Things I Want, But Do Not Need

I just went shopping. For me, shopping is different than for many people. I believe that exiting the store without having purchased anything is a victory. For me, many stores are very much like museums where you go to see nice things. Or maybe it is like some kind of bizarre suburban hiking. Anyway, things I want but do not need - in no particular order...

• New Ipod, big memory, video or nano
• New, good buds for my current Ipod
• Ultra compact notebook PC, or tablet
• 802.11g wireless router
• TIVO deck with lifetime membership and wireless capability
• Slingbox
• 23-34" flat panel HDTV
• 13x19" Inkjet printer
• Head unit Ipod integration for my truck
• GPS Nav system - preferably in dash
• A new cellphone, with a better camera
• Bluetooth phone headset with bone conducting microphone
• Dataprojector for my home office
• 6 megapixel camera and a big data card
• Home network audio distribution

Can you tell which retail museums I went to today?

Truth be told, even if I had the $10,000 that list must total if its a nickel I think it would go to other things - someone to paint my house, replace the failing brick, pave the driveway...

I guess its a good thing that wanting is not needing. Next week maybe I'll go to the hardware store.

Link of the Day

I have been playing this game way way way way way way way (you get the idea) too much. It has totally sucked out my soul and left me a withering husk. Its sort of like that game from Next Gen they used to take over the ship. Really there's very little strategy, no way to win, and eventually no matter what you do you lose.

It's perfect.

Now, like a communicable disease I am giving it to you:

Cublo Games - Gems

Actually, its more like that movie The Ring and I am here hoping that by passing it on to someone else I will break the curse on myself.

My high score is something just North of 400,000. Enjoy.

I Watch Too Much TV

Project Runway is back, excellent. Rockstar is back too, but I don't so much care with Tommy Lee and without Ty Taylor.

But Project Runway, that rocks. I think I like it because in many ways it is like work. Here are all these defenseless, aspiring, creative people told to do unreasonable things in impossible time frames only to get the absolutely most ruthless feedback - if they get any real feedback at all. It may be fashion, but for all intents and purposes it is drama school.

Actually I think my appreciation is more nostalgia for when I was a Drama student than it is any kind of empathy for the situation I am in now. This is the story of the student type people, not the teachers. Although, I love Tim Gunn. He would make an excellent addition to the faculty of our department. I wonder if he's ever considered teaching costume design.

Tonight was the official premiere. Last night they did a making the cast episode and they showed their auditions around the country. I couldn't believe how much they reminded me of our interview process. They have a little bit of an advantage though. When someone walks through the door they just know is a "not for us" they can simply stop them and turn them around. When that happens to us we give the candidate the whole interview anyway. I think maybe we get surprised once in every thousand interviews. With that kind of predictive accuracy maybe we should just say "I'm going to stop you right now and say you're not what we're looking for" as Tim so politely said to one of their candidates on the show last night.

The cast for their show looks good this year. I hope the show stays fresh, the way Bravo plays things I am sure I'll see every episode a thousand times. It would be nice if it didn't suck.

I started thinking today that maybe we should do our precollege like project runway. Do a challenge like every four days and then have Heidi tell someone the are "out." Whoever is left at the end would get an admission to the school and the "winner" would get a full ride four year scholarship. At least that would keep people from falling asleep during class.

Actually, it probably wouldn't.

They could at least pick a seat near the back when its going to happen - you know who you are.

Disaster

Who knew I had totally fallen apart?

Mrs. TANBI has been away for less than two days and I have degenerated ala Lord of the Flies. Tonight for dinner I finished a bag of Chex Mix. I have no idea when bedtime is. This could be a rough couple of days.

Ellipses...

I have been a bad blogger lately. Captain Bad Blogger... The Autodesk people changed up printing AGAIN... I don't think I had a stake in Italy/France... The cat is away, anyone got good ideas on getting into trouble??? Really, it's not the heat so much as the humidity... My lobster injury still hasn't healed... Here it is the all star break and I haven't followed the Cubs inning one. Probably doesn't matter... Do the painting or the closet??? How can both "Nickel & Dimed" and our current illegal immigration situation be true concurrently??? A little bit I miss the blog sound... In case you weren't paying attention, like me, it is mid July... I don't think I will get to see Melissa this tour. That is a little sad... Today I signed up for four wisdom tooth extractions... Good for the court telling those people they can't re-edit and remarket films on DVD, although that doesn't make Remake by Connie Willis any less a good book... Good for PA in raising their minimum wage. Now if there weren't so many ways around the minimum wage... I think in the end the whole point of the line item veto is to allow everyone to work less - lazy... What kind of a world is it when bio-deisel is $2/gal??? Note to the airport authority, perhaps having the airshow at the airport isn't the best choice of venue - simple for you, rectal itch for the travelling public... An email today annoucing a meeting tomorrow is not really good business... I didn't sleep at all last night... Where can I get a good, high-res elevation of the Simthfield Street bridge??? Good for the court telling the President that semantics do not a difference make, "enemy combatant" my ass...

Statistical fallacy of terrorist-hunting surveillance

Boing Boing: "the probability that people are terrorists given that NSA's system of surveillance identifies them as terrorists is only p=0.0132, which is near zero, very far from one. Ergo, NSA's surveillance system is useless for finding terrorists."

It Did Get Nominated!!!

Complete list of Emmy nominations: "Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour): 'Camp Lazlo: Hello Dolly/Over Cooked Beans,' Cartoon Network; 'Family Guy: PTV,' Fox; 'Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Go Goo Go,' Cartoon Network; 'The Simpsons: The Seemingly Neverending Story,' Fox; 'South Park: Trapped in the Closet,' Comedy Central."

Theatre Workplace Research

Have you ever met a successfully working theatre artist who faithfully refused to work on any day of the week due to regular religious observance - any faith?

If so, what were the circumstances and how did the employer deal with it?

What is the policy about this type of absence where you typically work?

More Governmental Consumer Activism

One of our readers responds...

I saw your "I Want My Money Back" rant, which is on point. This started as a comment, but got way, way too long. Here goes:

I want my money back, too. Consider--

Despite the SCOTUS opinion giving Bush the smackdown on the scope of executive power, that ineffectual body, our "Congress," a Parliament of Whores (and Horrors) if there ever were such a thing, will now move as one giant blight on our civil rights to enact laws that will "legalize" Bush's power grab. One more step in our country's decline.

The Hamdan decision was remarkable, but I believe the Democrats will fail us all once again. I suppose our next hope will be an ex post facto challenge to the laws after they enact the crap legislation that will free the executive of oversight, finally absolve Bush of the cumbersome trappings of law--both domestic and international, and destroy the checks and balances those revered forefathers spilled blood to bring to the face of this earth.

It's truly depressing to see how willing this Congress is to strip us of our Constitutional protections against tyranny in an effort to "defeat terror." If the terrorists hate our freedom so much, why are we serving them victory on a platter?

Dahlia Lithwick, a writer for Slate.com, reported on the oral argument for Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. She (correctly, I believe) points out that this administration engages in "legal analysis by assertion and justification by double standard. This war is like every other war except to the extent that it differs from those other wars. We follow the laws of war except to the extent that they do not apply to us. These prisoners [at Guantanamo] have all the rights to which they are entitled by law, except to the extent that we have changed the law to limit their rights."

And this:

"Solicitor General Paul Clement has 45 minutes to represent the Bush administration, and here is where the smoke and mirrors kick in. He cites the executive's longstanding authority to try enemies by military tribunal. When Justice John Paul Stevens asks for the source of the laws that such tribunals would enforce, Clement replies that the source is the "laws of war." When Stevens asks whether conspiracy is encompassed within the laws of war, Clement says that the president views conspiracy as within the laws of war. Neat trick, no?"

Her entire article is at http://www.slate.com/id/2138841/

I see these developments (and the Democrats continuing, unthinking and utterly dependable tendency to just take any bait laid out by the Neo-cons) a tragedy--an ongoing, continuing tragedy. I don't think I'm being an alarmist, either. This is a bad, dark time and we can only hope that as a people, we will recognize the folly of the last 6 years and elect people to Congress who will work to set us back on SOME KIND of course. We have no leadership, we have no leaders. We have nothing except bloated, reactionary insane jackasses "debating" these silly social issues; burning up the airwaves and sucking ink into newsprint trying to come up with the next campaign slogan and to give the impression that they are "doing something." I do that at work. I'm doing it RIGHT NOW. I'm typing this email instead of a contract, and goddammit, people think I'm WORKING. Shit, I should run for Congress.

I digress. Given the gravity and the potential ramifications of the events unfolding in this world (Israel/Hamas/Syria, North Korea's missles, our wars), our government succeeds ONLY in further distancing us from the rest of the world, making us appear willfully ignorant, poorly informed, petty, small-minded and unbearably impressed with our own self-righteousness.

I'm not sure where this leaves me on the spectrum, and I'm not sure how much longer I can take it. It's draining. I think I'm going to have to emigrate. Probably Ireland. Maybe England. But I have no tangible fealty left for this country and the "will" of the people who live here. I have no loyalty. I didn't really even root for USA at the World Cup. I figure I might as well strike out for a place on the rise instead of the fall. The future, my friend, lies on the other side of the oceans that separate us from everyone else. Europe is on the wax, China is on the rise. The US can only slow her descent.

In an interesting take on the current state of domestic political affairs, take a look at Barack Obama's speech from June 28, 2006. Thought provoking, to be sure. http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal_keynote_address/index.html

Congratulations Sis!

My sister got married this weekend in Cape Cod. Great fun was had by all. The pictures I have are from the Pre-nup dinner, but the wedding was even more spectacular. The pre-nup was a clam bake with all the fixins.


We have a tradition in my family about turning the pre-nup into kind of a roast. This event was no different. Here's what I remember of my toast (along with some things I forgot when I was giving it):

Be nice - like that's going to happen.

I have to start, I don't want to steal your thunder, but Marisa and I are pregnant.

No, that's not true.

I wanted to give you advice on how to have a successful first year of marriage, but I can't do that, our marriage is over.

No, that's not true either.

I have known Jessica for a very, very long time. Decorum prevents me from saying just how long. The problem is that the things I have to say, nobody will understand. See, I was going to start like this:

"Isn't this a beautiful place Jessica found to have this party? I guess the Magnani's house wasn't available."

The problem is that there are maybe five people here that understand that. Its too bad. To make a long story short for the rest of you. I believe that instance was Jessica's first experience with law enforcement.

Watching my sister's life has been watching the evolution from Veruca into Lola. We all know, Veruca wants what she wants when she wants it, and whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. Jessica has always been a very resourceful, focused person. She's always been able to find an alternate way to get what she wants. There's a quote in the Sound of Music "Whenever God closes a door, he opens a window." This fits real well with my sister, except in this case its my Father that is closing the door, and Jessica who is going out the window. At one point we thought that to be in compliance with county code we were going to have to put an exit sign over her window.

I love my sister very much. I am so glad she has found someone to make her happy, and she could not have found a better brother for me. The funny thing is that for many years now I haven't seen much of Jessica. We both work in an industry that makes it such that we never know where each other are, or what we're doing, or when the next time we'll be able to see each other. But still, whenever we are together we are always able to slip right back into it. There's a comfort there that is truly special.

And Matt, in my judgment you have absolutely the correct temperament to be a successful male member of this family. It isn't a challenge to be taken lightly.

Since so many of us are in the business, and this event is like our final preview before tomorrow's opening, I have some early reviews I would like to share with you.

Ben Brantly of the New York Times says: "You've loved them individually in the past. Just wait until you see what they do together!" I know that the people that write the headlines aren't the people that write the articles, but that sounds like a good review to me.

The Indianapolis Star-Tribune put their article on the weather page strangely enough and says: "HOT HOT HOT! These two individuals make for an incendiary couple. But no matter how hot they are, we promise you tomorrow will not be as hot as last year's event." For those of you that sweated of 10 pounds at my wedding last June.

And finally Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times says: "After year's of questionable casting decisions, this production is ready to go! When interviewed on the subject, the producing director of Apple Tree Theatre said 'its a great start, but we can't wait to see act two... they should come here to workshop that... really... I'm available for babysitting... anytime...'"

Great news. And so, I ask you to raise your glass, and for tomorrow's opening and an unlimited open run we all say, break a leg.