I started mentally pushing them away. Breathing helped. I good deep breathe was like a force that would push them all at the same. Once the inside of the cube was empty except for me, I felt completely at ease, and I was able to focus on the nothingness inside the cube for a while. A couple more thoughts would enter, and before they got close I was able to mentally push them away with no problem. As this was going on, I knew I was not asleep. This wasn't something that I had planned on doing to help myself. It just sorta happened.

Once I felt like I had a good grasp of the situation, I focused on expanding the cube. I figured he bigger I made it, the more empty space I would have and the harder it would be for thoughts to get to me. So with a big deep breathe the walls expanded as I exhaled. After a few more times of this, I believe I fell straight asleep. The whole experience couldn't have lasted 10 minutes.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I had gotten the best sleep I have had in a long time. Then I started to think more about what happened and it left me completely confused, although extremely refreshed. Did my brain just do me a favor? I know for a fact that never in a million years would I purposely plan on falling asleep that way, yet it felt completely logical. Of course!!!! Keep my thoughts on the outside of the cube!!! That's It!!!!!!!

I wish I knew what the hell that was.

On a side note, I was able to get to school a couple of hours early and study. The final went well. I'd be very surprised if I didn't pull off an A. Part of it was due to the blueberry smoothie I drank while studying. Another part was due to the unexplainable sleep I got the night before.

What's wrong with me?

Thanksgiving Recap.

2008-11-28T09:53:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was good, minus the fact that Lisa had to work. She had to be in at 6:00 a.m. and worked until 6:30 p.m. The hospital provided her with a free Thanksgiving meal. She had to convince the cafeteria staff to give her potatoes AND stuffing, because they were told to only allow one or the other. She ate it by herself. :(

Collin and I went over to my mother's new place in Shawnee. It was fun. Nothing but Wii games and football, even though the football games were boring, its still football. Mom had only been in this house less than a year, so it was her first holiday gathering. It was good, but would have been better with Lisa there.

The evening was topped off with a musical performance by Collin of the song "Sing" by Travis.

But because the after-meal walk took longer than expected, the performance was rushed. Collin was able to perform, but he was didn't not have time to assemble his Lego microphone that he brought from home. Still, the performance was a hit.

Collin and I left to go pick up mommy and head home. After Collin went to bed, Lisa and I stayed up and watched Braveheart on the Ion channel. A perfect ending to a non-traditional Thanksgiving evening.

Hey Hey, How 'Bout a Book Review

2008-11-19T08:48:00.000-06:00

Great book. A friend of mine told me about the books a few weeks ago. I knew about the television series but have never seen any of the episodes. I was always intrigued though. The actor playing Dexter, Michael C. Hall, played David on the best show on tv in recent history, Six Feet Under. So when I heard that he was in a new show, I was interested. But not having Showtime curbed me from watching it. Yes, during the actor's strike it was on CBS for a little while, but I missed it then too.

The story follows Dexter Morgan, a blood-splatter specialist for the Miami Police Department. He is also a serial killer who only kills those who deserve it. He also does not possess the ability to feel normal human everyday feelings. So he has to fake it. It's actually quite fascinating to read his thoughts as he encounters other characters in the book. His descriptions of his responses and whatnot.

I finished the first book in four days, which really says something because I am a slow reading. I ordered the second book the day that I finished the first. It should be here in a day or so.

But now I'll have to rent the first season of the television series. Apparently it follows the first book pretty well with slightly alternate endings. Then the tv series goes off in a different direction from the novels. So that could mean that there are two different worlds of Dexter going on that I can't wait to find out more about.

If your looking for a book to read, let me be your Dark Passenger and recommend this one.

A Good Week of Sickness

2008-11-13T07:52:00.000-06:00

I have been sick for a whole week now. Thursday to Thursday. It started as a slight sore throat and then slowly moved upstairs to my head. If I stand up for too long I have to lie down for a while, and I don't like lying around when there is stuff that needs to be done. I think I'm getting better though. So that's good.

Sickness or not, Lisa and I got out to see a movie yesterday afternoon. Guy Ritchie's new film RocknRolla.

We love both Lock Stock and Snatch, and this one looked as if it fit into the same category. It had everything we loved about Ritchie's films. Great dialogue. Over the top characters. Viloence. Vivid cinematography. And it was fun. We left the theatre telling ourselves that we'll need to see this one a second time. And I just learned that Guy Ritchie is working on an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

Fun Fun Fun.

Poster Boy for a Good Lunch

2008-11-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to Collin's school's website to look up information about a lunch bill. This is what we found on the lunch's main page.

Thank goodness we didn't send beer and frozen peas that day.

Halloween Drive By.

2008-11-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

Last night was Halloween. Collin the train engineer took two trips out and got lots of candy. Here are just a few photos.

It was a blast, and I think it is just as fun to walk around from house to house with your child as it was back when I was the one doing the trick or treating.

Now here's what I don't get. I'd say about 90% of the people out last night were actually driving their kids around. Not dropping them off at the end of the block and then picking them up after they hit each house. They were literally pulling up to a decorated house, letting them out, and then they would get back in the car once they got their candy and drive to the next house. If they weren't doing that, they were following their kids, in their car, from house to house. Am I crazy for thinking this is odd? Isn't half the fun of Halloween actually getting out and WALKING?

Sheesh.

Maybe they are just overprotecting parents. Maybe they are just lazy. But something about seeing this almost took the fun out of what we were doing. I almost got into an altercation because I was "strangely" looking at one of these cars as they drove by. Mainly in part because they were driving faster than a car should on a night where there are lots of little cars darting into the street.

"You gotta problem?'

"No, I'm doing just fine."

"Well, you were looking at me."

"Yes, yes I was."

Anyway, I figured that these people problem hit every single house in the entire metro area. Being directed by there parents as to where to go to next. They probably even hit up the homeless shelters. Just another typical backseat Halloween for those kids.

And yes, I'll say it, the majority of these parents were morbidly obese. I'm surprised they didn't yell from the driver seat as their kids reached the doorsteps, "MORE CANDY!!!! FEED ME!!!!"

Very Scary.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween.

Whoever Has the Most Fun Wins!

2008-10-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

What could be better exercise than going to the gym?

Frisbee Golf!

I gotta admit, it's a lot of fun. I've been playing for a couple months now and have gotten fairly good.

The first time I played I had to borrow a disc from one of my friends. Everyone else had around 3 or 4 discs, all for different distances and whatnot. I made fun of them for it. The next day I went and bought two of my own. Today I own 6 discs: 4 drivers, 1 mid-range, and 1 putter.

I never thought that this little sport would be something that I would enjoy so much. Plus, playing with friends, I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life.

There is a sign at the 18th hole at Swope Park that reads "Whoever has the most fun wins."

It's true.

Collin Hemingway

2008-10-16T08:31:00.000-05:00

Sort of. Collin wrote and illustrated his first book in under 10 minutes. It will soon be published and sold on Amazon.com, but you get the first sneak peek here. It's a gripping tale of a young man and his love for all things that go by. Enjoy!

"Everything Comes By!"

By Collin Brustad

The train comes by.

Then the car comes by.

Then the helicopter comes by.

Then the birds.

Then the plane comes by.

Rest In Peace.

2008-10-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

Grandma Elsie

Tooth Be Told

2008-10-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

I have had my teeth on my mind lately.

I have not been to see a dentist since my senior year of high school. The reason has been a combination of 1.) never having a decent job that supplied good coverage and 2.) an overall fear of going having not been in a loooooooong time.

Not that I feel that my teeth are that bad, I know that I don't look like this...

Good God no, far from it. I might have a little bit of coffee stain here and there. Plus, my bottom wisdom teeth have sorta come in. The one on the lower left side seems to have come in nicely, but the one on the right came in at an angle. The angle has caused there to be a small hole in between it and the next tooth. Food is constantly getting stuck back there. It gets annoying.

So yes, I should go see somebody. 13 years is a long time to not see a dentist. What keeps me from going back?

I had a very dramatic experience when I was very very little. I believe I must have been in the first grade because it was around the age when kids start losing their first teeth. Anyway, my brother and sister and I saw the same doctor. At each and every visit I always went last. It was just easier for my mom to keep me occupied leading up to my check up than after, I guess. When my turn came up, for some reason my mom didn't come in with me. The doctor took one look at my front teeth, felt them and and, "yep, those need to come out." He then locked the door to the room and grabbed what looked like pliers and yanked them right out. No novocaine. No nothing. My mom says my screams were horrifying. She tried to get in the room, but for some reason they wouldn't let her in.

The one thing that I remember best about that experience is that my two front teeth were not loose at all. This guy was nuts. I think he just liked seeing little kids in pain. A couple years later we started going to another dentist. Just kidding. We dropped him right after that.

Funny enough though, my fear does not stem from that. I had been to other dentists since and never had any instances like that. What I do remember is the disappointing tone that some dentists would have when I missed an area. I remember one guy went on about how he couldn't believe that my front teeth were the dirtiest. "How could you miss those? Their right in front." Man, now I had to worry about pleasing the dentist. What's he going to do if I really disappoint him?

So now that it has been so long since my last visit, I can't even imaging what any dentist would say to me. They probably couldn't believe that someone put off going for so long. I would rather not go than put up with the embarrassment of finally going. I know this seems like a small reason to not go, but it eats me up. I'll spend a few days stressing over the need to go, but then stress over everything that I just talked about. In that time, I brush more than three times a day, go crazy with the floss and mouthwash, and cut back on soda. Eventually the thoughts fade away and I don't think about it for a couple months. Then it all starts over.

A Bunch of Stuff Smeared into One Post

2008-10-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, what to start with. How about being a man? Sounds good.

I have blogged in the past here and here about my manliness. I own tools and a book on how to use them. Yesterday I replaced an old faucet in the bathroom. We've had the new faucet for a while, but I needed a special wrench that could fit up there behind the sink. It was either that or I needed a normal wrench with midget hands. The job took most of the afternoon with only one trip to the hardware store to purchase WD-40. It was frustrating to say the least. Three hours were spent trying to take off the old pipe directly connected to the sink. The base of the stopper was suppose to just twist off. But it didn't, hence the WD-40. Once that was accomplished everything else seemed like a piece of cake. I cursed at the little stopper-handle-thingy that connects under the sink, but that was expected. Then came an hour of just tightening screws to avoid any more leaking and the project was done.

Looking back on this chore and the others I have done (two sinks and a toilet) it hasn't been the actual task that is frustrating, but the moments when I am at a stand still and realize that the water in the house is turned off, and that I won't be able to turn it back on until I am finished. I get the most worked up when I start thinking ahead. Like always though, now that I am done I am very happy.

Next on the list (there really isn't a list) is an Improv Thunderdome Season 2 review.

I had blogged about Season One (here, here, here & here) after each show, but I didn't this time. No reason more than I am just lazy. It takes a lot of thought and energy for me to put an improv show into words. I have no problem talking about it, but to write it out is just more difficult for me. Anywho...

Round One was great. I felt that we had a strong threesome to start off a new season. A high school group (Some Technical Difficulties), a college group (Makeshift Militia), and talented troupe that is rising fast in popularity (Babel Fish). The high school kids brought the crowd and ended up winning the match. Their set was solid. Strong scenes, strong characters and strong edits. Their win was well deserved. Both Babel Fish & Makeshift Militia were performing in their second Thunderdome. Babel Fish's season one loss was probably the most controversial (yes, I am being dramatic for effect) and Makeshift Militia made it to the finals, placing 3rd. For season two however, both gave, in my opinion, performances of a lifetime. But it just wasn't enough to steal any votes away from the sold out bias crowd. That's Thunderdome though.

Round Two was great as well. We had Scriptease vs. CounterClockwise Comedy vs. Death Rattle. What I liked about this show was the different elements of the teams. Scriptease performs as "Fakers" up in Liberty. In season one they placed 2nd, so they felt as if they had something to prove this time around (again, dramatic effect). CounterClockwise Comedy is a seasoned troupe in Kansas City, but it was their stint at Thunderdome. Death Rattle was a mix of talented improvisers who performed in season one, but not together. All three teams each had strong experimental sets, and Scriptease walked away the winner becoming the first 2-time chmapionship finalists.

Round three was probably my favorite of all, only because all three teams were complied solely to compete in Thunderdome. It was the Burnin' Sternums vs. Fluffer Nutter vs. Type O Positive. In the beginning stages of Thunderdome, my thoughts were to have a random drawing of teams. Forcing people to get out of their comfort level and perform with people that they have never played with, or at least played with very little. The lack of enthusiasm amongst the little improv community pushed me in the direction of simple letting people choose their own teams. So this night was special for me. Burnin' Sternums had a challenging set that consisted of one long continuous scene. Fluffer Nutter wowed the crowd with smart and funny 2-woman show. Type O Positive, to be honest, blew everyone away with non-stop laughs and an inspiring sense of play. For that, they moved on to the finals.

The Championship Match was crazy awesome. From my point of view, I was just happy with the way Ed and I have tightened up all the loose ends from season one. There are still some little tiny kinks that need to be worked out, but I believe from a production stand point the show itself went really smooth. As for the outcome, Some Technical Difficulties took 1st, Scriptease took 2nd (becoming the first 2-time 2nd place finishers), and Type O Positive took 3rd. Because this was only last weekend, my thoughts of the performances are still up in the air. Only meaning what I said earlier, that it is hard for me to write about an improv performance that just happened. I will say that everyone did a great job. The main goal of a show is to entertain the audience, and that is definitely what the three teams did. What I like most about the Thunderdome format is that no matter whether or not you win or lose, you just performed for a crowd that was two-thirds there NOT there to see you. That is not too shabby.

Season three will be starting up next January 2009. And season four will be starting up in July 2009. Not to take away from the excitement of number three, but number four will be the first attempt of an all-team random draft. I can't wait.

And lastly but definitely not leastly, this past weekend was Lisa and I's sixth year anniversary. And because I love her so much, I will post a non-embarrassing picture of the two of us.

Love you, Leese!!!!!!!

Lawn Jockey IV

2008-09-22T09:35:00.000-05:00

It has been nearly 3 months since we seeded the dirt patch surrounding the oak tree in our front yard. If you care to follow the progress, you can go here, here, then here. Now, thanks to some massive drenching rain, the grass is starting to look like my father's head. Meaning that there is still some life there, but it is fading fast. We have got to hit the re-seeding fast and soon.

On a side note, I was out mowing the lawn yesterday when this strange man came walking up to me. As I turned off the mower and took the ipod headphones out of my ears, he greets me with a "I just couldn't stand that noise anymore." He was talking about my lawnmower, which I admit doesn't make the sweetest of sounds, but I thought that was kind of rude. He had been working on the home a few houses down from ours. he and his crew had been there for 3 straight weeks doing a complete makeover. Hammering, banging, crushing, sawing, drilling and all out noise for 3 straight weeks. And he comes over to tell me that he doesn't like the sound of my lawnmower?!?!? What nerve!!!!

He then proceeds to look at the mower, asking me questions about the gas, the blades, and whether or not I've hit a rock or anything lately. I responded to everything question with a rather disapproving tone. I was kind of flabbergasted about the situation. He then asks for a screwdriver and takes something apart. Apparently some spongy-looking thing connected to the engine was clogged, making it sound like it was on permanent choke. How was I to know, I had headphones on. He told me how to clean it then went on his way. Yeah sure, he was only trying to be nice, but that really pissed me off.

So I cleaned the spongy-thing, put it all back together and continued mowing. 10 seconds later the mower dies. The 70 year old boy scout comes back over and looks at it again. At this moment the thought of the Seinfeld episode in which George lets an old friend's father look at his car and then completely destroys it, is going through my brain. He asks if I cleaned the spongy-thing with water, and I say "Sure did" because he told me to. So now the engine is flooded. GREAT!!! ASSHOLE!!!!! A few moments he fixes it and watched carefully as I cut a few strips. He said something before he walked away but I didn't hear him. I sheepishly mouthed "thank you" and continued to mow.

Sure this guy was just trying to be nice. Clearly. But who goes up to a random stranger mowing his lawn and says, "I can't stand that noise anymore"??? Thank goodness I'm not a serial killer or something, otherwise that would have been a one-way ticket to the secret room in my basement.

High Neighbor!

2008-09-10T13:48:00.001-05:00

I have put off blogging about this because I have been waiting for more information to develop. But it has been a week now and nothing new has surfaced.

Last Wednesday I was here, upstairs on the computer, when I looked out the window and noticed these two large pick-up trucks in front of my neighbor's house. I didn't think much about it, even when this large bald guy got out of one of the trucks and started taking pictures of the house. I thought to myself, "Maybe Fred and Barney (that's what we'll call them today) are thinking about selling their house or something. That's why that guy is taking photos."

When I came downstairs I noticed a Missouri Highway Patrol car parked in front of our house. Then, as I got closer to the window, i noticed another one parked in my neighbor's driveway. Neither Fred nor Barney's cars where there so they must have been at work. Aside from the four strange cars there, they people that drove them were nowhere to be seen. I called Lisa to ask her opinion as to why Highway Patrol would be out there and not regular police officers. Right then a couple of guys with State Trooper vests came out of the house and started taking "things" to the back of their trucks. At first glance through the blinds I thought it was computer stuff.

As I was relaying to Lisa what was happening, I saw that our neighbor across the street was in her doorway watching as well. I quickly waved and gave her a shoulder shrug, then she came out of her home and crossed the street. She said she had been watching for at least an hour. When all the cars arrived they spent at least 30 minutes at the front door. After a while, a couple of cops went around back. Then after about 10 minutes, one of the cops opened the front door from the inside and let everyone else in. She also said she go a good look at what was being taken out of the house: Lamps, extension cords, and things in big bags. Looks like our neighbors have been growing the wacky tobacky.

I left about 10 minutes later to go play frisbee golf. When I got back a couple of hours later, everything seemed back to normal. That night I noticed Fred get home. Barney on the other hand, I have not seen him nor his car since. I haven't talked to Fred yet, though I want to. We have always gotten along. Both he and his brother and extremely nice people. Usually we see each other as one of us is leaving or vice versa, but not recently. Though I notice that Fred still seems to be going about his life as if nothing strange had happened. I am not going to force the issue. But I am still very curious as to what had happened to his brother.

Are You Ready For Some Football???

2008-09-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

Yes. Yes I am. Thank you for asking.

I am also ready for the Kansas City Chiefs to go 4 and 12. The only good that will come out of that will be the end of Carl Peterson.

What an Ass.

Swimming Lessons

2008-09-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

Due to Improv Thunderdome this weekend, I was unable to go down to Lisa's aunt's lakehouse. What I missed was this...

Collin literally swimming in the lake water.

I know it doesn't really seem like that big of a deal, but the last time we went down to the lake Collin didn't even want to get in the water, let alone touch it. He spent most of his time playing on this inflatable island that was attached by a long rope to the dock . He wouldn't even let anybody hold him in the water while they drifted him over to this giant floating moonwalk. Someone would have to push it over to the dock so he could just jump on.

Don't get me wrong, he likes water. Loves the pool. The lake however is deep and he can't swim. So you can imagine my amazement when Lisa came home and showed me the picture. What is even more amazing, is that he is scheduled for his first swimming lesson at the YMCA tonight.

I think he was somewhat preparing for it.

Kindergarten!

2008-08-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

Today is officially Collin's first day of Kindergarten. We went yesterday for a couple of hours as part of an orientation. Saw his classroom, met his teacher, and was introduced to the new principle. But today is a full day.

It started with a good breakfast: Eggs, milk, blueberry juice, and most importantly a toaster strudel. Collin has been dying to have one ever since he saw the commercial.

Then he got all cleaned up and it was time to wait for the bus.

Unfortunately the bus never came. Turns out the bus broke down mid-route, so we had to drive him. Which was fine with all of us.

Due to the crowded parking lot, I dropped Lisa and Collin off so she could take him to class. This shoot is at the front door of the building.

Nerves may be kicking in right about now, but he'll be fine. He's a big kid now.

Comp I

2008-08-25T16:32:00.000-05:00

Summer is over and it is time for me to go back to school. Having involuntarily taken a summer vacation (I forgot to sign up for classes) and previously having nothing but online classes, I had to clean out my backpack to prepare once again for on-campus classes. My first class of my new school life was Composition. I learned a lot about writing, all of which I have now forgotten and even saved all the papers I had to write. Some of them are okay. Most of them I had to stay within the boundaries of the assignment. Focusing of different sentence structures and whatnot. Here is one of my favorites. It is suppose to be a persuasive paper.

High Gas Prices Must Stop.

Jared Brustad

Composition I

Gas prices in the United States are reaching a record high. Something has to be done, or they will continue to rise. The average price of a single gallon of gas was $3.09 as of the sixth of November in 2007. That price has increased by twelve cents since two weeks prior. The rise in price has not just been happening in the past few weeks. As of last year, gas prices have risen a total of eighty-six cents. Also, $3.09 is nine cents shy of the United States all-time high set on May 18th, 2007. The biggest issue is that families' average incomes have been dropping every year since the September 11th attacks. The increase in gas prices is a thorn in the side of most families that are struggling to make ends meet. A change must happen soon.
The public taking advantage of their city's transit system could be one of those changes. Between buses, taxis, subways, and in some areas the light rail system, people have plenty alternate solutions other than their own cars. Taking one of these options to work or to the store every now and then would cut back on how much a person spends on gas a week. It would also stretch the value of gasoline throughout the United States.

Another solution would be carpooling. This ancient mode of transportation can no longer be an idea of the past. Carpooling with coworkers to and from work can not only save you some money, but it can help build relationships as well. If people were to work out a carpooling system between each other, then they could all be saving money. Plus, instead of driving to work by oneself getting nothing done, a car full of coworkers can get the work dat started earlier and beat deadlines together.

There is also no reason that carpooling should specifically be for work. It could be geared towards friends and neighbors as well. People can organize all-neighbor trips to the local park or plan on Wednesday to be the day everybody gets their errands done. All of these ideas would help bring down gas prices.

There is, however, one solution that topes them all - Put and end to NASCAR. This idea is bound to upset NASCAR fans across the country, but statistics speak louder than words. One weekend of races uses up nearly 6000 gallons of gas. Spread that over thirty-six races (the equivalent of one NASCAR season) and it totals nearly 216,000 gallons. All that gas could be used for people who actually need it for life's daily routines. Throw in the fact that fans, sports announcers, and even the NASCAR drivers themselves have to get to the racetrack for every race. NASCAR takes up to thirty percent of the country's fuel intake.

Out of the three solutions that were proposed on what to do about high gas prices in the United States, ending NASCAR is the best choice. Put aside the amount of gasoline NASCAR wastes on a yearly basis, the sport itself is pointless. It is more of a competition for mechanics that a sport. Mechanics could compete in how fast they put wheels on cars without all of that driving around in circles. In the end, without NASCAR more gas will be available to the public. The sudden burst of ample gasoline will make prices decrease to a price more affordable to the average family. To make cases eve better, NASCAR fans will be forced to find work. This act will help solve the United States' unemployment situation. Putting an end to NASCAR would actually kill two birds with one stone.

I got a B+.

Tuesday We Went to the Zoo

2008-08-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

And we took pictures!

Myself, Grandma Kathy, Lisa & Collin.

Lisa and her Lemur friends.

Birds hate me, and I hate them.

No trip to the zoo would be complete without a picture of Collin next to his favorite animal.

This Gorilla had the hiccups.

Collin rode the elephant. Grandma Kathy rode the wild boar.

These are sea lions. NOT seals. They made that very clear.

Who enjoyed the gift shop more? Simba...

or Dr. Zaius?

Tool Time and Time Again

2008-08-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

I think the greatest thing about being a first-time home owner is when something needs fixing there is a sudden urge to do-it-yourself. The easy way out is to call a professional. But why not give it a shot? Since moving in I have accomplished these three major tasks: fixed a leaky toilet, replaced electrical cords on the washing machine, and most recently (but not finished) installed a new faucet in the kitchen. I'm going to install one in the bathroom too, but I am one wrench size too small, so I've got to wait.

All of these chores have been frustrating and time consuming. But finishing the job is the ultimately satisfying. And most importantly, $0 has gone towards manual labor. Take that "The Man"!!!!

1 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

2008-08-13T22:54:00.000-05:00

In the beginning we had Dobby, but ultimately this is what happened to him. Recently there was Raja & Miss Love. But now the duo is no more.

We went into the vet on Tuesday with two kittens and left with only one. Turns out Miss Love, who had previously been diagnosed with worms, had the F.I.P. and according to vet, nothing could be done for her. So after being told Miss Love's future, Collin and I went to Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Kevin's house a few blocks away as Lisa stayed with her as she was put to rest. Raja was given the opportunity to see her sister one last time before we left.

The vet said that adopting from shelters are pretty much a crap shoot.

Raja is doing very well.

Hey, He's Gonna Sit By You...

2008-08-11T07:46:00.001-05:00

Another one rides the bus.

My friend Lance turned me on to something yesterday that I am going to have to start taking advantage of. And that something is ... Taking the bus to Royals games.

He called me around 11:00 a.m. to see if I wanted to go to the 1:00 game. Not wanting to leave Lisa car-less, I said I'd go if he drove. That's when he said we will just take the bus. We went to Tomfooleries on the plaza around noon. A "Royals Express" showed up across the street at 12:10. A round trip ticket cost $6, but the bus driver gives you a $6-off coupon for any Royals ticket, so in a sense, the bus ride was free. Lance and I both bought the cheapest upperdeck seats at the stadium, which were $9. So with the coupon our seats cost $3. Nice. What's nicer than that? We sat in the lower level on the right field side where nobody bothers to check to see if you are in the right seats or not. After the seventh inning we moved here...

Throw in a beer and a hotdog, and the whole experience costs less than $20 per person. Though Lance will tell you not to buy any beer at the stadium. It's best to either get wasted at Tomfooleries beforehand, or just bring a sixpack and a flask on the bus and sit in the back. Either way, you can't beat the deal. The topper for me was that on the way home, some people on the bus said that the last (and first) stop is at 75th & Wornall. Just up the street from my house.

Since moving to the Waldo area, Lisa and I always comment on the bus stop that is at 75th & Wornell. We've known that it will take us to the Plaza, or Crown Center, or even Downtown. We've just never taken the time or energy to look up the schedules. It is possible that all that might change soon.

Injury

2008-08-08T09:38:00.000-05:00

I played NCAA Football last night for four hours. I had bought the game a week ago but had never had the opportunity to play it until last night. Until now I had never owned a college football game. My left thumb is swollen and it feels like there is fluid building up under the skin.

The game is pretty fun, but it's just buying me time until Madden comes out.

Testes, Testes, One, Two...

2008-08-05T22:21:00.000-05:00

A while back the Trip Fives met with a guy to do some cold readings for some possible internet sketches. Though there were roughly 20 scripts to go over, the focus was on a couple of "jokes" that could possibly be animated and presented to Mondo Media. The jokes would then be animated much like the Happy Tree Friends, a Mondo mini show.

Last night we all (minus Megan, who is currently scheduling her appointment) did the audio recordings for the two scripts. It was a lot of fun. I've auditioned for one voice-over commercial only once before. But really, to all of us, this was very new. We all stood in the sound proof room with headphones and mics. Tom and Jerry (that's right) were on the other side of the glass, only being able to converse with us after the push of a button. After various sound and level checks, we recorded. An hour later, we were done, but I have a feeling we could have done that all night and maybe even into the next day as well.

The next step is to have the audio cleaned up with a little music and sound effects, then it will be presented to the Mondo people, or person. It may just be one guy, but in my mind is a big boardroom full of people in matching suits. Then, who knows? Maybe it will be animated, which hopefully could lead to more recordings. It's possibly that we could start working on some of those other scripts for some future short-film festivals. Out of the 20, about half of them I could really see working.

I am trying to keep my expectations low at this point. I'm excited, but there are other more important things to focus on.

The Hook Brings You Back

2008-08-04T14:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, a few of months ago I had blogged about joining the YMCA. I had been putting off hitting the basketball court because I know how bad of shape I have been in. Not that getting into shape would help my game. Far from it. Even when I was 18 and playing on a regular basis, I never played like I was 18. I played more like a 50 year old. I do the hook shot. I do the scoops. I do the sloooooooow fade away jumper. I can pass. I even do the occasional 3 pointer. That's my game. All that has nothing to do with getting into shape. The reason I avoided the court was because I knew if I started there, I would never hit anything else.

So now three months after joining, I am ready to ball it up. I've taken it pretty easy so far, nothing too drastic. A couple games of 21, one game of 2 on 2, and one game of 1 on 1. I tell you, playing like a 50 year old is just like riding a bicycle. I might as well where this jersey whenever I play.

I didn't win any of the games of 21, but I did earn respect from the people I played with. The game of 2 on 2 was pretty easy. I believe my team won 12 to 7. I contributed about 8 of those points. The game of 1 on 1 was different. I played against a 14 year old black kid that was twice my size. He had to be at least 6'3" and weighed in the ballpark of 280 lbs. Mentally, he was a good ball player. Physically, he was a little slow. I simply scooped and hooked all around him. I won 12 to 2. I think he had to be tired by the couple of games he played before I played him.

So far I have been one of two white boys playing at this gym, which doesn't at all bother me, nor does it seem to bother anyone else. Which is awesome. I love playing the game of basketball and I love playing with competitive people. I am very comfortable playing there. My confidence is up and my goal is for all of the locals to soon start referring to me as Pistol Pete or even Bird, only because they don't seem to care what my real name is.

My game is better than it ever has been. I think it's because I have been playing like a 50 year old for so long. With every year that gets closer to that age, that's another year that I get better. Never doubt the hook. Just fear it.

My Chin Is Not Pronounced

2008-07-30T07:07:00.000-05:00

Tell me something I don't know.

A while ago I got manscaped, and now the article has come out. Once you are there you can go and read about some of the other "men" that went and had this done.

When I look at the before and after...

I think I look better in the first picture. Maybe that's just me. Maybe that's just the "style" that I am comfortable with. Anyway, about three days later I started resembling the before pic again.

Overall, it was fun. It was free. I got in the paper.

I could have done without them making me a foot shorter. That was not part of the deal.

Enjoy It With Me Now

2008-07-29T21:58:00.001-05:00

The first teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

July Improv Blog-off.

2008-07-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the July improv blog topic for the Kansas City improv community. This month's topic: Is there such a thing about being too nice? Too blunt?

This topic deals with giving feedback of another's show and/or performance. I am a firm believer that someone should never open their mouth about a show/performance to that individual unless it is asked for. If they don't ask for it, then and only then is a "good show" a worthy comment.

Now, as far as giving feedback goes, I don't necessary believe that giving too nice or too blunt of advice hurts the performer. Yes, there are some very fragile people out there who could get hurt if they ever knew the truth, but most of us are smart enough to know whether or not we gave a bad performance. We are our toughest critic and we know when we've done shitty work. Yes, there are people out there who are clueless to their own performances. They are the ones that are extra happy, all shiny and smiley at the bar afterwards. Why crush this poor sap's spirit? If they need to get better, then it should be their troupe that does the teaching.

What is it about feedback that gets people all riled up? I think it says a lot about the person who feels the need to give people their opinion. To tell someone that what they did is either good or bad gives a person a sense of importance, like they need to prove to others that they know their shit. Yes, we are a community and a small one at that, but if we need to go around telling everyone either how good or how bad they are, then we should all join forces and be one gigantic troupe. Because within the troupe/team/group should be where any of the constructive criticism comes from. It shouldn't come from anywhere else unless it's asked for. And then and only then can and should a person be honest.

The same goes for telling people whether or not they need to take workshops. If someone outside of your own personal troupe is shoving classes down your throat, who are they to tell you what you need? Listen to your troupe.

Like always, this is just my opinion. I've been known to be wrong on more occasions than one.

This Week In Improv

2008-07-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

The week is over, and it was a busy one. Recap.

Wednesday was the beginning of the Kansas City Improv Showcase at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Mr. Guy Maggio had organized a Wednesday through Sunday improv extravaganza, and got it all under one roof. He acted as director, producer, technical supervisor, host, talent scout, stage hand, and a plethora of other title during this stretch. The Fringe was a blast to be a part of and Guy deserves all the credit coming his way.

As for me, I had put together a mini Improv Thunderdome to participate in the festivities. Wednesday started the exciting week that was. Round 1 was between Trivial Prov-suit (John Robison of the Roving Imp Theater and James Nelson with the Makeshift Militia) and Loaded Dice (Improv Thunderdome's season one champions). Both sets were great, and in the end Trivial Prov-suit won the match by a vote of 12 to 11. The one vote difference was a Thunderdome first.

Friday, round 2 pitted Improv-Abilties (Organizers of the up coming Kansas City Improv Festival) against Spite (or "the lady parts of Tantrum", Trish Berrong, Nikki DuPont & Megan Mercer). Again, two great sets were presented, and once again one vote determined the outcome. Spite was victorious 16 to 15. An hour and a half later, Jen Roser, Megan Mercer and myself performed in the KC Improv Showcase as three fifths of the Trip Fives. We had a lot of fun. The set went by so fast. I had had one beer before the show (which I NEVER do) and felt as if it went right to my head. I personally felt "off" but nonetheless had a great time performing with Jen and Megan.

Saturday came the original Improv Thunderdome at the Westport Coffeehouse, round two of season two. Scriptease vs. Death Rattle vs. CCC. I thought all teams gave great performances, but to be honest, none of them seemed to have brought their A game. Each set included many great highs and great laughs, but each set also included a few down moment. Nothing down-right horrible, just some lulls that I think each and every performer would agree with, that is the only reason why I feel comfortable mentioning it. In the end, Scriptease received the most votes, and became the first 2-time finalists in Thunderdome's short history. I was very proud of everyone and am so happy that each person was involved. Also, big props to Loaded Dice who performed their first true show before Thunderdome. They all did great.

Sunday was the last day of improv at the Fringe, and the last show was the mini-championship of the mini-thunderdome. Trivial Prov-suit vs. Spite. The crowd, I believe, was the biggest of the week (Not of the whole Fringe Fest, I'm sure, but for the improv portion of it). 50 people came and voted Spite as the mini champs. And once again, for the third straight show in a row, one vote decided the winner. 23 to 22. Awesome, and completely unheard of.

Now that it is Monday, I am looking back on my busiest week of improv since 1998 or '99, or whenever the last Lighten Up/Funny Outfit sponsored improv festival was. This past week was a blast. After talking with Guy after show, we discussed the excitement of next year's Fringe Fest and ways of expanding the talent as well as the audiences. To be honest, the audiences were quite a surprise. Not to mention some of the press we got with the KC Star, the Pitch (both mini-dome & regular-dome), and even the KC Stage. What a week. The improv community should be very proud. And a big thank you should go out to all of those involved.

Thanks.

9-6-5 is a Joke

2008-07-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

This morning I was listening to the radio during 96.5 the Buzz's "My List" mornings. For those that don't know what that is, it's where listeners can submit their own "top ten" lists and possibly have them played on the air. A chance for the listeners to take over the airwaves. They've been doing this off and on for almost three years now. Sometimes the person who created the list can actually get on the air. Usually they don't. This morning was no exception.

As the morning DJ was playing a song list created by Joe Listener, he was having a contest, sort of, throughout the duration of the list. He wanted listeners to call and guess what the "theme" of Joe's list was. Whoever had the best answer would win tickets to some concert this weekend. I only heard one caller, but my guess is that he was right on the money. Not only with Joe Listener's list, but every "My List" that has ever been played on the station.

DJ: "What do you think Joe's theme is?"

Caller: "Songs that would be played on this station anyway."

The caller hit the nail on the head. The DJ tried to play it off like it was funny, saying something like, "Oh, so you think Joe is just being lazy?" HA. I bet not. I submitted a list back when they first started doing this. Did it get played? Of course not. Was I upset? Not really, but then I started hearing everyone else's playlist. It was a Joke. Are you telling me that everyone and their mother has at least one Red Hot Chili Peppers song in their list? I seriously doubt it. Even if they did, would all the songs be off of their last two albums. Hell NO! Every list was the Killers, Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, My Chemical Romance, 311, Sublime, Blink 182, and every other band that is in the Buzz's regular rotation.

A lot of lists had bands that I actually like, but come on, if any die hard Weezer fan is going to put one of their songs in their top ten list, it wouldn't by Buddy Holly. And do that many people out there like the Offspring that much? It's a Joke.

Anyway, I've though this way for a while, but hear the station today made we want to rant about it.

Dark Indeed

2008-07-18T22:07:00.000-05:00

We went and saw The Dark Knight this morning, and it was everything I wished it would have been and more. Those are my thoughts and opinions at this very moment. Usually I don't like to start dissecting a movie until I have stewed over it for a couple of days, thinking about every little bit that I liked and disliked. This film was different. I wasn't watching this movie as an adult. I watched it as a kid.

Lisa already wants to go see it again. She was blow away. I think she expected it to be entertaining, but I don't think she expected it be that good as a whole. The acting was probably one of the best things about it, which usually is absent from most comic book films. Rumors are already starting to pop up about oscar nominations for the late Heath Ledger. He was, dare I say it, a brilliant Joker. Sick, twisted, and definitely different from Jack Nicholson's take on the murderous psychopath. (There were moments that were hard to watch because I'd be enjoying his performance so much, then realize that he is dead. It was sad.) But to me, Ledger's performance wasn't even the best part. Aaron Eckhart blew me away.

Aaron Eckhart

I was more enthralled with his Harvey Dent than anything else. Maybe that's just because I knew of his character's fate. But still, his performance should not be overlooked. And all the rest of the actors that rounded out the cast; Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, they all gave great performances. Even Maggie Gyllenhaal wasn't too shabby.

The kid in me loved it. The adult in me loved it. They both can't wait to see it again.

Best. Speech. Ever.

2008-07-16T14:53:00.000-05:00

I Love a Good Story

2008-07-15T07:46:00.000-05:00

Especially if it involves baseball, drugs, and life-changing comebacks.

This is Josh Hamilton, of the Texas Rangers, in last night's home run derby.

Hamilton ended up finishing second to Minnesota's Justin Morneau, but not until he pounded a derby record 28 bombs in the first round. 13 of them were hit consecutively. 3 of them were longer then 500 ft, putting them in the top ten list of longest shots in the history of the derby. His 518 footer is now third longest overall.

But that wasn't the real story.

Each member of the HR derby gets to choose who they would like to pitch to them for the contest. Hamilton picked a 71-year-old volunteer coach who often threw batting practice to Hamilton when he was a teenager in North Carolina.

But that wasn't the real story.

They say that Josh Hamilton had a dream two years ago that he was being interviewed at Yankee Stadium after competing in the Home Run Derby. Last night that dream came true.

But that doesn't even begin to be the real story.

Josh Hamliton was drafted in 1999, out of high school, by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was the #1 overall pick. Veteran scouts had said that he was one of the greatest talents that they have ever seen. Then heroin, cocaine, and alcohol addiction took over his life. He was banned from baseball and was slowly becoming a story of a "never will be" player. His "HR derby" dream came two years ago while he was still banned. After awaking from that dream, he started taking the steps to self-recovery.

Last year with Cincinnati was his first year in the majors. He was then traded to Texas, where this year he is on pace to be the first triple crown winner (Leader in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. The home run derby/All-star game signifies the halfway point in baseball. Josh Hamilton is by far the greatest story in baseball this season.

As a fan, what made last night so special to watch, besides the bombs the Hamilton hit, was the crowd at Yankee Stadium. Arguably the toughest and most passionate fans in any sport, they new his story. The cheered for him. Everyone there wanted to see him win. They were chanting his name before the first round was even over. Even though I hate the Yankees, last night I loved their fans. Not to mention all the other players there, veterans and rookies alike, all stood in awe with every swing. You could see some mouth the word 'Wow" every now and then. It was amazing.

I can not even begin to imagine what it must be like to not only suffer with an addiction, but to be haunted by several. Heroin AND cocaine AND alcohol. Forget it. This guy beat them all, and is now in the spotlight where he so rightfully deserves. This is a guy that everyone should root for. This is a guy that you want to watch succeed. With so many scandals in today's sports, fans all over are being feed reasons to stop caring.

Then came Josh Hamilton and his story.

I love it.

New Additions.

2008-07-14T07:40:00.000-05:00

Lisa and Collin went to Animal Haven on Friday to look at some puppies. Just look. That was their sole intention. They came back, however, with the two newest additions to our family.

Jasmine Raja the Second & Raja Miss Love the First

They are three month old Maine Coon sisters, and they are my little girls. It did not take them very long to adjust to their new surroundings. Within a day they were out and about, exploring each corner and step of their new home. Even this morning, they were both sitting on Collin's lap as he sat on the couch, waiting for the bus to arrive. I think the two of them being siblings may have factored in to their quick adjustment. If I remember correctly, Dobby (R.I.P.) spent a lot of time out our bed. yes, he was a sickly cat, but even on his good days he still stayed hidden. Having two gives them a little company and maybe even a little confidence.

Their adopted names were Jasmine and Raja. That stuck for about an hour. Collin decided that he wanted to rename Raja, Miss Love (Don't ask). Lisa, liking the name Raja, thought to just rename Jasmine. So now Raja is Miss Love and Jasmine is Raja. I thought it would be neat to stick with the Harry Potter theme and name them Padma & Parvati. Or perhaps something obscure like Chickenhead.

I was out voted. Raja and Miss Love fit their personalities nicely though.

Lawn Jockey III

2008-07-10T07:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, two weeks ago yesterday I planted the seeds for new grass, and I haven't mowed my lawn since. The new grass is growing in nicely, but not everywhere. Sure, the great big patch of dirt surrounding the tree is covered, but there are still some areas that I clearly missed with the seeds. I can not allow myself to focus of that though. We have new grass!!

Because of my lack of knowledge or knowhow about new grass, I have refrained from mowing it just yet. It's very easy to pick out the new grass from the old. Besides the bright green color, the new grass looks about three inches shorter than the old. Probably not that noticeable to someone driving by, but I notice it while I'm sitting there staring at it, wondering when I should start mowing. I'm also putting it off because I think I've been cutting it too short. When I worked at the L'Arche house with "the boys" I always had to mow the yard, which was on a corner street so it had much more yard than most houses. I cut that sucker as low as I possibly could just to give myself time in between mows. That must have stuck in my mindset.

Anywho, I can't wait to start mowing again.

I Have Seen the Face of the Enemy

2008-07-08T21:41:00.001-05:00

And it belongs to the Cricket Spider.
Or, as I just now found out as I searched for a picture, the "Cave Cricket".

I Hate these things. Hate!

When Lisa and I first got married and lived with her aunt, these hideous creatures lurked the inside of our house at night. Often times I would be playing the Playstation at wee hours of the night with nothing but the glow of the television as my source of light. These things would freak-me-out as I seem the scurry across the floor in front of the t.v. Then I get up and turn on the light to kill them and they just hop away. Awful things!!! We had no idea where they were coming from. They liked hanging out in the bathroom, so my best guess is that they come from the sewer.

Anyway, when we moved I was hoping that our mutated spider problem was in our past.

I was hoping.

One greeted me at the bottom of the stairs on my way to do laundry. I greeted him with my foot, fast.

I'm thinking about heading up to Lowe's tomorrow and stock up on some ammo. If and when I see them again, I'll be ready.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere Comes Whiskey!

2008-07-06T00:06:00.000-05:00

My brother and his wife came down from Minnesota this weekend. It was nice for me, Lisa and Collin to spend some time with them. My brother's wife is a nurse like Lisa, so they got to discuss the likenesses and differences of their jobs. My brother is just a bigger, smarter, funnier version of me. The only proof of the "smarter" aspect of that was the Big Brain Academy game on the Wii. He outscored everybody.

Along with my mom and her husband, we all went and watched fireworks Friday night out at Shawnee Mission Park. It was very nice and surprisingly not a lot of bug casualties. Today we went to Jack Stack for lunch and then headed out to the Woodlands for some evening entertainment and gambling. Even if you don't care for dog racing at all, it's easy to get caught up in the action after your first bet. The greatest, and possibly most famous, thing about this event is the announcer yelling "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere Comes Woody!" at the start of each race. Tonight, the guy sounded extra drunk. He talks about each dog before the enter the starting gate, but it doesn't matter. You can't understand him and nobody is really listening anyway. They are all waiting for the "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere Comes Woody!" to set the tone. This "Woody" is a little stuffed animal bone that the dogs chase around the track. The dogs never catch it. If one every does, I think it's shot on the spot. (j/k)

My grandfather used to take us grandkids out to the Woodlands all the time when we were young. Both he and my brother have the "luck" gene. They hit trifectas left and right. What always made it worse was that they never even seemed to care about winning. Some people go to the track to bet it all on the long shot, hoping to walk away with a fortune. Both my grandfather and brother would go for the fun of it, and always walk away with more money than they came with.

Tonight wasn't too bad though. Lisa and I took turns better on each race. She got hooked right away. I told ya, it's easy to get hooked. Everyone had their system, whether it was sharing a birthday with a dog, or a funny name, or even a favorite number. My mom waits to see which dog pees before they enter the gate. She didn't do so hot tonight. In the end, I think my brother was the only one that came out on top, even if it was only a couple of bucks.

It was a good time. I think we'll go again some other time.

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T07:21:00.001-05:00

Have a safe one, everybody!

Manscaped!

2008-07-03T17:18:00.000-05:00

Well, it's over and done with. Now I am smooth like a baby seal.

The magic all took place at a men's salon called Sole Patch in Prairie Village. It is owned by this guy here, Ron.

Turns out Ron was on this season's Bachelorette. He didn't make it to the final two, but he did cut my hair. Nice guy.

I received a hair cut, side burn, goatee & eye brow trim, a hot towel shave, moisturizer and style!!! When I first sat down in Ron's chair, he told me that my current "style" makes my face round, which is good on woman, not on men. He also said something about my cheekbones, but at that moment I blushed and stopped paying attention to him.

Before and after pictures were taken. I was told that me and this other guy were considered the "tamest" of the bunch as far as grooming goes. They said they needed a nice variety. Perhaps I had the wildest goatee, but everyone else looked like wookies.

This story will be in the Ink sometime in August.

Now it's time for my manicure.

Manscaping

2008-07-01T16:03:00.000-05:00

This face here...

is going to get a makeover.

A local magazine asked if I wouldn't mind participating in something they are calling "manscaping." They were looking for a couple of local guys that look like they could use a good cleaning up. So on Thursday I get to go to a salon and let them have at it. I'm not really sure what all they are going to do. I know I'll get a shave. Possibly a shampoo and a haircut. But other than that, what else could there be? Waxing? Facial? Manicure? I doubt it.

This should be pretty fun. I change my appearance at least once a month, so this won't be too drastic. Unless I come out looking like this...

Yowzer!

Weezer - Pork & Beans

2008-06-30T10:17:00.000-05:00

For all you web junkies out there. This video is for you.

Lawn Jockey II

2008-06-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, this morning we noticed a smattering of little sprigs around the base of the tree. This shocked me. I didn't expected to see progress in any way, shape or form for a least two weeks. Still, this news is not something that I am jumping up and down about. We've still go a long way to go.

The impatient me is now wondering if it is too late to go this route. I like the idea of my lawn kicking the other lawn's asses.

June Improv Blog-off.

2008-06-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the June improv blog topic for the Kansas City improv community. I will take this time to blog about ALL the topics that got at least one vote in this months poll, starting with the one that got the most votes, then the second most, and so on and so forth. These are just my opinions and should be taken as such.

What's the importance of a troupe's Name?

Here in Kansas City, I believe that the choice of name for your troupe, team, group or company is not relevant to the actual performance aspect of the group. Growing up in improv, all I ever heard was that a name had to either be funny, sound funny, or have a term that means funny in the title. I don't believe this. Name yourself whatever you want to and throw "Improv Comedy" on the end of it. It's simple. It won't take you four months to decide. And It will keep you less distracted from the more important things about your troupe. Mainly the performance aspects of it.

Sure there should be some thought into it. When the Trip Fives were coming up with a name, we thought of dozens. All were awful. But then one night while I was driving home from a poker game with Tim & Ed, I thought of giving ourselves a poker term as a title. "Trip Fives" is another way of saying "Three of a kind" or "a set of fives". An improv performance or format is often called a set. There were five of us going to perform a set. So, a set of fives became the Trip Fives. Our mindset was only on that first show, so we did not think about the name in the long run. But does it matter. Nope. No one bit. It's just a name.

What advice would you give new improvisers?

If you want to treat improv as more than a hobby, then move to another city. If you wanna enjoy improv and performing the art, then find other things to occupy your time. Then when a show is in your future, treat it as a gift to yourself. Focus on it only at times that allow it. Don't let all the inner-improv community politics, or the "Improv Man", bring you down. Perform at your own pace and guidance. Learn when you wanna learn. Perform when you wanna perform. Take a break when you wanna take a break. There are more important things in life than improv.

How do you find your improv style and voice?

Challenge your comfort level on stage. Keep doing it until something clicks.

How much rehearsal time is really needed to prepare for a show?

It all depends on the show itself. New games? New format? New players? If a troupe needs time to get comfortable with any of these, then the amount of rehearsals should be up to the troupe themselves.

I do believe that there is such a thing as over-rehearsing. I believe this because I have done it. When you rehearse a structure or a format some many times that after a while it becomes a mockery of itself while rehearsing it. I've mentioned this before about warm-ups. Save some nervous energy for the show. If you've got an idea of how the show will/should go, trust your instincts and the instincts of your fellow performers that come show time the right choices will be made.

So, in my opinion, 3+ rehearsals are needed to prepare for a show.

Festival question: Is it important for the out-of-towners to see what the locals are doing?

Would it be nice if they did? I guess it would. Would it matter? Nope. Is it important? Hells No. Do I personally think the out-of-towners care what goes on here in KC? Not in the least. Why should they? They don't live here or don't live here anymore. And if they did live here before, they moved for a reason. They have moved on to bigger and better things. If they come back, it's only for once a year and it's only so they can be pampered by the local improv community.

Even if people never lived here but only come around for special workshops or festivals, do you actually think the sit around the breakfast table and wonder what other cities are doing? You're crazy. They've got families, jobs, other troupes to care more about. People think that someone is going to attend a festival here and then all the sudden "KANSAS CITY WILL BE ON THE IMPROV MAP!!!" Sheesh.

If people want to be noticed in Kansas City, then they've got to force Kansas City to notice them first.

Leggy Blonde

2008-06-26T08:13:00.000-05:00

This song is currently stuck in my head.

Lawn Jockey

2008-06-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

Now that Collin is attending his summer enrichment program, I have got to program myself to enrich my summer.

(I know, I'm not too proud of that first sentence either)

I am going to tackle the lawn. Thanks to the gi-normous oak tree in our front yard, we've got little to no grass there. The tree is drinking the grass's milkshake. It is so ugly to look at and absolutely no fun to mow. So yesterday we went to Lowe's and bought fertilizer and seeds. Today I raked the area, broke up the soil, planted and watered.

Now..... we wait.

This is going to be extremely hard for me because I am a very impatient person. If I am doing something, I need results fast. If I do not get results fast, I go a little crazy.

If there isn't grass growing by tomorrow, I'm going to set the lawn on fire.

My New Latest Obsession

2008-06-22T08:34:00.000-05:00

"It feels good in my brain!"

The Dark Knight opens on July 18th. I thought that this would be the only movie that is a "must see in the theater" for me. I was wrong.

There is another.

This opens August 8th.

Somthing about this stoner/action/comedy makes me smile.

HADOUKEN!

2008-06-21T09:27:00.001-05:00

Summer School

2008-06-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

I had blogged earlier about Collin's new school, what I did not blog about was the school's "Summer Enrichment Program" that started this week. A great way for children entering kindergarten (and/or a new school) a chance to meet some classmates before the school season begins. And to get used to the funny language the teachers speak.

The reason I did not blog about it was because our application for this program was turned in a couple days past the deadline, putting us seventh on the waiting list and no chance of getting him in. So we thought. Last Saturday we attended a school function where "new-to-the-school" parents could ask "old-to-the-school" parents questions. While we were there, we found out that they opened a new summer class, and that everyone on the waiting list go in. FANTASTIC!! Sure would have been nice if someone told us. So we called on Monday (A day the summer program began) and it turned out that they lost our application. EVEN MORE FANTASTIC!!! All we had to do was come in and fill a new one out, including information on the bus schedule, and they would place him in the new class. I'm happier now.

Cut to today.

After the school processed everything, Collin was officially on the class roster as of Thursday. He didn't go Thursday because, well, to be honest, we kind of had it out of minds that he was going, and we just weren't ready for him to be gone yet. So today was his first day. We dropped him off at 8:00 a.m. and picked him up at 3:30 p.m.

Here's a few pictures of this historic event:

Collin waking up, fully dressed and ready for breakfast. Pre-combed hair. As you can see by the look in his eyes, he is very serious.

Hair combed. Breakfast finished. He's ready to go.

We arrive. I think he is a bit nervous, but he doesn't want to show it.

When we picked Collin up, he and his classmates were sitting by the door, singing something in French. I have no idea what it was, and frankly, I don't think they did either. But it was cute.

The victorious "First-Day-Of-School After-School" ice cream cone. The happy look on his face went away when I showed up at the table with my rainbow sherbet. Collin did not choose his flavor wisely.

Random picture of me with puppy on my face, which did happen today.

Overall, it was a very exciting day. Collin seemed to handle himself really well. New school. New friends. New language. Pretty much new everything, and this isn't even officially kindergarten yet. This summer program lasts almost a complete month. But boy, aside from the kinks that happened getting into it, we are very excited. But it won't be the same without him around.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

Get a haircut, you hippies!

Movies I Have Recently Seen.

2008-06-11T08:16:00.001-05:00

Time to get the image of that last post out of my head, Now.

...

Okay, fine. Now.

...

Done.

Lisa and I used to frequent the cinema a lot B.C. (Before Collin). We were quite the Movie Watchers. We still are though, just not as much as we'd like. But thanks to Movies On Demand, we're able to catch up on some summer blockbusters and highly recommended indie films that we never made it out to see. We did however go see the Indiana Jones film in theatre. Though I liked it, I am not going to say anything about it other than, going into it, my expectations were very low. Therefore, I was very entertained by it.

Here are two that we recently purchased off the television:

Gone Baby Gone.

I only knew a few minor details about this movie before we watched it. I knew that Ben Affleck directed it, and I knew that Amy Ryan was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the last Oscars. I also knew that Ben's little brother, Casey, starred in it, but that alone wouldn't make me want to watch it.

I was very impressed. The movie is about a Boston private detective that gets hired to investigate a local missing childrens case by the aunt of the victim. The movie starts off kinda slow, but really starts to pick up. Casey Affleck is really good. His character has the same Bostonian accent and attitude that made Good Will Hunting so great (Afterwards I found out the Ben Affleck also wrote this movie, just like GWH). This movie also gets very disturbing. Not in a Se7en kinda way, but disturbing in the sense that it enters the world of child abduction and the perps that inhabit that world. A few disgusting characters and uncomfortable situations, but those sorta things can be what makes some movies so entertaining.

Throw in worthy performances by Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, and you've got yourself a good movie. I highly recommend it. I'm still trying to figure out it the ending was happy or not.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I really wanted to like this movie. I really did. But it just wasn't that good. The music was good, and I can enjoy a good musical. But something about this movie just didn't do it for me. It wasn't the blood, I like blood in movies. It wasn't the acting, I thought everyone did a good job. It wasn't the set, the costumes, the lighting, the time period, the pies, or anything of that. It just wasn't good. Lisa and I both agree that perhaps this particular story doesn't translate well to the screen. I can very well picture that a live stage performance of Todd would be incredible. But this, like the bodies to the basement, just fell flat.

I would also like to say that I never thought I would see Timothy Spall play a character slimier than Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew. His portrayal of Beadle was pretty slimy.

Nothing To Report

2008-06-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

So chew on this...

Hitting the Schmooze Button

2008-06-04T11:42:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow the Trip Fives are helping sponsor a local event connected with the KC Downtowners. It should be fun, this will be my first trip inside the new Power & Light District. The only thing I am not looking forward to is the talking to people. I'm not a schmoozer.

I've never been to anything like this so I am not really sure how things are going to go down. I believe at some point, because we are a sponsor, the Trip Fives will be mentioned over a crowd of like 400 people. Then we, the Fives, will be inter-mingling with our fellow guests.

I like talking about improv to other improvisers. I even like talking about improv to my wife, it helps put her to sleep. But talking about it to other people is not really my thing. To me, talking about improv to a stranger is like talking about myself, which is another thing I don't like doing. hell, my neighbors don't even know I'm a performer, and I talk to them every day.

Still, I now see the importance of the whole thing, so tomorrow I will put on my big boy pants and get my schmooze on.

It helps that there will be free beer.

GENIUS!!!

2008-05-30T15:46:00.001-05:00

Planet Sub: Six-inch Turkey Sub for $2
Go to any local Planet Sub location and mention the Royals the day after ALL Royals wins (HOME and AWAY) and receive a 6 inch turkey sub for only $2. No ticket stub/redemption is required.

Give this guy a raise.

I Like. High Five!

2008-05-28T13:02:00.001-05:00

The Trip Fives had their first professional photo shoot last night. Man, was it fun. Our good friend, Clint Sears (here is a look at some of his work), was the eye behind the camera. The shot above is the only one I've seen so far, but that one is enough to fill me with elation. He did a awesome job.

I have been apart of photo shoots in the past, but never anything quite like this. For starters, we had Clint. But we also had the aid of two other fellows that sort of overlooked the whole project. One was Kevin Fullerton, who runs Springboard Creative and is also my step-father-in-law (as I call him). The other, Mr. Jeremy Johnson, who is the genius behind all of the Fives' posters. Throw in a seamless room at a real production studio and we've got ourselves a photo shoot that none of us could have ever dreamed of.

Out of the 1500+ shots that were taken, Kevin and Jeremy are going to chose around 12-16 good ones. We will then use them for press releases, promos and our future website.

I am very excite!!!

Warm-ups Before a Show. Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

2008-05-26T14:17:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the May improv blog topic for the Kansas City improv community. The topic is the title: Warm-ups before a show. Good, bad, or indifferent? My thoughts...

Sometimes they are good. If you are in a rut before a show and need a little fix to make things feel right, a good quick energetic warm-up is just the thing to get you back on the performance-minded track. If it is high-energy and has a little bit of a "pointless" feel to it, those are usually the ones I like the most.

Sometimes they are bad. There is such a thing as being put "into your head" simply because the warm-ups got you there. Ones that have too many rules to it. Yeah, sure, they're good for concentration. But honestly, If you need a warm-up exercise to help you concentrate before a show, perhaps you're not ready to be on stage. Just drink a blueberry smoothie and focus on something else.

Sometimes they are indifferent. What? Who's indifferent? Get'em outta here!

This topic isn't really debatable in my opinion. How can anyone say what is good and what is bad? Whatever works for the group, right? Frankly, I think warm-ups are great for rehearsals, but not necessarily important before a show. Most people wanna get all they can out of rehearsals. So a little warm-up will clean out the cobwebs and prepare you for some serious practice. But before shows, one should already have enough nervous energy running through their veins, that a warm-up will only hinder the energy. Sometimes, that nervous energy is better than any warm-up I've ever participated in. That, and a blueberry smoothie. Seriously. Every member of every troupe should drink one before every show. I don't know how many times I have to say this.

Yes, Yes, He'll Learn To Surrender. I Get It.

2008-05-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

After his summer vacation, Collin will be attending Kindergarten at Academie Lafayette. It is a French immersion school and he will be taught nothing but French from grades kindergarten through second. When I say taught, I mean the teachers will speak nothing but French until he hits third grade. Lisa has nine years experience in French and even spent some time over there during high school. I do a killer Inspector Clouseau impression. So we'll have no problem helping him with his homework.

All joking aside, I am very excited for Collin and this opportunity. We have heard nothing but great things from people who have either sent their kids there or have friends who have kids there now. We all went in on Thursday for a "Parent's Questions" meeting and for Collin to get evaluated. We met a small majority of the staff and got to see a the school in action. It was great.

To top things off, even though it's not that important, the school itself has kind of a Rushmore feel to it. We'll have to keep an eye on Collin's extracurricular activities.

Ball Joints

2008-05-20T12:31:00.000-05:00

Just another car term that is going to set my family back somewhere around $600.

FANTASTIC!

I've talked about my car history here and I've talked about my recent run-in with the police here. Because of the ladder, we needed to get our car inspected before registering it in Missouri. What did the mechanic say?

"Blah blah Ball Joints. Blah blah $600. Blah blah bend over."

Which royally sucks because we still haven't heard from this guy here.

Happy Mama's Day!

2008-05-11T13:58:00.001-05:00

I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my lovely wife, Lisa, and my lovely mom, Marsha, and to all the other mothers on this very special day.

Last night Lisa, Collin and myself spent some time at the Spirit of Mission Days' carnival before heading to the Salsa Grill and Mission Bowl for our friend Marla's birthday. This was Collin's first carnival. Both Lisa and I have fond memories of little carnivals like this one. The fact that it rained off and on just kinda seemed right for the occasion. We all rode several different rides. Collin and Lisa started things off with the flying elephants, before Collin dared something bigger. He and I went on the scramble despite my sensitivity towards motion sickness. After a minute of Collin screaming "Too fast, TOO FAST!", he relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the ride. The carney let us go around a second time for free with out even asking or noticing the paleness of my face. Lisa took her turn on the scrambler with Collin after he rode a couple more of the smaller rides. I could tell by her face that even she did not expect the speed at which those turns were going.

The night was very special. We won some prizes, ate some funnel cake, and most importantly, Lisa got to ride the ferris wheel with very very special little boy.

This morning the three of us went to breakfast at Mama's on 39th street. This was only Lisa's second time there. We used to go all the time when it was Nichols Lunch. Anyway, this place is great. It's even been featured of the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. They've got over 60 omelets on their menu. I thought I was just going to be getting the standard biscuits & gravy, thinking that there wasn't going to be a single omelet to catch my attention. I was wrong. Number 42. That number will forever be sacred to me as the country fried steak, onions, and gravy omelet. It was so tasty that I wasn't able to save any gravy for my biscuit on the side. Lisa got a crab and broccoli scrambler which was tasty as well. Collin got the chocolate chip pancakes. Yummy!

To finish off the night, when Lisa gets back from going nursery shopping (the garden kind!) with her mommy, the three of us will head to Union Station to check out an IMAX film about oceans. But first, I must go search for my stash of dramamine.

"Phone's ringing, Dude."

2008-05-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

"We want the money, Lebowski!"

Yeah, That's the Ticket.

2008-05-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

I was pulled over this morning for expired tags. They expired at the end of March and I have been taking baby steps towards renewing them. The reason: Everything that goes into registering your car in Missouri. I need to get it inspected, but before I could do that I needed to get my tail light fixed. The tail light is now taken care of, but between Lisa's work, Collin's school and only having one car, it's hard to find time to get it all done in one day. Plus, I don't even know where to go to register. My guess is somewhere downtown, but someone else told me that I should do it in Grandview. Anyway, so like I said, I've been taking baby steps. Thanks to the ticket, I will now be taking grown-up steps in order to reduce the fine.

I have gone a year without renewing my tags once. A full year. I had always known that at some point I was going to have to renew them, but once you hit that three month mark you start asking yourself, "I wonder how much longer I can go?" It ended up being a little over a year. I was actually pulled over twice in the same day. Once on my way to work and once on my way home from work. I should my first ticket to the second cop to prove that I had already been stopped that day. He didn't care. He said something like, "You've gone this long with expired tags that I seriously doubt you intend on taking care of this any time soon." So I smiled, took the second ticket, and got everything straightened out a couple of weeks later.

Oddly enough, It felt good to finally get stopped. I had felt like I had beaten the system for so long. A part of me wanted to say, "It's about time" to the police officer that pulled me over the first time. But I didn't, I may not have been in right state of mind.

Anywho, I think we're going to get the car taken car of next week. The inspection, the registration, the works. If we wait until after May 9th, then President Bush will pay for it all. That will feel good. I think we'll do that.

It's Fun To Stay At The...

2008-05-02T12:45:00.000-05:00

So, Lisa and I joined the local Y. We've gone three weeks in a row now and it is a lot of fun. There is a television built in to every single piece of workout equipment. If there is one thing I've learned about exercising, it's that it is a lot easier when your mind isn't focused on it. I actually spent twenty minutes on the bike just by watching the scores run across the bottom of ESPN. Fantastic!!!

My personal goal, to make it off the basketball court without my face looking like a tomato. I haven't hit the court yet, but it's calling my name. I am going to give myself at least one more month of treadmills, exercise bikes, free weights, and stomach crunches before I impress the locals with my sky hook.

Look out!!!

What Makes A Good Troupe?

2008-04-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is my second installment of the Kansas City improviser's monthly blogging experiment. The topic is the title: "What makes a good troupe?" Having voted on this blog subject, now I wish I hadn't. There are so many aspects of what makes a good troupe that it would kill my fingers to sit here and type them all out. Not to mention my brain, it would explode. Literally. Boom.

I'll try anyway.

I think a good troupe is a collaboration of people who are all comfortable with themselves as performers. By being comfortable, I mean hitting the stage with no worries of your own performance as well as no worries of the others you are sharing the stage with. Even though this doesn't in anyway factor into shows being bad or good, it can factor into a group dynamic.

In Mick Napier's Improvise he talks a lot about taking care of yourself first in a scene. Doing this will allow yourself to react and respond naturally to whatever comes your way. It's as simple as telling yourself, "I'm going to be angry in this next scene no matter what" and then just doing it. The more you take this approach, the more comfortable you will start feeling in scenes, and more importantly, on stage. Get a whole group of people that attack the stage with such ease, and you've got the makings of a good troupe.

Being comfortable does not only fall into the verbal performance category. How many shows have you scene where one or two people are the only ones setting up games? Or editing scenes? Or even starting scenes? You'd be surprised if you didn't think the audience doesn't pick up on this sort of thing. They see it better than you do. They actually respond more to the ones that are jumping out there. It oozes confidence, and the audience will eat that shit up. If someone generally sits in the backup line and waits for others to start scenes before they join, the audience notices that as well. So, when everyone in a troupe equally contributes to all aspects of the performance, the dynamic will grow.

Okay, one more thing. Back when I performed with Lighten Up/Funny Outfit we had two separate troupes: A young one and an old one. Even though both groups rehearsed together, they did not perform together. Why? A lot of the oldies were thrown off by a lot of the youngins during scenes. Or the youngins were too weird and the oldies were too wordy. I performed with both groups so I heard it from both ends. This problem eventually lead the to troupe's death. People were only comfortable with performing with certain types, their own. They steered away from the challenge of performing with someone not like them. The greatest thing about improv is that it should allow you the ability to perform with anyone at anytime, no matter their age, gender, or even experience.

In summary, I guess, when a troupe as a whole is individually comfortable with themselves, comfortable with the performers surrounding them, and comfortable with every aspect that goes into a show, then that the makings of a good troupe.

Playtime.

2008-04-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

Oak Park Mall has a new indoor play area for kids. It's pretty fancy. I think it is sponsored by some automotive dealership or something because there are a lot of cars to climb on. Anyway, Collin enjoys it so we go there from time to time.

The other day Collin and I went after school. He was to play for twenty minutes then we would go to the food court for lunch. While we were there I noticed this foreign guy with his two boys, probably ages three and six, who seemed as if the last thing he wanted to be doing was hanging out in this play area. And the kids seemed like holy terrors. Needless to say, I kept my eye on them. The three year old was making a habit of hitting every kid that came near the slide. This little brat hit Collin in the back once, but Collin didn't let it bother him and moved on. But this kid kept on hitting. A few times the dad would notice his son doing this and go scold him for a second, then get back to sitting and looking miserable. Now, I'm not going to tell anyone how to discipline their child, but if Collin ever acted this way I would have him outta that mall in a heartbeat. Not this dad. We made eye contact after one of his "lessons in friendliness" and gave me a look that signified, "Kids, what can you do?"

The hitting continued to happened throughout our time there. I was surprised that the other parents there weren't noticing this. Sure, I didn't do anything when it happened to my boy, but he moved on. Other kids kept going back as if to stand their ground. Only one parent, after witnessing their child get knocked in the head, did something. She tried to make her little girl go and tell the boy not to hit her. I could almost see the three year old boy's fist clinch as she approached him. That was enough for me to see, so Collin and I left to go eat.

The whole time I sat there and watched this father literally do nothing while his turd of a monster child marked his territory near the slide, I did all I could to not go over and say something to him. Even if I would have gone over to him, who am I to tell another person how to be a parent? I should have just gone with my gut instinct, which was to tell Collin to go punch that three year old in the face.

Thank You For The National Title!

2008-04-17T16:01:00.000-05:00

KU's Rush, Arthur headed to NBA

I don't know anyone who didn't see this coming. But good for them. They both won a championship, now they are ready for bigger and better things.

On a side note, Mario "Greatest Shot In The History of Kansas Basketball History" Chalmers was not present at the press conference.

Spit-take.

2008-04-16T17:17:00.000-05:00

Collin had his very first spit-take yesterday. His initial reaction, Horror! He did not know how to handle it. Mainly because he did not know it was coming.

He and Lisa were sitting on the couch laughing and having a good time. I was sitting in the chair across the room. His giggle-fit was due to mommy was making silly faces. No attention was given to me at all at this point. Right when he sort of calmed down he reached for his drink and took a sip, not knowing that I had a silly face waiting for him whenever he decided to turn his head.

When he looked at me the water went flying. For a half of a second, he was laughing. Then came the tears. He spit-taked himself right into shock and horror.

He is fine now, but we have got to work on his follow through. Soon we can add this to his bag of "bits". It will be right up there with his ability to "Wa wa waaaaa" at the right moment.

Improv Thunderdome Season One Championship Match!

2008-04-14T00:16:00.001-05:00

First of all, congratulations to Charley Belle, Clay Morgan, Patrick Lindhorst & Rob Grabowski of Loaded Dice, Improv Thunderdome's inaugural champs. That's them up there. Look at how happy they are! It is very out of character for Rob to give anyone the finger, but hey, they're the champs now. They can do whatever they want.

Also, a hugh thanks to everyone involved in this. All the performers, all the volunteers, and especially all the audience. These past four months have been crazy awesome. Thanks.

The night was crazy on many levels. He had 150 reservations, that all showed. A first. We had somewhere around 20 people on the waiting list, that had to be turned away. Another first. Turning people away is actually bittersweet. I hate doing it, but then again, sometimes that just has to happen, right? I guess. I've never had to do it before, but I have always kind of wanted to.

I'm not going to talk much about the show because it's late. I'll say this: It happened. It was awesome. Now it's over. I'm happy it's over. These past four months have been a lot of fun and very exciting, but I'm tired. I don't want to think about it anymore. My brain can't take it. I am going to try and give my self until May 1st to not even start thinking about season two, which could possibly be even better than season one. "NOT POSSIBLE", you say. I say, "VERY!" Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with everything. But sometimes my mind doesn't allow me to get very excited about things I am involved with for very long. I have a hard time balancing the good with the bad. My sister would say, "That's the Libra in you."

Anyway, I am mainly happy for all of the performers involved. Each team, whether the won or lost, got to perform to sold out crowds that were 2/3 not there to see them. There was a small moment during the first ten minutes of the third team's set that I actually felt a bit of excitement for what Thunderdome could be for the improv community. People in the audience may have only voted for one team, but the other teams and it's performers will be in the back of their minds for quite some time after the show.

There is something in the air. Kansas City improv is a force to reckon with.

Season two is coming! Beginning in June! Look out!!!

Any Improv Review is a Good Improv Review.

2008-04-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

I honestly believe this.

Here are two articles about the sold out Improv Thunderdome Season One Championship.

The Pitch.

The Kansas City Star.

The one in the Pitch was written by someone who has seen each of the first three shows. More depth, more detail, more descriptive to a reader that has no chance of getting tickets.

The one in the Star was written by someone who hasn't seen a single show. But it's not really about the show, it's more about the fact that all of them have sold out. So the fact that it doesn't have a lot of depth, or any at all, doesn't bother me one bit.

So what good are they? What good are these articles if the show is already sold out?

Ask me again when season two kicks off in June.

Tool Time!

2008-04-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

Who has two thumbs and fixed a toilet today? This guy!

I first noticed small puddle around the washing machine in the basement, which is directly below the bathroom, about a month ago. At first I just thought it was coming from the sometimes-leaky washer. Then the smell came. A smell that could only come from one room in the house. So after a bit of detective work (Collin flushing the toilet while I stood near the washer) and low and behold, it's the Porcelain God.

My first concern was that it was the piping. In the basement you can see the main pipe coming from the Thinking Chair. It was not the main source of the source of the leak. It didn't leak IN the bathroom at all, which I think was a lucky break. The only other thing we could think of was that there HAD to be some kind of cap, ring, or something that connected the toilet to the pipe. Perhaps it was old or cracked.

So today, I figured it out.

I took apart the toilet. Reviewed it. Went to Lowe's.

Got one of these,

And one of these,

And became this guy,

The leak? Oh, it's gone. I fixed it. It was hard work. It took a lot of time. I am sore because of it. But I didn't have to call a plumber and it only set us back $18.00.

For a storybook ending, the bathroom will probably explode tonight while we're sleeping.