Category Archives: Bit of the ordinary

Something from everyday goings on.

Bit of the ordinary

Prop 8 legal opposition beginning

Saw this via the Internet:

the lawsuits to overturn Proposition 8 have forced the true powers behind the Proposition 8 battle to step into the uncomfortable limelight, which is something Steve Smith, the “No on 8” campaign’s hired hand, never effectively made happen. This time bishops, ministers, and their lawyers can’t hide behind a slick political campaign and quietly slip fat checks to hired pros to do the dirty work. They’ll be front and center in the chambers of the highest court of California, with millions of people watching via a live TV feed.

The full post ishere.

Bit of the ordinary

Need an outlet?

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The answer is yes.

With my office time on the rise, my shop/theatre time has fallen as downward as the economy. My new job as Head of the Theater Department has monopolized my time in many ways. I am only designing one show this year so my next one will be this summer.

So my photoshop and VectorWorks(drafting program) time has gone way down. And my email and word processing time has skyrocketed. I am slightly cursing my college english teacher, he was right, I do need to put together coherent sentences. Who knew? Well I guess he did.

To keep me moving in the office I have been listening to Mashups. Since they are free to download, it really fits my budget. One that I am really digging is this (link to mp3 file). A lot of fun.

To fill up my desire to create, make something I did my first woodcut(linocut?):

It is the logo of the Theater training program I run during the summers. Well I also do the set design and posters. I’m really looking forward designing the posters, that is always fun. It was more fun when it was silkscreened, although that was hard to do during summer when the program was running.

I have an 8×10 linoleum board. I’m pondering what to make with it. Any suggestions?

Bit of the ordinary, Education & Miseducation

Notes, posts and seats to be filled

I am up to my neck in a bunch of stuff. I never realized why the department chair spent much time in his office. Now I know why. I spend a lot of my day in my office in word processing and email programs. Working on things for the department. Things crop up all of a sudden, like when I had to call the editor of the local newspaper to tell him that his reporters should not be trying to give note to the director and actors. Yes you heard that right. We invited her to a technical rehearsal for her to learn about the show. Afterwards, she said she wanted to interview the actors, and when Christopher, the director and playwright of the piece, walks in, she is giving notes to the actors! He did everything he could not to kick her out the door right then and there. So I call the editor of the newspaper and he is oddly not surprised. In fact he sounded a little resigned.

Another thing is getting more butts in the seats for our show this weekend. It has a tough title to sell, The Apotheosis of Vaclav Drda. It is about an actress that puts her all into getting a play produced, and is questioning why she does it. Through the course the play she discovers why she is an artist and questions the need for material success. The director/playwright has been blogging the process of it’s creation,you have to read it. It is inspiring and articulate.

The show is going to be great, now I just have to get them there.

Bit of the ordinary, Family biz

Books and sleeping

McKelvey has been recently been reading the Harry Potter books. She has gotten thru the first two. As a result, she has developed a fear of basilisks she never had before. Which means for the first time in a long while she wants me to sit with her as she falls asleep. Usually, she can fall asleep by herself. But lately she can’t.

Also Arden has this phlemy cough that she can’t get rid of and wakes her up at night. So I can’t seem to get anything done at night. Between the long time put them to bed and Arden waking up repeatedly, there is no time to do the requisite late night email.

Maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Bit of the ordinary, Family biz

Turkey time(and game time)

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This year’s thanksgiving was great. Not only did Ann prepare a fabulous meal, but the kids were also great. We had the usual minor fights over cleaning up after themselves(I totally understand why my parents kept wanting me to not leave my shoes in the middle of the living room), but on the whole it was awesome. We taught the girls a few new games, Uno and a Harry Potter board game. Both McKelvey and Arden loved UNO, although Arden was on a team. McKelvey liked playing and holding the cards. Arden seemed to enjoy the silly banter the most. It was really great to play a game with the girls and not have them telling me what the barbie I’m holding is supposed to say. Not that I don’t like their make beleive games, it’s just that they don’t like you to break away from the script in their heads.

The Harry Potter game is basically like Clue but with a HP flair. McKelvey had a great handle of how to figure out the clues and ask the questions. She wasn’t to good on strategy yet. But hey she is seven.

I didn’t realize how much I missed playing cards or board games until we pulled them out. I just hope the interest from the girls will stay around. Or they just let have the doll say what I want it to.

Bit of the ordinary

Green wackiness

In the same vein as my previous post, this one is also environmental:Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) makes his private island green.

The wacky part:

his North Dumpling Island as an independent nation and himself as Lord Dumpling. Kamen claims to have his own currency and offers visas to visitors to the tiny island a few miles from Mystic, where he is the only resident.

The cool part:

Visitors arrived on a wind-swept day, with Kamen’s wind turbine spinning a generator and solar panels facing the sky….Kamen has been installing LED lights all over the island.

“We have zero tolerance for filaments,” he said of incandescent bulbs.

Philips Color Kenetics, a Massachusetts-based company doing the project to draw attention to LEDs, says the lights cut Kamen’s electrical use at least in half.

Kamen showed his visitors his basement water purification system, which he already has put to work in Honduras. The system can turn water from any source into clean drinking water free of disease, he said.