Uh wait?

Are we at the end of November already? I guess so. I guess I win or something. But there is so much left to blog about. So I guess I'll just have to continue blogging.

Because Roy has to find something to waste time on, right Roy?

Many leaves turned

Making some big changes in my life. Ask me about them some time, in person.

Off to get the boy, and to engage in one tiny new leaf--mail art! Will you get one?

Some advice

First piece of advice, based on a dream last night:

Don't go to Iraq. It's fucked up there, with the US Army reduced to fighting insurgents house to house with slingshots. If you do go, don't take your four-year old son. If you do take your four -year old son, make sure he's with you, otherwise you'll find out that something vaguely dire has happened to him--this is also the moment you discover he's along for the trip, incidentally. If your son is harmed in some way, discourage your wife from leaping onto a steam train to rush to his side if she is without a ticket, because otherwise she will be accosted by surly Iraqi women for not riding legitimately and you, her husband, will be forced to run alongside the train, beseeching your suddenly materialized guide and interpreter to help you with the oddly shaped coins in strange denominations (39?!) that you must now throw through the open window of the train compartment to your wife to pay for her ticket and arrest the onslaught of irate Iraqi widows.

Second piece of advice:

Go read Mo on Miranda July. I find much of what she says sage, although I personally am not that keen on the bite your tongue school of thought. Then again, Mo gets in fewer dustups than I, so she's perhaps onto something.

This one's going out to Monique

Given all her digging through the Mailer archives, I wonder if Monique came across any of his campaign ephemera. If not, here's a little ditty from 1969. Courtesy the fine folks at Arthur Magazine and their blog, Magpie.

The Machine

Emmett has lately been saying that he doesn't like doing art--he's too self-conscious about it and too self-critical, which is heartbreaking to watch in a 4 and half year old.

But yesterday he treated me to this. It's a machine, which he often but not always pronounces as "bachine", for making blueberry and cranberry muffins. The little thing off to the side is the remote control used to turn it on. It combines his two passions, construction equipment and kitchen assistance into one item. Right now it is my single favorite piece of art in our house.

Backpack Picnic: Soccer Bullies

I'm not in this one, but enjoy nevertheless.

Today

Man, the weather has really jacked up my sense of time. Today sort of slipped through my fingers, even though I managed to get a lot of work done for SVT, got my back realigned at my chiropractor, went to the gym, went to get stuff from our storage unit (twice!), went grocery shopping and still farted around online a tad, namely looking at recaps of the awesome Pats-Eagles game last night (which would have only been better had the Pats lost), but I still feel like I haven't accomplished jack. Which I haven't, because I haven't accomplished anything, but instead have performed errands.

Adulthood? One big never ending errand. And here is a tiny violin grown cobwebby from your lack of playing it when I whine.

losers

losers, originally uploaded by Alamo Drafthouse.

Not me today--I'll actually blog a little something. Man, this weather has given me a case of the blahs.

The Chiefs lost today. Me, maybe not in my fantasy league. More about pro football soon?

Today

Emmett continues to fight some kind of illness--now with blothcy rash and fever!--and I continue to need sleep.

And thus, we will spend today and tomorrow watching The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, and The Jungle Book, all checked out from I Luv Video.

Word

Yesterday

Running out of gas

Not literally. Just dialing in the first post-tryptophan blog post. Nap soon. More blogging, not quite as soon.

True Sign that One is a Domestic Dork

The rapt attention paid to the video here and momentary implementation of techniques contained therein.


Butcher’s Method Takes Carving Off the Table - New York Times

Thanksgiving Greetings

Thanksgiving Greetings, 1907-1915, originally uploaded by Gatochy.

Have a good one. It's finally chilly here in Austin.

Today's unlikely aesthetic pleasure pairing; or listen up, b***ches!

Here's today's bizarre juxtaposition. My friends Jeremy and Mike work over at G4, and they have hipped me to G4's little online show, Freestyle 101. I was already a fan of Gift of Gab, but this is, so far, my favorite installment of the show. You can tell it's improvised, in that it's constantly brushing up against going of the rails. Every once in a while you can hear the gears grab the teeth in his mind at the exact moment you're thinking he's missed the beat. But hey, he outlasts the sample and brings it home a capella. Fierce.



Unrelated, I buzzed over to Kyle Gann's blog about contemporary classical music and composition this afternoon, something I don't do frequently enough.I was reminded, while over there, that Gann is an expert on and scholar of reclusive American composer Conlon Nancarrow, whose fiercely rhythmic oeuvre consists entirely of works for the player piano(!).

So, because this is the kind of dude I am, i.e. concerned about the likelihood that Gift of Gab and Conlon Nancarrow, whose works offer not much in common except that they are by American dudes each pursuing their happiness, have ever been paired anywhere (likelihood: .0005%), I hereby declare them kindred souls and marry them, artistically, here.

A taste on the Nancarrow piece Gann deems most important. Math robot boogie-woogie.

Conlon Nancarrow – Study for Player Piano No. 41a

And treat yourself. The Nancarrow album has been transcribed for two players of regular pianos, so while not exactly Nancarrow's thing, it's the one album of his compositions that I have. And everybody should own Blackalicious' (Gab's group) Blazing Arrow.

A Tale of Two Cities

Lacey on Coke Zero, Emmett on Melted Chocolate, making a pie and getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory: Thanksgiving appetizers 2007

Today's already off to a better start. Man, I love that Chris Onstad's writing.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Tough

Yesterday turned into a hard day. Let's hope today is easier.

My friend Tim

Is coming to Austin in a couple weeks. He's the main dude and frontman of the band The Actual Facts, and I just discovered today that some of their tracks are available in their entirety over at Last.Fm Have a listen.


The Actual Facts – A Better Computer

Clarification

Realized that my previous post could read as snotty. If you are currently in a sketch troupe in Austin, I want to state that I am including you alongside me and Backpack Picnic when I wonder why there aren't more sketch troupes in Austin. There are a handful of us doing sketch. Why not more? There are so many people doing improv, you would think there would be more sketch artists. It is puzzling. That is all.

Jonathan Winters

Eighty-two years old and still in the game. Beautiful acting and comic timing from this legend. Check it, yo.

Backpack Picnic: Old Computer

This past weekend, BPPN won the AIC award for best sketch troupe. Which is great, but also a little strange to me considering we don't perform live very often and half of us live in LA. So not strange to me in the sense that we don't deserve the award, but strange that this town doesn't have more sketch competition for us, more people doing quality work with a local following and constituency. Austin's filled with literate comedic actors and writers, so why not more sketch? Strange.

Anway, enjoy today's episode.

2007 AIC Thanksgiving Photo 1

2007 AIC Thanksgiving Photo 1, originally uploaded by Danu.

Let's hear it for improv in Austin.

You got a problem?

AIC Banquet 005, originally uploaded by sadogre.

I didn't think so.

Our house looks clean

Apparently having a party on Sunday and in-laws arriving for Thanksgiving week the next day makes for good housekeeping. It looks like adults with self-respect live here.

Lest we degenerate into bickering factions

A nice little snippet from an email I received today with regards to tomorrow's AIC banquet.

In the event that I can't get by, please share my congratulations with the group on such a strong year. I continue to be so impressed by the talent and the level of commitment everyone in this current improv scene has toward making this a real community in which everyone has a place and everyone prospers. In my time here, I've seen this happen in other areas of the arts scene and it's always an inspiration. That's no less true of you all than anyone else. Celebrate yourselves, and keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more.

This from an Austin art person who know whereof he or she speaks. I think I will read this tomorrow if I can.

Sometimes I think

How amusing it is that people can't seem to let things go and exist in some gummy vat of self-justification and cries for validation. But as with dreams, I am reminded that everything annoying and scary is just me annoyed and scared by myself. Enough haunting of cyberland, time to clear my mind by sweeping leaves.

My piece for the SVT holiday show this year will either be widely panned or beloved by all. Or somewhere in the middle. Where are those leaves?

Yards, Art, Black Dice

Maybe not much posting today. Will mostly be getting the yard and house ready for hosting the Austin Improv Collective's annual banquet and awards ceremony.

We may also go check out some stuff with the East Austin Studio Tours. This year there are even a couple of locations in Windsor Park, our neighborhood.

Also, after talking about Miles Davis yesterday, I got to thinking about this band, and how they exist in the microclimate opened up by experiments like On the Corner. Again, not for everybody, and hardly riveting from aspect of performance, but still a thing exerting the shape of itself.

Miles Davis: On the Corner box set

This kind of stuff doesn't appeal to tons of people, but I have to say I'm excited about the release of The Complete On the Corner Sessions by Miles Davis.

If you want to get a feel for the music and this history in Miles' career, you can check out the video over here. Sidenote--why the hell doesn't Amazon let you embed their videos?

jesuslolcat

jesuslolcat, originally uploaded by bellatrixamici.

Courtesy of my pal, Kaci.

Zyzzybalubah

So, yesterday Emmett came down with strep. We could tell he was feeling really poorly after school and he started running a fever. We almost never let him watch TV on school days, but he felt so crummy that we let him just veg out on the couch and watch TV. He wanted to watch Pee Wee's Playhouse.

The one episode I paid any attention to while Lacey and I were cooking involved the entire Playhouse being abducted into outer space by a fleshy-headed alien named Zyzzybalubah, which, in the opening moment of the episode was also established, improbably, as the word of the day.

I thought to myself, hey, there's a decent name for an improv group. Turns out there's a quirky band from Philadelphia (lots random observations connecting me to that city these days) with the name already. They're pretty decent, although their sound is not quite as weird/raucous/Pee Wee Hermanesque as their name and accompanying visual would suggest. But I'm linking to them, so I guess that's a recommendation or something.

just follow the bouncing ball...

just follow the bouncing ball..., originally uploaded by snailbooty.

Just 'cause. I love this guy's art.

I think they mean a different David Mitchell

In my inbox today:

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

As someone who has purchased or rated books by David Mitchell, you might like to know that Oxford American Handbook of Clinical Dentistry (Oxford American Handbooks in Medicine) will be released on November 26, 2007. You can pre-order yours by following the link below.

Home today with a sick boy

Emmett picked up a case of strep throat at his day care. Blog posting will be light to non-existent today as I take care of him (which means sitting on the couch and watching every episode of Go, Diego, Go ever created). I think we're both going to go take a nap shortly.

I always forget about Shana's blog. Go read her wrap up of our time in Philly.

Rhys Chatham: Waterloo, No. 2

Get a taste. Hell yes this is classical music and tough as a boot. Listened to this track a bunch if times today. Yay, paradiddles.

Rhys Chatham – Waterloo, No. 2

Jasper Redd!!

Just felt like posting this.

Clip from *A Comic Calling*

Add to My Profile | More Videos

This is pretty amazing

http://jamphat.com/rap/

Just go check it out. Hat tip Dave Buckman.

Sun City Girls: Space Prophet Dogon

Some time a while back--okay, maybe a long while back--I stumbled across what I thought was a sonic similarity between too seemingly disparate acts--Sun City Girls and Doseone's project, Subtle. So I spent part of today trying to locate the tracks that suggested this comparison and couldn't find them.

Somewhere in all of this was the seed of a post mentioning the fact that Dax Pierson of Subtle was injured near my home town, Atlantic, Iowa, a few years ago. Why does that matter? I don't know, except thew thought of an African-American experimental hiphop musician being treating for serious spinal injuries in the dead of winter in my hometown hospital says something bleak and true about our country. And he lived and is still making music, and that also says something bleak and true to me.

Anyhow, what I did find was this little gem off of Sun City Girls' Torch of the Mystics. Like a lot of American stuff I like, it's dramas seem private but not perverse, and the stakes feel real. Like Pere Ubu, they're another band that I don't know as well as I probably "should." I got into this particular album, as happens to me a lot, well after it was released, in this case because of an interview I saw with members of Pavement (this was in maybe '95 or '96) where each listed 10 or so of his favorite or most influential albums. Can't remember whose list this was on, but it was several years after the interview that I finally got this.

Oh, members of SCG are also responsible for one of the best, toughest "world music" labels out there, Sublime Frequencies. Man, I should put some of the Iraqi stuff up here next. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, enjoy the track. To me it sounds like majesty.

We can haz sponsrz?

You may have noticed a little doo-hickey on the bottom of the embedded Backpack Picnic sketches recently, pointing you toward a website called Popmatters. It resembles the now defunct Stylus Magazine in its alloverness--it's maybe even more allover than Stylus was, which had something of a music focus. I think Pitchfork is always the template for these kinds of online review/hipster clearinghouse publications, but maybe that's not quite fair or accurate. Overall, I think them stack up quite nicely.

At any rate, we now have sponsors, which is really cool. Be a pal, huh, and go check out their site--if they do well, then we do well, then we make more comedy, or something like that.

Gack

Something about putting one of those embedded dealies (either the Amazon link or the imeem player) makes blogger freak the hell out and renders the post ineditable. So, rather than going back and fixing all the crap grammar and typos in the previous post, y'all'll just have to live with them, because I don't want to refind all the html embed code.

Good night.

Sanctimony

Not much posting yesterday, as you you can obviously tell by looking at the blog. Lacey and I got a ton of work done on our backyard, however, in anticipation of our hosting the AIC awards banquet this coming Sunday.

This is going to seem like a weird thing to talk about, but discussions today on the Austin Improv forums reminded me that this post of mine accounted for the single highest blog traffic day for me, by a factor of four or so. It is also a post about which no one at any time ever said a single word to me, even though I have proof that quite a few people read it. Oh well. I should also say I stand by my central assertion, that one need not like what you like, nor is it proof that one has a chip on one's shoulder against what you like. It merely means that one has other interests. Nor should one feel ashamed of stating those priorities or having opinions. One need not be part of the informed cognoscenti to hold those opinions, and one isn't disqualified from haviing opinions for lacking the correct pedigree and credentials.

But enough of that, because I want to turn both me and my argument around and talk about sanctimony. I'm all for getting polemic in public ways. We're artists, and while people in the arts often have tender egos, their often terrific verbal sparrers and polemicists. That's all fine and good. I love having things I believe and trying to articulate them.

Buuuuuuutttt......

I hate when that position-taking element creeps into the art itself. Lacey and I have been watching a ton of Weeds lately, which overall is pretty good. My single biggest complaint about the series, of which we've watched almost the first two seasons, is the revival and reinsertion in the culture of this song by Malvina Reynolds. Take a listen:



In season one, this version played before every episode. Seriously, it's catchy as hell and worms its way into your brain. In season two, it's reinterpreted by different artists, so now there are 12 more versions of it floating around out there.

Here's my beef with the song. I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiments expressed in the song. Heck, overall I'd say I probably agree with them. My problem, then, is that the song agrees too much with itself. There's no doubt in the assertions put forward in the song, a dreadful air of superiority, which renders it propaganda. This is why satire is killingly hard, because it's hard to make art that doesn't end up just coming across as preaching.

I have the same beef with Lemony Snickett's little holiday trifle from McSweeney's, The Latke That Couldn't Stop Screaming, which showed up at my house recently becuase I got a McSweeney's Books subscription. The sentiment of the book I agree with (all religious cultures in America should be afforded their place in the sun rather than being shoehorned into the Corpotate XMAS mono culture)--it's the haughty tone I can't stand. It made me think to myself "Go screw yourself, silly overpriced hipster children's holiday book--I'm a goy who knows what a latke is so get over yourself."

Which I guess is not that far from my reacting to sentiments and discussions outside works of art which dictate to me what sentiments are "acceptable." I don't mind agreeing with you, I just mind being told I have to.

The world's best candy bar; or, Why I love my wife

Okay, there are many more reasons than this, but part of the Lacey's and my continued appeal to each other is our shared history. Spend enough time with someone and all the stuff that at one point in your life mattered to you is only really shared by your partner.

Tonight, Emmett ate a Kit Kat bar from his Halloween stash. This led to Lacey and I having a debate as to which was better, Kit Kat or Twix. We both came down ever so slightly on the side of Twix, but then Lacey reminded me that neither compared to the world's best candy bar, Nestle's Lion Bar. We used to get these when we lived in Prague, and for the life of me, other than the Cadburry Schwepps corporatioon's desire to keep my weight below 300 pounds, I do not know why this candy bar is mostly unavailable in the States.

Seriously, this is an awesome candy bar. I find that you can get them on Amazon. Lacey and I are thinking about getting some for stocking stuffers this Christmas year.

Also, Lacey and I could never figure out how to order these from our downstairs potraviny (grocery store) in correct Czech grammar. Rather than bore you with the byzantine ins and outs of Slavic declensions, we could never get the staff there to look at us with anything other than complete bafflement when we attempted another permutation on what we hoped would translate as "One Lion Bar, please." We usually had to resort to pointing and saying "Lee-ohn jako Lev." Which is the Czech pronunciation of the English spelling of "lion," followed by the czech for "like a lion."

Backpack Picnic: Rock Story

Some new BPPN goodness. Our first animation, coutesy of Blake Buesnel, the dude licking cherry pie filling off the cleaver a few posts back.

Can you guess which voice is mine?

Why oh why

doesn't Emmett take a nap anymore?!??!?

Back to the same old crap

Too tired to find a Flickr image perfectly fitting my mood. Have been up since the equivalent of 3:30 Austin to catch my flight from Philly. Off to nap.

More about the Philly Museum of Art, Marcel Duchamp, Weeds, improv, and other sundry concerns soon.

Almost forgot

A lot of people dug Get Up's show last night, even though we ran out of time for the final scene denoument we like to do and had the lights dropped on us, Shana mid-sentence.

I don't think a lot of people here have seen too much narrative improv, because a number of people wondered (these are improvisers, mind you) how many of the story beats we had worked out in adavnce, stuff like that. Lots of people commented something to the effect of "Wow, I really like your style!"

But my favorite comment came right after the show backstage as Shana and I were getting our stuff packed up. A guy came in who had palyed in the N Crowd, a Philly-based short-form troupe who played in our block and whom we didn't get to see. Here's the whole conversation.

"Oh man, that was awesome, I've never seen anything like that before."

"Thanks, thanks a lot."

"How long have you guys been doing that?"

"A couple years now."

"Well keep doing it!"

What I have like so far about Philly

Much walking around and little blogging time, but here's what I have liked so far:

The walkability of the city, although last night some of the natives encouraged me not to walk back to the hotel for safety reasons. Specficically I have liked walking through the Philadelpia City Hall, which is a couple of blocks from our hotel and which looks almost Parisian in it's gray exterior but with a little extra American bombast in scale and monumetality.

Independence Hall was remarkable for the plainness of its interior and lack of ostentation. I also found the Liberty Bell more affecting than I assumed it would be.

People involved in the tourist industry here are almost exhaustively chatty.

The portrait gallery in the Second Bank of the United States.

Later tonight we are going ot the Philadelphia Museum of Art to pretend we're Rocky.

Packed day

So nice to sleep in late, and then walk around Philly. We stopped by the theater to check thing out, and we go back to tech in an hour. I've yet to take shower. Saw some impressive stuff, including walking by Independence Hall.

We're playing in a puppet theater about the size of Austin's Hidedout. Small booth for Sara to do her stuff, but I do think we'll bring something a little outside the ordidnary for the fefstival goers. Let's hope our show doesn't suck. Yay, improv!

In Philly

Pretty much spent all day travelling. Just got back to the hotel after eating Italian food with Shana and Sara.

More soon, but this morning I was thinking a little about the Mountain Goats after hearing "Cotton" on an episode of Weeds. If you're not familiar with John Darnielle's work, here are a couple of tastes.



And this song, which just tears my heart out in the way that I was flattered to be compared once to Jimmy Stewart's character in The Philadedelphia Story; being indignant about the injustice of hurt and casual cruelty, something like that.

Off to Philly

Shana, Sara and I are off to Philadelphia for the improv festival there. Light posting until we get into our hotel.

Speaking of Malkmus

Dylan, Greil Marcus, American shit and whatnot.

This is pretty sweet.

Boy That Sounds Swell

During the marathon day of shooting this weekend, I finished the Greil Marcus book. Nice long chapter on Dave Thomas and Pere Ubu, whose work I don't know nearly as well as I might. I do have a copy of Dub Housing which I like quite a bit. I know this band is legendary and all, but I still don't think they get their due, Marcuses and his ilk aside. Here's the lead track from Dub Housing, "Navvy." The two chimes at the top of the chorus get me every time. And there's something a little Malkmusy about the guitar intro. Enjoy.



Treat yourself.

Rock Story

Of all the sketches I haven't been in, I regret not being in this one the most.

Guilty Pleasure

Guilty Pleasure, originally uploaded by kuro.neko.

From this weekend's shoot. That's me in the foreground. Blake's licking cherry pie off a cleaver behind me.

Very Sleepy Baby

Very Sleepy Baby, originally uploaded by foundphotoslj.

After 24 hours of shooting last night, and 48 hours over the last 3 days and a 10 pm meeting that it turns out I didn't even really have to attend, this is now me for at least the next few hours.

Middle of the day

Holy crap. Just finished one sketch, which we've been at since 6:30. Off to do another one until 3 in the morning. Yikes.

Chiefs lost, too. Crummy.

Some morsels

Mo is posting about 20 of her favorite artists during the month of November. So far--Judy Bloom, Elliot Smith, and her friend and improviser Dyna Moe.

More Backpackery for me today. Ghost Hat on the set.

A great blog post from over a year ago that Roy linked to on the Austin Improv forum. It's worth checking out.

Read the first 50 or so pages of the Marcus book last night--it's really hitting the spot.

And, I'm back

Tired as hell. I ate a shoe today. No, seriously.

Too tired to write about much except I read Sarah Manguso's book from McSweeney's between takes. It was hella sweet. More about that and her later.

Off to watch first episode or two of Weeds, Season Two.

Ooh, also got some books today in the mail, including Greil Marcus's The Shape of Things To Come: Prophecy and the American Voice. I wax and wane on my opinion of Marcus, but lately have been much obsessed with the raw stuffy stuff of America and need a little shot of his village resplainer mojo. I ain't apologizing for neologisms, no way, no how.

Treat yourself.

Today's little post

I'm hoping there will be a longer post on some relevant topic, but I'm about to head off for today's shoot for this month's round of Backpack Picnic videos. We start shooting at 8 and often times we go late, so I'm not sure when I'll be back. And, despite being the online face and voice for Dell, I still don't have and can't afford a laptop to take with me to the shoot. So yeah, I hope I will be posting more today. We'll see.

Also, speaking of Backpack, this round of sketches we're starting to really feel like a four-person troupe, with Jeremy and I stepping out of our George and Ringo roles a little more than we have in the past.

Until I get back here, go read some of what my fellow Austin and LA NaBloPoMo improv bloggers are writing about.

Start of NaBloPoMo--Henry Flynt

A post a day, huh. All right, here we go.

Today, killing some time while I was having our house cleaned up, I swung by Waterloo Records on something of a whim and because I had 15 cash dollars in my wallet and because I'm going to be recording some voice over for Rooster Teeth's new Red Vs. Blue XBox miniseries later today. Lucky me they were having a 20% sale, so I picked up a copy of Henry Flynt and Nova Billy's album. This was just released by Locust Music, and over the past year or so I've really gotten into Flynt. I think I first encountered him on Last.fm, and I've been able to get a bunch of Flynt reissues on eMusic.

He's quite an interesting character.

If you like Red Krayola, Mayo Thompson, John Cale's viola work with Velvet Underground, or tangy, slightly eccentric driving art-rockabilly of any ilk, this stuff is for you.


Here's a little sample, which will get you acquainted with his Mayo-ish voice:

Henry Flynt & Nova' Billy – Good Morning

And this for the yeehaw bow sawing, which is one of Flynt's signatures:

Henry Flynt & Nova' Billy – Double Spindizzy


If you're interested, the entire record can be picked up at fine local establishments everywhere, as well as at Amazon. I'd link you to the eMusic link or elsewhere, but you can't get the last track off the download version. Be a completist!