Boviosity!

Note to my Dem friends

Maybe it makes you want to vote for Kerry twice, but that's not likely to translate into more votes for Kerry. Sorry.

New Desktop Image

In case you're not regularly visiting blogroll stalwart Dean's World, here's an awesome picture he links today.

Hey, try saying that five times real quick!

Blogroll stalwart
Blogroll stalwart
Blogroll stalwart
Blogroll stalwart
Blogroll stalwart

Poor man

Mitch, who just came off yet another nationwide radio gig, could use a little calendrical aid upside the head.

Live Performance Sunday

I have performed for the last 3 Sundays at my church and will be performing again next Sunday. This grueling performance schedule is due to the year-end finale to my two groups I accompany, the Cherub Choir (ages 3-2nd grade) and Extol (ages 2nd grade through ??)

Yesterday I performed a particularly knuckle-cracking piece on piano, Rich Mullins' "Sing Your Praise To The Lord," complete with Bach intro. It's kind of cool, and I love being able to do this, but as I sort of expected and had resigned myself to, performance nerves set in and there were a couple unplanned finger-crashes.

This happened the previous week with guitar accompaniments to other, simpler songs. Performance nerves are a bane on my musical performance, although oddly they hardly ever (if ever!) affect my acting performances. (That's me as River City's unlovable and, in particular, un-NERVOUS Mayor Shinn in the picture at top left.)

What's the difference between these two modes of performance? Partly it's tone-deafness and partly it's rehearsal time, I think. That is, if I hit a bad note in a piano performance, it sounds like a nuclear explosion in my ears; if I hit a false note in a theatre performance there's another sure-fire laff or tear just down the road. But wait, why isn't that true of musical performance too?

I think with musical performance there exists an ideal, wherein the performer hits every note on his score right on time (and only those notes!) and if that doesn't happen, SOMEBODY in the audience will notice it; if an actor says "the" instead of "that" or transposes two speeches, usually only his fellow-actors will notice, and they're too busy worrying about their own crap to notice it. So yes, solo music performance is that way; group music performance could be more forgiving although I recall performance nerves giving me the feeling I'm killing the group.

I need techniques to overcome these performance nerves; it's good that I'm getting this experience under my belt and I have a feeling that the next time I sit down at the piano in front of a large group, I'll be less nervous and do better at the music.

I read once that Sir Laurence Olivier took a break from the stage for a long period of time due to stage fright. This petrified me because if someone that good can get stage fright, then someone like me must deserve it. Then I read somewhere else that the secret to overcoming stage fright is preparation. The rather obvious corollary to that is that if you're experiencing stage fright, it's with good reason...you probably need to prepare more.

I haven't experienced it since then, in my acting. I comforted myself yesterday that I had prepared as well as I knew how (a library book helped me a great deal with that) and that nobody expected me to be perfect. I also had to remind myself that it was not to "wow" them or "impress" everybody that I was doing this; rather it was for the kids to have a good time singing and for everybody to have a good time listening. That helped. The crashes were mere seconds in a 4-5 minute performance. I'd rather have the 4:55 seconds of bliss along with the 5 seconds of panic than have a whole lifetime of neither.

Good Genes There

Quick, check out the front page of Lucianne.com! It features a cartoonist with a very familiar name and style.

For those who don't know it or haven't figured it out from the way I go on about them, cartoonists are my heroes. Sometimes, even when they're wrong. Which is why the wrongness of Ted Rall outrages me so. I just finished reading "The Essential George Booth," which I found on the remainders table at my local Borders Books. The heartbreaking thing about it was, I told the cashier that I would've paid full price if I'd known about it earlier; she said they'd just gotten it in. A George Booth book remaindered the moment it walks in the door? What's this world coming to?

Saying a mouthful

"I think sometimes verbal discourse is insufficient as a mode of expression"

(Blogger vomits.)

(Link via a less-sabbaticalizing-than-previously-reported Tim Blair.)

TMI Tuesday falls on Thursday this week

Commenter "Allison" has the only comment necessary on this post:

I clicked "forget personal information" several times, but I still remember this post!

Give me a good cicada-piss post any day.

Angel Top Moments

Angel, my favorite television series of all time and a spinoff from my second favorite series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, had its series finale last night. I'm in a bit of shock and denial, but after the events of last night's episode, there's no doubt it's really over.

I don't expect people who never got into these series to understand, so don't bother tweaking me for enjoying a teeny-bopper series about vampires (unless you just feel like it).

Angel had its hilarious moments, like BtVS, but it was Angel's character-driven drama that gave it its edge over Buffy. So, herewith, my 5 favorite Angel dramatic moments.

5. Illyria, the ancient god of death and misery who took over the body of Angel's beloved (female) sidekick Fred, assumes Fred's form for a visit from Fred's parents. No excuses here, I'm just a sucker for this kind of emotional string-pulling.

4. Wesley coldly and efficiently guns down his father, who makes the fatal mistake of menacing Wesley's love, Fred. I have to digress here to explain that the shock of this moment was perfectly served by the masterful direction of the entire episode, and of this scene. These people know how to set a scene that wrings every ounce of potential from a scenario, and not just in a "let's examine this facet of [father/son tension || earthly vs. heavenly love || media manipulation || whatever]. That the thing Wesley shot turns out to be a robotic impostor in no way felt like a cheat, because it was not about Wesley shooting his father. It was about who and what Wesley had become.

3. Angel's action-oriented sidekick Gunn interrupts his escape from a roomful of zombies to go back and kill Gavin, a one-time associate at the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart who'd been turned into a brain-eater by a mystical demon. "I knew the man," he says. "I couldn't stand to see him like that."

2. Angel's vampiric sire, Darla, has become human again, and Angel has begun to love and trust her again as he did during their hellish vampire days. Darla is captured by Wolfram & Hart. Then, in the best Grand Guignol horror scene presented, complete with perfect music and chilling use of ultra-slo-mo, their old friend the mad vampire Drusilla is brought in to re-sire her.

1. The birth of Angel & Darla's son Connor. So much of the devastating impact of this scene depends on the history of Angel & Darla & Buffy & Dru & Lorne & Wesley and the whole freakin' gang, I'll just say, you had to be there. An alley behind Lorne's nightclub. A vampire who recognizes that the only good in her emanates from the human life that's growing inside her. A stake. You do the math.

Go ahead, call me a twittering fan-boy. Looking at these 5, I see where I could expand it to 50 and not miss a beat. And I didn't even watch the first season! And I didn't mention the beautiful Cordelia! Hell, I could do 5 from last night's episode alone, except Missy has already done the job. Your favorite "Angel" moments in comments, go on ahead!

Update: Apparently, I'm just a fanboy and not a geek. Jacob non-Volokh says:

And no, I don't think the slayer cavalry is a-comin'. I don't think Willow's going to suddenly show up and open a portal that will suck the army in. I don't think Illyria's violent temper and Angel's temporary supercharge are going to win the day. They've won the battle they set out to. They're going to lose this one, and they know that. If somehow they defeat the first few thousand bad guys, there will be more. I think it'd be hard for any movie or renewed season on another network to finesse a victory out of that fight. And I don't think they should. That was a very fine moment and tone to end on.

It's not a proper geekpost without some quibbles, of course. Since when can one alter prophesized events by signing the prophecy away, even in blood? The piece of paper isn't the prophecy itself; it's just the report of the prophecy.

Yes, it's a shame that the shanshu (sp) prophecy got short shrift in the rush to end the series. However, by Jacob's logic, we should expect some kind of cavalry rescue or something BIG because we've been led to believe the last couple of seasons that Spike or Angel were going to fulfill the prophecy.

Oh, and Lorne's real mission was another one of those great shocks that the show was so very good at. The cutesy pet gay singing demon gets to gun down a human in cold blood. A human who's just finished performing the most heroic act of his life. All on Angel's orders.

Amazing. Too bad if you missed it.

Thrilla Thursday

I'm going to try to make sure my afternoon walk coincides with at least some of this action.

Atlanta police were on high alert as business and political leaders from around the world gathered Thursday for the Business of the Americas conference at the Georgia World Congress Center.

I'll report back, although it's doubtful that I'll take my embarrassingly cheezy digital camera along.

No, this will be a lo-tech venture. Feel free to send me money if you want me to buy a good digital camera, you skinflints.

I promise to at least provide a crowd size estimate, a count of giant puppets, and some of the more memorable protest signs on display.

Update: 0, 0, and nothing. There was a bit of enhanced security at some buildings, forelorn (and hot)-looking security guards posted outside the places of business, but absolutely no indication that anything at all was going on otherwise - except for a black helicopter that was buzzing around downtown but which never seemed to lead us to any flash points.

We did encounter one building, a school, that was closed today and tomorrow "due to activity surrounding" the meeting. The sheepish guy at the school door said it was because they expected "lots of traffic."

Maybe tomorrow.

Nothing to see here

Is it just me, or is the official response to a training-model rocket launcher found near a transit station in Atlanta less than comforting?

Lazarus said there was no cause for public alarm and the city's rail-transit system was not interrupted by the discovery.

The shoulder-held launcher was found around 2 p.m. by transit employees who were making a routine inspection of tracks near the Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA station, said Gene Wilson, MARTA police chief.

Either MARTA really doesn't think this is a dry run of some kind, or they're trying to maintain calm.

Glad I'm working from home tomorrow, anyway. I don't like the sound of this.

This station is on the other end of the system from where I ride. I've noticed enhanced security at all stations, though. Good.

I also noticed a dead-eyed pair of arabic-looking gentlemen in a van with New York tags leaving my station yesterday afternoon.

Blog Reportage

Dr. Kate & Farmer Joe will be doing blog-reporting from Boston, Ground Zero of the Gay Marriage quake. Keep checking the Urban Farmhouse!

They're also angling to get press credentials for the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian conventions. Great site and good friends.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

OK. Deep breaths.

Deep breaths.

Bizarre Weather Watch

Atlanta's Channel 11 News led tonight with the anchor announcing "bizarre" weather. The followup indicated what looked an awful lot to me like a pair of Spring storm systems, although I'm not a meteorologist. The meteorologist on hand certainly made no claims of bizarreness.

I wonder if we're going to see local and maybe even national news anchors hyperventilating over the weather under the influence of the upcoming stupid-looking global-warming sky-is-falling epic "The Day After Tomorrow." It wouldn't be the first time I've noticed news broadcasts taking thematic cues from Hollywood movies.

Gaming the System

All those people who have accused John Kerry of gaming the system by getting 3 quick Purple Hearts and bugging out owe him an apology:

[...Swift Boat officer] Wright and like-minded boat officers took matters into their own hands. “When he got his third Purple Heart, three of us told him to leave. We knew how the system worked and we didn’t want him in Coastal Division 11. Kerry didn’t manipulate the system, we did.”

Glad that's finally cleared up. Sorry, Boston Strangler.

Boyd in the hand

Interesting Boyd-based analysis of the information war going on vis a vis the Abu Ghraib prison scandal vs. the Nick Berg video.

Nick Berg’s beheading ricocheted around the Internet yesterday, as it was meant to, in ostensible retaliation for the outrages at Abu Ghraib prison - themselves digitized weapons in the ongoing information war.

The murder was itself asymmetrical - so disproportionately horrible compared to the prison photos that only a madman would hold them remotely comparable.

So it would be appropriate at this time to flood the Internet with images of Saddam’s depredations - of which the United States possesses in the tens of thousands.

Thought my favorite Boyd fan would be interested in that. I wonder if the US media that's refusing to show the Berg video is thinking of what might come after if they were to show the beheading?

My local Fox affiliate announced the other night that they wouldn't show the moment of death, and so I didn't change the channel. I have no desire to see the video, as I'm already relatively certain even without seeing it that we need to kill these animals toot sweet. (Simplisme, thy name is Bovious.) Nevertheless, I was kind of pissed when they cut off the video and continued playing the audio of his death rattles.

Anyway, regarding the mainstream press, as President Bush has observed, "You're assuming that you represent the Public. I don't accept that." Less and less of the public is accepting that, too, I believe. So if the government releases the Saddam prison photos, and they should, and the mainstream press largely ignores them, and they will, I suspect the message will still somehow manage to get out.

A Very Special Hell Is Other Diners

This time, it's about the stupid conversations you hear at other tables. Can you imagine what it might be like sitting next to John Kessler with all the slurping and smacking and plate-licking and STUPID MISSTATEMENT OF POLITICAL FACTS?

Getting Lee and Ryu to describe the preparation of the duck is like wresting a PDR from Condoleezza Rice.

That's PDB, John. Oh, and it's not her job to declassify them.

Strengthen The Good

I ain' got no money right now, plus I'm on the outs with PayPal, but I do have the power to link. Won't you help strengthen the good?

I honestly think that's what I'm doing with my newfound dedication to riding MARTA. Small changes to the good make the world a better place and it seems like it's up to ordinary Americans to bring this about. What are you doing?

Air America: Corporate Poison!

I've posted before on Air America's apparent lack of commercial sales. Here, another listener sheds some light:

During a day of torture by radio, I heard ads for Hewlett-Packard, Greyhound and, especially, General Motors. I asked GM why it appeared in such shows.

Ryndee Carney, GM's manager of marketing communications, said the ads were wrongly picked up from an earlier deal with WLIB. She said the station was ordered to "cease and desist" yesterday, and added: "GM will not advertise on any Air America affiliates."

It's a good article, albeit nothing new for Boviosity readers.

I heard the Greyhound ad yesterday, and also an ad for some kind of weight-loss nostrum. I've also heard the HP ads at various times. My thought was that HP was targeting the angry upscale liberal computer geek market, which is probably not a bad idea but probably not as big a niche as one might think.

(Link via the indispensable Mrs. G)

Internet Slowdown/Halt Predicted

Internet experts are warning of a massive slowdown, even complete stoppage of some sites, as the worldwide web becomes clogged with e-mails and weblog posts boasting that the mailer/poster has never seen "Friends." Please be patient, save your work, and remember we'll probably see another, slightly smaller burst after Tuesday's final episode of "Frazier."

I've Always Loved Johnny Hart

Johnny Hart's "BC" was one of my favorite daily comics growing up, and that's saying something because there was a lot of good stuff out then. I still laugh when I rehearse one of his strips from back then:

(Inventor Clumsy Carp appears, bedraggled and worn apparently from a bad night.)
Thor: "Clumsy Carp, what happened to your lean-to?"
Carp: "Sometime, during the night, it leaned fro."

Hart can be very, very careful when inking in his dialogue. I don't have the strip in front of me but I seem to recall laughing at that devastating first comma in Carp's reply nearly as much as I laughed at any other aspect of the strip.

I know, I'm insane.

Anyway, today's strip contains one of his sunny, carefully-crafted if not entirely unpredictable gags that just makes me feel good about life.

I said I know I'm insane.

The One Thousand Fighting Styles of Donald Rumsfeld

(More fighting styles can be found here. Would you want to take him on?)

Southside Steve, We Hardly Knew Ye

Say, anybody listen to the new morning show at 96 Rock, replacing the too-naughty Regular Guys?

I didn't think so.

I listened to about 40 seconds last week. It was pretty damn dismal. Two guys laughing uproariously at anything whatsoever that sounded like it might be a joke spoken by their female sidekick. As a bonus, the female sidekick has that overcompensating "one of the guys" intense joshing voices that I'm associating more and more with women in radio. Think Kim Komando, Mara Davis, etc. Think of Mara Davis taking 30 seconds to say "Caaaaaaaaaaobb County" and you'll get the idea. Not saying all women in radio do this; Randi Rhodes has a cool radio voice and I love listening to Dr. Laura when she's not doing that cutesy-poo squealing-with-delight thing. I think it's because they're being themselves instead of doing stuff they learned in broadcast school.

Anyway, Bob and Tom. Hopeless. Listen only if you enjoy Mara Davis & Dunham or if you think 96 Rock's Dick & Justice would be funnier if only they were a little older and more out-of-it.

I merit Instapundit mention

Instapundit links to Mitch's discussion of the swiftboaters' denunciation of Kerry, and quotes my comment! Woo-hoo!

However, the professor does not mention my witticism in a note to him, in which I noted that "swiftboater" sounds like a name for a particularly stylish straw hat.

Waaaah

I want my own jew-speculatin' thread on a stupid nazi site.

(Link via Dean, who reminds me of the great phrase "Red Sea Pedestrian.")

Rall attacks Tillman

Here's all you need to know about Turd Roil's cartoon attacking the late Pat Tillman.

Ted Rall attacking Pat Tillman? It is to laugh. I only wish Tillman was around to punch the living shit out of him. Ironic, and convenient, isn't it, that he's not?

John Kerry:

Spandex-Clad Hunch-Monkey

(Phrase courtesy of DaveJames. You are reading curiousfurious, aren't you?)