A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That...

Eye of the storm. Thought I'd take a few minutes here, while the Holiday Whirlwind pauses, to hop on here and connect with you all (aka The Ghosts of Christmas Present, lol), and let you know all is well.

Had the Christmas play today... the drama about the three wisemen. It went better than I expected... and I expected it to go well. Basically, we nailed it. Which is doubly amazing to me, since D. Garvin and M. Ortiz (the other two actors in the play with me) had a ton of lines to memorize, and they were newbies. In fact, I don't think D. had been in any sort of play before... and this was 30 minutes of pure dialog.

Anyways, it went off flawlessly, and was really well received. Yes, I was nervous beforehand, even though we've been doing plays since 1996, and they always go off well. Still, the nerves are always there, and today was no different. I justified the nerves by saying we'd never done a play like this before, which is a cop-out, of course.

But, yeah, success. Once I check the video out, if it's presentable enough, I'll upload it to YouTube and you can check it out if you'd like...

I dig this photo, for some reason.

So I finished reading the two Infinity Blade books by Brandon Sanderson since last we spoke. The first volume was a re-read, and then I followed it up with the recently-released sequel. Actually, the word "volume" is a bit misleading... the books are so short (about 150 pages each) that it almost qualifies as one book. In fact, when the third (and I presume, final?) volume comes out, they could all be considered one, as far as I see it.

Lol, look at me, going off on a tangent again. How unlike me!

Bottom line, I enjoy anything Sanderson writes, but wasn't quite sure I liked the way the second volume unfolded. I won't spoil it for you, in case you want to read them (which you should!), but he used a trope that's been better-used by others (especially Mark Lawrence). Still, if you like Fantasy with a healthy dose of sci-fi mixed in, you can't go wrong with the Infinity Blade series.

Currently reading The Red Knight, by Miles Cameron. Enjoying it greatly. Expect a full review, hopefully before the year's end.

How it will factor into my Best Reads List for 2013, I'm not sure yet... I have a lot of pages left! But here's how the Top 5 is shaping up so far...

1. Heroes Die by Matthew Stover
2. Emperor of Thorns, by Mark Lawrence
3. Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
4. The Spirit Thief, by Rachel Aaron
5. Colours in Steel, by K.J. Parker

If I take out re-reads, then remove Confederacy of Dunces, bump Aaron and Parker up a spot each, and tack on Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson to the 5 spot... with Year Zero a close 6.

I wonder if Logan will put out his annual Reading List? That's always fun...

The bottom 3 for me would be Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, and Terms of Enlistment by Marco Kloos... but really, they weren't terrible books... I finished them all, so they had to be good enough to carry me through a complete reading... there were a couple titles that I abandoned without finishing... those would be the true bottom, but I don't want to list them.

I didn't keep track of all the movies/TV/etc I watched this year, so I can't make an accurate Top Ten List, but ones that stand out for me include...

TV: Justified and Suits.
Movies: Iron Man 3, Mud and Gravity
Music: Five Finger Death Punch
Games: Borderlands 2, Minecraft, and Torchlight 2

OK, enough nonsense...

OK, this photo counts as nonsense....

NOW, enough nonsense...

So I'm officially on the writing team for the Web Series I'm involved with, called Beyond the Impact. I'll be writing some of the scripts! Hopefully, I'll have some news about the project I'm free to relate to you soon.

A couple days to Christmas, as I write this. Hopefully it will be a nice, relaxing time. My brother John is coming a couple days after Christmas... it will be good to see him. He's a good egg.

Gonna wind this post down. Hope you're all doing well. I'll sneak another post in before the year's end, I'm sure. Lucky you!

Dave the Languid

Don't Read This Post! Vacuous Nonsense Abounds!

A waterfall photo! How cliche! How gauche! How uncouth!

Actually, it's kinda pretty. Must be why I chose to use it, eh! See? There's a methane to my madness!

I think that's how the saying goes...

So, look.... yes, I did some "acting stuff" since last we spoke... the ridiculously short version is, class on Thursday (yay!), Cast meeting for web series Sunday (Yay!), Christmas play rehearsal Sunday (Yay!), film shoot for student film Sunday (meh...) and that's that...

But enough about that! My mom always said, if I don't have anything nice and interesting to say, move on to another blog topic!

Care for a swim?

So I saw four films recently that I want to mention by name to you! I don't want you to see any of them! Two were truly awful, and two were terrific! But I don't want you to see them either! Gee, I'm so edgy!

The remake of the old eighties flick Red Dawn was the first of the Awful Offerings... wow, what an absolutely abysmal effort. Thor was the only saving grace of this film... the rest of it was a trainwreck of near-biblical proportions... so what do you do when you watch an awful film? What else!? I immediately followed it with a viewing of a movie approximately 3 orders of magnitude worse. It was called Killing Season, featuring Robert DeNiro, John Travolta, and a bizarre combination of the worst beard and worst attempt at an accent ever foisted upon an unsuspecting public (thanks JT!). I will NOT subject you to a clip of either... all I can say is that I watched both films to their end credits, and endured the accompanying stomach pains, marveling as the moments trickled past that dozens of people GOT PAID big money to generate such unbelievable dreck! How DeNiro ever got roped into contributing to such a turd, I'll never know... maybe he owed the producer a big favor or some such...

Those were the turds. Avoid both of them at all cost, under the threat of grueling intestinal pain.

The two terrific movies I watched the following evening. The first is called Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta and other actors you may not have heard of... this film is my definition of an "Actor's Dream"... so many roles that were so ridiculously well-crafted, I couldn't decide which role I would have loved to act myself... HOWEVER! It is a gritty, ugly movie, with offensive elements making appearances at regular intervals. But the dialog was so juicy (from a craft perspective) and the character creation so textured, it was a joy to watch...

Film two was the most recent, infamous Tarantino effort Django Unchained. Again, typical Tarantino dialog, for the most part, wonderful. Let me say, first off, if you haven't seen this movie by this time, you probably won't ever watch it, so I'm not going to try and dissuade you of that. If you were going to see this movie, you would have by now. So, that having been said, I watched it with some level of trepidation, but that trepidation was unneeded. Great film making, Christoph Waltz was amazing, all the cameos were fun, DiCaprio and Sam Jackson and Jamie Foxx were top notch... but not all was sunshine and roses... Taratino's music choice was a little too hipster and self-satisfied for my tastes.

So, yeah, Red Dawn and Killing Season were turds of the first order. Killing Them Softly and Django Unchained were awesome. Don't watch any of them.

And now, here is this year's effort at the Black Friday Prank, well done.



On a completely unrelated note, there's no one on earth like Russell Brand. The man's mind is staggering. And I've mentioned before, as much as I marvel at the man's mind, I would not like to meet the man in real life... honestly, I wonder if there's something biologically different about his brain. How... does... he... do... that...?

OK, enough of that...

So, what else?

Finished reading The Darwin Elevator by James Hough. 3.75 stars. A good sci-fi yarn. Good characters, nice dialog, good story construction... but stretches of dullness threatened to derail my interest on occasion... and it just unceremoniously ended midstream, sort of mid-story... not sure if I'll continue on to the next book or not...

Currently reading the Infinity Blade novellas by Brandon Sanderson quickly before tucking into The Red Knight later in the week.

Gee, fascinating, eh?

I bought a few "Complete Collections" this week for a buck each... got the complete Anne of Green Gables collection (99 cents!), the complete William Shakespeare collection (99 cents!), the complete Sherlock Holmes collection (99 cents!), and the complete Jane Austin collection (99 cents!)... dollars well spent! I already have more digital books than I could read in three year's time! Why not add more!?!?!?!

On a completely unrelated note, I hope I can somehow channel on screen one-tenth of the coolness that Benedict Cumberbatch carries with him on a daily basis. Man, is that the coolest cat on the face of the earth, or what?

The only way Benedict could somehow be cooler is if he was a jet pilot, too...

OK, whatever. I have no idea why I'm rambling on so.... I realize it is tedious to wade through... I applaud your efforts...

I hope to have some actual interesting content to impart unto you the next time we meet (virtually, of course, in this bizarre forum), so you can perhaps feel a bit of satisfaction in visiting this virtual rumpus room...

What the heck am I talking about? I know not...

Gonna go to bed and regroup. Adios for now.

Dave the Addled
aka Dave the Needlessly Long-Winded
aka Dave the Going the Heck To Bed

Apparently, I Have the Right to Remain Silent....

HELLO! (*hello*...... *hello*........ *hello*)

Sorry, that opening photo looks like it would generate an echo if I shouted loudly enough...

Greetings all! It is I, Dave the Goof, with another blast of hot blogging air... and it's been building for a week... so lean back a bit further from your monitor... I don't want to mess up your hair...

SOOOO I just got back from my first official paying gig as a "professional actor" (if you'll pardon how elitist that sounds), and I enjoyed it so much, there might be laws against such things... Honestly, being my first experience on a real "set", with a few dozen people I didn't know, camera-folk, light and sound guys, various make-up people and crew, and the other actors, etc., I wasn't sure if I'd freak out at all or what... but I was so at home, it surprised me. It's like I was home or something... I know that sounds corny, but it really resonated with me.

At the risk of boring you, I'll give a little play-by-play. I was in the driver's seat of a sedan, parked in an industrial park, behind a building. In the passenger seat was an actress portraying an under-aged "lady of the evening" that my character had just picked up. A police cruiser pulls around the corner, spots our car, and decides to investigate. They pull near my car, flood lights on, light-bar twirling. They approach the car, I do my "deer in a headlight" nervous routine, trying to explain away what we were doing there. They get me out of the car, and I walk back toward the police cruiser with one of the cops, we have more dialog. In the mean while, the other policeman is questioning the female, who is still in the car. The policemen compare stories and notes and decide to arrest me. I get cuffed and put into the police car.

I don't know how that sounds to you, but it was so much fun, it's impossible to explain. We had a script, but we improvised a lot of stuff. The two cops were actual policemen, too, not actors. But everyone was so comfortable and natural, we got through all the scenes in 2 to 3 takes each, and ended up finishing 90 minutes early. They were even able to get some extra filler shots and transition shots.

Picture a back area with monitors set up, and about twenty chairs, with all manner of crew and consultants, etc, wearing headphones, all listening to the dialog (since the actors were all miked) and watching it all unfold, sharing jokes and comments about everything. They can hear everything we say, even between takes... that meant I always had an audience to entertain! So I was making lots of funny comments to keep people entertained between takes. Hello captive audience! Got a lot of great feedback from everyone. The police-woman I acted my scenes with said I played a perfect "nervous/creepy" perp type. She said I'm just the type of guy that she runs into in those same situations, in "real life". Apparently I nailed the fidgety creep character! Not sure if I should put that on the ol' resume..

So, yeah, great crew, no nerves whatsoever, lines + improv, great cast, finished early, and I got some $$$ coming for my trouble. Talk about a dream job...

The only drawback is that I won't be able to get a copy of the finished product, either to post here or to add to a demo "reel"... sorry, it has to stay in house (meaning, property of the police department). But they did say I could stop by the studio and watch it once it's done. I'll do that for sure.

I've found my calling.

This is me, typing this post...

So what else? I film this weekend. Sunday afternoon/evening, I get to play a man in pajamas, who has been woken up in the middle of the night by two hitmen in his bedroom, discussing how -- and if -- to kill me. I get to portray someone terrified... my acting coach says laughter and tears are easy.... genuine fear is difficult. Challenge accepted!

I think if I keep this video in mind, I should get the fear aspect down fine...



Sorry, I shouldn't have sprung that video on you like that. That's some real life terror right there... can you imagine that? Having your house shredded by a tornado right over you? Coming out and seeing your neighborhood in shambles?

Um... wow...

Well, that was a heavy segue...

Let's see, let's get things upbeat again... Here are a few of my favorite photos from my extensive archive...

There, that should have perked things up a bit again...

Still reading The Darwin Elevator, which is a good read. Ah, I picked up a copy of The Red Knight by Miles Cameron today on sale at Amazon for a cool $2.99... I'll read that one next. That's at the suggestion of my friend Rebecca...

Been watching tons of movies and documentaries lately as well... but nothing really worth mentioning... sorry.

Well, that, and I'm quite tired at the moment. I think I'm going to end this post here and go the heck to sleep.

Hope you enjoyed reading the re-cap of tonight's shoot. Why do I hope that? Well, there will be more where that came from in the next couple months, lol...

Adios for now,

Dave the Found

That's Certainly Not the Way to Speak to Someone That Can Spell "Tuesday"!

Once upon a time, there was a gump named Dave. It was me.

The end.

Man, I am a consummate story-teller! Did you see the way I wove a spell-binding tale of magic and tragedy, dripping with angst, all presented with mind-boggling brevity? Plus, the word "gump"! Admit it! I am a master craftsman!

Or a tool, you're right. Well, "master craftsman" and "tool" are practically synonyms.

So, yeah.... I bet you're hoping I'll rattle off some awesomeness and entertain the heck out of you with my most recent exploits, eh? One question.... how strong, exactly, is that hope? Because, dangit, all I have to share tonight is a blast of mediocrity so underwhelming, it may cause mild nausea. I can't help it! Life just isn't that exciting lately, as far as what might be of interest to those outside of my inner circle. And when I say "inner circle" in this case, I mean anyone outside of, like, a two foot radius of myself. In other words, just me... and occasionally Wifey when she lets me hug her in passing... and when I say "in passing", you'll know why she only hugs me occasionally... kind of difficult to want to give someone a hug when you know they just might pass wind on you in the middle of the hug...

Where was I?

Oh yeah, mediocrity.

So, since this past two months or so has been loaded with acting-related "firsts" for me, I think I may add another "first" soon. You see, today, I auditioned for what I thought was going to be a commercial. The role called for a character that is sneaking up on people in public, seeing what these people are looking at on their phones and/or iPads, and then using a megaphone to announce to those in earshot what these folks are up to, embarrassing them in the process. Sounds cool, right?

Well, turns out it wasn't for a commercial, but the project involved trying to make a viral video. The audition itself was unique. It was entirely improvisation, and three of us auditioned at once -- two sitting down, looking at iPad, and the third person being the "megaphone man", attempting to "publicly" humiliate them. This is where they kinda lost me. The first guy with the megaphone was quite crude. I'm thinking, "There's no way that would ever be in a commercial..." After getting more info, I realized that this is just for the web, and that they wanted crude humor. Hmm... Sooo when my turn at the megaphone arrived, I kept it innocuous and just simply embarrassing and humorous... nothing crude. They tried (in vain) to get me to be more "blue" with my humor, but I felt it was cheap.  Look at me, second-guessing the people in charge of the project! Cheeky little bugger, am I!

Actually, my energy level was way up there, and I did make everyone laugh a lot, but as I left, I knew that me and this project do not have a future together. A shame, in a way, since the pay is quite tempting. So what was the "first" I was referring to earlier? Well, on the off chance they contact me to give me the part, or to come in for another audition, I'm going to respectfully decline and wish them luck on their project.

Lol, I'm just starting out, and I'm already willing to turn down potential jobs. Man, if my head gets any bigger, I'll never be able to find a hat that fits!

Ah, well. What can I say? I wouldn't want to be associated with that type of needlessly crude effort, nice payday or no...

Here, this is as crude as I'm willing to get....

See what I mean about mediocrity and the "inner circle"? None but I would find that story interesting! Has the nausea kicked in yet?

Watched a great movie with Matthew McConaghey and Reese Witherspoon the other night called Mud. McConaghey has been choosing some interesting roles of late. He's so solid and compelling, as an actor, I really enjoy watching him work. Loved watching the extras, with the behind-the-scenes stuff, showing the making of the film, interviewing the actors and director, etc. Makes my heart ring... I just know I need to be doing that.

Blahblah blah. Sorry.

I've been watching train crash videos on YouTube lately. Plus, music videos from old 1980's artists, like Howard Jones, The Hooters, and Thompson Twins. Man, Eminem wasn't kidding, music really is a time machine. It's amazing to me that I can play a song I haven't listened to in 20 years and instantly it takes me back in time to high school or some such. Kinda creepy, in a way...



Yep, that's an example of what I'm talking about. How thoroughly mid-eighties is that song, lol? That's like, hardcore 1985. And, oddly, it connects with a part of me long dormant. Wild.

What else? I missed jury duty. Was supposed to go in on the 19th, forgot. Had to reschedule for February.

Wow, Dave! So flippin' fascinating!!!!

Ow, my stomach!

Reading a sci-fi tale right now called The Darwin Elevator, by Jason Hough. A solid tale thus far (I'm 6 chapters in). A review may follow, should I feel up to it.

OW, my stomach! Stop Dave! The nausea isn't "mild" anymore!

Scheduled to film that police training film on Dec 3. An evening shoot. Should be fun. I forget if I mentioned it in a previous post, but I get to be a perp, and get arrested, for being in a car with an under-aged prostitute... I get to try to talk my way out of it... "Hey, officer, this isn't what it looks like!" Well, it's experience on a set, which is golden for me right now.

Can you feel it, in the air? Can you? The Steam Holiday Sales are coming! Actually, I was contemplating braving the crowds for the first time ever on Black Friday and going to Target and/or Best Buy to score on some ridiculously cheap BluRay's for my slowly-growing collection. Yeah, I'm super adventurous like that.

What else? Well, four weeks left to get the Christmas play perfected. I'm actually kind of amazed that the three of us have done so well memorizing so much dialog. I really hope it goes off well.

Has this post set a record for The Most Inane, Semi-Coherent String of Vapid Content In the History of the Web? Yeah, I know. I used to dump theology on you at regular intervals, with mixed results. Who knows; perhaps I'll get all theological on you again soon, but for the moment, I seem mired in vapidity.

My apologies.

Dave the Apologetic

Get Thee To a Nunnery...

Hello.

See how polite and subtle I am tonight? So understated and semi-detached! A simple "hello", after a week of silence. See what a man of mystery I'm becoming? Boy, won't my mom be proud when she finds out! I'm not a spaz anymore! I'm refined and... dare I say.... noble... in both manner and demeanor...

OK, fine, I'm still a spaz.... deal with it, mom!

*sigh*

OK, let's see... all the news that's fit to regurgitate...

Well, I've had two auditions since last we spoke. One for a part in a short film produced locally through the SDSU film department... that one was for a hit man... I would have dearly loved to play that role, but they "went another direction", which is certainly understandable. They're going to give me a smaller part, though, so I'll have that going for me. Anything to get a little time on set somewhere. I'll let you know how that goes... we'll film in the next week or two.

The second audition was for a series of police training videos for the Carlsbad police department. I auditioned with a handful of other gentlemen, and the role, believe it or not, lol, is for a "middle-aged married white man caught in his vehicle with an under-aged prostitute".... honestly, I thought there was no way I'd get the part, since the other guys I auditioned with were seasoned pros, one of which drove down from LA to audition, and was heading right back up to LA afterwards to audition for a film later... he was name-dropping, etc and bragging about his latest roles, etc. Hey, I don't blame him... drop those names! Anyway, I decided I'd just enjoy the audition experience and wait for future opportunities. It was fun to read the lines and improvise some stuff, etc.

So I guess they liked my energy or something... got the email today letting me know I got the job, lol. Half-day filming, 300 bones. Not bad for my first paying gig - I get to play a creep... :D Unfortunately, you won't get to see the results, unless you're planning on joining the police force... you'll have to settle for reading about the experience when I re-cap it for you...

Ay ay Cap'n!

So I've seen a couple things of note lately...

First, saw the movie Gravity with Wifey last week. Man, what a spectacle that was! What a ride. I loved it. Outstanding film-making. The kind of story that can only be told in movie form. Sandra Bullock was terrific, and Clooney was great as well. If you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it for you. If it's still in the theater, go see it before it leaves. I can't imagine it will have the same power on a smaller screen. If I start summarizing the movie, I will spoil it. Go see it!

Also, I saw Anna Karenina tonight with the Wagner Women... that is also an amazing movie. Not so much for the story, which was a bit of a downer, but for the craft involved. Describing it here will not do it justice, nor would I be able to clearly convey the magic to you. It's filmed in a wonderful mix of stage and location. Forget it, let me try to find a clip for you... hold on...



You have to see this as well, if possible. The film, I mean, not just the trailer, lol... To my mind, one of the most remarkable visual cinematic experiences you'll have.

Beyond that, I watched the first season of Boardwalk Empire. It has confirmed my opinion that HBO feels some odd compulsion to include unnecessary skin whenever possible, logic be darned. Easy enough to minimize the video while watching, since I watch on the computer, but still, I marvel at how unnecessary the nudity is to the storytelling. I have nothing, really, to say to recommend the series to you, beyond Stephen Graham's captivating portrayal of Al Capone. The rest of the cast is solid, as is the writing, for the most part, but not really my cup of tea. I like a gangster tale as much as the next guy, but this series didn't get it's hooks into me enough to warrant moving on to Season Two.

Reading? Well, limping my way through Knights of Dark Renown, by David Gemmell. It's subpar, and barely has the legs to sustain my interest.

Listen to me, sounding like I know what I'm talking about, lol...

Did you see the trailer for NOAH yet? If not, check it out...



Well, what do you think? You going to see the movie, you think? I may check it out.

So the competitive eating documentary Hungry had its premiere last Friday... trying to find info out on it, as far as reviews, etc., is proving difficult. Honestly, right before release, I heard word that the footage and interview that I shot for it back *whenever* was cut out of the final film.  Those that went to the premiere and hang out on the EatFeats site seem intent on continuing their habit of insulting each other and sniping at one another, rather than actually talking about the movie. It's frustrating to sift through. Must be an East Coast mindset or something... Still not sure if the footage I shot is in the film or not. I guess I'll have to wait until I get a copy on DVD to find out.

I guess ultimately it matters little. Still, it would be nice to put a period on the end of this long journey, and move on to other stuff. Just want to know if I and my little contribution had any sort of positive impact on the "sport" or not.

Still learning Russian words and phrases like a fiend. Next time we talk "in real life", ask me and I'll bombard you with what I'm learning! You can smile politely and say things like, "Hmm, yes, how nice" and wonder when I'm going to walk away...

It'll be great!

Adios for now,

Dave the Burgeoning Self-Important Hipster D-bag

Through Copse and Spinney Marched Bear

Hello? Man, it's so quiet in here... kinda eerie. This place used to be hoppin. Well, I guess everything outlives its purpose, eh? Good thing I can't recognize such things, right!!!1! I mean, I'll keep writing posts in this blog until the end of time! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Actually, when I first started this blog (like, what? 30 years ago? Feels like it, lol), I didn't think anyone but my mom would read anything here. I just had fun entertaining myself. I pictured myself on a small stage in front of an audience made up of a few dozen clones of myself. That way, at least mentally, I would imagine my "audience" laughing at all my nonsense... well, turns out some real live people started finding and enjoying my weird sense of humor and rants and things as well... surprised me as much as anyone. The blog kind of grew from there.

Man, what's with the trip down memory lane, eh? No clue. As usual, I never have any idea what I'm going to post in here before I start. Just open a new post and start typing. Kinda goes where it wants to...

If you suffer from vertigo, don't watch this Go-Pro parkour video. Everyone else, try it...



Crazy Russians.

Speaking of Crazy Russians, I had my initial meeting with the director and two co-stars of that web series I've been hired for. Not really sure what I'm at liberty to share about it... but let me say, this project and the crew are legit, the project is a BIG deal, and really, I should be far more nervous about it than I am. On paper, it's daunting... not only will I need to act my butt off, but speak Russian lines as close to perfectly as possible, and speak the English lines with a legit Russian accent... I need to research a lot about the Russian military and culture in the pre-fall era and the immediate aftermath, plus my character has suffered a strong personal tragedy that needs to be factored into how I approach the character development and presentation. That's just the tip of the iceberg... but you know what? Inside, I am thoroughly confident that I can do it. Chances are, being new to projects like this lends an "ignorance is bliss" aspect to my confidence level...

Bottom line, it's amazing to me that I've been cast in such a big project right out of the gate. We have our first cast meeting and script read-through set for the first weekend in December. We will begin filming the first episode in late January, and will film Fri-Sat-Sun every weekend until all 8 episodes are in the can. Plus, pre-production on the first movie will begin as well. Whether I'm involved in the film(s) or not, I'm not sure. A lot depends on if my character survives the web series, if I do a good job, and if the "fans" (here and overseas) like me and the character I create.

OMG, it's all so exciting, I'm beside myself! When the website goes live for the film/series project, I will link to it here... you will not believe how amazing it is. I cannot wait to dig into this. More info as it develops (and as I clear it with the director/producers).

What else? Well, just wrapping up a video editing project for some church friends who are trying to win a spot on the show Desperate Landscapes. If they get chosen for the show, they get a landscaping makeover, which they actually really do desperately need. Once the video I made for them is posted up to YouTube, I'll link to it, so you can admire my mad editing skillz...

Plus, been rehearsing for the Christmas play twice a week, working on line art pictures for another church friend's book he wrote, gaming with the D&D crew every other Wednesday, taking acting classes Thursday nights, working out with my trainer every Monday, drinking Starbucks like a fiend (don't tell my trainer), trying to cheer up a manic-depressive friend, and prepping for yet another audition I have in 2 days (for a short film, to film the end of November). So my plate is full! Plus, I got another voice job lined up. It will be my third radio program I've done for/with the great Glenn Hascall...

Currently reading a David Gemmell book called Knights of Dark Renown, and sadly, I'm unimpressed. Way too many characters, and it's a thinly-veiled story parallel of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, not very well done. Stilted dialog, shallow character development... I'm about to give up on it and move onto something else.

Like you needed to know that... sorry... winging it again...

And now, a 12 minute studio recording of John Butler's Ocean.



If you listened to it, you're welcome! If you didn't, well, why not? You likely won't hear anything like it anywhere else. See? I provide a service! Narcissistic rants about my life, semi-amusing vids and pics, and great music!

I can't think of anything else to share. Gonna let you off the hook.

Adios for now.

Dave the Fuzzbrain

Heroes Die, by Matthew Wooding Stover: A Review

I have, on several occasions in the past 12 months, waxed eloquent in gushing praise over a couple authors/books that entertained the heck out of me. I don't mind the risk of making myself look foolish -- Nine times out of ten, given enough time to cool off, I go back and review my bursts of praise and I find that I still hold that position. Very few be the times when I regret effusive bursts of fanboyish glee pounded out in the immediate post-read afterglow of a great book. 

So I shall proceed with this review, without fear.

This book Heroes Die, by Matthew Stover, is a solid, unquestionable 5-Star read. I was thoroughly unprepared to read such a well-crafted, well-thought-out, expertly-written adventure. The premise alone, once it sunk in what Stover was up to, was enough to give me pause and get my mind singing with the possibilities that lay ahead in the story. Such a terrific blend of sci-fi and fantasy I have yet to see in any other title I've read.

Picture a future, where technology has advanced to the point that we can access other worlds in parallel universes, and can send highly-trained actors over to these worlds to take part in "adventures" that people here can tag along on, looking through the eyes of the actor, recorded and broadcast from first person, the audience seeing and hearing it all. The world itself is real, and the people, kingdoms and politics unfold like they would normally, only back here, "we" introduce people with specific missions to cause chaos, uproar, instability, topple governments, assassinate key players, and are able to recall them back here to Earth at the end -- or the actors die trying. 

This other world (in this case, called Ankhana) has humans, elves, orcs, trolls and other races, as well as magicians/magicks, enchanted weaponry, gods, etc... all of which are used, without their knowledge, as the setting for our entertainment -- Reality TV on steroids.

It is a true sci-fi/fantasy hybrid tale, so dripping with possibilities, it staggered my brain.

My fear was that the story wouldn't live up to the premise. My fear turned out to be unfounded. The depths to which Stover has delved in contemplating the possibilities in his premise are so enjoyable to discover, just when you get the hang of where he's at, he pushes things deeper, and then deeper still, over and over until the amazing climax. 

The characters, the villains, the story, the lore, the intrigue, the betrayals, the set-ups and pay-offs... I enjoyed every page, every twist, every shocking revelation, every inescapable situation, every escalation of tension, every point where Stover dared me to guess what would happen next, only to delve a yard deeper and blast me into the sky.

In short: Highly Recommended. A very solid 5 stars. One of the best adventures I've ever read, any genre. The best part? Though this title is wonderfully complete in itself, there remain three more glorious titles (as I write these words) by Stover waiting for me to devour.

A Robustious Periwig-Pated Fellow

 

Greetings, from Dave the Lumbering Mouth-Breather!

Yeah, I ridicule myself like that. Self-deprecation is all the rage nowadays with feeble hipster types like me. Here, watch, I'll do it again... I have to be so careful going out in public lately... someone mistook my giant nose for a two-car garage and tried to park his Smart Car in my face!

There, that should earn me a few sympathy pats on the shoulder and commiserating head-shakes...

So I was trimming the Lemon Bush in my back yard yesterday, and I came away with only two puncture wounds! Are you proud of me? Man, the thorns on those branches! Holy mackerel. I think those thorns are listed in the Geneva Convention under Banned Weapons. Those things must have an "armor piercing" rating... Of course, it didn't help that the hand shearers I was using are getting dull, so they only cut about 95% of the way through the barbed branches... They hang on by a little sliver of bark, and get entangled in the surrounding uncut branches... trying to get them free is a recipe for perforation...

But I survived!

Here's the latest Olan Rogers video... 8 minutes of pure story-telling joy...



Ah, hilarity personified. He's getting so much better at looking at the camera while talking instead of his own face on the monitor to his left!

So I was reading Winnie the Pooh to my 7 year old the other night -- no, scratch that.... she's 8 now! Just turned, on the 26th of Oct! She's so big now! Soon, she'll have her driver's permit and have her own apartment and a full-back tattoo! Anyway, I was reading the story to her, and decided to read it with the Russian accent... now, most of you know I also do pretty spot-on impressions of ALL of the character voices for the entire cast... so I decided to accept the challenge, and do all the character voices with accents as well! Yes, picture the Winnie the Pooh voice that you know and love, only in a Russian accent! Woohoo! Such fun!

Oh, wait, that reminds me... you are not going to believe this...

I won't embed it here, but I will link to it... I was looking for beginner's Russian Language videos on YouTube last week, and I happened upon a woman in Texas who is a native Russian, but moved to America, learned English, and now teaches the Russian language to American high school students... Now, apparently she moved to Texas, and learned English with a heavy southern drawl... so she has this extreme hybrid accent she's rockin'... a Russian/Southern accent that I can't possibly mimic... you have to hear it to believe it. Go to THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO, skip ahead somewhere in the middle and listen to this lady talk for a minute or two... trust me, you'll love it...

So on the off chance you haven't read Brandon Sanderson's series starter The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive), you can get the digital edition for your Kindle over at Amazon as I write this for a pittance - $1.26! A buck and a quarter!? Are you kidding me!? Go ahead and go grab it now, I'll wait...

Speaking of the prolific Sanderson, he has announced a buttload of Mistborn novels on the way. Along with two more stand-alone novels following Waxillium in the Alloy of Law wild west setting, there will be two more trilogies that are set to be follow-ups to the original Mistborn trilogy. Yep, he plans a trilogy of trilogies, two more Alloy of Law Mistborn books, as well as cranking out books in his dozen-title Stormlight Archive. That alone would set a normal author back 30 years or more, but Sanderson is a superhero whose superpower seems to be writing terrific books at a terrifying speed, without sacrificing quality in the least. Unbelievable.

Speaking of great books, I'm reading a rare one at the moment... I've read some terrific books this year (and a couple tepid titles, and a scattering of turds), but this may be the first title this year that pushed past the "hey, this is a great read" stage and into the "OMG, I must read this until I pass out or finish the book, whichever comes first" stage. It is called Heroes Die, by author Matthew Stover. The premise is so rich, and well-developed... it is a true hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi, in the purest sense I've ever seen... and it has levels like you can't believe. I'm about 20% in right now, and at the launching point for the meat of the story, which Stover has set up brilliantly. I can't wait to get back to reading it tonight, snuggled in bed, hoodie on, draw-strings pulled snug, the wee hours beckoning me... *shudder of joy* I hope to foist a glowing review upon you soon...

This girl is 9 years old...



Umm.... WOW. My youngest daughter just turned 8, as I mentioned earlier... that blows me away. Can you imagine a kid that young singing that well?... unbelievable.

So that competitive eating documentary I was film for a few years back (called Hungry) is finally ready for prime time. It is premiering in NYC on the 15th of November (about 2 weeks from the moment I write this)... where it releases from there, I have no idea. I hope it shows up in LA somewhere, so I can run up and see it in a theater... otherwise if it's more a straight-to-video thing, I'll get a copy and watch it from the well-insulated comfort of my own sanctum sanctorum. Here is the official website, if you want to watch the trailer or get more info. Here's hoping I didn't make a fool of myself...

Now that's a smart invention... unless it's your drive and you lose the key!

Well, I think that's enough nonsense for now. Next weekend, I'm going to meet with the director of the web series project I've been hired for, along with my co-actor, for a sit-down, and in depth discussion about the project and about character development, etc. I'll let you know how that goes...

Adios for now,

Dave the Wandering Wildebeest

PS By the way, that is a real photo of Saturn up at the top of this post. I'm currently using the high-res version of it as my desktop background...

Attention All Earthlings...

Hello everyone! And by "everyone", yes, I do mean everyone on the entire face of the earth. And beyond, for that matter. I mean, no reason people in airplanes or in space should be left out of my greeting! Think of how that would make you feel... "Here I am, on the Int'l Space Station, risking life and limb for science, and I get callously passed over by Dave in his latest blog intro. Man, mom was right, I should have learned to drive a bigrig instead."



Uh... maybe not....

So, the year progresses nicely... fall is, uh... falling around me, which is nice. Love hoodie weather, as I've said before. Have my usual collection of little things to do for people, and a few big things, including the Christmas play. Still slowly collecting more items of entertainment (books and games, mostly), and waiting for my agent to start sending me on some commercial auditions....

"My agent"... gads, how limp does that sound? lol. I should start wearing a beret and a scarf, and drinking coffees that I can't pronounce... "ah, yes, well let me check with my agent first... *ssssip*... ahhh... Cafe Snuffleuppagus.... warms my heart..." Well, so be it.

I've begun the process of immersing myself in Russian. Learning to read the Cyrillic Alphabet first, so I'll be able to read the language... I'll work on my vocabulary and pronunciation next. I have a couple months - should be plenty of time. Can't wait to see how it all plays out. I'm already obsessing over character development, and I haven't even seen the first script yet. So chances are, I'll develop a character different than the one the project will require, and have to chuck it and start over. But I can't seem to help it... chew chew chew...

Dark Starry (K)night, by Van Gogh

November is here... I briefly contemplated signing up for NaNoWriMo and trying to convince myself I could get a big 50,000-word chunk of my Fantasy Novel done... I don't know who I'd be kidding, but it wouldn't be me... don't get me wrong, I'd love to do it... but my plate is full, and, as Logen Nine-Fingers says, you need to be realistic... Books, screenplays and blog posts lie scattered around me, unfinished, giving me puppy-dog eyes... "Feed me! Pet me! Love me!" I'm only one man! One man in a beret and a scarf!

So I read a terrific sci-fi book of late, called Year Zero, by author Rob Reid. It was so much fun to read, I enjoyed every page. Not sure how to summarize it without spoiling the fun... but a mid-level lawyer at a NY firm that deals with copyright and patent cases is confronted by aliens who want desperately to obtain the rights to rebroadcast all human music to outer space... if they can't, earth will likely end up being destroyed, since it turns out, due to the draconian anti-piracy laws and fines we have, the rest of the universe owes Earth all the money that has ever existed... since the universe loves our music so much, every creature has a copy of every song ever recorded... oops... one way out of bankruptcy is to destroy the earth, thus negating the fines...

That lays the simple groundwork for the tale of one man trying to save the world... it is so funny and witty and absurd, it really defies description. You really need to read this if you like sci-fi and humor at all. Any fans of Douglas Adams will be right at home in this tale. You can get it for a cool 99 cents on Amazon as I write this. Snap it up, read it. You'll love it, I'm sure. (5 stars out of 5)

Here's a cool fan-made short in the Half-Life 2 universe... even if you're not familiar with the game, check this out. It's only a few minutes long...



Nice effects. I hope the project I'm involved in is at least this level of production quality (even higher would be awesome)...

I think that's it for now. When I scrounge up more to talk about, I'll see you again.

Adios for now,

Dave the Pretentious Artsy-fartsy Dweeb

One Last Update on the Acting Thing...

OK, one last update on all things acting, and then I'll get back to business as usual, I promise!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to my first real audition on Saturday, for a sci-fi web series that will be filming locally starting January. Well they called me back in the next day (yesterday as I write this) to read scenes again, this time in a setting more like the way the scene will be when it's filmed, with lighting, props, multiple cameras, slating, audio, etc. The lines were memorized by this time, and I played the scene with only one other actor this time. We spent maybe 45 minutes beforehand rehearsing and getting to know each other a bit better. We hit it off really well.

Anyway, after we filmed the scene from several angles, etc., a number of times, we went outside and the director and a couple other members of the crew talked with us, together and individually. I think we did the scene well enough, but I felt it was still pretty rough. I suppose that's to be expected. Still, I felt oddly apologetic. But by the end of the conversation, the director decided to give the roles to the both of us... I got my first gig! It's a substantial role, too.

My character, as I said previously, is Russian. He will have lines in Russian as well as lines in English with the accent. Challenge accepted. You know, I'm not really nervous about that... at least, as nervous as my head thinks I should be. Not only will I need to act well, but I'll need to do the accent in a pitch that matches my appearance... I have to speak the accent so well that it looks and sounds like it's my normal voice... and I need to speak the Russian lines well enough to please the Russian producer, lol... plus, if I understand correctly, I need to handle firearms, and possibly be involved in fight scenes, etc lol.. oh, and my character is a smoker... not sure how I'm going to fake that, short of learning to smoke for the role.... I've never smoked a thing in my life...

And the braces... they may actually write that into the character somehow, so that my character has braces in the story... it's that or try to hide them, or pretend they aren't there...

All that to say, I should be nervous, a role of this magnitude, with so many facets, for my first real gig. But I'm not. In fact, my confidence is pegged. I know I can do this. My fear is that my perfectionism will drive me (and others) batty. I want to absolutely kill this role... kill it! I want it to be so good, it hurts. I want the whole project to be awesome. But I just know I'm going to obsess over the role... I already plan on taking every line of my dialog, having it translated (properly) into Russian, and then memorize my lines all in Russian... and then translating them back into the English versions for when the accented English lines are said... I want every line to come to me in Russian first, and then translate them into English as I say them, like anyone with English as a second language would... I don't have time to actually learn Russian before January... but I'm going to learn the heck out of the lines I do have...

That's just the beginning... I have other ideas on how to tweak and massage both the voice and the character until it seems natural. The last thing I want to do is give a performance that seems like an American dude pretending to be a Russian dude... immersion time, DDL-style...

Or maybe this is all just the typical panic-driven machinations all actors go through in the immediate aftermath of getting a part... and I'll mellow out and just roll with it. I just feel compelled to do this well. I mean, really well. Bad acting really galls me... I don't want to give a crappy performance and have it gall me every time I watch it...

All that having been said, I am SUPER excited, and fairly blown away by how fast this is all unfolding.

The next step is to wait to be contacted in a few weeks, presumably with the scripts and further instructions... I'll try to keep mum on it in the interim - I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about all this acting nonsense. I can't really help it... it's filling my vision at the moment, so it's all I want to talk about.

Thank you for your patience... I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Dave the Surprisingly Confident

In Which I Ramble About Agents and Auditions

OK, stop me if you've heard this one before...

Wait! I haven't even said anything yet! Why are you stopping me already?

Oh, right... I'm into blog recycling... I forgot...

Soooo, here's the latest... prepare to be bombarded with text...

Yes, I got "the call" from the Agency I showcased for a few weeks back, and I went in this past Friday (10/18) for "the meeting", which went well (I believe). I mean, I left the meeting with the necessary forms to fill out to begin our business partnership. I met with Frank (a principal partner), did my monologue for him, and apparently passed muster, so I'm in like Flynn. SUPER stoked, of course. It's like a dream, really. So now, after an initial post-signing lull (typical for newbies to begin with, but also apparently heading into the holiday season brings a lull of its own too), I'll start receiving audition opportunities for local commercials and an occasional film (Indy, or larger). San Diego is a "non-union" production town, though I'm still a little fuzzy on the implications of all of that "union/non-union" stuff.

Bottom line for me is that I'm ready to try anything.

Ironically enough, I actually went to an audition today. This was very cool...

Let me back up a moment...

So before class last Thursday (10/17, the day before "the meeting" with the agency (this project is not related to the agency)), a classmate of mine introduced me to a friend of his who is involved in a local production, which is looking to cast a character in his early forties, with a Russian accent. He asked if I could do the accent, I said yes, so that's why he introduced us. I did the accent for her (just improvised some stuff), and she took my contact info down. She sent me the lines, and gave me an audition time, and I went today...

I was supposed to have a monologue ready, preferably in the accent. At first, I wondered if I should just pick one I already had memorized and try to apply the accent to it (since I had one day to prepare - sound familiar? lol), but then I remembered a play I'd written in about 2000, and in it was a monologue written for a Russian character! Coincidence? Most definitely. I'd never performed it (or any of the play) before, so I tracked it down, pulled a 5 minute section out of it, cleaned it up a bit, and memorized that bad boy...

A quick side note. The piece is pretty heavy. When I had it memorized Friday night, and performed it for my wife in a practice run (to see what she thought of the accent) I was amazed at how it impacted me. I literally wept afterwards for several minutes, unable to control it. It was really odd - I'd never had that happen before. It scared me, actually. Literally, I couldn't stop. I worried that if I performed it today at the audition, and started crying like that, it would be bad, you know?

Anyway, I also studied the lines for the scene. Chest in a worry-knot, I drifted off to sleep in the wee hours, with accents and lines and concerns coursing through my brainpan.

Went to the audition this morning - turns out it's a sci-fi web series! And it's a legit production, too. Not just a group of people with a camera and a few scrounged neighbors trying to act. These guys have their act together. I was very impressed. So, there were maybe 8 people there from the production - director, writer, producers, various tech people, with the gear all set up. I watched another actor do his monologue (which they filmed), and he was great. An actor was there who was reading for another role as well (the scene I was reading for had two characters in it). All in all, my nerves were calm - it was a cool setting, the people were great, the vibe was casual and mellow, yet professional. These guys want to create something strong and special. I think they're on to something.

So I sat in front of the camera, did my 5 minute monologue, which they filmed. I think I did well enough. I only dropped a pair of lines, which didn't matter much, and I think the accent was consistent, if not wholly authentic (in spite of my best efforts). Then afterwards, they asked me some questions, which I answered, also filmed. Finally, we went to the scenes, which were filmed as well. We read the lines together, rotating out the actors at intervals. It was a little tricky, since the scene actually had more physical action than dialog, which was hard to portray sitting in chairs, holding the scripts. We were supposed to be doing things (namely, sitting at a diner table, eating, drinking coffee, then walking outside, etc) that will definitely add to the dialog when the whole thing is put together. I trust they saw enough of what they needed to to make a good judgement call.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

Bottom line, I think I did well on the monologue, and kinda spotty on the scene reading. I'll definitely need to work on technique in both cases. I'm worried that the braces will be a deal breaker. I'm going to talk to my orthodontist about the possibility of other options, as far as corrective dental work, to finish out the last year. I would love to be involved in this project in some capacity. The plan is that there will be eight web episodes filmed (1 to 2 per month), and then hopefully a feature film, if the web series proves popular enough (views = investor $$$ for movie)

If I get a part, or get called back for more scene reading, I'll let you all know.

A funny post-script. As I left, I thought my car got towed. It was in the 1 hour parking, and I was there for two and a half hours. At one point toward the end, when I thought about it, I ducked out to check on my car, and it wasn't where I thought I'd left it. I was so bummed, but I put it out of my head, went back, finished the scene work, etc., then when I was done, asked about what the procedure was for dealing with a towed vehicle. We went to the office, got the number for the towing company, and as I strolled back to where my car should have been, realized I was mistaken, and it was right there. I mean, right where it was supposed to be. I honestly have no idea what happened. Total "space cadet" moment. I felt like such an idiot. I went back in and told them all was well, sorry for the trouble, and drove away, tail between my hind legs...

All in all, a surreal, wonderful day. I got to experience my first legitimate audition, and survived it... better than survived it, I think I did pretty well. At least, well enough to actually be considered, whether I end up with a part or not. I had a great time, either way.

All that to say, it's been a great day (notwithstanding the towing mix-up, lol), and actually, it's been quite a week. Things are moving so swiftly! And now, I'm swiftly off to bed.

Adios for now,

Dave the Incessant Rambler

EDIT: Breaking news! I went back again today (Sunday 10/20) and did an additional reading. I got the part. We start filming in January... whoa... O_O!!!!

And Now, A Quick Transition!

Hello again... unless you're a first timer.... if so, to you I say... what took you so long?!?!?

Well, today was the day... I got the call from the agency today... I'm meeting with them this Friday to discuss the possibility of representation. I am at once giddy with excitement and a bit unnerved. I need to have a monologue ready - something film/TV appropriate, he said. I'll probably go with the Dead Poet's Society piece again, though I'm going to prepare a few... dust off a couple old ones. Also, practice my accents and character voices, in case the topic of voice work comes up...

Man, a lot of time between now and Friday to get nice and nervous, lol...

That's really the main reason I hopped on here tonight... I feel like I'm running out of things to say in my old age! I mean, I'm more than half-way to 80! No wonder I'm so tired! Well, that and staying up til 2am just about every night...

I did watch a great movie tonight, called Chronicle. It's a "found footage" type movie (like Cloverfield, in a way), and was really well done. Sort of a superheroism-in-real-life study, where three high school guys (a popular jock, a stand-offish intellectual, and a bullied nerd) each stumble upon something that changes them, giving them telekinesis. It's interesting to see how it changes each of them. It's very cool, if you ever happen upon it and want something fun to watch. Very creative.

A quick musical interlude, eh....



Here's another cool video I've seen lately...



Let's see... what else? Nothing else! I'm off to bed.

Squish me luck,

Dave the Transitioning...

Welcome All Drifters and Bindlestiffs!

Well, hello there! I've been sitting here in front of my webcam, waiting patiently for you to arrive! WAIT! No, don't browse away! It isn't creepy... it's just sad, that's all!

Look, all I'm saying is that it's nice to see you again... now, get comfy, settle in and get ready for all the cool Daveness I have planned for you tonight.

First, here, watch this high-res slow-motion video of a cheetah running... you know the routine.... hit play, then change the res to 720, and watch full screen... go ahead, I'll wait...



There, that set's things in motion nicely (and slowly), eh?

So, what next?

Still haven't received "the call" from the acting agency yet. Wasn't sure what to make of that. Went to acting class last night and the instructor said "two people were called right away, but four more actors are "on deck" to receive a call when the agent gets back in town." So there's that about it. When someone asked our acting coach if he knew who the four were, he said yes, but wasn't going to spill the news "since one or more of them may be sitting in this room right now, and I don't want to spoil the joy of getting the call themselves."

So, yeah, I'm trying not to think about it, but honestly, I wish it would resolve itself one way or the other.

But on a positive note, I've purchased a digital copy of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"! So I can start learning it by heart straight from the text (as opposed to trying to remember it from the movie). Why is that important? Well, from what I understand, all serious actors at some point decide they want to play Hamlet... so I'm just getting it going now... since I'm old and have to make up for lost time!

Even though I'm mocking myself a bit here, actually, I have always loved Hamlet -- the Gibson/Zeffirelli Hamlet is one of my favorite movies of all time. I always enjoy watching Mel attack the role with such verve. It's hard to read the scenes aloud without immediately mimicking the way Mel did it. And as a newbie actor, I am supposed to have a "classic" monologue at the ready. I have one from the play Oedipus Rex (by Sophocles) which I enjoy, but I thought I'd learn a monologue or two from Hamlet as well... I don't mean the more famous monologues ("to be or not to be", "what a piece of work is man", yadda yadda), but maybe a couple of the more obscure ones. There's so much great material to choose from in the play, it will be fun trying to narrow it down.

Well, "fun" for me and other oddballs like me, I suppose...

Other than Hamlet, I'm currently reading a sci-fi book by an authoress named Sarah Zettel called "Fool's War"... which I believe came with the Humble Bundle that I bought back in July (comprised of a bunch of books). The main characters are Muslim females who captain a space ship, complete with hijab and daily prayers... I have never put space travel and Islam together in my brain before -- it's jarring, but fascinating... cool story thus far.

I told my friend Rebecca I'd read The Red Knight next, but I didn't pull the trigger on the purchase yet... sorry Rebecca... I like the new additions to my library to come in under $5 if at all possible... The Red Knight is still $9...

What? You want another cool National Geographic video clip? Fair enough, how about this clip of a massive gathering of devil rays?



That.... is pretty dang cool...

So I finally did it. I went to a Dungeons & Dragons group and actually played with the group. I wasn't just an observer anymore. I am officially One of Them! The first time I sat in on a D&D group (to observe) was a few months back, at a game store in Poway - but that was a different group -- and a glorious group of nerds they were. But now, my new co-worker (Ian) is a gamer and has a role playing group he plays with every week... so it's a different group, but trust me, they are an equally glorious group of nerds.

Ian helped me craft a character (a satirical rogue, lol), and the Game Master skillfully wove my character into the story. That's what's so cool about the whole exercise... it's like one big improv exercise. So it's all acting training for me! Well, that's how I'm looking at it. The GM has a story prepared to tell, and we players each role play a character in that tale, dealing with the situations as the GM throws them at us. And we act our characters out, what they say and do, how they interact with each other, etc. There's a lot of banter and humor, and some serious situations as well... and, of course, battle.

Now that I've actually participated, my opinion of role playing games has changed for the better. When I was growing up, I dismissed D&D out of hand as "evil", because that's what I was taught at the church youth group I went to during high school. I never even looked into it; I just took the youth pastor's word for it. If they'd told me the truth about it -- that it was just interactive story-telling, with heroes that save the day from baddies -- I would have been playing it all these years, I'm sure.

There's a lesson about lemmings in there somewhere...

I think that's that for tonight. Thanks for dropping by.

Adios for now,

Dave the Gump

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie! You Can't Expect Honesty From Them All the Time!

Ahh!!! That slight chilly edge to the evening air wafting in through the open window in my office... I love it. It means two things to me... first, it's almost Hoodie Season. Man, I love sleeping in a  hoodie... hood up, drawstrings close around my face, keeping the back of my neck nice and warm throughout the night... I hate waking up in the middle of the night with a cold neck... *shiver*...

Second, for some reason, a chill in the air makes me want to write. It's good writing weather, I say! Makes me want to unpack my fantasy novel and move Vye, Abbie, Yanni, Shannon and the rest of them through a few more steps of their awesome (IMHO) adventure... of course, I'm going to kill them all off at the end anyway! MUAHAHAHAHAH!!!

Oops... guess I should have added a spoiler alert...

And now, a little Demetri Martin...



So I went to acting class Thursday night... the first class since the Agent Showcase last weekend. I hadn't received "a call" from the agency, so I was prepared to shrug shoulders and move on, keep learning, try again next time, etc. But no one in the class was called, and someone with knowledge about such things said that they normally wait a week or two before making calls (if any) for... um... because... well, he said there was a reason, but for the life of me, I can't remember what the reason was... or even think of a logical reason... anyway, apparently they wait. So the chance is still there!

And, well, I hate to jinx things, but after class on Thursday, the instructor told me (in so many words) not to be surprised if I get a call from them soon... she talked with them (being represented by them herself) and said they spoke highly of me specifically... now I'm all excited again, lol... I came to class ready to move forward, but now it seems it's still on the table... it's hard to keep a clear head about it all.

Obviously, I'd love to get "the call" and sign up with them and start going out to auditions, etc... but of course, being a new, huge step into the unknown for me, there's also a part of me that wants to chicken out... it's the same old back-and-forth that has always plagued me. Fortunately, the far larger part of me wants to grab any opportunity and run forward with it -- it's not like a 50/50 split... still, that doubt lingers. So, being of a spiritual bent, I've taken the advice of a mentor of mine, and have been talking to God about it all, repenting for all the reasons I want to succeed as an actor, and also repenting for all the reasons I want to opt out. Having all bases covered like that is liberating... I think the simple act of just being honest about everything with God is liberating in and of itself. You may or may not believe in God, that's your call... but I like the idea of a Creator I can talk to, who has all the details already, and with whom I can just have open conversations, without feeling like I have to give a lot of backstory first to set up the discussion.

All that to say, I could be reporting some good news in the next blog post or two... if not, I'd like to think I'm ok with it either way.

Wish I had a doggie...

So I finished reading Emperor of Thorns, Mark Lawrence's latest book, the concluding volume to his Broken Empire series. For those with a memory for such things, you may recall me talking very glowingly about volume one [Prince of Thorns]... and you likely don't remember me saying much about volume two [King of Thorns], which you may interpret as a negative... it wasn't a negative, really. The second volume was good, but in no way did it sink its hooks into me like the first volume did. A step down, but still a worthwhile read. What threatened to sink the second volume for me was the fact that it told two concurrent tales, each about five years apart... I got tired of bouncing back and forth in time as both tales moved forward, converging at the end...

Now, Emperor of Thorns is a strange title to pin down... first, I really liked it. I mean, 5 Star loved. I'd rate it right up there with volume one... funny thing is, it also did the "two storylines, five years apart, marching forward to resolve as one climax" sort of construction. However, it didn't bother me this time around like it did in Vol 2. Maybe I was prepared for it, maybe Lawrence just did it better this time, who knows. Whatever the reason, I was able to deal with it just fine this time... it may be because this third volume had a ridiculous amount of killer scenes in it. I mean, scenes that would normally be reserved for the climax of lesser tales are featured liberally throughout the book. Great moments - the book equivalent of "set pieces" in a great epic movie. Wonderful surprises, great "aha" moments, jaw droppers... along with Lawrence's trademark wit and wordsmithery... he is simply a top notch writer. He has solidified his place in my Top 5, along with GRRM, Abercrombie, Sanderson and Pressfield... Greg Hamerton has dropped into the 6 slot... sorry, Greg... I'm sure you'll move back up once I re-read your Lifesong books again (soon)... Hey, Top 10 is still good, right!?

So, yeah, I highly recommend Lawrence, if you aren't the easily-offended type. Great characters, great worldbuilding, great dialog, memorable moments, and some wonderful surprises. Top notch story-telling. But it is gritty and bloody also. Your call.

Is that cat sleeping? Or just goofing around?

Well, I suppose I shall go grab a hoodie and go to sleep! I trust your weekend will be good one... unless you're reading this after the weekend, in which case I trust your weekend was a good one...

Adios for now,

Dave the Anticipator