Monthly Archives: March 2010

26 hours and counting

That’s how many straight hours the Fink has been awake. How long can I go with no sleep? I think I’m going to find out tonight.

Only 5 more hours and I’ll be able to go to bed, having put in a marathon-like 31 straight hours. How cool is that?

My students seem to be having a great time. They haven’t stopped since leaving Ohio, until this brief respite of two hours at the hotel (during which time I have solved room problems, worked on other problems, and taken a shower). We leave in a few minutes for Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ, which will be…um….loud. I’m an MT pro…been there too many times, and my knight has never won. Poop anyhow.

But the kids will get a huge kick out of it, which, of course, will make my night. Er, knight.

Tally ho.

RF, kinda worn out

Tour 2010

Tonight, I will accompany 103 fine people to NYC. Sleep? Feh. You can sleep when yer dead.

Lots of fun stuff planned for my students, most of whom have never been to Man Hat. The highlight for me, as always, is the performance at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. That, and sleeping when I get home, because I don’t do so good in a moving vehicle — especially when I’m watching the driver every minute to make sure he/she is awake, not texting, not speeding, etc. I don’t mind being a backseat driver sometimes.

Judging from the Facebook posts I’m seeing, everyone’s getting excited. That makes me smile. I hope the right choir shows up for the gig tomorrow morning; if the music is good, I will be happy. I will make a concerted effort to post to RtB each day, although I can’t guarantee my customary 6 a.m. EST press time. I will be checking in, though, so feel free to lurk when you think of it.

In other news:

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Keep repeating to yourself: It’s not stupid, it’s not stupid, it’s not stupidCouldn’t have happened to a nicer team. Did I say that? Yes, I did. Just call me Sarcasmo. Sarcasmo, the Sore (Perennial) Loser.

Schadenfreude: curse or blessing? Discuss. :-)

Now you all have a great week — I’ll check in when I can. But for now, it’s eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’.

Sincerely,
Jerry Reed

TTI III

Thanks to my pal Todd in PA, who sent me these yesterday. Cute. Nice way to start the week, no?

Universal Laws

1. Law of Mechanical Repair After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

2. Law of Gravity Any tool, nut, bolt or screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3.
Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4.
Law of Random Numbers
– If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal, and someone always answers.

5.
Law of the Alibi
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

6.
Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

7.
Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

8.
Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.

9.
Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won’t work, it will.

10.
Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

11..
Law of the Theater and Hockey Arena
– At any event, the people whose seats are farthest from the aisle always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer or the rest room, and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The people in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long, gangly legs, and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The Aisle People also are very surly folk.

12.
The Coffee Law
– As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

13.
Murphy’s Law of Lockers
– If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

14.
Law of Physical Surfaces
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.

15.
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

16.
Brown’s Law of Physical Appearance
If the clothes fit, they’re ugly.

17.
Oliver’s Law of Public Speaking
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

18. Wilson‘s Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy
As soon as you find a product you really like, they will stop making it.

19.
Doctors’ Law
If you don’t feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor. By the time you get there you’ll feel better. Don’t make an appointment, and you’ll stay sick.

DT, check. Next…

I’m not getting too old for this I’m not getting too old for this I’m not getting too old for this I’m not g…

What a great weekend, though, eh? Once again, I am reminded why I do this.

I still don’t know how they all pull it off. You really have to see it actually happening to get the complete gist. I swiped some photos from the Facebook album of RtB fiend Greg, who is also my tech director. Hope he doesn’t mind. Those of you on his friend list saw his step-by-step photo album of how the show came together — great idea, that. I need to get with that program. Anyway, as you will see, we have a very limited, small performance space. It’s a cafeteria with a tiny stage that has no dressing facilities, no wingspace (actors have about 5 feet in which to wait for entrances), no scene shop, no catwalk, no hardwired sound reinforcement system and no storage. Yet, the cast, crew and tech people consistently do outstanding work. I couldn’t be more proud. Here are some clicky pictures (thanks again, Greggy) of how things look:

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Again, you’d just have to see how they do it to believe it. I always get a kick out of when my students go backstage at a “real” theater at a neighboring school and come back talking about how enormous everything was. Admittedly, there are also times when I wish that mo money (lots mo, like 6 figures mo) could be thrown at our little space to improve it. But until that time, we will keep using every square inch of the real estate we have.

All right then…*rubbing paws together*…who’s up for choir tour on Tuesday???

Fink out (and feeling a bit aged).

Psst. Hey, Jesse.

I try to avoid judgmentalism, holier-than-thou-ism, and especially annoying finger-pointing about that which I do not possess inside information. All that leads, as we know, to periodic visits from Kaptain Karma. But really, Jesse…did ya think these gold-diggers were going to be happy staying in the shadows forever?

From the Miami Herald:

It’s beginning to sound a little too familiar. A fourth woman has come forth claiming she too had an affair with Sandra Bullock’s husband Jesse James. And this woman (a model, naturally) has guns blazing — lawyering up with scorned woman specialist Gloria Allred.

“She is in the process of trying to decide if she will come forward. She has proof of their relationship including hundreds of texts, e-mails and photos. The relationship just ended recently after the scandal broke,” read Allred’s statement released by Entertainment Tonight.

Days after Michelle McGee alleged she had an 11-month fling with James, two other women — fetish model Brigitte Daguerre (whose mortgage he was reportedly paying) and stripper Michelle Smith — also claimed affairs. Smith claims her relationship with James began in 2006, while he was already married to Bullock. RadarOnline.com reported that the biker dude found her on MySpace.

Tiger Woods has got to be exhaling right about now.

You just never know when stuff is gonna jump up and bite you on the hiney. I’ve learned that the hard way at various times in my life, I must admit. The point is that I’ve had to try to learn from it, so I don’t repeat past mistakes.

And I’ll go you one further. I think these “addictions,” like those which have “afflicted” Tiger Woods (and Jesse James too, which we will likely hear about soon), are little more than conscious decisions to let your proclivities run rampant. It’s become the insanity defense for repeat adulterers/adulteresses. I’m not casting aspersions (or I’m trying not to), but let’s call it what it is. “I did this thing over and over and over with ten different women, but it *really* wasn’t my fault — I need rehab.”

Right.

On a brighter note: the shows went well last night! A few alterations here and there for today and tonight, and we should be good to go. Two down, three left. I’m actually looking forward to it. (Did I just say that?)

Happy Saturday, fiends, and a big hug for fellow Finkite Bando, who lost her precious dog Benny yesterday to sickness.

:-(