Beer and a Happy New Year

New Year's Eve! That means Christmas has come and gone for another year. The jolly holiday filled me with joy and Swedish meatballs and I'm happy to say, for the first time on Christmas, I received beer as a present. Beer is the perfect present. Here's why...

1. Beer allows you to drink and be merry, as we are often told to do by old timey advertisements.
2. Prices for beer are different at almost every liquor store, so you'll never know how much the gift-giver spent on you.
3. Beer can be a multi-ethnic experience. I received a sampler and the first beer I tried was Brazilian. I've never been to Brazil, but now MY MOUTH HAS! That's not all! The beer I drank was called Xingu Black Beer and by purchasing the lovely beverage, the gift-giver helped protect the Xingu River, a symbol of biological and cultural diversity, as the brewery gives to the Y Ikatu Xingu foundation.
4. It's beer. Num num num num.

Not only did I get beer, but I also got a gift card for more beer. Christmas gets better and better every year.

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! May all your resolutions work out. May all your hangovers tomorrow morning be short. May unicorns come back to life and may we never see the creation of the Bear Shark.

Chicago and the cast of Batman 3

Last weekend, one of my favorite things in the whole world, Survivors of the Undead Plague, hit the road and visited the great land that is Chicago. Waking early last Friday morning was difficult, but I was promptly greeted by Troy with one of the greatest Christmas cards ever. If you love tarsiers and Christmas, you would've enjoyed the homemade card thoroughly. Hopefully I can make some Christmas cards by hand this year. There is nothing like homemade cards. Not only do I feel accomplished in the creation of said cards, but the receiver also feels just a wee bit more special.

Chicago was great. We arrived in the late afternoon and quickly situated ourselves. Pegatron and I stayed with a friend on the Southside, while Troy and Damian sought refuge at the home of Lisa, Tyler and Dave. Soon, I was on my way to the theatre with a backpack and duffelbag full of fake guns. I've never been so filled with fear about carrying those fake guns. They look real. Cops would assume they're real. I could've been killed! Anyhoo, I made it to the theatre and the set went well. It was fun to do Survivors with only Troy, Damian and I for the first time in front of an audience. We had previously done shows with Hannah K, Aric M and Mike F as a fourth, but never just the 3 of us. It was delightful.

Saturday was a bit of a slow day. After getting up a little later, I was on my way to an improv workshop with iO's Jet Eveleth. For the first time in my improv career since taking classes at ComedySportz, I felt like my views on improv were reinforced. I'd previously taken classes with several well-known, qualified, talented folks, but I never took anything away. I know this was a little more focused on the strengths and weaknesses of just Troy, Damian and I, as opposed to a group of 12-15 people. However, it really was the approach that made me feel so excited.

After that, it was back to the theatre for the Mustache Rangers and Butch and Jill. Both were spot-on for the show. The only unfortunate thing about the evening was an intoxicated man who had a bit of a problem with remaining still and keeping quiet. The show was over and it was time to imbibe. First, Pegatron and I purchased the most hideous holiday apparel one could imagine and made our way to Tin Lizzie for some ugly sweater party action. White people love ugly sweater parties. We drank the night away with a friend of Pegatron's from high school and ended up catching a cab to her place for the evening. The next day only brought the worst hangover I'd had in ages... not the best thing to have when getting ready to drive to Minnesota. All in all, the Chicago adventure was delightful.

In other news, since the UK tabloid/newspaper The Sun reported that Shia LaBeouf would be Robin, Eddie Murphy would be The Riddler and Rachel Weisz would be Catwoman, I decided to take the great villains remaining in the Batman series and cast them for film. That update should be coming soon.

(Comic) Strip Joints

I'd like to invite all my favorites to read a great comic (new strip every Monday and Thursday) that I've enjoyed...

BlankIt

Aric McKeown is all up in this biz and I certainly recommend starting from the beginning as it is a continuous thread. And if you don't want continuous hilarity, feel free to visit this other strip I really enjoy...

Joe Loves Crappy Movies

Stuck at home due to the snow? Hanging out in a beautiful, warm locale and having nothing to do while drinking Coronas with lime? Enjoy those. More to come, I'm sure.

Employment and the Frailty of Humans

"Your job is killing you faster than a cancer could." -Her Space Holiday, Something To Do With My Hands.

The above quote is currently the only thing running through my head. Many companies unintentionally give you the opportunity to sink or swim and the unfortunate thing is that I believe my current employer is one of them. My sense of humor can only keep me afloat so long. I just don't want to get fired. I've never been fired and never want to get fired. It's a life goal, I guess.

As I sit in my cubicle, I have realized that the song Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros is on my iPod twice. I like it that way. That song gives me hope. And we're talking Barack Obama-style hope. Hope that lives on in most of us. The hope that the wonderful world could be wonderfuller. Shakespeare would be proud of that word... wonderfuller.

Back update! Every once in a while, I like to update my readers as to the condition of my back. I've been taking pills for back pain that appeared the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The following Monday I confronted the bastard pain and visited urgent care for some advice. After the x-ray told me I didn't have bone cancer or a herniated disc, I was prescribed indomethacin (C19H16ClNO4... for you chemical fans) as the doctor believed I had some sort of inflamed back muscle. Weird. Anyway, they work. Trust me. Though, I must say, I tend to get very tired about 5 hours after taking one. I nodded off during a training session at work and was looking forward to a "stern talking to," but it never came. The trainer only joked about his great ability to keep people awake.

Also, Pegatron was in an accident last week. She's doing much better, but it was very scary. However, after hearing the entire story, I grew a great respect for all the people that helped along the way. Between the first responders, state patrol and all the medical staff, Pegatron had a very pleasant experience for such an unpleasant accident. As with most traffic accidents, it was the stupidity of others that led to a brief hospitalization for Pegatron. Perhaps the saddest thing to come of this entire accident is the fact that Peggy and I will no longer have matching cars. So long, dear Echo. You will be missed... but not your lack of safety features.

'til next time.

Things I've Heard, Vol. 1

Since music is a fairly large part of my life, I decided to talk about a few of the new CDs and digital downloads I've enjoyed in the past few weeks.

• The Mighty Underdogs - Droppin' Science Fiction - The latest of hip hop supergroups, this CD on Def Jux label has been a joy to listen to. With Gift of Gab from Blackalicious and Lateef the Truth Speaker from Latyrx (and their producer Headnodic), this trio fell together after Lateef got together with Headnodic to make a solo album and Gift of Gab decided to drop in to collaborate with Lateef. If you're a fan of Blackalicious or enjoy a good J5 track, you'll like this. Inventive beats and a some great cameos from MF Doom on "Gun Fight" and one of my favorite MCs, Lyrics Born, on "ILL Vacation," make for a fun record, through and through.


• Sprengjuhöllin - Sprengjuhöllin - Dying for a little more Icelandic pop music in your life? Want to support the failing Icelandic economy? Well, either reason is a fine one to listen to Sprengjuhöllin. I have a severe soft spot for indie pop music and Sprengjuhöllin really delivers on the promise. Songs like Keyrum Yfir Ísland (rockin' out!) and Worry 'til Spring (ballad! gorgeous!) show just how much talent these guys have. If you want to be down with Iceland, this is definitely a disc or digital download you should consider.


• TV on the Radio - Dear Science - Obviously my favorite band would make it to this list of recent favorites. I'm not one to push TV on the Radio onto others, because they just are not the type of band anyone would want to listen to. But, the fact is, Dear Science is the most accessible CD the troupe has put out and therefore, I'm not pushing it on others to give a listen. They really try to make this album more "fun" than the others, which unfortunately means less substance, but they've taken part in that race and now want to explore a new version of themselves. This is a dandy.

• Marching Band - Spark Large - I don't think I've had a band stick around on my iTunes for very long without giving them a listen, however Marching Band is the exception and I made a terrible mistake for doing so. If you like The Shins, you'll probably dig Marching Band as well and if you wish The Magnetic Fields weren't so droopy, you'll enjoy the fresh Swedish pop of Marching Band. Do yourself a favor and at least check out the song, "Travel in Time."

• The BPA - Toejam (feat. Dizzee Rascal & David Byrne) - Ok. You caught me. This is only one song. But, I love it. It makes me so happy. And the music video will make anyone happy, whether you like the song or not. Boom.

That should be enough music to keep you happy for a few hours. By all means, if you've heard something wonderful lately, let other people know. In particular, let me know. Happy listening!