Easter Sunday

 My family got together this afternoon at my cousins Alyssa and Kelli's to celebrate Easter. Owen my little cousin was sick so we had to relocate our get together from Rockford to Chicago which was great for me because it meant I could actually attend. We've never put much stock in the religionisty of holidays its just an excuse to get together, eat good food, and jaw. It's always such a joy to see my family and there's something really special about having four generations under one roof. We talked extensively about CPS, charter schools, private schools, and educational philosophises.

Later in the evening Joey, Scott, and I played with Craig in U Who? It was a real fun show about Wisconsin seceding from the union, importing jeans from Canada, refusing to export cheese, and forcing everyone to raise rabbits.

A warm, wonderful holiday.

Grade School Memories

I went to Carlson Elementary School in Rockford and I find a lot of things from that time still sticking with me especially the songs. Every Friday the whole school would get together for 'All School Sing' where we would sing a bunch of songs for the two hours before school got out. We sang the Halloween song, a President song which taught us all the presidents in order, we sang Everyday People by Three Dog Night to learn about tolerance, The Purple People Eater, Splish Splash, Old Time Rock and Roll, tons of songs.

I loved singing and still do, I give most of the credit to those all school sings. Every now and again one of these songs from the past will pop back into my head and won't get out. This week Wheel of the Water has been in my head constantly. So much so I'm going to write a sketch involving it in some capacity. Give it a listen and enjoy. It's about the water cycle!



I also just remembered we sang this song a lot too. Maybe it was when we were studying the Revolutionary War and reading The Fighting Ground by Avi...

'On The Road' A Review

On The Road is a film based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac. It follows Sal on his travels back and fourth across the US with various traveling companions and friends. The film captures some of the spontaneous energy of the book but falls short of eliciting any empathy, concern or care for the main characters. Something surely is lost in translation from page to screen. Watching actors act out things described in Kerouac's book turn the characters from engaging rebels to petulant narcissists. Case in point, Kristen Stewart as Marylou giving simultaneous handjobs to Sal and Dean while driving down the highway.

Overall casting was serviceable but uninspired. Kristen Stewart provides the least wooden portrayal of her career. Sam Riley as Sal and Garret Hedlund both left something to be desired from their performance, although their voices captured the cadence and timber of the book or what I imagine those characters to sound like. Viggo Mortensen and Amy Adams provided two bright spots however brief.

Intriguing but ultimately unfulfilling.

Rent It.

Haint

lurid darkness
coalesces
into fears
the mind possess

hidden horrors
deeply buried
spring to life
sleeping wearied

memories
invade the brain
untruths convincing
a nightmare sane

dormant dread
potential lows
ooze into shadows
of dream flow

awaken now
the shade recedes
forget about
the undone deeds.

Bubble Boys: Police Corruption

Episode 3 brings Jeff Murdoch into the Bubble Boys fold as both the police chief and his nagging wife. Jeff perfects a saying that has needed work for centuries "does a tree really be a tree if no one's there to admire it?" This episode is fast, fun, and oh so dumb.


Sven and Henry get arrested for vagrancy and glimpse the dark underbelly of small-town justice.

Featuring:
Steve Nelson as Sven Ingaborg and Cop #2
Andrew Tisher as Henry Mossmouth and Cop #1
and Jeff Murdoch as Chief Keith Cliff and Mrs. Cliff

Graffiti 94

"I am not a demon. I am a lizard, a shark, a heat-seeking panther. I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion." -Nicholas Cage

"From the world of darkness I did loose demons and devils in the power of scorpions to torment." -Charles Manson

"On the other hand, what I like my music to do is awaken the ghosts inside of me. Not the demons, you understand, but the ghosts." -David Bowie

Mind Reading

There are many things I like about improv. The immediacy and freedom of it, the real time collaboration with other humans, the potential for risk, failure, and success. But one of the things I love, one of the most satisfying things about it only happens once in a while. It happened with both shows I had last night.

Sometimes you stumble across this low level of telepathy in improv. Someone can say something and the other person knows exactly where they're going, what their intent is, or what the scene looks like. Both people can see the scene laid out in front of them with only one line. You can get into the groove of finishing each others sentences and thoughts. A whole group of people know where the scene or the piece is going. We can all see 5 steps ahead so everything in the present is easy. There is no effort because we're all in the moment together. If it was a basketball team, it'd be passing without looking simply knowing where the other people are at any given time. If it was a jazz ensemble it'd be changing from the chorus to a verse to the bridge without ever indicating when the change would happen, simply a group of people discovering it at the same time with no effort at all.

In Buddhism they have concepts like thinking without thinking, being still to take action, and stuff like that. And written out, logically that doesn't make a lot of sense. But when you're in a place where your mind is only on that place, where you are connected to your surroundings, to yourself, and to the people around you, you have an amazing capacity for freedom in the moment. In this finite place and time all the possibilities are laid out and time slows and you can pick and choose what strings to pull.

Then of course time speeds up again. Things go back to normal. Life intrudes. But the moment is out there if you want to look for it.