The Good and the Bad.

The good news is I have a home and power and all the true necessities.

Bad news is Center Point says that Houston is looking past Monday for major power restorations.

If Chelsea Market is with out power more than this weekend, the YT is toast!

Quibble, this would mean no cable for me for a while. Maybe I will start really reading again...

Now, the burbs and rural areas should be mostly up by Friday. I guess there are fewer trees out there. ARGH!!!!!

Watching Ike

When I was a child, I remember the adults talking about watching Watergate on TV. I wondered to myself, what is this show Watergate about? Now, of course, I know it was in reference to watching the news coverage of the Watergate scandal.

Today, I find myself "Watching Hurricane Ike" and wonder how many small children out there think the grown ups are watching some new fall TV series while waiting for the big scary storm to blow through. Are these children watching the coverage as well and know it is "news"? I didn't watch any Watergate coverage. I suppose I was in bed before the later news came on.

When did the news come on in the early 70s anyway?

Off to watch more Ike!

Poachers Will Be Shot On Sight!

It is pre-production week for our first show of the season. The Stage Manager is already working and we are 4 days from starting rehearsals.

Another production manager from another theater calls my SM and offers him a job that starts 2.5 weeks into my production. She steals my SM from me with a higher paying contract.

Foul!

Now I know, with Equity rules, I know we are supposed to let people go for more remunerative employ. I am not upset with my SM. I can't blame him for wanting to take the other job with gas and school loans and all else these days.

But the PM from Theater X? I DO blame her! She knowingly enticed the SM away days before rehearsal. I don't care how desperate she was for a good SM, she had to know that she was creating a desperate situation for me! Now I am scrambling for an SM to take over the show during technical rehearsals.

Red Card! You are outta here!

Summer Movie Frenzy

In response to Chris Wheeler's Comment: I am sorry you didn't find it as uplifting as I did. I will agree on this point, if Brosnon releases an album, I will definitely NOT be in line for it. He was definitely the weakest, though he did fair better on "I Do, I Do". Dancing Queen was a highlight, but I am also a fan of Honey, Honey.

Regarding the other films you mentioned, I agree, over all, Iron Man and Dark Knight rule. I might even say, for me, that Iron Man wins the summer in the end, even if DK box office is going to be the bench mark for summers to come.

I am looking forward to the new Mummy. I hope it measures up. I am a fan of Brendan Frazer (some even say I look like him (I wish!)). I saw Journey to the Center of the Earth which was fine, and a fun ride, but not a must see.

And I just saw the X-Files. Thought it was great. And I think it is good for the fan and the newbie. If you are a fan, you know all about Mulder and Scully and their relationship, but there is enough in the film that you understand what is going on between them if you haven't seen the show. The main plot is completely contained in the movie though, so if you don't care about their drama, that was still an interesting story to follow. I thought anyway.

But then I am easy.

Chris, is your wife available for lunch? I think we would have a blast!

It's too Darn Hot!

I think Cole Porter said it best. Summer in Houston, namely August and the coming September are to darn HOT!

Wow, it has been all summer and I haven't said a peep. I just can't seem to quite get the hang of this.

Here are some highlights.

Mamma Mia: LOVED IT! I already have seen it twice and will likely again if I get feeling low before it leaves theaters. It is just plain fun. If you read the reviews, forget them! The critics just don't understand a good time when they see it. The music is faboo, you have a good time, and yes, it sometimes borders on the ridiculous, but who cares? With a super trooper cast headed by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnon, honey honey, you just can't help but have a good time.

Summer Olympics: I always look forward to the Olympics. The best thing they ever did was stagger Winter and Summer. Swimming and Gymnastics. Paul Hamm has a broken hand? Talk about a nail biter! And Phelps set to get a million dollar bonus? Good gracious!

Still, I have to ask, is it just me, or does the Olympic Stadium look like it was attacked by a roll of duct tape?

So should I read the Twilight series? I haven't heard so much hubub on a book since Harry Potter!

Summer was rough financially speaking. Price of gas and all, but some progress was made.

Total Debt: $13,645

Another Bench Mark!

After May's bill payment, on June payment, and playing Tweedle Dee for an hour, I broke $14,000!!!!

Yippie!

No details, sorry. Time is short. But I have done the math.

Total Debt: $13,755

Too Bad, So Sad...

Sometimes I hate being the cold and cruel box office manager.

At my theater, we are currently having a highly successful, sold out run of Present Laughter. Today was no exception. When curtain time arrives, we sell the empty seats to people desperate to get in on stand by and I sold every seat. (Thank you very much!)

After the show starts, 10 minutes after curtain time, a couple arrives in from the suburbs. Because I had sold all the empty seats to stand bys, I had nothing for them at intermission and certainly not for late seating.

Our usual option is to reschedule for a later show. We have a two week extended run, but unfortunately they were going to be out of town then. So, as a final gesture of goodwill without breaking the rules, I offered them a certificate to come back next season. Mr. Late Comer took it because he "had no other choice" but was going to "remember this the next time they got a letter asking for money!"

Ugh! That just makes me feel so mean. But we have limited late seating and no refunds. They knew that, even if they didn't pay attention to the warning when they bought the tickets.

All in all though, Mr. & Mrs. Late Comer are still beat out by the early ticket buyer, when unable to buy a ticket outside of business hours (I was in a meeting! What could I do?), told me that "the Alley [Theatre] is always open!" and walked out the door.

Signed Mr. McScrooge Box Office Manager

Are You Talking to Me?

When I work front of house for the MainStage, people think I am Joel Sandel.

When I answer the phone at the box office, people think I am David Wald.

When I do children's theater, people think I am Kregg Dailey.

It is no wonder I am having an identity crisis!

Starry Friends

One great thing about Facebook is I have been able to catch up with a few old friends from High School. One of those friends is Bobby Getchell.

Bobby is now more widely known as "Robert Getchell - Tenor". Good ole Bobby, who sang some in High School, ended up studying voice in college, then in Europe and is now pretty big stuff. At least he seems big in the classical world.

It just floors me! I had no idea that someone I knew from back then had taken such an artistic road and had professional success.

As much as I am happy to say, "GO BOBBY!", it puts my recent gig as Tweedle Dee at a Bat Mitzvah in a sad perspective. I want to perform for the crown heads of Europe, not 13 year olds!!

At least Tweedle Dee got me $200 for an hour's work. Expect to see half that go to the big D this week!

Hey Drewster? What Time Is It?

I have three watches, all of which have dead batteries. One, the swacth, has a broken wrist band.

So, today, I took a friends advice about getting the batteries done at a watch kiosk in the Galleria, and went.

I haven't been to the Galleria in a very long time. I remember the place as a kid. Because it had two movie theaters back then, we would go all the time. You see, in the 1970s in Houston, it was actually cool enough to make the trek on foot.

So, we would go all the time for movies. The Galleria was only two sections then. One set of 2 (or was it 4?) screens were in Galleria one on the ice rink level and the other set was in Galleria two. Very often when traveling between the two when you realized that it was the other theater that had the film, you would cut through the Magic Pan restaurant.

Today, there are four Gallerias, no Magic Pan and no movie theaters. My first stop was at the Swatch store in Galleria 4 where they did not have the watch band in stock, nor could they order it. (I have now done that on-line). I then moved on to the watch kiosk in the bridge between 1 and 2.

On my way I stopped at Urban Outfitters. Beware the trendy urban stores that open in the Galleria. Translation = They are now to pricey for you.

Waiting for the watches I walked around a bit and thought about the stores there. The Disney store used to have clothes for everyone that sold the Disney brand. Now it is only kid stuff, not so much clothes and more targeted to current projects than over all Disney. Ironically, I was wearing a Donald Duck T-shirt which was one of the last things I ordered from the Disney catalog before they started dropping men's stuff.

Ambercrombie & Fitch, which started out as basically high end prep stuff is now just Amercrombie and is aimed at the young and beautiful. The Gap has moved from 1 to 2. I don't even go in. They don't make clothes for my kind. My kind being larger than a 32 inch waist.

And of course, the place was packed with the young and the beautiful. And I wonder, how do we get a fraction of these people to the theater?

And yes, I have three working watches, one waiting on a new band. I now know what time it is without pulling out my cell phone...

My Mother the Dweeb

I got a phone call from my mother today. She thought, with the new Indiana Jones movie out this weekend, she should see the first three, having never seen them.

So, I am mailing my copy of the DVDs to Williamstown so she can watch them and then the family up there can have an outing to see the new fourth installment.

Speaking of which, I saw the fourth installment today. I enjoyed it quite immensely. I had couple of quibbles with the ending (NO SPOILERS HERE. Commentors feel free and be warned.), but the over all concept of the movie's mythology was fine.

Look out for nods to the Young Indiana Jones series, an homage to Star Wars and very funny ground hogs.

City Sinners.

Boo Entertainment Weekly! Boo!

I got my EW this week and it of course is featuring Sex and the City.

But it is a double issue, which means no EW next week.

And its double content covers SATC exclusively!

Now, I have seen a couple episodes of this show, and it was amusing, but it didn't catch me as a viewer and I am very, mostly, likely NOT going to see the film.

The last double issue we had covered the entire summer movie season. It took me 2.5 workouts to read it. Good job.

This one? One work out, because what it really is, is a regular issue of EW with a large editorial section on one film. Letters, photos, article, article, births and deaths etc., flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, Caspian review, done! Um, all those flip flip flips should have been next week's mag!

Maybe we will get lucky and the double issue will truly be special and a new issue will still come out. Otherwise, that Precor is going to be so hard next week when I only have one day of distracting, mindless reading to help move the 40 minutes along.

And a shout out to Troy! One of the few who reads my drivil!

Play Piper! Play!

It has been so long since I did this, but I have been making payments.

Payment Sent (2/15) = $221.44
Attributed to interest = $57.79
Attributed to montly budgeted expenses = 103.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $60

Total Debt: $14,360

Bacon and Chocolate

Who would have thought to combine bacon and chocolate? Well, apparently Vosges did.

I received a Mo's Bacon Bar for my birthday and have been slowly eating it, bit by bit.

It's milk chocolate with pieces of bacon in it! It is a totally bizarre taste, and yet, is sweetly satisfying. It is hard to explain, but I can tell you, it is not a disaster of an idea.

Not in the slightest.

The Piper is Being Paid

Dear Readers,

I am sorry that I have not been keeping you up to date since my birthday. I have been very lazy and catching up on Battlestar Galactica. I am all caught up, but also paying the debt!

Efforts made include a couple of party gigs ($200), remainder of March Payments ($50) and April Payments ($141).

I am no longer posting my goal. I don't think it is realistic anymore. I think if I break $12,000 this year, we will be doing good. An interest rate just went up, which will slow me down a bit by either paying it, or switching to a new rate. Switching will garner a fee, but if it can be a locked in rate, I will defintely take it.

Total Debt: $14420

Happy Easter!

So, despite last night's festivities at the Karaoke bar, I managed to get up and go to church today.

Being Easter Sunday it was full, and I had to take a seat in the back. The rector giving the sermon doesn't seem to use the mic when she is facing the congregation. Good for her! Mics are over used these days, but it can cause some interesting affects.

As my ears are not the greatest, and as I was sitting in the back, I could have sworn she said, during the sermon, that after rising from the dead, Jesus greeted his disciples at baseball!

It only took moment for my brain to fully translate that it was his disciples and faithful, but during that moment I had time to think, "What! They were playing baseball? What is she talking .... Oh! Faithful." I felt like I was reliving The Life of Brian and the Sermon on the Mount. "BLessed are the cheese makers?"

Of course, with 12 disciples, Jesus did have more than enough to field a team. I wonder what they would have called themselves....

The Beginning of the End?

I saw my friend Luisa today at the theater. I confessed that next week is my 40th birthday.

She said, "Ah! Welcome to middle age!"

We are no longer speaking...

;)

Tueasday Was a Sad Day In RPG Land

Dungeons & Dragons co-creator dies at 69
06:05 PM CST on Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Associated Press

MILWAUKEE -- Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies. Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gail Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

Born Ernest Gary Gygax, he grew up in Chicago and moved to Lake Geneva at the age of 8. Gygax's father, a Swiss immigrant who played violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, read fantasy books to his only son and hooked him on the genre, Gail Gygax said.

Gygax dropped out of high school but took anthropology classes at the University of Chicago for a while, she said. He was working as an insurance underwriter in the 1960s, when he began playing war-themed board games.

But Gygax wanted to create a game that involved more fantasy. To free up time to work on that, he left the insurance business and became a shoe repairman, she said.

Gygax also was a prolific writer and wrote dozens of fantasy books, including the Greyhawk series of adventure novels.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Other links:
Gary Gygax invented a fantasy game for real-life friends
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-dungeons_0309gl.State.Bulldog.1dfed5e.html

Comic Strip Tribute
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html

And I Thank You

We had some Amazon.com shopping last month, AND an Amazon.com payment from all the holiday shopping.

Monarch of the Glen is a BBC series that ran 7 seasons before ending. I have been catching it on Netflix, but the complete collection is now available in one set. This is just a fantastic series! First off, it is set in Scotland. The scenery alone is worth the price of admission. The cast is charming and the story lines are great too. You should check it out.

I personally thank the shoppers that bought the following items:
-- Charmed - The Complete Second Season
-- Basement Bhangra

I also got a payment of $15.14. I will send $15 to the CCs!

Total Debt: $14811
2008 goal Attained: $689 (of $5,500)

Time To Pay the Piper

It's that time again.

Minimum Payment = $224
Payment Sent (2/15) = $262.28
Attributed to interest = $58.63
Attributed to montly budgeted expenses = 103.65
Attributed to Credit Card Debt = $100

Total Debt: $14826
2008 goal Attained: $674 (of $5,500)