Tonight we watched both episodes of this weeks "On The Lot". Somehow our Tivo seems to have missed an episode last week which was curious enough. But then the blonde girl host was replaced with a brunette girl host without explanation. Uh, note to producers, don't leave me hanging like that. But more on her in a minute.
The challenge this week was straightforward, a one-minute comedy film. It looks like the contestants are given quite the budget, which is great news for us watching. My favorites were the dancing man, the barfing alien puppets (I'm bored with toilet humor in general, but for me puppets fall into a special category of awesomeness where anything goes, which is why I also loved the barfing mannequin in "Team America" and the puppets singing about porn in "Avenue Q"), and the "get a room" guy. On the latter I have to agree that perhaps the line was crossed between nerd and mentally challenged, but still it made me laugh more than any of the others. The Canadian special effects dude Zach is still my favorite so far.
And the streak of familiar actors continues, with the ever talented Mark Feuerstein as the dancing man. Sweet.
The new host lady is pretty, but good hosts have to be more than pretty. They have to exude confidence and charm, as does the ultimate host, Jeff Probst, or they have to have a good dose of geek in them (think Seacrest and Phil from the Amazing Race.) This girl is just pretty. As in pretty boring! When she put on her "mean" face for the elimination round it was just awkward. Also, why was she wearing Marilyn Monroe's dress from "Niagara"? Wishful thinking honey. I can't believe I'm commenting on wardrobe, but it was distracting. I did like the way she kept manhandling the contestants to get them to stand close enough to her. Either it was just an uncomfortable invasion of personal privacy that they hadn't warned the contestants about, or else she must have some pretty terrible B.O., because she had to physically tug them to stand closer to her. People all up in each other's space makes good TV.
I didn't agree with the voting results, but not so much that I care. I wish the eliminations were less a copy of "American Idol" and more something, you know, else, but oh well. The only person I so far don't like was safe, which was a bummer, but even so I'm more disturbed by the fact that he's a dude that looks better in make-up than out of it, so I guess I'll give his art another go before I dismiss him as the Scott Savol of the group. The inherent weakness of this show is the lack of humanness - we're judging a movie, and so don't get as much a connection with the contestants. So with 18 of them, I didn't really pay attention to names. We'll see if this improves and I start caring about individuals more, or if this just remains a high-wattage but less-enthralling distraction through the summer until Survivor: China starts.
But lest we forget, "Pirate Master" begins on Thursday, which has the potential to the best thing on television. Ever.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Fried banana and chicken hearts
Back in December, our apartment complex had a contest to see who could decorate their front door the best. I was in charge of lights while David went crazy with paper snowflakes. Needless to say, we totally kicked butt and won first place. (It didn't hurt either that the fountain in front of our apartment froze over about four feet tall, but they couldn't turn it off without having the pipes freeze and burst, so we had a huge living ice sculpture that some days looked like a sleepy volcano, other days like the Fortress of Solitude, it was awesome.)
Anyway, our prize was a $50 gift certificate to Tucano's, a Brazillian restaurant in town. We finally went tonight. It was meat, meat, and more meat. I'm hardly a vegetarian, but I definitely started to get a but queasy after the tenth different meat dish came to our table. I hate to say it, but it was probably the worst meal we've had in Albuquerque, even if it was totally fun. And, after all, it was free, so how much can I complain? Once we were both stuffed, the Texan guy next to us (I don't know that he was Texan, but the women in his party definitely had big Texan hair) turned to us and said "You're quitting already?" I'd actually quit several skewers previously, but I was still eating to make sure I got my money's worth. The pineapple with burnt brown sugar on it was good, and a few of the steak things. But my tummy can only handle so much meat at one sitting apparently.
The best part came at the end anyway. They served us some deep fried banana, which I thought was quite tasty. David and I are both weird about bananas. I like them firm and yellow, while he can eat them after they've started to turn brown. But these were mushy and slightly carmelized, and I thought they were delicious. After initial hesitation, he gamely tried to eat a bite, and a second after he put it in his mouth I saw utter panic in his eyes. If the Texans hadn't been so close he would've spit it out and run screaming from the table I'm sure. But he bravely swallowed with a violent shudder, and it was all I could do to stop crying from laughing at his pain. "It squirted when I bit down" he told me. Poor thing. But he gets points for trying. He had to wash it down with one last meat, chicken hearts. That's right, he ate a chicken heart to get the deep fried banana texture-memory out of his mouth. You gotta love that.
Anyway, our prize was a $50 gift certificate to Tucano's, a Brazillian restaurant in town. We finally went tonight. It was meat, meat, and more meat. I'm hardly a vegetarian, but I definitely started to get a but queasy after the tenth different meat dish came to our table. I hate to say it, but it was probably the worst meal we've had in Albuquerque, even if it was totally fun. And, after all, it was free, so how much can I complain? Once we were both stuffed, the Texan guy next to us (I don't know that he was Texan, but the women in his party definitely had big Texan hair) turned to us and said "You're quitting already?" I'd actually quit several skewers previously, but I was still eating to make sure I got my money's worth. The pineapple with burnt brown sugar on it was good, and a few of the steak things. But my tummy can only handle so much meat at one sitting apparently.
The best part came at the end anyway. They served us some deep fried banana, which I thought was quite tasty. David and I are both weird about bananas. I like them firm and yellow, while he can eat them after they've started to turn brown. But these were mushy and slightly carmelized, and I thought they were delicious. After initial hesitation, he gamely tried to eat a bite, and a second after he put it in his mouth I saw utter panic in his eyes. If the Texans hadn't been so close he would've spit it out and run screaming from the table I'm sure. But he bravely swallowed with a violent shudder, and it was all I could do to stop crying from laughing at his pain. "It squirted when I bit down" he told me. Poor thing. But he gets points for trying. He had to wash it down with one last meat, chicken hearts. That's right, he ate a chicken heart to get the deep fried banana texture-memory out of his mouth. You gotta love that.
Hoodoos
Yesterday, not content with a jam-packed weekend, we took Hal and TJ out to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, one of our favorite spots near Albuquerque. The hoodoos, which look like Indian tents, are cool enough of a natural formation, but even better to get to them you have to walk a mile through a slot canyon. Let it be said that slot canyons are probably my favorite thing ever. Well, behind dinosaurs, pirates and caves. Actually, probably on par with caves. 
Anyway, this was our third trip, but it was fun seeing it all again through TJ's virgin eyes. Also a lady walked by us in a very sparkly gold sunhat that said NOTICE ME PLEASE!, and Hal said "Oooooh, great hat." I'm sure he made her day. He definitely made mine. TJ brought a picnic lunch for us all, and Hal made painfully delicious homemade pralines. Painful because I ate too many, delicious because my taste buds were in praline heaven. We also stopped at the Mormon Battalion Monument. Whomever put the monument up quoted someone of the time period who in describing the hardships faced by the troops referred to the local Native Americans as "savages". Now I'd hardly consider myself the PC police, but that probably wasn't a great thing to put on a monument in New Mexico, quote or no. Someone had come along and angrily scratched the word out as best they could; it took us some effort to figure out what it was. I'm against vandalism, but really, you couldn't find some better copy for your plaque?
Monday, May 28, 2007
Road Trip!
Now that's what I call a holiday weekend! We picked up our friends Matt, Brady and Anna and went on a whirlwind tour of southern New Mexico, making the following stops:
1. The Trinity Site. Actually the Trinity site is only open to the public like two days a year, but we still stopped at the sign, cause, you know, why not? Someone in the group may or may not have broken part of the sign. Oh, and it wasn't me. Or David. Or Matt. Or Anna.
2. Smokey The Bear's Gravesite. Yes, Smokey was a real live bear once. Now he is a dead bear, and you can go to his grave to pay your respects for all his hard work preventing forest fires.
3. The Lincoln County Courthouse, where however many years ago Billy The Kid broke out of jail there once. Hey, everybody has their own claim to fame. This was the courthouse that famous people could escape from! Or did he become famous for breaking out? Unfortunately I can't tell you because the matron running the museum scared us with her withering glare, so we didn't stay to look around. Perhaps she had filled her quota of being nice to tourists for the day already. Or maybe we looked like trouble-making musical-theatre-singing hooligans, I suppose that is possible.
4. Roswell. The only reason to go to Roswell is for the aliens. Perhaps it was a bad wind day, but the whole town smelled like cow poopy. We saw our inflatable alien and took off before we could get abducted.
5. Carlsbad.
We went to the batflight, but the bats had apparently eaten a lot the night before and were in no hurry to go hunting. They didn't start leaving the cave until about 8:20, so we had very little sunlight left to appreciate them. So instead we just made fun of the poor ranger who started answering crowd questions in an effort to keep us occupied. One little girl asked "How can you tell the boy bats from the girl bats?" He blushed and said "My professional answer to that is...ask your parents. But the boy bats are pretty...obvious." Indeed. We were trying to think of the worst questions we could ask him, like "How long have you been so sad?" or "How old were you when your mother stopped loving you?" Hey, it kept us entertained. He did say one thing that was interesting, that when baby bats fall off the ceiling onto the floor, there are beetles down there that can skeletonize the baby in less than a minute. That would suck.
6. We spent the night in a motel. Oh, before that we had dinner at Chile's, the only non-scary restaurant we could find, and ate dinner next to a cute bald baby, who, even though was too young for hair, was not, the grandparents thought, too young to eat a baby-back rib. I was all ready to do baby-Heimlich.
7. After our free continental breakfast, we went back out to the caverns. I can't really express how much I love caves, and this cave is like the mother of caves. Well, at least in America. The American Mother Cave. Sort of like the Grand Canyon with a roof.
8. Then we drove to White Sands, through the gorgeous Sacramento Mountains. Oh, and when we ate dinner the waiter with the killer smile totally had the hots for someone at our table, and sadly it wasn't me. That person knows who they are though, and did not, I think, fully appreciate the situation, even though we all rubbed it in to excess. Reader poll: If a waiter calls you "Captain", is he A) flirting or B) not flirting with you? I think flirting. heh White Sands was awesome. It was cool and cloudy, so we weren't blinded by the glare like I was last time I was there. But there was plenty of photo-taking and throwing down the hills going on.
Guess who was doing the most egging on of the throwing down the hills game, but then was all "No, you can't throw *me* down the hill, I have the camera!" That's right. Then out of nowhere a gust of wind picked up and we were caught in a sand/rain storm. That sand hurts when it is flying through the air at your legs! We figured that was the dunes telling us it was time to go, because the wind and rain both stopped right when we got back to the car. I bet I never get all of that sand out of the car. However my feet were nicely exfoliated, so that was a plus.
9. We found a Dairy Queen in Las Cruces thanks to a well-timed phone call to Susannah! Oh Susannah, you totally rock, I'm just saying. I actually don't like the DQ any more than I like any other fast food place (which is not very much), but for whatever reason that Peanut Buster Parfait was exactly what I needed at that specific moment in time. Matt ate something that was practically pure solid chocolate, I'm surprised he didn't go into acute ketoacidosis right there on the spot.
10. We finally got home at 11pm. Pooped! I'm sorry to call out my friends as nerds, but one of my favorite parts of the trips was singing in the car. Someone would see a sign or say something silly and we'd all start singing canons. I believe there is video of at least one of them. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but singing and dancing are simply good for the soul. Way too much fun. Also, Brady wins the Best Dancer award for his jetés, though Matt competed well with some very fierce shimmies. Anna just made me laugh the entire time. Oops, and I totally forgot about the Valley of Fire! We took about 100 photos in a half hour being dorky. It's good to have friends you can be a dork with.
1. The Trinity Site. Actually the Trinity site is only open to the public like two days a year, but we still stopped at the sign, cause, you know, why not? Someone in the group may or may not have broken part of the sign. Oh, and it wasn't me. Or David. Or Matt. Or Anna.
2. Smokey The Bear's Gravesite. Yes, Smokey was a real live bear once. Now he is a dead bear, and you can go to his grave to pay your respects for all his hard work preventing forest fires.
3. The Lincoln County Courthouse, where however many years ago Billy The Kid broke out of jail there once. Hey, everybody has their own claim to fame. This was the courthouse that famous people could escape from! Or did he become famous for breaking out? Unfortunately I can't tell you because the matron running the museum scared us with her withering glare, so we didn't stay to look around. Perhaps she had filled her quota of being nice to tourists for the day already. Or maybe we looked like trouble-making musical-theatre-singing hooligans, I suppose that is possible.
4. Roswell. The only reason to go to Roswell is for the aliens. Perhaps it was a bad wind day, but the whole town smelled like cow poopy. We saw our inflatable alien and took off before we could get abducted.
5. Carlsbad.
We went to the batflight, but the bats had apparently eaten a lot the night before and were in no hurry to go hunting. They didn't start leaving the cave until about 8:20, so we had very little sunlight left to appreciate them. So instead we just made fun of the poor ranger who started answering crowd questions in an effort to keep us occupied. One little girl asked "How can you tell the boy bats from the girl bats?" He blushed and said "My professional answer to that is...ask your parents. But the boy bats are pretty...obvious." Indeed. We were trying to think of the worst questions we could ask him, like "How long have you been so sad?" or "How old were you when your mother stopped loving you?" Hey, it kept us entertained. He did say one thing that was interesting, that when baby bats fall off the ceiling onto the floor, there are beetles down there that can skeletonize the baby in less than a minute. That would suck. 6. We spent the night in a motel. Oh, before that we had dinner at Chile's, the only non-scary restaurant we could find, and ate dinner next to a cute bald baby, who, even though was too young for hair, was not, the grandparents thought, too young to eat a baby-back rib. I was all ready to do baby-Heimlich.
7. After our free continental breakfast, we went back out to the caverns. I can't really express how much I love caves, and this cave is like the mother of caves. Well, at least in America. The American Mother Cave. Sort of like the Grand Canyon with a roof.
8. Then we drove to White Sands, through the gorgeous Sacramento Mountains. Oh, and when we ate dinner the waiter with the killer smile totally had the hots for someone at our table, and sadly it wasn't me. That person knows who they are though, and did not, I think, fully appreciate the situation, even though we all rubbed it in to excess. Reader poll: If a waiter calls you "Captain", is he A) flirting or B) not flirting with you? I think flirting. heh White Sands was awesome. It was cool and cloudy, so we weren't blinded by the glare like I was last time I was there. But there was plenty of photo-taking and throwing down the hills going on.
Guess who was doing the most egging on of the throwing down the hills game, but then was all "No, you can't throw *me* down the hill, I have the camera!" That's right. Then out of nowhere a gust of wind picked up and we were caught in a sand/rain storm. That sand hurts when it is flying through the air at your legs! We figured that was the dunes telling us it was time to go, because the wind and rain both stopped right when we got back to the car. I bet I never get all of that sand out of the car. However my feet were nicely exfoliated, so that was a plus. 9. We found a Dairy Queen in Las Cruces thanks to a well-timed phone call to Susannah! Oh Susannah, you totally rock, I'm just saying. I actually don't like the DQ any more than I like any other fast food place (which is not very much), but for whatever reason that Peanut Buster Parfait was exactly what I needed at that specific moment in time. Matt ate something that was practically pure solid chocolate, I'm surprised he didn't go into acute ketoacidosis right there on the spot.
10. We finally got home at 11pm. Pooped! I'm sorry to call out my friends as nerds, but one of my favorite parts of the trips was singing in the car. Someone would see a sign or say something silly and we'd all start singing canons. I believe there is video of at least one of them. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but singing and dancing are simply good for the soul. Way too much fun. Also, Brady wins the Best Dancer award for his jetés, though Matt competed well with some very fierce shimmies. Anna just made me laugh the entire time. Oops, and I totally forgot about the Valley of Fire! We took about 100 photos in a half hour being dorky. It's good to have friends you can be a dork with.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Practice with photos
These are just a couple of pics we took last weekend. We've been travelling to all our favorite spots in NM before the move for one last hurrah. So, hurrah! Anyway, just trying to figure out how the whole posting of photos works on here. The first, obviously, is the Very Large Array.
And this is up in the Jemez Mountains, at the Red Rock stop where we of course got some Fry Bread from the food stalls, dripping with honey. Yuuuuuuum. We are still playing around with our new digital camera, and this was on "macro" mode for small close-ups.
Summer reality...
So now that Idol and Survivor and Amazing Race are done, what is a reality-TV addict to do? Well, there is always "So You Think You Can Dance", which I may just give a try this time. But while Pirate Master has yet to surface (it is a fact of life that the two raddest things in the universe are dinosaurs and pirates), I have seen "On The Lot", and it is good. So far the humiliation factor is low, always a plus in my book. And I'm all about Carrie Fisher being the voice of the show, I really hope she sticks around on the panel. But I liked the way they stipulated right up front that all the contestants were talented - they had to be to even get on the first episode. After that, the search isn't for the best filmmaker (necessarily), but for the person who can best handle the pressure and schedule and perform in the challenges for this specific show. The people kicked off first could still turn out to be successful filmmakers. Anyway, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of personality clashes, and just the nature of trying to produce art on demand will bring plenty of tension in itself. There is no need to heap scorn on the ones who can't keep up - these guys aren't going to walk away in tears saying "I'll never make movies again!". I like that.
It is still too early, but so far I really like the special effects guy. It is unfair, because his short where he bazooka'd a UFO has been played on all the promos, but still, I loved what he did with the hangers. I also instantly root for anyone with an accent, I wish there were more of those, cause the girl seemed like she may be in for a struggle. I suspect we have much delicious entertainment to come, especially once the numbers are whittled down and we actually get to watch all the films.
The worst part of it is that the producers have supplied them with actors, a few of which at least have done other things. Can anyone tell me who the actor was that played the guy who died eating the peanut butter sandwich? I hate it when I recognize actors but can't place where I've seen them before. According to the previews he is going to show up again, so unless I figure it out he is going to drive me crazy all season. He probably played a killer on an episode of "The X-Files" or something totally random like that. I just hope I can remember. Also I *think* I saw the guy who played the twinkie-loving cop in the first "Die Hard", but I didn't really pay attention until it was too late, but he'll probably be back too for me to confirm.
It is still too early, but so far I really like the special effects guy. It is unfair, because his short where he bazooka'd a UFO has been played on all the promos, but still, I loved what he did with the hangers. I also instantly root for anyone with an accent, I wish there were more of those, cause the girl seemed like she may be in for a struggle. I suspect we have much delicious entertainment to come, especially once the numbers are whittled down and we actually get to watch all the films.
The worst part of it is that the producers have supplied them with actors, a few of which at least have done other things. Can anyone tell me who the actor was that played the guy who died eating the peanut butter sandwich? I hate it when I recognize actors but can't place where I've seen them before. According to the previews he is going to show up again, so unless I figure it out he is going to drive me crazy all season. He probably played a killer on an episode of "The X-Files" or something totally random like that. I just hope I can remember. Also I *think* I saw the guy who played the twinkie-loving cop in the first "Die Hard", but I didn't really pay attention until it was too late, but he'll probably be back too for me to confirm.
Ten Reasons I will miss Albuquerque
FYI, I like lists.
10. Geocaching in the Sandia Mountains.
9. Carlsbad Caverns.
8. Meeting my nursing class for half Weizen/half Apricot beer at Kellys.
7. Nightly walks in Bear Canyon.
6. Cooking dinner on the grill in our apartment complex.
5. Hiking the slot canyons at Tent Rocks.
4. Roadrunners, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, bats, ringtails, oryx, vultures, deer, raccoons, hawks, chipmunks, frogs, and the cool desert beetles.
3. The brownie sundae at Boston's.
2. Green chile.
1. You.*
* Unless, of course, *you* don't happen to live in New Mexico, then for the purposes of this list you kind of don't count.
10. Geocaching in the Sandia Mountains.
9. Carlsbad Caverns.
8. Meeting my nursing class for half Weizen/half Apricot beer at Kellys.
7. Nightly walks in Bear Canyon.
6. Cooking dinner on the grill in our apartment complex.
5. Hiking the slot canyons at Tent Rocks.
4. Roadrunners, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, bats, ringtails, oryx, vultures, deer, raccoons, hawks, chipmunks, frogs, and the cool desert beetles.
3. The brownie sundae at Boston's.
2. Green chile.
1. You.*
* Unless, of course, *you* don't happen to live in New Mexico, then for the purposes of this list you kind of don't count.
Mission Statement
So I'm starting a blog. I just have all this extra time with nothing to do lately, and figured what better to do than waste lots of time working on a new project?
That is a lie. I do that sometimes. But it isn't nefarious, think more "endearing rascal".
The truth is, once again, my life is in glorious turmoil. I've had an outbreak of my recurrent geographic instability, and am once again moving a few thousand miles away to a city I'd never been to before my job interview. The reason for that job interview was that I have just graduated from nursing school, which itself stemmed from a decision to leave New York City to find a career other than being a professional theatre actor. Hmmm. Perhaps someday when I'm bored I'll try and tidy that sentance up into a more thoughtful retrospective. But for now let's look forward, shall we?
I'm pretty bad at writing emails, they usually come in Christmas recaps in the form of a mass email. And I seem unable to stop meeting you totally rad people whom I want to be friends with. Y'all rock. So now with this you'll have one stop shopping to get the latest updates. As a bonus you may also get some photos, and probably occasional rantings about my questionable taste in reality television. (Melinda Doolittle almost made me cry of happiness.) I always reserve the right to get nostalgic and give some back story, or, contrary-wise, get a fire in my pants and start making future travel plans. And considering that I will shortly be living in Washington DC, you'll probably get some political rants from time to time. [Freedom = good! Torture = bad.) But since the only qualification I have for talking politics is that I'm just another dork with computer access, I promise not to be too heavy-handed. See, I did it again. Lie. I mean, I am a dork, that part is the truth, but I really shouldn't make promises I might not be able to keep in an election year. But since I tend to be more of a centrist with heavy libertarian tendancies, both parties take ample opportunity to tick me off, so I may be an equal-opportunity offender. I guess time will tell. heh
But mostly I'm just a ridiculously lucky guy, that so far has had little reason to lose the optimism. If you want to come along for the ride, well, now you know where I am.
That is a lie. I do that sometimes. But it isn't nefarious, think more "endearing rascal".
The truth is, once again, my life is in glorious turmoil. I've had an outbreak of my recurrent geographic instability, and am once again moving a few thousand miles away to a city I'd never been to before my job interview. The reason for that job interview was that I have just graduated from nursing school, which itself stemmed from a decision to leave New York City to find a career other than being a professional theatre actor. Hmmm. Perhaps someday when I'm bored I'll try and tidy that sentance up into a more thoughtful retrospective. But for now let's look forward, shall we?
I'm pretty bad at writing emails, they usually come in Christmas recaps in the form of a mass email. And I seem unable to stop meeting you totally rad people whom I want to be friends with. Y'all rock. So now with this you'll have one stop shopping to get the latest updates. As a bonus you may also get some photos, and probably occasional rantings about my questionable taste in reality television. (Melinda Doolittle almost made me cry of happiness.) I always reserve the right to get nostalgic and give some back story, or, contrary-wise, get a fire in my pants and start making future travel plans. And considering that I will shortly be living in Washington DC, you'll probably get some political rants from time to time. [Freedom = good! Torture = bad.) But since the only qualification I have for talking politics is that I'm just another dork with computer access, I promise not to be too heavy-handed. See, I did it again. Lie. I mean, I am a dork, that part is the truth, but I really shouldn't make promises I might not be able to keep in an election year. But since I tend to be more of a centrist with heavy libertarian tendancies, both parties take ample opportunity to tick me off, so I may be an equal-opportunity offender. I guess time will tell. heh
But mostly I'm just a ridiculously lucky guy, that so far has had little reason to lose the optimism. If you want to come along for the ride, well, now you know where I am.
Genesis
In the beginning, it is a truth universally acknowledged that it was the best of times, and I'm still trying to be the hero of my own life thank you very much, and whatever you do don't call me Ishmael.
Whew, opening lines are tough!
Whew, opening lines are tough!
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