Author: Toren

Fifth night of the play. I now get two nights off. Tonight was a pretty good show. I didn’t forget any lines. There were some lines I couldn’t deliver because some of the other actors forgot their lines that queued my lines, but it didn’t make any difference.

So on the second night of the play, I noticed that there was a board with all the actors headshots on it, which I guess is set up in the lobby just before the people (audience) arrive. I also noticed that my headshot was not on it. Obviously Dave had just forgotten to ask me for a headshot, and nobody noticed that mine was missing. Or nobody cared. So I meant to ask Dave about it (in some way that didn’t make me sound like a snarky whiner) but I forgot until last night–it was bothering me that much. The short version is that I brought my headshot, which is now fully 3-4 years old, in today, and I imagine they put it on the board. Mostly, I did it for you. I didn’t want to have to explain to any of my friends that came to see the play why my face wasn’t alongside the rest of the cast – firstly I can’t think of a more boring topic for conversation and secondly I don’t know what the answer is. I suspect that, as I mentioned, Dave just forgot. He’s a really smart guy and without a doubt he knows his stuff, but he does have D.A.S. (Dottering Absent-mindedness Syndrome).

Do you ever get in that mindset where you’re working out something and it just absorbs you – it’s a fantastic place. Though you may be on the bus or at work, you try to tune out the world so you can get back in that place where your brain is working on something you can truly get behind. Today I was working on a storyline for a Spaceship Zero adventure. I started thinking about it as I was walking to the bus stop, and though I brought some reading with me, I didn’t touch it. When I was on the bus I avoided all my usual people watching to figure things out… Is this guy going to secretly be bad or is that too stereotypical? What would happen if the heroes didn’t take this certain action? Oooh, what if the antagonists used this tactic?… that kind of stuff. I used to get into that (I hate to use this word:) zone all the time when I was writing stuff for Power Enterprise (my super-hero roleplaying game), but these days real life gets in the way all too often. Coming up with stories from nothing is something I never get tired of.

Fourth night of the play. My back hurts. I woke up with a dull pain (which then became a sharp pain, which then became a which leads me to blame a poor sleep. Another night of sleep may fix it, or I may need a massage. I’m actually not the kind of guy who goes around getting in on massages. They seldom do anything for me. They don’t relax me. I’m usually pretty relaxed at room temperature, so to speak. When I need a massage I need the kind that hurts: the meat-tenderizer variety; strong hands required. Anyway, the play went fine despite the pain. Have you noticed that typically pain gets worse later in the day? I actually think that it’s not the pain that gets worse, it’s your body that gets more sensitive. It’s true! And you know what else? The later in the day it is, the better things taste. ENZYMES. Yes. Which is ironic because it’s unhealthy to eat really late (i.e. 4 hours before you go to sleep or some such bullshit). My grammar has gone to pot. Strongbad would scold me.

Third night of the play – better than last night. It’s coming together, right now, over me. Had some guests tonight: Jon, Michael, others. Five in total. Also my agent came out as well. Everyone said they enjoyed it. Of course they are known liars. I botched up one of my lines, and I’m not sure why. It just kind of dropped. The line was “My client commited an act. He has been tried and found guilty of certain charges regarding that act.” For some reason, on the last word, I started thinking “act?” is that the right word? “Act?” I don’t know why I started second guessing it all of a sudden. Then I started to go backwards through my lines in my head, until I realized Idiot – you’ve got more lines to deliver…get going! And so I started stuttering out my next line. Then I recovered. I’m sure everyone noticed but it all happened in a split second so it’s no big deal. NO BIG DEAL!!!

Today I did s.f.a. Didn’t even get to do laundry because it was octopied. Mostly I fiddled around on the internet and went through my video tapes. I am trimming down my cartoon collection. Streamlining, if you will. Optimizing. I am taping over some stuff that I have, typically stuff that is of poor quality anyway so no love lost there. Goodbye Transformers: Beasties. I am excited about some of the second season Justice League episodes coming out though – from what I’ve heard they’re head and shoulders above the 1st season, which were entertaining, if not perfect.

Tonight Ween is playing, and I can’t go because of the play. Toren is sad. Even if I could go, I probably shouldn’t for monetary reasons. Hopefully Stephane will videotape it for me, if he’s going.

Tuesday Queens of the Stone Age is playing. I want to go see them, but I haven’t bought a ticket yet. I’m not sure if I will. I might be doing other stuff that night, I don’t know yet.

The good news is, this month sees a new Wheatus album. Remember that song “Teenage Dirtbag?” That’s Wheatus. I never really took much interest in them until I borrowed the CD and listened to it repeatedly while The Thickets were on tour one year. Turns out all the songs were quite pleasing to my ears. Now their second album is coming out, I only hope it’s as good.

As you all know, I am generally against blogs that just circulate URLs around the net, but this one is a particularly fascinating read: The Worst Jobs in Science (Fart smeller, Barnyard Masturbator, Isolation Chamber Tester, and more!). Thanks again to Phil….

In other news, nothing in this image actually moves, it’s all your brain:

Second night of the play – went much much more smoothly than last night. Although, in the intermission, I was supposed to put a chair onto the set. I forgot to do that. So during my scene I just grabbed it out of the dressing room and started my scene by carrying the chair on stage and sitting down, instead of starting the scene already sitting. It worked out fine. I forgot to mention that Dave (the director) gave us all gourmet jelly beans before the play on opening night, along with a personalized card for each of us. Tonight we didn’t get any jelly beans, so I compensated by buying orange Smarties.

I also went through the big book of coupons and tore out everything for Commercial Drive (that’s where the play is). Until now, I have only rarely been to Commercial Drive. What a fuckin’ weird street that is – a real salmagundi of classes, styles, and misc urban specimens. There is really no other street like it in Vancouver.

The crew invited me out for beers, but I declined in favour of going home and finishing my drawing. Which I did.

First night of the play – in the first scene I was in I was nervous. After that it was fine. Of course, there were only 6 people in the audience but as far as I was concerned that was perfect. I think we need a few nights to iron out the wrinkles. So if you’re going to come and see me act – and you should – come from the 8th to the 12th.

I wanted to pass along this interesting information from Phil:

How many of you have seen “A Mighty Wind“? And how many of you wish you could’ve been in the audience for the big concert at the end of the film? You’ll get your chance on Saturday November 15th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Folk icons The Folksmen, The New Main Street Singers and Mitch & Mickey are coming. As in Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins and Parker Posey. Bob Balaban is introducing the acts. Frickin’ incredible. Tickets go on sale Saturday, but there’s an internet presale starting Wednesday October 1st at 10AM.

Looks like it’s official, Chris’ painting has been accepted for the cover of the new Bare Naked Ladies album.

Stop being astonished that I can’t handle vindaloos and kim chi, but I scarf down wasabi and hot mustard. They are different. Hot and spicy Indian and Thai food affects the tongue and throat. Wasabi and horseradish affects the sinuses. I know this. You know this. I rest my case.

You rest your case?

Oh, I’m sorry – I thought that was just a figure of speech. Case closed.

I have black hair again – at last I can be truly emo. Something you may not know about me is that my upper lip hair (I guess I could have said moustache) is very reddish compared to the rest of my hair. Hmm, yes. Intriguing.

Say, does anyone have a tape-to-tape recorder that I could borrow some time in the near future? I need to get on this c:>/Fastur Octopus! Krill! Krill!/Damn the Torpedoes/Whatever music side project thing

Here are some interesting news items from this week and last week:

LAST WEEK:

A giant star was observed eating three planets.

Physicists in Romania created gaseous plasma blobs that grow, replicate themselves, and communicate, suggesting that life might emerge in a wider variety of conditions than scientists have thought possible.

The Galileo spacecraft crashed into Jupiter.

THIS WEEK

The Computer and Communications Industry Association released a report warning that the US government’s growing reliance on Microsoft operating systems and software was exposing federal computer networks to “massive, cascading failures.” The author of the report was fired the next day by his employer, a consulting firm that does business with Microsoft.

The recording industry let it be known that it was promoting a “stealing is bad” curriculum for the nation’s schools that will include classes on the history of copyright and games such as Starving Artist, a role-playing game in which children pretend to be musicians who no longer receive royalties because their work has been copied on the Internet.

Six thousand Segway scooters were recalled because they tend to throw their riders when the battery gets low. President Bush was photographed falling off one of the $4,950 scooters in June, though he had simply neglected to turn it on.

Charlton Heston was named as the first recipient of the Charlton Heston Prize.

There was a new Enterprise last week. When I saw the ad for this episode, I was so confident it was going to suck that I didn’t bother to tape it. I was right.

Boos: a) T’Pol once said that Vulcans don’t touch their food with their hands, or some such. Well, she sure touched that peach pretty handedly (haha). b) Even if I didn’t know what this episode was about, when they went down to the planet the first thing I said (to myself of course, alone in the room) was “why aren’t you wearing environmental suits?” c) Okay, I’m confused – did Trip have to find T’Pol’s DNA by finding a peach? Am I to understand that the doctor doesn’t have all the crew’s DNA on file?

Yays: a) At last a black alien race. b) That dead alien was cool.

I am pleased to present (in my own way) the newest monsterpiece by Chris Woods, “Nighthawk”