Winter is Coming

This morning the first tendrils of Winter were knocking gently on my window.

“Go away, Winter, we don’t want any,” I said. It did not listen.

The night before had been a bowler’d affair, helping theatre patrons listen to stories on a tablet that informed their viewing of the theatre to be seen. As for the show? If I don’t think too deeply, I like it.

Leaving the stage behind us my ears told me that in no uncertain terms should I be leaving them naked. I apologized for their pink embarrassment and continued with my journey.

What else? I must find a place to type that is not next to a sleeping person. It is obnoxious. I must also soon make some eggs.

Eggs are, after all, the promise of the springtime after winter has come.

Nothing too exciting, just a stretch of the fingers

Here we go with a new blog adventure!  Hello friends, I have missed you. What is new? Well for one, this transmission to you is being sent from the loveliest of new homes, Canada.

Yes sir, folks and lizards, I am now a permanent-style visitor of the metropolis of the north, Toronto, Ontario. Or, as the locals call it, T.O.

Or T-dot.

Or Hogtown.

I like Hogtown, but then again I’m partial to pigs.

What am I doing with all my time? This is a good question. At the moment, the internet is taking up too much of my time, and the amount of Real Work™ (PS, alt control t, remember it!) is not what it should be. Perhaps I can ask my nifty landlords if there are yard projects to do.

 I also should create an office space. This might require an air filter and a bit of organization, but the current arrangement of my digs makes me conflicted. Beds are for relaxing, not working, and yet the only chaired work station is… occupied.

At this very moment, I am writing this not to stretch my fingers and my mind, so I can delve the chewy bits of a script that is due on Monday. Wish me luck, there’s lots of gristle about!

"Just an update," he said, "I'm just here to tell everybody what's up."

And he was about to do just that - when his computer crashed its motorcycle outside of Jonsie's Sports Bar and Grille.

Luckily for me, my computer did n't crash, and I'm able to tell you all about my days.

My days are filled with plays.

that's not all too helpful, try again.

I teach ... computer age philosophy. buy my student's would rather watch tv....

no. that's a song lyric. try again.

The pile of Snow north of the sloan house is loosing its will to live, but the mess in my kitchen is amassing arms near the boarder near the boarder of my sanity.

We might be on the brink of another cold war with Russia... or a world war with Russia. I didn't think I'd live to see that happen again. I think there's a game of thrones analogy in there about the big summers and winters, but i'm not sure I want to dig for it.

I am really enjoying being a substitute high school teacher, a college professor, a gymnastics coach, a drama director all while organizing a big theatre festi val for the summer... but I still feel like I'm not getting anything done!

and with that, Waffles!

Time to Fly!

Let’s see, my plane leaves at 5, that is if there was a plane, and for the sake of this argument let’s say there was. 

Ok, so there’s this plane. 

And then a chicken arrives and promptly gets sucked into the jet engine, causing the plane to crash and everybody on it to perish.

 "Dang," says the writer, "I just killed about 200 people with a chicken for no good reason."

But wait! 

There’s a curse on the Rolex one of the business executives now being gently nibbled by a catfish. You see, this (former) living (former) business executive bought it off a street peddler, and former street peddler (now a jail bird too for the act of peddling stolen Rolexes)  gathered said Rolex off of a gypsy named Dan, to took it from the husband of a wife named Strega. 

And good ole' Strega, she laid a curse on the watch: that whomever acquires it unfairly shall suffer an less-than-enviable fate… 

You can imagine what will happen to the poor catfish who, at this time, is ingesting said watch… 

While you ponder aquatic doom that befalls both the fish and the angler who will eventually noodle it and find the cursed object… simply imagine what kind of curses Strega places on her Tupperware! 

And with that,

Waffles.

Big and Little things

Hello,

It's late and I should be doing other things... but I miss you. I miss this.

and by missing this, you have missed out on so many little things. Big things too.

I'm married now.
She lives in Canada.

Next time I blog, I may be in Canada too.

Right now, I'm in Iowa. In a big brick house. My brother and family moves in with me in two weeks.

 I teach gymnastics, high school theatre, college level public speaking and occasionally substitute. Just got off a three week stint as a Biology teacher. It was a lot of fun!

Tomorrow we send out the call for Wapsifest '14 "The Bike Ride of the Valkyrie" someday I should write about Wapsifest '13...

It has been a hard, cold winter but the ice may go out of there winter like it always does, the week of March 17th.

I'm really looking forward to spring.

Waffles!

Art Via Negativa

Hi all,

It is icy in Iowa today, and with the shiny stuff on the ground, I have found myself more reflective than usual….

It’s also be a rather lazy day for me, and as it’s gotten rather late I’m beginning to lament my lack of creative action today.

You see, I am struggling to live a creative life. I have multiple avenues and opportunities in my home to be so, and yet it is difficult for me to make it happen.

I’ve tried it all, having schedule, giving myself rewards, changing the way I think of myself, using others to hold me responsible.  

Nothing has worked.

Schedules get too often disrupted. Rewards quickly escalate to hedonism and laziness, becoming someone else is difficult to maintain. Using others to sustain oneself only leads to bad, bad things.

But there’s hope. What it I convince myself that I must create EVERY DAY, no matter how little, to not feel gross about life in general….. It’s a strategy that works well with brushing my teeth… and eating…

It’s worth a shot!

With that, I have a script about Joey Grimaldi to write…

Waffles!

A Week Making Wonder

So,

Last summer I spent a month in Europe with Zed and a pair of stilts.

For one week, she and I wandered the Danish countryside high on life. A theatre known as Odin housed us and other stilt-type acrobats while we schemed and dreamed on ways to light up the faces of thirty-thousand scouts.

In the end, ninja costumes were donned, hills were climbed, and wonder etched itself over many a visage of young and old alike.

Meanwhile, the wonderful people at Odin delighted us with tales of their past and skills of their craft – and holy bagota, friends, were they skilled! The Odin theatre is an organization that inspires me, every time I encounter it, be it on YouTube, video or in real life. It makes me wish I had half the discipline they did, and then my pretties, oh what a magical time I’d have in this house!

See, Odin people train constantly, sharpening their skills EVERY DAY, be it dance skills, music skills, or vocal skills. It’s enough to make me want to start a regiment…

Now, friends and fellows, you may have noticed that I mentioned a month in Europe, and have only spoken of a week at Odin. Do not worry! The rest of our European adventure awaits!

Soon, Loves, Soon.

Waffles!

PS. Some Odin videos:

My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8dj4awiMJY

Trailer for their newest work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JmK5vLvs0

Live performance, I was riveted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQdD5xUM_8