So Long November

Well, that's it for November! Holy Crap! Where has the year gone? I keep forgetting that it's this late in the year! I'm reading an old issue of Time today and I look at the cover and it's from June and I think, "well that wasn't that long ago" then I realize that it's been ages! It also feels like ages since we got back from vacation! Well, one month to go, and the holidays are fast approaching.

I'm excited because later this month I get to go see Wicked and My Fair Lady! And we are getting group tickets for American Idiot in January, and Shrek in March, and Beauty and the Beast in April! WOO FOR THEATRE!

These Games Make Me Hungry

I'm going to talk about The Hunger Games book. So, like, SPOILER ALERT! If you dont' want me to ruin anything, don't read this blog.

Alright, continuing my reading frenzy, I started reading The Hunger Games a few days ago. I got through book one, and I'm starting off on book two now. I really enjoyed the first book. I wish Katniss was a little more confident. "Oh, I'm ok at shooting..." Yeah, if you mean you can shoot an someone IN THE EYE!

Also, I don't know if the whole Gale/Katniss/Peeta love triangle is all that necessary. To be honest, I think it would have been far more compelling if Gale was the guy in the reaping from the beginning. She obviously has a long relationship with him, and is interested in him. That would cause far more pain and problems for her going into it knowing that she has this person she's grown close to, cares about, probably loves, and it's probably mutual, and then to know that you have to kill that person if you want to survive, or have that person kill you! Really, that's where I totally thought it was going when they got to that part, and then they were like, "Hey, here's this inconsequential character, p.s. he just got back from The Enterprise and he's wearing a red shirt." This whole side story with Peeta seems unnecessary and more troublesome than it was worth. Stronger story if they had gone with Gale from the start.

I really like the backdrop of the story though. This totalitarian state, post apocalyptic like, child gladiators. It's awesome. Characters could be a little better. Peeta seems nice, Katniss needs to grow a pair, or own the fact that she has a pair. The side characters are great. Annoying, yet somehow likable. I'm interested to see where this goes because she is in deep crap with the whole berry business. I'm hoping for some rebellion and fighting the man in the next book.

I'm quite excited to get into the next book! WOO! HOORAY FOR READING!

Boring Monday

Boring day today. Not much is really going on to talk about. Though, for some reason I was thinking about my students from when I was teaching. I realized today that the group of students I had when I was doing my student teaching are Seniors and Juniors this year! WHAT?! Given where I was teaching, I'm sure they were doing fine, but I was just kind of wondering how they were doing. I particularly enjoyed my 2nd and 3rd hour U.S. History kids. And of course my 5th World History. My students last year were fun too, but that fist batch where I was teaching alone for the first time was fun.

I wish I was teaching.

Despair Sunday

So you have Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyper Monday, so what does that make today?

Despair Sunday

Yes, when you realize that your 4 day weekend is over, and that work is coming, and that Christmas is mere weeks away.

CURSE YOU WORK!

DRAT YOU CHRISTMAS SEASON!

*SHAKES FISTS IN THE AIR*

*Camera Pans Out*

At least that's probably how it will go. It seems every year I get more Grinchy about Christmas. BAH-HUMBUG I SAY!

So, we have 4 weeks until Christmas. At least I'll get some time off thanks to this job. So, hooray for that.

Turducken Friday

As I'm sure you're all aware, the day after Thanksgiving has become known as Turducken Friday. Yes, instead of going to the stores, we went to our friends and had the second annual Thanksgiving Turducken!

Well, we went to the store too, but the lines were too long, so we left and decided to go back today. In similar news, we did not get out today in a timely manner, and didn't get to use our coupon... sad. This of course due to the great puppyass explosion of 2011.

So back to the matter, we went and at Turducken with "the Council" which is not a secret organization in any way, and does not exist *shiftyeye-shiftyeye*. Dinner was nice, and we hung out for a long time talking about nothing and eating too much food.

Thus, ended another Thanksgiving season. Of course this means we are officially into Christmas mode. Lucky for us we have purchased most of our gifts already, so we will have little shopping left to do! HOORAY!

Muppets!

Becky and I used to have a tradition of going out to a movie on Thanksgiving after doing the family dinners. We haven't done that in a while, but this year we were able to do it again. Of course, the movie we had to go see was the Muppets! We've both been really looking forward to this movie because we love the Muppets, and were really hoping this one would turn out to be good.

Lucky for us, this one turned out to be good! There was some worry that it would be lame. The last Muppet movie done was the made for TV disaster of The Wizard of Oz. Horrible movie. So, we headed into the theater, were bummed that our normal seats in the last row were taken, and then opted for two rows forward, which happened to have a bunch of drama kids sitting in it.

I really enjoyed the movie! It had a lot of classic kind of things in it, like Kermit singing The Rainbow Connection. Rowlf was back, who I've always loved, but hasn't been seen in many of the movies. There wasn't enough Pepe, but he did make a brief appearance. And there were TONS of cameos that had me laughing including Neil Patrick Harris, and James Carville. The songs were a lot of fun too, and I really like that they had no problem taking shots at themselves, and making fun of thing that were happening (i.e. "I just sang a song about it.")

In the end, I'm happy with this movie, and I hope that this will be a nice restart to the Muppets! I wouldn't mind having them back around more often. If only there were a Muppet show on TV again... and not that crappy one they did in the late 90s on Disney Channel.

Anyhow, a good movie!

Brine The Dog

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner! I figure the best thing to do is periodically update my post with what's going on.

Last night I prepped my brine for our turkey, and got out my brining bucket. In retrospect, perhaps I should have poured the brine in the bucket after I put the turkey in the bucket, however for some reason I decided to do it the other way around. So, the bucket was half full as I lowered the 25 pound turkey into it. The problem was that the grippy-do that I was holding, slipped, and the 25 pound turkey fell into the brine bucket. Brine shot out of the bucket like a cannon. Brine was EVERYWHERE! I should have taken a picture, but didn't think about it. Brine all over the toaster, cabinets, stove, counter, bread box.... and the dog. Yes, Ronan was sitting under the counter "cleaning" the floor of crumbs, etc. And got a direct hit.

Well, I though he had avoided most of the liquid due to where he was standing, however late last night I realized Ronan was sticky and gross. However, it was too late, so this morning I had to start the day by giving the dog a bath. Then I came down stairs, turned on the TV to the Macy's parade and started to clean up the puppy toys that he insists on strewing all over the living room.

P.S. CBS needs to shoot this woman hosing the Thanksgiving parade. She is so IRRITATING! I wish she would choke on stuffing! She says stupid things, and no one cares if here hair is ok! Seriously! WTF! I wish I could watch it on NBC, but they insist on showing the Detroit parade. F THAT IN THE A!

Anhyow, time to prep the turkey!

Know Your History, Man!

Being a history teacher, there is nothing that is more irritating as when people don't know their history. You expect a certain level of obliviousness to history, and an even larger portion of people who mix up facts and forget things like the Soviet Union was on our side in WWII, Ronald Reagan raised taxes a lot, and Jesus was Jewish. But that's all expected. What is worse is when people don't know ANYTHING about history, and entire events are overlooked, distorted, and forgotten.

After my last two posts I got tons of feedback asking about the Great Turkey War, and the real history of Thanksgiving. I was appalled at the lack of knowledge around how this glorious holiday began, after the victory of the Pilgrims and their allies during the Great Turkey War. So, on account of the fact that few have ever heard of this, I will provide you all with a little holiday history lesson.

The Pilgrim Hall Museum notes that "In the early autumn of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated their successful harvest, as was the English custom." But there is so much unsaid in that sentence. Who were these 53 survivors? And what happened to the others? Plimoth plantation, as you know was founded in 1620, and you will probably be familiar with the Mayflower. However, you may not be aware that 102 "Pilgrims" left England on their voyage. However, 45 of these settlers wouldn't make it through the winter.

Now, the "traditional" story of this time will talk a lot about the poor living conditions, disease, and inadequate shelters as causes for the deaths, however if you ask more questions you will start to uncover the roots of the conflict. The settlers did not know that when they landed in Plymouth that they were entering an area that was already inhabited. Today, thanks to the Indian Wars of the late 1800s most school children believe that the natives of the time were the ones who were hostile toward the settlers. However, much like the claim that Columbus was trying to prove the earth was round, this is false. The natives had long been trying to find a peace with the hostile groups living in this area, and to an extent had found a balance.

However, at the arrival of a new group of settlers, the Turkeys grew restless, and knew that this could be a terrible turn of events if the settlers and the natives ever united.

That first winter, the turkeys laid a siege to the settlement. The setters were fearful to venture too far out into the woods. Those that did were never heard from again, or soon developed disease symptoms that looked curiously like Scurvy, but in fact are the first documented uses of a biological weapon that the Turkeys had developed in their earlier campaigns against the Iroquois Nation.

Because of this 45 settlers died during this time. Had it not been for the Native Americans, all would be lost, but seeing the Scurvy like symptoms, they instantly knew of the Turkey treachery. Realizing that the turkeys had broken their treaty of 1533, which outlawed the use of biological weapons, and acknowledged that the use of gravy was an act of war, the Native Americans made contact with the settlers and assisted them in their efforts to grow crops.

This greatly angered the Turkeys, and soon they developed a plan to rid the world of these colonists. The turkeys were ruthless, none were safe, not even women or children. Seeing a threat to their lives, and fearing a Native-Settler alliance, the Turkeys conducted a cold blooded night time raid to the settlement in late November 1620. Intelligence reports from ACORN, the intelligence arm of the Squirrel Kingdom, tell us that the Turkeys, came from the forest, entered into the houses of settlers, and killed them in their beds. We even have some reports that a special ops group of turkeys landed via sea, however this account is often criticized as the seagull that reported it was known to have been a drunk, and his story is often discounted, though some historians point to physical evidence on what is now known as Plymouth Rock, as evidence that the story may have some truth to it. A few Turkeys were killed during the raid, but it was clear who had attacked that camp that night regardless. Though, the Turkey Empire claimed to know nothing of this, they could not explain away the dead Turkey raiders.

Simultaneously, the Elk Brotherhood, a terrorist organization with Turkey sympathies, coordinated a massive attack on the nearby native camp. Disguised as fishermen, the elk rowed into the village and set off three canoe bombs. The initial blasts luckily came at dusk, when most natives had returned to their homes for meals. However, 15 natives were killed, and relations between natives and the Elk Star Alliance would be on shaky terms for the next two centuries, of course eventually leading to the alliance with the Reindeer States of North America, which as we know was a great turning point in the war where General Dasher defeated the Grand Turkey Army in the battle of Yukon. And of course, Private Prancer's work as an undercover spy which provided detailed troop movements before his discharge form the service.

For the next 11 months, the settlers and natives grew closer together, as they formed working relationships, and mutual security from the Turkeys. In fact, the Turkeys, led by Emperor Giblets the IV, and Brigadier General Lawrence T. McScavenger, drove their two enemies together by attacking them both, an event that was predicted in the text of Admiral Isoroku G. Obbles who is said to have written after the attack, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant." Had they not done so, it seems that the alliance formed would not have happened. Thus, this is considered to be one of the first of three Turkey blunders that eventually led to their defeat. Throughout the early half of 1621, the settlers endured periodic raids, and they lost a few more settlers, however the Turkeys, seeing their blunder fell back to re-group, leaving the summer for the settlers and natives to work their fields, and grow stronger.

By the next fall there were only 53 survivors left at the settlement, but they had much to be thankful for. The harvest, and support from the Native Americans, would result in the settler's being able to build a successful plantation, which can still be visited to this day in Plymouth Massachusetts. Sadly this peace would not last, and soon the relations between the settlers and the natives would deteriorate.

While most point to land use, and ownership as a major conflict, the truth behind the growing hostility came from a secret organization call the Feather and Horn brotherhood. With the help of the Bison Nation of the West, the Turkey Empire would work behind the scenes to provide false information to each side, turning them against each other. As a result, the settlers and the natives grew hostile, and despite a common threat, would wage war against each other for the next 250+ years. However both the Turkeys and the Bison would take heavy casualties, bringing both to the brink of extinction.

While the first thanksgiving is a high spot in Native-Settler relations, many forget how these two groups were pushed together, and virtually no one remembers how they were again driven apart. However, to this day Thanksgiving is celebrated by many across the nation, even though they don't fully understand the true story or history of the holiday.

This year, give thanks for your family, your security, and your prosperity, but also to those brave reindeer that fought to give you your freedom. And never forget the debt of gratitude owed to the 102 Beaver Brigade that sacrificed themselves, which allowed our forces to stop the Grand Turkey Army's march from Saskatchewan. Had they not done that, we would all be speaking Gobble right now.

Never Forget!

The National Beaver Memorial

Be Our Guest

After posting all my helpful hits yesterday about being a good host, I realize I forgot to provide pointers to the many people out there that perhaps won't be hosting, but instead will be guests at someone's house this Thanksgiving. In addition, if you want to be invited back, you should be on your best behavior.

But worry not! If you follow my helpful advice, you're sure to dodge that turkey-cooking bullet for years and years to come, and perhaps even be the life of the party!

1) Be Helpful! When you are a guest, it's always good to offer your help, and the host will surely appreciate it. I've found one of places that I can lend the most help is in the kitchen. Cooking a meal for a large group can take a lot out of you, and there are so many things to keep track of. I tend to try and stay near the cook, and offer advice. Helpful reminders are always welcome, like "did you just add such-and-such?" or "you know, I always stir in a little bit of this-and-that." As a helper, it's your job to second guess the cook, because if you don't, they might forget something.

Another thing I've found helpful is to watch the clock and when a timer is about to go off, just turn it off and then get out of the way so the cook can just get the food out. I generally wait till there is about a minute left on a timer, then I turn it off and immediately leave the kitchen. If things are exceptionally busy, I suggest just jumping right in, especially if you see something going wrong. A cook will appreciate it if you just grab something and start cooking, that will give them time to work on other things. I suggest picking whatever it is the cook is working on, and telling them that it is your specialty and that they should perhaps get the rolls ready, or set the table.

2) Provide feedback! A cook and host is always interested in growing and becoming a better cook/hostess. I find the best thing to do is to let them know of things that they can work on, but be sure to phrase it properly so as not to be rude. I've found asking questions as a form of subtle feedback is good, for example, "Did you run out of time and didn't get all the cleaning done you wanted to?" or "Is there any other gravy options, because this turkey is dry?" With that second one you're actually commenting on two items, but rolling it into one, which is very efficient. It's also good to provide some last comments as you leave. Always thank the host, and sum up the evening. If you want to be safe, try "Thanks for having us, I'm sure things will improve by next year!" If you want to be really classy, send a feedback card in the mail with a score and comments.

3) Don't arrive empty handed. People usually forget to bring something with them. There will be some waiting time, and it's best to bring something with you to do especially if the host is very busy. I usually like to bring a load of laundry to keep me entertained. Though, never bring food or drink. To do so would be insulting to the host, and send the message that they don't know what they're doing, or that their cooking is substandard. The last thing you'd want to do is insult your host, so if you must bring food, be sure it's only a small amount, and that you are the only one that eats it. It would be just terrible if you stole the attention of the host by bringing something that everyone loves.

4) Don't arrive alone! In a related tip to number 3, bring a friend! It's a well known fact that hosts expect that you'll bring at least 1 guest, but they usually make arrangements for more, just to be safe. I find it best to bring as many people as you can, especially give that this is a holiday that people shouldn't be alone. Sometimes I'll bring with me a homeless man, right off the street, because he surely wasn't going anywhere. He was a big hit, everyone loved his zany antics, like when he peed the couch, CLASSIC COMEDY! And, everyone was very impressed by him, and kept asking, "Do you smell that? Is that the homeless guy?" He must have been wearing some cologne or something, because no one could stop talking about it!

To add an extra dynamic to the mix, also bring a pet. You can go safe and bring a dog, or a cat, but if you really want to be creative, try a bird, or a donkey. And for extra fun, try and bring something wild! People will be talking for years to come about that time there were racoons at Thanksgiving! These are the things that will be memories for years to come, which is, after all, what these holiday's are all about!

5) Be entertaining! Everyone loves a guest that provides them with memories of a great event. So, do your best to be that guest. I've found that telling stories to the children about how during the great Turkey War, Santa had turkeys pull his sleigh, and that's how he died, when the turkey's turned on him, which is why there is no real Santa anymore. First, it's teaching the children history, second it'll help them interact better with their parents, but asking questions. If you don't know much about history, think of some recent medical ailment, and describe it in detail. Puss and infections tend to get a lot of attention, especially if you can compare it to something on the table, such as "wow, that gravy reminds me of this fluid that came out of one of my boils!" Just be sure to compliment the cook while doing this by adding, "don't worry, the gravy tastes way better."

Another great joke I like to pull is to pick out a food at the table, and then put ALL of it on my plate. I tend to opt for the mashed potatoes, because it's everyone's favorite, and it will really get people going when they see you take it all. To add to the joke, I suggest eating only a little, then putting it all right back in the bowl. Kids will especially love this.

Finally, make a toast that will be memorable to all. I like to call out the older guests at the party and toast their life accomplishments, and remind everyone to give special thanks, because next year they probably won't be with us. This will be sure to make it extra special for the elder guests because they will know how much you appreciate them. Also, if you've lost someone recently, be sure to bring that up too, especially if the person was related to the host. "I bet your mom would have love this!" It's even possible to add in point 2 to this by saying "I bet your mom would have loved this, well except the gravy, because she totally made it better!" You're sure to see tears of joy and emotional outbursts at your willingness to honor their lost family member's memory!

So, follow these simple suggestions, and you're sure to leave a powerful impression on your host!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some Holiday Hosting Tips

Hey there.

So, if you're like me, then you probably think Thanksgiving is awesome! First of all... IT SERVES THOSE TURKEY BASTARDS RIGHT FOR WHAT THEY DID! I mean, they did start the war, didn't they.

Second, MMM Turkey.

But perhaps you're like, "OMG, how can I have a great holiday! I live in a ditch." Or perhaps, "OMG! I hate all things! My misery is unbounded! DIEDIEDIE!"

Well, worry not, because here are some helpful hints to make a great holiday for everyone!

1) Be creative. While shopping I saw that the store I was at sold butter in the shape of a turkey! What a great idea! First, nothing says "butter my rolls" like lobbing the head off of a butter turkey! Second, you can never have too many turkeys. I mean, sure you have a 25 pound turkey, but we should remind our guests that you don't' just have to kill real turkeys on Thanksgiving, butter turkeys are equally worthy of being chopped up and eaten too. To not get a butter turkey would be discriminatory.

Second, butter sculpted things really class up your events. Your guests will go home saying, "Wow, first that was super classy, I mean, that's some fancy fucking butter." I mean, look how well it worked for churches. Butter Jesus I'm sure added people to the congregation who drove past and said, "JESUS CHRIST! That's a lot of butter, I want to go to there!" Now, perhaps it was they wanted to attack that Butter Jesus with a stock pile of Pillsbury dinner roles, or perhaps the super classiness of Butter J made people want to be part of it so when they were asked, "what church do you go to?" They could say, "We go to that fancy fucking church with the Butter Jesus.

But creativity doesn't stop at the butter! Try to find other things that you can mold, shape, or present in an interesting manner! Don't just throw your rolls into a basket! Instead, stack them into the shape of a Native American headdress. Corn in a bowl?! I think not! Take some time the night before to shape it into a cornucopia by using glue to adhere each individual kernel together, then use this cornucopia to hold other vegetables in! And personally, I for one, don't find it to be a real Thanksgiving unless my mashed potatoes come in the form of a three foot tall pilgrim hat. Plus, then you can set the turkey butter on top of the hat, and watch his face slowly melt, and then you have super buttery mashed potatoes!

2) Decorations! Now, some people make the rookie mistake of going straight from Halloween to Christmas! That totally misses out on commemorating Thanksgiving, and subsequently the years and years of American-Native American relations! There are the obvious choices, such as the pumpkins, cornucopias, or table clothes with turkeys on it, but doing this things would totally defeat the idea around the first point: CREATIVITY! So, throw out that festive table cloth, and instead, why not try a vintage U.S. Army Blanket infected with Smallpox! Nothing says, "we come in peace" better than something that will make everyone say, "rest in peace!"

If you insist that Christmas does come after Halloween, then you could also go back to the traditional stories of Santa and his sleigh pulled by 8, giant turkeys. Many people don't know that is the original story, but in an effort of propaganda after the great Turkey War, the turkeys were change to reindeer on account of the debt of honor we owed to them at the battle of Anchorage and the great victory of General Dasher, and the heroic actions of Private Prancer (who was later removed from the military due to the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

3) Don't let families stress you out. Now, many people stress about the arrival of out of town guests, overbearing in-laws, or being forced in a room with the rest of your gene pool, that perhaps you wished had a little more chlorine in it. Now, you could go with the easy option, and simply put chlorine in their water. However, that will leave a messy clean up after dinner. And, really, who wants the work of body disposal, when really, you've got a turkey you have to store too!

There are other obvious solutions to avoid family at the holidays, such as going on vacation, or volunteering at a soup kitchen, but again, that would defeat rule one, BE CREATIVE! So, take one of the noble ideas, like volunteering at a soup kitchen, and combine it with your meal. Keep family from ever coming again, or at the very least getting them to leave quickly by inviting a local bum to your dinner. His smell of booze and random ravings, while being entertaining, may also drive out unwanted guests. Plus, you're helping those in need! In addition, you will be doing the same steps to prep your turkey, so you can kill two birds with one stone! So, simply get your turkey(man) out of the fridge(frigid outdoors), wash them in a cool bath, stuff them with stuffing(and booze) and use decorations for the presentation!

4) Plan for children! Many people feel that leaving their kids in the local kennel is not an option. However, studies show that kennels are good for kids because it gives them a place that is their own, and helps them understand their place in the family or "pack". Plus, many find the cage comforting, and enjoyable. However, if you have an over protective parent that feels they must bring their child, then make sure you arrange for a child guest.

First, the child will probably be sticky, moist, or covered in some sort of goo and/or fluid. Now one option would to provide all guests with a rain coat. However, that can get costly. Another option is to place the child in some sort of bubble so that there can be no residue, however that could result in your valuable possessions being broken as they smash into things due to their low motor skills. I've even heard some reports of people going to their local schools to secure some of the saw dust mixture used for fluid loss and simply coating the child in these to avoid the child-goo from being left on things. There is no easy solution for sticky-child-disorder, but perhaps a combination of these suggestions would help.

Next, be sure to have something for the child to do. Most of them will probably whine, and ask questions repeatedly like "when is dinner done?" or "can we go home yet?" I find that having a task or activity is a great way to keep them busy, and out of the way. For example, I have started locking children guests in the basement to sort through the items stored down there, and to do a little light cleaning. I found that at first they were resistant, but after giving them a little motivation they quickly got to work, and did an efficient job. It's amazing what they are capable of if you tell them they will never see their parents again unless this place is clean by dinner! Plus, be sure to compliment them when they are done, by saying things like "well, maybe now your parents will finally love you." They really seem to like this.

Finally, be sure to set up a kid table. Children need to understand that they are not real people, and aren't allowed to sit with the real people. This will help control them later in life, but be sure you don't allow kids to the grown up table to early. Teenagers are perfectly appropriate to sit at the kid table, and if you have more than one kid table, be sure to spread your teenagers out. It will really help them, because they like to complain about their families, and how hard their lives are, and this will give them great stories to tell their friends. Also, to reinforce the fact that you, the host, have all the power, it may be good to place a drunk uncle at the kids table, just to show you can strip anyone of their privileges.

5) Don't forget to ask for help! When you have a large gathering, people often ask you what they can do for help. Many people forget to take advantage of this. So, when your brother-in-law asks, tell him that you really could use some help raking the leaves! Or, if your mother asks, tell her that the laundry isn't done, and the guest room could use a second coat of paint! Better yet, if you have someone who has a skill, get them working too! It's never too early to have someone look at your tax receipts, or treat that boil on little Timmy's left butt cheek! It also might be good to leave some things for people to help with! You wouldn't want to leave anyone out! So, be sure to keep a messy bathroom always ready for a cleaning, make sure not to clean up that pet vomit, and if you have a big family, be sure to just throw all your trash in one room so they all can join in the fun!

Follow these steps, and you're sure to have an excellent holiday!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Y'arrrrrr!

Well, that's a wrap, people! If you didn't see it, you missed it.

As you know from my constant complaining, I wasn't very involved in this production, and that really bothered me. However, at the end I was able to see many rehearsals, and even give a few notes. However, I didn't get to give too many notes, and I really didn't get to work one on one with any of the students, or direct any scenes. I need to find a way around that for the next show!

Yet, not being involved too much on this production, I still got to the final show and still have that bitter sweet feeling. Happy that they put on a great show, and that I was able to be involved, even if only a little bit. However, this time there was more sadness in it. We are losing a lot of great people this year, and that was it for their musical. We have the play to look forward to, but the year is passing quickly, and their time with us will soon be at an end.

It's great to see them move on, and I'm happy that many of them go on to be quite successful, however, I am sad that I won't get to work with them anymore. So, I look forward to Romeo and Juliet, and my last chance to work with some of them before they head off on their next adventure.

Be sure to come out to see our One Act Festival, MIFA, and Romeo and Juliet!

Three Little Shows From School Are We

No wait, that's the wrong Gilbert and Sullivan show!

Tonight was the third performance of Pirates. We had a great audience tonight, with over 300 in attendance! I think we might run out of tickets if we keep at this rate. I ordered 1,000. and we're already at about 830 so far. That's great news though, because ticket sales are what keep the department floating!

If you haven't seen the show yet, you have one chance left tomorrow. 1:00! Be there!

A Second

A second great show tonight! In fact, I think tonight's performance was even better than last night!

You still have 2 more chances to see it! Tonight at 7:00pm, and tomorrow at 1:00pm!

Really, you shouldn't miss it.

Opening Night

Well, opening night went off great, and we ended up with a much greater crowd than my estimates so that's good news! Sadly, with all the other work I do, I don't get to see the whole show with the audience, but I got to slip in for a few minutes here and there to see things. Opening night is usually the 2nd smallest crowd, so if that remains true the next two days should be pretty full! Hopefully people will see it and tell their friends to come.

If you didn't get a chance to come tonight, you still have 3 more days. We have tomorrow and Saturday at 7:00 pm, and then Sunday at 1:00pm.

Hope to see you there!

Welcome Back, Soapbox.

Since tonight is vocal rest night, I don't have any other things to post about the show, other than to come see it this Thursday-Saturday at 7:00pm, or Sunday at 1:00pm. More information on our blog which you can find at www.lincolndrama.com

So, since I don't have show stuff to talk about, I thought I'd get on my soap box and rant today about two stories I recently saw. The first has to do with the assault on education. Earlier this week there was a story in AnnArbor.com titled, "Snyder signs law making it illegal for education employees to collect unemployment during the summer" Now before I even start complaining about what this actually does, I'm going to start by blasting the title of this article as poor reporting. First, it implies that teachers, who get paid salary, are getting unemployment during the summers. The fact is that teachers aren't legally allowed to get unemployment when it is summer, and it doesn't matter because they can get paid over the summer by opting for that payment schedule.

What this law actually targets is education employees from third party companies. People like me, who work as substitutes. Yes, that's right substitutes, you can't get paid unemployment. So this summer when I was long-term subbing and then couldn't work anymore because there is no school in the summer, next year I would not get unemployment for the few weeks while I looked for a temp job. So, please tell me how you are going to keep young teachers in the profession when 1) they can't find a job, so 2) they have to try and substitute, and then 3) don't get any pay over the summers because there are no teaching jobs, and 4) have a hard time finding people to hire them because they are short term employees? Not to mention that most likely they'll get a low paying or part time job that won't pay the bills, and they have to hope to get a long-term gig, otherwise they're making roughly $10 an hour subbing, with no guarantee any day that they'll have jobs until 4 or 5 in the morning when their phones start ringing.

That's a load of poop. Sometimes it takes a few years of subbing before you actually get into a classroom, and with student loans, and actually having to feed yourself, how can you afford to make $75 a day for 180 days a year?

The second article I saw was today regarding a raise in taxes (though the removal of exemptions) to the poor, meanwhile a cut in corporate taxes to the tune of almost 3 billion dollars.

You know what I have to say, it serves you right. Michigan isn't a rich state, so this is a result of people voting against their own economic interests because they are stupid, or worse, not voting at all. There are few people in Michigan who should be voting for the Republican Party. They are not in it to help you, they are in it to help business. They like to make big statements against gays, or abortion, debt, or the Constitution and small government, and people are dumb enough to eat it up. And what happens when elected? They look out for business, and that's all. They lower taxes on the upper groups, and then say, "we can't afford teachers, firefighters and police officers!" and the idiot public begin to attack these people who keep them safe, and educate their young.

So, I don't care. Go for the higher taxes, maybe that will wake people up.

Anyhow. That's my rant.

Dress-ed

Well, that's it. Today was the final dress rehearsal for the Pirates of Penzance. I'm a bit irritated because the pictures I took really didn't come out all that well. There was a lot of blurry shots, and I'm just overall not satisfied with them. There should be some of the good ones uploaded to our blog/website which you can see at www.lincolndrama.com, and then on the Facebook page.

It should be a pretty good show, so you all should certainly come see it. If you do, remember that there is construction and so you'll have to park near the East gym.

Anyhow, be sure to come out this Thursday-Saturday at 7:00 or Sunday at 1:00 and see some pirates!

The Broken Record

You know. I wrote a big long blog just now about how much I hate my job. But you know what, just read the last blog I did about hating my job.

This job is a soul-devouring-succubus.

I would punch a Scottish Fold kitten right now if I saw one.



I WOULD PUNCH THAT KITTEN IN THE FACE!

There needs to be more swear words to describe the anger, hate, rage and negativity I feel. There is not a word in the language of any human being on earth that can effectively express this.

I'm going to go kick a baby duck.

Time Flies, And So Does Poo!

I can't believe that it is already November 13th. That means that the show opens in 4 days! WHAT!?!?! That's so soon! I feel so disconnected to it. But the 13th also means that we are a week and a half from Thanksgiving! WHAT?!!??! Turkey is coming soon! And, it turns out we will be hosting Thanksgiving this year! CRAZY. I think next year I'd like to go to the Macy's parade. That would be really cool, and I've always loved the parade. The 13th also means it has been a month since we left on our European adventure! Really, it feels like it has been a lot longer since that vacation. Like, ages and ages. But nope, only a month.

Today was also a family dinner for my birthday along with my gran's birthday, which was yesterday. Also, today was final tech rehearsal, with dress rehearsal starting tomorrow. I also have a school board meeting tomorrow. MY OH MY! SO BUSY!

Still don't think I have it in me to apply to grad school. Plus, it still seems like a waste of time as I'm not even in my field, so why try to get another degree when it will most likely not be any use and just a big waste of money. Boo to that.

But the biggest boo of the day, I must say goes to our Puppy, Ronan. Yes, he had to go in the crate for a few hours while we went to rehearsal and dinner. When we returned home we walked in the door. I immediately said, "I smell poo." So we searched the house. No poo was to be found, and Sam seemed exceptionally excited, so I figured perhaps we weren't playing "Find the Poo" and were in fact playing "Who Farted" and that Sam needed to go out. I took Sam and Simon out, and when I came in I heard Becky say "It's up here". Great, Ronan pooed in his cage.

No. No that was not what happened. If only that was what happened. Apparently an atom bomb of poo exploded from his puppy butt. There was a lake of doggy pudding in his crate, and splatter ALL OVER THE WALLS and carpet. Yes, explosive doggy poo on everything. To make it worse, at the other end of the cage was a mound of vomit. Yes, poo and vomit. And Ronan in the middle... wet. Covered in poo and vomit.

That leads us to a question: How do you get a dog out of a cage, who is covered in poopuke, and there is a giant mount of puke at the door?

So, after an hour of cleaning, we had a dog that was clean, a cage that was clean, clean walls and carpet, and dirty feeling people. I felt like I was covered in poopuke residue. EW! He had another bout of vomit when he stole food, but other than that he seems ok, and there were no accidents the rest of the night. Hopefully the same will be true over night.

Fingers crossed...

Happy Birthday

Last week was my birthday, but we really didn't do anything for it because things were so busy with all the shows we had to go to and all that. So instead we had people over tonight to hang out, play games and all that. It was a good time, as usual.

As it was my birthday I thought that I'd just buy a load of junk that I never buy but love. For example, bbq chips. I don't buy that kind of thing because Becky doesn't eat it, which means I have to eat it all, and I really don't want to do that. But, with a group of people coming over, I don't have to! WOO!

Anyhow, a lovely evening was had by all, and that's good.

A Program

Hey, InDesign. You are stupid.

Why are you stupid, you may ask? Well, because I just spent the past few days freaking out because the images in my program I was laying out looked terrible and I couldn't figure out how to get the images to look as good as they did when I was working with them in Photoshop. Turns out, funny thing, there is a setting in InDesign that makes the images appear in low quality (for memory purposes), but they are in fact fine. So I've been editing, editing, and editing this image trying to make it look better, when in fact, it was fine from the start, and I just wasted three days.

I've been doing the program for the show next week. We got some new software so that we can more easily do it, and from the stress that was going on for past programs, I have to say "Mission Accomplished". In total I spent tonight working on it, and I have a few hours tomorrow to finish it up. But the whole thing will take maybe 3 hours total to create from scratch. I think the biggest issue has been trying to remember where the pages will go once they have been printed and stapled.

Anyhow, be sure to come see the show next week!

One Week

We have one week left before The Pirates of Penzance open! HOORAY! The show looks pretty good actually, I'll be excited to see it in full costume and make up. I'm sad that I haven't been very involved at all with this show. I've been so involved in every show since fall 2007, that it's really bothering me that this stupid job is keeping me from helping out.

Regardless, it's going to be a great show, so come out and see it next week!

Dear United,

I will never use you. EVER.

Today Becky had to travel to San Francisco for a work meeting. She had a flight that would get her there well before her meeting, but had to get up way early to get to the airport. So at 5 o'something I drove her down to Metro so that she could get on her plane and head out.

By the time I got to work, she should have been about 15 minutes from landing in Chicago before heading off to San Francisco. Instead, she was still sitting on a plane, waiting. Finally, after over an hour of waiting, the plane finally took off. However, because it was so late, there was not much time to catch the next flight in Chicago. And, so, that meant that she had to try and get another flight. They booked her for a flight that left Chicago at 5pm. That would mean she misses her meeting. But they put her on standby. Except that the plane had "engine trouble" and so it was delayed indefinitely.

In the end, her boss said to just go home as there was no way she was going to make the meeting and it didn't make sense for her to fly all the way out there just to have dinner and then fly home the next morning. The problem is that they said every flight was on standby for her to get back to Michigan. Actually, at first they told her she'd have to buy another ticket (for $400) to get back to Detroit. It took a bunch of talking and the intervention of a "supervisor" for them to understand that all she wanted to do was switch her flight to Detroit rather than San Francisco. Which they finally allowed her to do, but couldn't get her out until 6pm, with a possible standby option. Incidentally, she could have driven from Chicago and have been home before the plane had even left Chicago.

Luckily, she got on the standby flight, and was set to be home by 4:30. Except that the flight, despite leaving on time, ended up being 30 minutes late. I'm not exactly sure how that happens, as they had a tailwind, but she was late.

So, what I've learned is that apparently every United flight is either late, overbooked, or broken. I've never had so much trouble with an airline EVER.

In fact, when things were at the peak of bullsugar and they were like, "You're not getting home unless you buy another ticket!" I was 5 seconds from booking her on a delta flight, FOR FREE WITH MILES, and with only 2 hours in advance. Let me just say, for having such a hard time with United, I had a very easy time with a back up plan with Delta.

So, I think I'm going to avoid United. I've flown about a dozen flight with Delta, and only had 1 issue once when a flight was canceled, and t hey had us booked on the next flight out (which was only a few hours later) with no hassle.

Anyhow, that's today's events!

Election Day

Greetings readers! Well as you know today is one of my favorite days! ELECTION DAY! WOOOOO!

I love voting, and I think everyone needs to get out there and vote! Though, I was quite sad because when I sent my ballot through the machine I saw that I was voter number 106. That's pathetic. There are over 5,000 people who vote in my location, and I was only number 106 at friggin' 5:30 pm!?!? Seriously, people.

There wasn't much on our ballot this year, just the school board elections. It also wasn't much of a race as we had 2 open spots, and only 3 candidates. They also didn't provide much information about the candidates other than a short paragraph in annarbor.com. But I voted. I'll have to check to see what the results are tomorrow, because nothing has been posted yet.

Though, in other news, outside of our state I was watching two elections, first the Personhood amendment in Mississippi (which failed), and the repeal of the Ohio law regarding collective bargaining (which passed). And it turns out that the results are already in on both of them. So that was interesting to watch, and I'm a little surprised at the margin that both of these had, the results were not close in either, especially considering that they were contentious issues.

In other news related to civic duties. Yesterday I forgot to mention why I got so much reading done, and that was because I had jury duty! It really wasn't bad. I got sent home after about an hour and a few minutes because the only case they had for the day was settled at the last minute. Also, it's a one day deal, so that ends my service for at least the next year. Though I expect it may be longer since this is only the first time I've been summoned in the 13 years I've been eligible. So, good times!

Readings

Well, after going a long time without reading anything, 2011 is becoming quite the year of reading. I'm pretty sure I didn't read anything other than my magazines last year, and the last book I read was in 2009 and was "A Modern History of India" so hardly anything entertaining.

This year, as I've posted, I started off by reading some old things that I hadn't ever read before. We had some "The Catcher in the Rye" and then "The Great Gatsby" which I enjoyed both. I know around my house Gatsby isn't well regarded, but I really didn't mind it. After that I decided it was time to read some John Green. I've followed him on YouTube for years now, but never read any of his books, so I grabbed "Looking For Alaska" which I also enjoyed.

Well today marks my 4th book of the year, because I just got done reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and I quite enjoyed it. It took me quite a while to finish this book, not because it was boring, or I didn't have time, but it just seemed dense or something. The first half took the most time, but by today I was speeding right through it.

I thought it was a good book. The idea is a mystery and investigation to the murder of someone long after the fact. From the beginning I had some ideas, which did turn out to be the case, but the author did a good job at keeping you wondering so it didn't feel like a let down to know my theories turned out right. I think it helped that some other things turned up that I wasn't expecting. So, if you're are into mystery novels, I highly recommend this one. I'll be interested to see the movies for this book. There is one that is already out and is a foreign film, and then there is a US version that will be released later this year or early in 2012.

For my next book(s) I will be reading "The Hunger Games" books. I'm quite excited by this as I've heard they're great. They're also short books so I should be able to get through them fairly quickly once I have time to read (probably when the show is over next week).

He Stabbed Your Dad Through A Curtain...

Today I got to see another Shakespeare show, this time it was Hamlet.

Of course, this was the first thing I could think of:

However, the show was fantastic. First they set it in a Mad Men theme. Now I know I've been critical of shows going all weird and setting them in strange settings. I mean, A2CT is doing Much Ado in the old West, but this one really worked out. The reason for that was they had a VERY solid idea, and it was executed perfectly. They were very consistent, and got all the tiny details right so that it didn't feel out of place.

In addition, it was filled with really good actors! Hamlet was great, which is really a big help. I liked that he was "mad" but made it more humorous rather than making it so heavy. It seemed to me to be more believable to do it in this way. I hate when people put on their "Shakespeare voices" and make it into something just for the sake of it because it's "SHAKESPEARE!" when it's still a play and if you treat it better, you don't weight it down unnecessarily. So, Hamlet, great job! Also, Horatio I thoroughly enjoyed. He played well off of Hamlet, and they really seemed to have a good relationship, making it all tragic at the end. Also, Joseph did a wonderful job as Polonius. He seemed to be the old man that he's always enjoyed being. Telling off those young kids and all that... He also had quite the beard that made it perfect for the character!

So, thus ended two fun filled days of Shakespeare.

A Midfall's Summer's Night Dream

This evening we headed down to the Ohio to see Miss Keely in her production of Midsummer, and had a lovely time. First, I was super excited that she got into a show as a freshman, because sometimes depending on the department, it can be hard to get in. Second, I was really excited because she was cast as Titania. Then, the girl who was cast as Puck dropped apparently because she wasn't so much interested in shaving her head for the role... so they asked Keely and she was like, "Sure, fuck this hair, I don't need that shit!" And so she SHAVED HER HEAD!

After seeing the show, I'm really glad she got moved over to Puck, because the way the director went with it, I think she ended up in the better role. The way the director interpreted the script, the role of Titania was really weak and uninteresting. I much prefer the interpretation of Oberon and Titania being somewhat equals and have some good power and force behind them. There was definitely some undertones of submissiveness and it bothered me at times.

Actually, once I was in there watching it, the shaved heads really did bother me. There were two female parts that both ended up with shaved heads and I found it to be kind of unsettling, and somehow violent. There was this feeling I got that by having them do that it totally put them in this position of having their power stripped of them. I could exactly put my finger on it and what it was that was linking up in my head that made it so unsettling.

On the way home Becky and I were talking about it, and she suggested that perhaps it had to do with how women who collaborated with the Germans during the occupation were taken and their heads were shaved, then they were shunned from society. After that, they were not allowed to get any food, and if they were caught stealing food they would be shot. Thus, they had to try and survive long enough for their hair to grow back, move to a different area, and then finally try and merge back into society.

As I was writing this, I was also reminded of the scene from V where she gets her head shaved during her imprisonment. Again a very violent thing, and a way to try and break someone.

Anyhow, quite a tangent. Keely did a great job. The Pyramus and Thisbe thing was very funny, and the girl playing the wall was so funny I almost cried. The "chink" in the wall was missed and so they started talking between her knees instead, and the line about "Kiss me through this chink in the wall" where she made the realization that Pyramus was about to start kissing her butt, was SO FUNNY! (if you've never seen the show, you may not know what I'm talking about, so sorry about that). Pyramus was great as well (and his role as Bottom). In the end there were a few things I didn't quite get, but some directors are like that.

I think the best was when Keely came out after the show with a giant stack of newspapers because she had her picture in it, and gave everyone a copy!

So, Great Job! goes to Keely, and I had a fun time. Tomorrow we're off to see Joe in his production of Hamlet! A Shakespeare weekend! WOO!

And Abundance Of Robertses

Actually, we were one short!

Today we got to see the Robertseseseseseses!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't recall the last time we saw the Robertseseseseses. For some reason I thought it was June, but others say otherwise.

It was a nice evening because we got to see Meghan's new place, and catch up on stuff!

A lovely evening, and now I'm tired. (Like I thought I was going to fall asleep while walking the dogs... like, seriously.) Good night.

I Miss Tivo

I used to have a Tivo, it was a fantastic thing to have. Then we got a new HD tv, and our old Tivo wasn't HD. So we stopped using the Tivo. Then we started watching less tv, and didn't see the point in getting a Tivo because the two shows we watched were OnDemand through Comcast, so really, why bother.

Now there's a lot of new shows I'm watching, and I don't have a Tivo, and the OnDemand isn't showing them all, or is slow to update. Now, I wish I had a Tivo. Plus, OnDemand is all "Fast Forward isn't going to work for you bitches anymore, so you're going to have to watch the commercials for this SUCKERS!!!!!!" That wouldn't be so bad if it was the same 2 commercials every 10 minutes.

So, I'm just saying... I miss my Tivo.

Hit The Road!

You know, I've been saying for ages that I need to have some time off, and our vacation was great because as I mentioned, the last time we've gone somewhere for more than a quick weekend trip was back in April of 2009 when we went down to Disney World. So it was fabulous to be able to take some time and go somewhere.

However, now that I've been home for like a week and half I'm starting to think about our next trip. WHERE SHOULD I GO?!!?!? There are a lot of places I'd like to go. There is of course my favorite of Disney World, though I kind of want to wait until later next year to do that because they're opening a new resort that I'd like to go to. I also want to head out West, but with winter coming up, it might not be the best time to do that. Plus, I'd rather like to avoid flying, but will if I have to. I also have on my "things I want to do list" going to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. That one would be in a few weeks, and I don't know if I've recovered yet from Europe, so that might not work out this year. I haven't been out East in a while, so that might be a fun one! I could go visit people who live far away? And there's always Chicago (though that's more of the weekend variety trip).

AHH!!! TOO MANY OPTIONS!

Well, I have all of Thanksgiving weekend off, and I get the entire week between Christmas and New Year, so I have a little time to figure it out! Hmmmmm.... *ponderponderponder*

Past Tense

I dont' know why but I've been thinking a lot about the past. Specifically my time in Virginia. I'm not sure exactly why this has been on my mind lately, but it has. Nothing specific, or nothing that I'm worried about. Just when I lived there. It's kind of hard to believe that I've been here for nearly 15 years, because it really doesn't seem like it's been that long. A lot of stuff I can remember as if it were yesterday.

It's weird how there are certain memories, that really have no significant value to them, and yet I can remember them quite vividly. For example, there was one day we decided we wanted some ice cream, so we walked down to Allen's house and got some ice cream. There was nothing special or important about it, simply "I want some Ice Cream, lets go to my house and get some." Or losing a baseball (incidentally a neon yellow-ey type color) in the cow field across the street. Or walking around in the rain during the summer.

Anyhow, that's been on my mind a lot lately, for no apparent reason.

I also think I'd like to go to Otakon again...