Comic Book Writing Class is Going Awesome!

Much love to Jim Higgins, who takes time out of his busy schedule to teach a couple of dreamers from a card table set to the side of the front display cases at Meltdown Comics.  That's awesome.

Improv Rules

There's something really great after an improv class, the world settles a bit.  All the tossed shards of unrepentant memories settle and congeal into melody.  All my energy returns and multiplies.  The world seems absolutely perfect.

It's such a tricky thing to explain because it can't be judged by performance.  I mean its comedy, either people laugh or they don't.  Comedy can be learned, and sometimes people can even be conned into laughing, but they can't be negotiated into it.

All there is, there is. And there is more waiting, for it is a loving swell.

The Year of the Book Hunt

After a rough exit, 2011 finally dawns.  A pile of books in huge crates dares to be spinebent and abosrbed.  Here's hoping I can do the deed. (no suggestions!  The pile is big enough!)

My Favorite Album of the Year

Otis Taylor - Clovis People Vol. 3

This is a man making an album here.  No pubescent endorphins farting all over the place.  The music is organic and human.  Some people call it ‘transcendental blues’.  If making a label like that would bring more music like this, then I’m all for it. It’s the blues, raw, earthy and tribal.  It’s like Robert Johnson hooked up with a couple of Middle Eastern nomads to make an album.

I’ll admit I’m a little biased from personal experience.  This music reminds me of the time I played guitar at an improv theater in the valley.  The Hothouse (coming back in 2011!) touted themselves as an organic improv theater.  Slightly more theatrical than most improv, they took no suggestions from the audience, and morphed from scene to scene without interruption.  This sounds like a very polished version of the musical accompaniment we played with added lyrics.

If this was on the radio instead of Katy Perry, my car ride would be sweet.  The radio used to be my friend, now we barely keep in touch.  I feel a little betrayed.  Was I just a naïve dollar sign?  Yes, yes I was.  I learned my lesson well.  I got ripped off up and down the line.  Punk rockers and Performance artists are just as much shills as a Vegas lounge act. I got gutted. But there are no worries because with a soundtrack like this, I’ll be just fine.

Unstoppable (yes it was)

Holy Crap, was unstoppable an awesome movie. That movie rules!  It's a good time, fer sure, fer sure.