25 things (it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood)

To keep things succinct, let's just say that the first 14 items in this post came from three previous posts. But now that FriendFeed has upped the ante and people are posting 25 things about themselves, it looks like the 14 items that I had previously posted were insufficient. So I've taken those 14 items and added 11 more. This allows me to compete with the other 25 things crowd, such as the Bohemian Sparkly Penguin, alphaxion, pea, Helen Sventitsky, and probably everybody else on FriendFeed. Yes, I'm getting to this late. No, I'm not trendy.

Incidentally, I have made minor edits to the original fourteen points (wow, sounds Wilsonian), including combining items 2 and 6 from the first post. And to get the links that I originally embedded in the first 14 items, you have to go back to the original posts; I was too lazy to reproduce them here.

1. About twenty years before I became "Ontario Emperor," I was hobnobbing with Presidents. Sort of. I didn't tell the whole story when I referenced this back in 2006, so I'll tell it now. During the 1977 Virginia governor's race, the Republican candidate got some heavy hitters at one of his campaign rallies. Not only did he get Bob Dole, U.S. Senator and former Vice Presidential candidate, but he also got former President Gerald Ford. I got a chance to shake Ford's hand that day (left hand, if I remember correctly). Hey, how many Presidents have YOU met?


2. I was probably using the Internet before Al Gore was. As I've mentioned in a couple of MySpace posts, I had access to Usenet while at Reed College. Reed was one of the pioneers on the Usenet network (scroll down to the summer 1980 map in this article), and Professor Richard Crandall included Pascal and UNIX use in his labs for freshman Physics. I didn't really do a lot of physics work on that DEC PDP-11/70, but I acquired some experience that has stood me in good stead to the present day. And it's been more useful to me than Professor Nicholas Wheeler's lectures on the 17th dimension. While on Usenet, one of my favorite Usenet groups was alt.non.sequitur. A sample post is here (my contribution is at the bottom of the post; true to alt.non.sequitur, it is not a sign). I eventually left Usenet after an unfortunate pizza delivery accident, and have never returned. Paddy O'Furniture is probably sad about my departure.


3. Let's continue with an explanation of the "audio artist" phrase that I've thrown around here and there. When I started as "Ontario Emperor," I used the name to post various synthetica songs on the web - originally MIDI songs generated on the Mac, then mp3 songs generated on the Mac (and released on CDs via the old mp3.com), then MIDI songs generated in Windows after I moved away from the Macintosh platform. Since mp3.com changed formats in December 2003, the only mp3 of mine that remains online is the song "Non Sequitur 15," available here. This song holds the dubious distinction of being the only Ontario Emperor song that is not an instrumental. MIDIs, by the way, can be found here, although since MIDI is (like HTML) dependent upon the presenting device, the MIDIs that were composed on the Macintosh don't sound that good on Windows. (Frankly, the MIDIs composed on Windows may not sound that good on Windows, but that's another matter entirely.)


4. As my old biography indicates, I have been published in the dinosaur traditional media. This occurred when I wrote something or another to Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columnist David Allen, who proceeded to publish it in his September 13, 1998 column. I'm vague about what was published because I have since forgotten what wise words I provided, the article is no longer available online, and I haven't taken the time to go to the library and look it up in the archives. I'm sure it was fascinating, however.


5. Ditto with my call to Poorman's "Anti-Radio" show that was referenced in my old biography; can't remember what I said. Jim "Poorman" Trenton originally came to fame by writing "poorman" restaurant reviews. He eventually became a deejay at KROQ, most famous for his participation in the "Loveline" program. He parted with KROQ, not on friendly terms, and has drifted from radio station to radio station since. In 1999 he was championing the idea of a radio show for unsigned bands; the only song that I remember from that show was the classic "I Gotta Poo." He's still around somewhere on local radio or TV, but I'm not sure where.


6. You may know that mrontemp is not my original blog, and that I've created a number of other blogs since October 2003, most notably the Ontario Empoblog. But did you know that I was a contributor to a blog that was reading through the New Testament? The blog was called Word Search, and although the blog itself no longer survives, the posts are still available as part of A Human Bean's blog. Although the identities of the individual post writers are no longer preserved (we'd rotate amongst ourselves), I found a post that was obviously written by me (it links to a bad joke in one of my old blogs).


7. I am an actor who regularly appears on stage, performing for thousands. It's true. There is a southern California performing arts organization called Children's Theatre Experience, and after my daughter had performed in several shows with the Claremont group, she let me know that they needed adult men for their production of "Fiddler on the Roof." Apparently a lot of kids approached their fathers, because several of us formally joined the cast at that point. In addition to appearing in "Fiddler on the Roof," I have also appeared in "Big River", "The Music Man", "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", and other productions. Our performances are at the Bridges Auditorium in Claremont, California, which does hold well over 2,000 people and has played host to a number of more prominent people than myself.


8. I have found that once I am at an area, I am just very very happy to stay there and not move at all. I moved into my current home in 1997 and have no desire to leave, but if I do, and I end up in Olten, Switzerland, I'll probably never want to leave there until I have to move and end up in Barrow, Alaska, and I'll never want to leave - I'll just buy bright lights in the winter.


9. We didn't get our Christmas tree up until mid-December, and wouldn't have done it except for my daughter who just started dragging it out.


10. Some of you may already know that my employer is selling my division to another company. The potential sale was announced in October, but hasn't happened yet.


11. I did not attend my usual church right before Christmas. It was still a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod church, but it was a different congregation, a different pastor, and a different type of sermon. I missed my regular pastor, who always makes a great point of having us look at the Bible reading during the sermon itself. This pastor showed a video, and while Charlie Brown is meaningful, it wasn't the same.


12. Despite my pseudonym, I have not been to Canada in a few years. Previously I would make fairly frequent business trips to Canada - mostly to Ottawa, but I have also been to Toronto, Montreal, and Orillia. Having not been there in a while, Tim Horton's actually sounds like an exotic place. You may laugh now.


13. My home computer disk was over 90% full, but we've worked on reducing it.


14. I've mentioned that I didn't avail myself of the chance to see Depeche Mode (and OMD) at the Rose Bowl, but I also missed a chance to see Jonathan Richman, even though I could have seen him for free by taking a thirty-second walk. This is again a Reed College story, but it's outside of the classroom or the lab. Every year Reed closes its spring semester with a Renaissance Fayre which has hardly anything to do with the Renaissance, but it does emphasize the "Fayre" part. One year Jonathan Richman was scheduled to play at the event. This was years after his ground-breaking work, and occurred at about the time he was singing about being a little airplane, but it was certainly a show worth seeing. Unfortunately, there was a Ferris wheel at this Ren Fayre, and after going around the wheel one time...the operator decided to send us around a second time. After that experience I wasn't up to doing anything, so I missed my chance to see Richman.


15. So how did I get to Reed College? In first class! For some unfathomable reason, when I flew out to Reed College for a campus visit, they flew me out first class. The plane was pretty much a local, because after Minneapolis it stopped in three different cities in Montana (this was the only time I ever visited Bozeman, whose airport is even smaller than the 1980s-era Ontario, California airport).


16. While that was my most interesting westbound trip, my most interesting eastbound trip was made by train in May of 1980. I left Portland and took the train to Chicago, where I visited my childhood home during a brief layover (I would not return to my boyhood home until the summer of 2008), then took the train from Chicago back to my home, arriving on Saturday. The next day Mt. St. Helens blew up.


17. I previously mentioned my early involvement in UNIX, but I was a little confused about who did what in the UNIX arena. I was first exposed to the operating system before the AT&T breakup, so the phrase "UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories" was embedded in my brain. However, the ramifications of this didn't penetrate said brain. A few years later, I was at some trade show looking at some UNIX material, and an AT&T salesman walked up. In his salesman-y way, he said something like "I'm from the company that brought you UNIX." A little confused on the concept, and thinking of the PDP-11/70 hardware, I replied, "DEC?"


18. I mentioned this in a comment to a Queen of Spain blog post, but if I say it again here I'll be one step closer to my 25 items total. My cluelessness about things goes way back. In elementary school, we were given an assignment to interview someone. I (and another girl in my class) hit upon the idea of interviewing President Richard Nixon, who lived a few miles away from us at the time in a white house in the city. I think we seriously believed that the President would sit down and talk to us, but all we got is an official letter of regret from the White House.


19. My greatest regret in life is that I didn't go to the Depeche Mode/OMD concert at the Rose Bowl (the "101" concert).


20. I was an active BBS'er in the early 1990s, visiting several Inland Empire blogs such as Deep Thought in Mt. Baldy (the first BBS I ever joined) and the Grotto in Rancho Cucamonga. I've lost touch with Starfish who ran the Grotto, but her daughter is now a webmaster for the union in which her stepfather (Bloose) works. See these posts from 2007 and 2008 for related information.


21. I have attended United Methodist and Lutheran churches during my adult life, but for a couple of years in college I attended a Pentecostal church known as World Outreach and/or Gospel Outreach. The senior pastoral family, Scott & Ellie Snedeker, had their roots in the Lighthouse Ranch, and have apparently since left Portland and gone to Eureka. The most famous member of the church was former Guatemalan President Efrain Rios Montt, who was either a hero or villain depending upon how you looked at him.


22. I'm running out of ideas, so I'll close with my attendance at games from the four major American sports. Unless there's a Cubs game in my early childhood that I don't remember, the first major league baseball game that I attended was a Washington Senators game. Frank Howard didn't get a hit.


23. Not too long after that, I attended a Baltimore Bullets game in Cold Feet House.


24. It took me a while to make it to a National Hockey League game. In fact, I didn't go to one until 2004, and that was primarily because we were hosting a Finnish exchange student who really liked hockey. The L.A. Kings lost the game.


25. Which brings me to the NFL. I have never seen a National League Football game live. Of course, I have two excuses: (1) when I was growing up, Redskins games were always sellouts, and (2) the closest NFL team to me is the San Diego Chargers.

Well, there's 25 items (unless I counted wrong). I just hope that nobody comes up with a 50 items meme.

P.S. I'd tell you the story behind the title, but that story really doesn't have to do with me.

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To everything (turn, turn, turn) there are two seasons (turn, turn, turn)

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (New International Version)

9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

When someone has been blogging since October 2003, there is obviously a potential to perform a personal type of data mining - going back into old posts, revisiting topics that were of great interest to me a couple of years ago, and the like.

This is something that I've thought about doing for some time, and in fact it's probably something that I should make a New Year's resolution about. However, if I make a New Year's resolution to leap into the archives during 2009, that will probably ensure that I won't do it, since New Year's resolutions are meant to be broken.

But I guess I'm already doing it, after a fashion. It took a Jake Kuramoto post to bring this fact home to me.

If you don't know who Jake Kuramoto is, he is an Oracle employee and the chief blogger for the Oracle AppsLab, a group within Oracle that conceives and implements various endeavors to benefit Oracle and the Oracle community.

For example, in the course of writing his year end post about the AppsLab blog, Jake touched upon one of the AppsLab's successes:

Mix left the nest.

We spent much of the first part of 2008 building new features for Mix with the help of ENTP.

No, Jake is not referring to a Myers-Briggs thingie. In this context, ENTP is actually a consultancy based in Portland, Oregon. But let's get back to what the AppsLab and ENTP did:

Marketing saw potential in Mix and made it a centerpiece of their OpenWorld 2008 efforts, including the highly popular Suggest a Session campaign.

Mix has since graduated out of the ‘Lab and into the capable hands of Marketing. This is perfect for everyone involved. One of our original goals as a lab was to keep the innovation flowing, both in and out of the team. So, when Mix was ready for primetime, it naturally went to an organization that could support its user base appropriately.

Now while I happen to be an Mix member (would that make me a Mixer?), and while I've written about Mix in the past (for example, see my post Debra Lilley gets a lift from the Oracle Mix community), that isn't why Jake mentioned me in his year-end post. This is what he said:

The 8 things meme circled the ‘tubes all year.

The controversial round of blog tagging I lobbed into the Oracle blogosphere back in January just resurfaced again, like a bad penny. Initially, I planned to track its progress, but after the blowback, I figured it was best to let sleeping dogs lie. Still, the experiment worked as planned, exposing several parts of the blogsphere, and forcing the Ontario Emperor to divulge 14 things about himself.

For those who are counting, Jake got fourteen by adding the six things I just posted with the eight things I wrote at the beginning of the year. In summary, the fourteen items are:

1. I shook Gerald Ford's hand in 1977.


2. Via Reed College's participation in Usenet, I am an Internet pioneer.


3. I used to post mp3 files.


4. David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin referred to me in a 1998 column.


5. I called Jim "Poorman" Trenton's "anti-radio" show at about the same time.


6. Via Reed College's...hey, wait, this is the same as item 2. Oops.


7. I contributed to the "Word Search" Bible study blog (R.I.P.).


8. I have acted in several stage productions.


9. I like to live wherever I am.


10. Our Christmas tree went up late in 2008.


11. My division is being sold...sometime.


12. I attended a different church on December 21, 2008.


13. I haven't been to Canada in a while.


14. My disk is full.

Well, since I really only posted thirteen things about myself (since two of the original eight items were pretty much the same thing), I guess I'd better come up with one other random item.

Here's a good one - I've mentioned that I didn't avail myself of the chance to see Depeche Mode (and OMD) at the Rose Bowl, but I also missed a chance to see Jonathan Richman, even though I could have seen him for free by taking a thirty-second walk. This is again a Reed College story, but it's outside of the classroom or the lab. Every year Reed closes its spring semester with a Renaissance Fayre which has hardly anything to do with the Renaissance, but it does emphasize the "Fayre" part. One year Jonathan Richman was scheduled to play at the event. This was years after his ground-breaking work, and occurred at about the time he was singing about being a little airplane, but it was certainly a show worth seeing. Unfortunately, there was a Ferris wheel at this Ren Fayre, and after going around the wheel one time...the operator decided to send us around a second time. After that experience I wasn't up to doing anything, so I missed my chance to see Richman.

But, by the way, I already wrote about Reed's Renaissance Fayre in response to a Pownce item.

The Pownce item was written by Jake Kuramoto.

Yeah, this is one of those subtle connections between things.

P.S. for people checking out my post title. The verse cited by the Byrds, and Pete Seeger, is actually found in Ecclesiastes 3. But if you're allowed to use Wikipedia, you already know that.

P.P.S. For those who say that my two meme posts were written in one season, not two...you're right. But they were two SEPARATE winters, weren't they?

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Why didn't I name Al "I am in charge Haig" in my last post?

In my post Powerful subordinates - good points, bad points, it all works out, I named two members of the Executive Branch who caused untold grief for the Presidents whom they theoretically served.

The two that I named were Douglas MacArthur, who reported to Commander in Chief Harry Truman, and James Schlesinger, who reported to three Presidents (Nixon, Ford, and Carter).

Perhaps you're wondering why I didn't name Al Haig. One of the reasons that Schlesinger took his action with Nixon's Joint Chiefs of Staff was because of a fear that Nixon would relay an order to Haig rather than through the official chain of command. Even Gerald Ford was uncomfortable with Haig's suggestion to then Vice President Ford that Ford could pardon Nixon after becoming president. But Haig is most famous for his "I am in charge" remark after President Reagan was shot. And yes, I'm familiar with Haig's performance that day; I almost said "I am in charge" while I was on stage at Bridges.

In case you're not familiar with Haig's role on March 30, 1981, here's an account:

One of the oddest events that day involved the behavior of Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who appeared in the White House Press Room to announce that he was in charge while Reagan was in surgery.

In truth, Vice President George H.W. Bush was in the air on his way back to Washington, and evidently Haig wanted to assure the country that someone (namely himself) was running things even though Bush was in telephonic communication. Even as Reagan lay on the operating table, Haig told other administration officials that he considered himself constitutionally in charge at that moment, according to tapes of the conversation. To many critics, Haig revealed an overweening ambition by making this somewhat comic announcement to the world. (He later ran for presidency and lost).

Here's another perspective:

As Reagan underwent surgery, members of his administration met in the Situation Room at the White House to discuss the crisis. Among them was Secretary of State Alexander Haig (1924–). One thing they discussed was who was in charge while the president was in surgery. According to tapes of the meeting released in 2001, Haig said, "So the helm is right here. And that means right in this chair for now, constitutionally, until the vice president gets here." Haig repeated the statement at a press conference soon afterwards, saying, "As of now, I am in control here in the White House pending return of the vice president."

But Haig was subsequently defended by Edwin Meese:

During a Larry King Live television program on the twentieth anniversary of the assassination attempt, former attorney general Edwin Meese III (1931–) said criticism of Haig had been unfair: "[Haig] had heard from the press room that the statement was made that they weren't sure who was in charge, and he went bounding up there. And I think that was really his motivation, to make it clear to foreign leaders that we were not adrift and there was no vacuum."

While this whole episode is troubling, I don't put it at the same level as Schlesinger's intentional disregard of Nixon and Ford, and it's definitely not at the same level as MacArthur's open insubordination. As far as is known, Haig did not use his "in charge" authority to do anything contrary to Reagan's (or Bush's) intentions.

For the record, George H.W. Bush had much more common sense. Wikipedia recounts a story that also appears in a Bush autobiography:

On March 30, 1981, early into the administration, Reagan was shot and seriously wounded in Washington, D.C. Bush, second in command by the presidential line of succession, was in Dallas, Texas and flew back to Washington immediately. Reagan's cabinet convened in the White House Situation Room, where they discussed various issues, including the availability of the nuclear football. When Bush's plane landed, his aides advised him to proceed directly to the White House by helicopter, as an image of the government still functioning despite the attack. Bush rejected the idea, responding, "only the president lands on the South Lawn." This made a positive impression on Reagan,[26] who recovered and returned to work within two weeks. From then on, the two men would have regular Thursday lunches in the Oval Office; Reagan admired Bush's continued loyalty to him and the administration.

For more information on Bush's views on subordination to the President, see this biography from the U.S. Senate. And, for a clearer picture, note how Dan Quayle refrained from criticizing Bush when he was Bush's vice president; the example had been set.

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Whatever happened to Rich Hall?

Or, "Riippumatta siitä, mitä tapahtui Rich Hall?"

Let's jump back to the thrilling days of Saturday Night Live. Back before the woman with the glasses - whoops, sorry - did the news, there were all sorts of people that sat behind the Weekend Update desk. Of all of these luminaries, my favorite in that role was Brad Hall. He didn't smirk his way through the news like Chevy Chase, Dennis Miller, and some others did, and he didn't show us his bra like Jane Curtin did (not that I would have cared). Brad Hall just delivered the news, looking serious and professional, which heightened the contrast between his behavior and the so-called news he was reporting.

But I'm not talking about Brad Hall. I'm talking about Rich Hall - whoops, sorry - who was on in a later season. I never heard of him again.

Until now:

Comedy fans in Finland rejoice! Legendary American comedian and former Saturday Night Light cast member, Rich Hall, will be performing at the Peacock Theatre in Linnanmaki this Wednesday Night along Canadian comic Craig Campbell.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like something that should be starring Bill Murray, with Paul Shaffer tinkling on the keys.


via videosift.com

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"High School Musical" meets "South Park"

Considering the Saturday public performance of "High School Musical on Stage!" in Claremont, California this afternoon, this is timely.

PopEater shared this South Park clip about kids at a school who want to follow their own dreams.



The entire episode is here.

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A quick update on "High School Musical on Stage!"

Before Theatre Experience of Southern California gives its public performance of "High School Musical on Stage!", it will give several field trip performances for local schools. We gave the first two of those performances today.

We have been preparing for today's performances for several months, starting in the early summer. Everyone has met for a minimum of one hour per week, almost every week, for the last few months. (Some of the more key people met for an additional 45 minutes every week, but I wasn't one of those key people.)

But those rehearsals constituted only half of our rehearsal time (at least for the non-key folks). We also participated in four six-hour rehearsal sessions on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This was the first time that the entire cast was gathered together for rehearsals (during our one-hour sessions, the different age groups met separately). This basically gave us 24 hours to put the entire show together.

This show is a special challenge, since none of us (including the director) have ever performed the show before. Therefore, there was a lot of figuring out what to do, what would work on stage, what would work with this cast, etc. Often we try to stage a run-through of the entire show during our 24 hours of rehearsal, but we weren't able to do so this time.

Despite this, both field trip shows went well, although the second was admittedly better than the first. My most amusing moment occurred when a piece of the set was moved - while I was still standing on it. (Trust me, this enhanced my subsequent Al Haig "I'm in charge" routine significantly.)

Two more field trip performances on Friday, then the public show on Saturday at 2:00 pm. I'd do more to promote the Saturday show, but it may already be sold out. (You can double check with Bridges Auditorium or Ticketmaster to confirm this, but last I heard there was a waiting list for seats.)

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High School Musical conflicts duplicate themselves IRL

Much of the conflict in Act Two of the "High School Musical" musical revolves around the fact that Troy's basketball game and Gabriella's science decathlon both occur at the same time as the callbacks for the high school production of "Juliet and Romeo."

I have already noted that one of the ensemble performances of "High School Musical" conflicts with the "Shakeout" earthquake drill which will take place on Thursday, November 13, at 10:00 am Pacific Standard Time.

So I was amused to read this press release:

International Biometric Group announces its upcoming webcast on November 13 at 1 p.m. EST and availability of the Biometrics Market and Industry Report 2009-2014.

Melissa - I mean, Taylor - time for some fancy action with that laptop of yours.

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Jeff Whitty demonstrates reason

I just ran across this statement made by Jeff Whitty (note: NOT Marc Shaiman), one of the co-creators of "Avenue Q," regarding Whitty's reaction to Scott Eckern's support of Proposition 8:

"There's a great degree of hue and cry over getting Mr. Eckern fired," [Whitty] wrote. "I've searched my soul about this. I'm instinctively not comfortable with the idea of his dismissal, though my activist side still whispers, 'Punish!'

"I fear for what Mr. Eckern's dismissal would say about theater: that there's only room for the pro-gay crowd. In a way, if we only allow people we agree with, if we only allow people who share a broad sympathy for the human condition, then we become one of those dreaded fantasy 'elites.'"

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On the prospect of Proposition 8 creating two economies (and yes, the "stage" label for this post is appropriate)

Just about the time I got tired of my Proposition 8 political posts, I began to have more opportunity to post some "stage" stuff about theatrical productions.

"Whew," I thought to myself. "If I concentrage on stage for a few days, that'll clear the political stuff out of the blog."

As Jim Bakker once said, I was wrong.

John Aravosis at AMERICABlog writes about the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento, its artistic director Scott Eckern (described by Aravosis as "a nice Mormon boy").

Incidentally, the California Musical Theatre site includes a biography of Eckern:

Scott Eckern (Artistic Director) joined California Musical Theatre in the summer of 1984 as co-director of the prestigious Music Circus internship program sponsored by American River College, where he was an adjunct professor of theatre arts. In succeeding years, he assumed a variety of artistic and administrative positions at the theatre while continuing his teaching career during the academic year. In due course he became a tenured professor in the drama and dance department at Stockton's University of the Pacific. An actor, musician, director and playwright in his own right with a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts from University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from Brigham Young University. Mr. Eckern left academia in 1993 for a full-time appointment as California Musical Theatre's general manager. In 2002, he was named the company's artistic director. In that position, he provides CMT's overall artistic vision and direction and is responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the organization. Mr. Eckern is president of the League of Sacramento Theatres and sits on the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. He served as the producer of the Sacramento Temple Youth Cultural Celebration, More Precious Than Gold, at Arco Arena and is the recipient of BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications Honored Alumni award. He is also an adjunct professor of theatre at Sacramento State University and American River College.Mr. Eckern and his wife, Paula, have three children: Lauren, Erik and Bryan.

Aravosis also writes about Eckern's October 12 donation of $1,000 to the Yes on 8 folks (or, as Aravosis described it, "the hateful bigoted Yes on 8 campaign"). To see it, search here.

All right and fine, and Eckern has the right to do this. And Marc Shaiman (composer of "Hairspray") also has the right to prohibit the California Musical Theatre from presenting any of his shows. Details are in this Susan Egan letter:

Subject: California Music Theatre - Scott Eckern

Dear Friends --

I thought you might be interested to know that Scott Eckern, Artsitic Director of California Music Theatre (Sacramento Music Circus) contributed $1000 in support of California's divisive Proposition 8, which eliminates (not just bans) the right for same-sex couples to marry and receive all of the emotional, economic, and social benefits that married couples often take for granted. Mr. Eckern's affiliation with CMT, as well as his title and the amount donated to legislate the lives of others, is public information that can be found at

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://antigayblacklist.com

Marc Shaiman, composer (most notably of "Hairspray", which was produced at CMT last year) has already contacted Sacramento's CMT and expressed his disgust with the idea that a theatrical organization, employing and making money from gay artists and audience members, harbors an executive who uses a portion of his income to publicly support hate legislation (my term). I believe Mr. Shaiman may have told them they would no longer be allowed to produce his work, and has contacted the creators of "Avenue Q" (to be produced in March of '09) to enlighten them.

I am deeply troubled by the news about Scott, as I have worked for and known him since 1993. I find his behavior hypocritical at best and, more likely, distressingly prejudiced. Many of you friends who, like myself, have worked for Scott might be floored to know this news. I think at this point I shall do my best to "out" him and any others like him. Folks who show (and make money) playing one game, but with an inner intolerance that denies everything our industry represents.

I have personally been in contact with Marc Shaiman to confirm all the information. In his words:

"Yes, it's all true! Of course, there is nothing much I can do since they've already done HAIRSPRAY, but the AVE Q guys (at least one of them) may do something, perhaps picket his own show! But, as I hope people realize, it is not really up to a writer to cancel a production that has already been licensed.

What I could do I did, which was to call Mr. Eckern directly and say what I had to say.

Reading this past week how people still actually think being gay is a choice (the only choice we make is not to lie about who we are) and that that one line from a beautiful book proves we are sinners (a book that also allows for the stoning of wives and of people who wear two different kinds of fabric at the same time), well, I am starting to feel that the only way to make people change is, I think, to now greet every person I meet and say "Hi, I'm Marc, God made me gay and I think that that He and I are both fabulous!" and leave the rest up to them."

Sacramento Music Circus holds a cherished place in my heart, primarily because of Leland Ball and the inspirational talents he would gather for his productions. I feel the spirit of Leland is lost under Scott's leadership. As a private citizen I choose not to support California Music Theatre while it operates under Mr. Eckern's tenure.

I support Marc Shaiman in his boycott of CMT, and hope others will follow -- as ticket-buyers, writers, musical directors, crew, designers and performers and more.

I feel compelled to write because I have heard from so many beloved friends the last few days. People who are in every way caring and generous citizens. Friends who are for the most part very quiet on the political front, who have had to awaken because of last Tuesday, due to their shock that their lifestyles are not "accepted" by so-called friends!! The irony of electing Obama and Prop 8 passing astounds me.

I am not ordinarily a political fighter, but I do believe in information for all, and let them decide. And more than anything I believe in "holding the space" for what is right.

In support of my gay and lesbian friends I find it a travesty that the entire arts community is not standing in solidarity for equal rights. Shame on Scott.

That our industry should be the first to raise money and awareness for AIDS to the result of awakening a country and world to the issue ... well then, marriage (and every other sort of) equality is a no-brainer ... and a duty and obligation.

I hope with this email to find others to "hold the space" with me .... full equality in marriage rights. If you should feel compelled to pass the information about Scott Eckern on to others .... by all means do.

Hoping for change .... still,

Susan Egan

Now before one argues that Shaiman himself is engaging in anti-Mormon bigotry, it should be noted that Shaiman would presumably be happy to have his productions staged by theaters that employ "nice Mormon boys" that happen to agree that same-sex marriage should be allowed by civil authorities. Or at least I think Shaiman would allow this.

But, on the other hand, what if the California Musical Theatre encounters a significant decline in revenue, and reaches the conclusion that the only way to save the theatre is to terminate Scott Eckern's employment?

And what if Eckern then argues that said employment termination violated his Federal First Amendment rights of free spech and freedom to practice his religion? Heck, even prisoners have First Amendment rights to practice religion:

Wilkinson v. Flagner (2001-2002)

Issue Whether an Ohio prison grooming regulation requiring an Orthodox Hasidic Jewish inmate to shave his beard violated his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

Lower Court 6th Circuit

Lower Court Ruling First Amendment claim sustained. (opinion) Sixth Circuit order: "Flagner may bring an as-applied challenge to the Ohio prison grooming regulation and that there is a factual dispute on the Issue of whether the defendants have a valid penological interest."

Thus, the California Musical Theatre could conceivably be between a rock and a hard place if the boycott proves effective.

Or it may be that the California Musical Theatre's budget is not impacted, and in fact increases. Imagine if the American Family Association, Focus on the Family, et al launched a reverse of a boycott, and encouraged its members to patronize the theatre?

The irony of this is that Barack Obama, like George W. Bush before him, promoted himself as a bipartisan bridger of gaps. But this gap may be too big to bridge.

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The art of underwhelming activity - more stories from Bridges

Because Theatre Experience of Southern California (a/k/a Children's Theatre Experience of Southern California) is an ensemble group, it takes time to emphasize the ensemble aspects of performing. Basically, while Andrew and Tory and the rest are running around advancing the story, the rest of us have a job to do. I've already mentioned that everyone needs to know who they are and why they're on stage - perhaps someone is walking to the cafeteria to get an extra-delicious mango - and as we're in the final rehearsals for our "High School Musical" performances later this week, all of us are getting our individual stories in place.

This, of course, gives me an opportunity for continued over-analysis, and I sort of take advantage of it.

But I have to do it carefully, since the ensemble has to make sure that they are complementing the main cast members, not overwhelming them. There's a particular scene where I am pontificating at great length, but you won't hear a word of it. In fact, I won't hear a word of it either. That's because, while we're all actively doing stuff, we're just mouthing the words.

In my case, I am engaged in a dialogue with some non-high school students who are asking me question. I am not a lip reader by any means, so in reality I wasn't able to make out most of their questions, with two exceptions:

What time is it?

I have to go to the bathroom.

No, the person didn't have to go to the bathroom. I don't think.

I respond to these real and imagined questions off the top of my head, sometimes indicating a watch, sometimes indicating the mechanisms of a combination lock (an important skill that future high schoolers must master), and sometimes I speak about...science.

But very carefully. It would not be appropriate for me to echo Professor Chrestenson's proof conclusion (see the last bullet in this post), so instead I speak of the joys of the scientific method. Well, I have been throwing in this one line:

She blinded me with science!

But even if I spoke the words aloud, my young audience wouldn't get the reference.



Pity.

(And yes, the next time I give my silent speech, I could very well say "She blinded me with science. Yes, I blogged about it.")

P.S. to a few of you that caught it - yes, I am well-aware of the parallels between the allegations of narcissism on FriendFeed and narcissism in theatrical performance. All I can say is - if the shoe fits, you still have to make sure it's the right type of shoe.

P.P.S. Yes, I'm probably the first person to cite the Fly Lady and Thomas Dolby in the same post.

P.P.P.S. Yes, Homer and Marge are silent also. Then again, no one's brought donuts yet.

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More on the "High School Musical" musical

As I've previously mentioned, I'm preparing to appear as part of the ensemble (as a teacher) in a stage production of "High School Musical."

Our group is not the first one to have done this. And we haven't won an award for our production. Of course, our first performance is next Thursday, so it would be kinda hard to win anything.

USA Today has presented an award, however:

Since it exploded onto the scene two years ago, Disney's "High School Musical" quickly became one of the most widely produced shows in -- where else? -- America's high schools.

This year, USA WEEKEND created a special Showstopper award to recognize the best among those productions, in partnership with Disney Theatrical Productions.

The honor goes to Pickerington High School North in Pickerington, Ohio.

North, not East?

Among the show's attributes were a two-level stage set, a seven-piece live band, crisp choreography and dynamic ensemble performances.

But take a look for yourself:

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Over-analyzing a theatrical role - the amalgamation of MVO

Children's Theatre Experience of Southern California is transforming itself into The Theatre Experience of Southern California, partially because of parental involvement in the program. (I got involved in my first production with CTE when kids ran home to recruit their dads for "Fiddler on the Roof.")

While the program is primarily an ensemble program, you always find that you end up doing something that involves some character development. Even if your task is to walk across the stage, you still need to answer some basic questions. This Google Books result (Singing and the Actor by Gillyanne Kayes), while tailored toward singers, could also be adapted to apply to actors:

1. WHO? (Who are you? Know your age, your status, gender, and so on.)


2. WHY? (Why are you singing the song? What do you want to achieve by the end of it? How is that a useful stepping stone in the larger journey of the play or musical?)


3. WHAT? (What exactly are you saying in the song?)


4. WHERE? (Where are you as you sing? Be as specific as you can.)


5. WHEN? (When does the song occur? What has happened before and after the song?)

We happen to use a slightly different formulation in our group, but this illustrates the preparation that an actor should make, even when part of an ensemble cast.

Over the years, I have played roles big and small, and have often over-analyzed trivialities. In 2005, I wondered how to hold a flugelhorn I would never hold, and also wondered what Harold Hill's real name was (I don't think it's Greg). Earlier in 2005, I obsessed over a cigar I would never smoke (and did it again last month, before a costume event). Earlier this year, I even obsessed about a corporate still photo shoot. And don't even get me started on fake moustaches.

So now I'm involved in a stage production of "High School Musical." Or, as I put it some time ago, "High School Musical" (the musical). And I have a few lines. But it's not a big thing - in the script, the character isn't even supposed to be on stage (it's a voiceover); however, in our production the character will be on stage. Script-wise, the character is referred to in the script as "Moderator," and the character's sole purpose is to referee a science decathlon in which Gabriella participates.

Well, that's what the script says. I say that the Moderator is there to save the school from itself.

I don't know if the movie is like this (I've never seen the movie), but in the play, you have three things going on simultaneously - a basketball game, theater auditions, and a science decathlon. We know how the basketball coach and the drama teacher believe that their programs serve to build the character of the participants.

I'm going to tell you why they're full of it.

From the script, you can see that the moderator is not a faculty member at the school. So, unlike Coach Bolton and Ms. Darbus, the moderator can approach these competitions with a sense of independence, not inflamed by the partisan passions that consume Bolton and Darbus. (This, incidentally, is why Ms. McKessie's behavior during the decathlon is so distressing.)

In addition, the moderator is privileged to participate in a truly beneficial intellectual endeavor. While the moderator is not inflamed with detrimental passions, the moderator can appreciate the aesthetic qualities inherent in those items that humanity explores by reasonable and rational methods.

(Aside: during one rehearsal, when the director asked about character motiviation, I actually gave a short speech about the superior nature of the sciences vs. other disciplines.)

So this preparation, as well as other things lurking in my mind which have not yet yielded themselves to the inquiry of discovery, help to inform me how the moderator would behave in two specific situations - and in other situations, since the character will be onstage (but not speaking) during other portions of the play.

1. The problem of school spirit. Because of the serious nature of the inquiry, a science decathlon should be conducted under controlled conditions. In his visits to the school over the previous couple of days, the moderator has noticed unusual behavior among the student body - behavior which can be summed up under the derogatory term "school spirit." When this school spirit even infects the controlled nature of the decathlon, the moderator is not pleased. Not pleased at all.


2. The problem of electrical behavior outside the norm. When looking at the world, one makes assumptions (I could call it "faith," but that's the topic for a whole separate blog post.) One assumes, based upon past occurrences, that the sun will rise in the morning. One assumes, again based upon past occurrences, that if you throw something in the air, it will land on the ground. And finally, one assumes that if the electrical power at a school is working properly, it will continue to work properly through the end of the science decathlon. What happens if one of these hypotheses is suddenly, dramatically proved false?

Now, of course this is not the only way to look at this character. For example, one could assume that the moderator is in on the whole plot to get Troy and Gabriella into the theater, and that he (again, as the independent observer in the whole affair) realizes that Gabriella truly belongs on stage with Troy. However, in my portrayal I can't give the character that much kindless. Or that much prescience; after all, I am expert in playing clueless characters.

Which brings me to the sources that I am using to portray the character. I don't know of anyone (save perhaps myself) who is so narrow-minded about the advantages of one educational discipline vs. other educational disciplines. But, over the years, I have encountered people who love the sciences. Since I was stronger in math than in the physics, chemistry, or biology, it's math teachers and professors that come to mind:

• Donald Stover. If someone asks me what the moderator's name is, I'll say that it's "Donald Stover." He was my calculus teacher during my senior year in high school, and one of the people that I asked for a recommendation when I applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Incidentally, I didn't get into MIT (which in the long run was probably a good thing), but even if he gave me a poor recommendation ("he's good, but not THAT good"), I'd definitely still respect him for it. Mr. Stover tended to be a relaxed, easygoing guy, unlike...


• Hugh Chrestenson. I encountered Professor Chrestenson during my freshman year in college. Physically he differed from Mr. Stover; while Mr. Stover had a beard, Professor Chrestenson was clean-shaven and had a buzz cut. (Living in Portland at the time, I immediately assumed that Professor Chrestenson was Tom Peterson's long-lost brother.) Our first semester laid the theoretical groundwork for our future exploration, and Professor Chrestenson would sometimes be consumed by joy as he worked through a proof; he'd be going through things step by step, and suddenly exclaim, "Dammit, it just works!"

I'm not making a conscious effort to mimic either of these people, but I'm keeping them in mind as I think about how MY "Donald Stover" would react in certain situations. There's other characters knocking around in there, including the Reed College professors who were so impoverished that a Sunday night at the Sizzler was their big night out, and even Alexander "I am in charge" Haig (who I believe has gotten a bad rap, but who was undeniably put on the spot in a challenging situation).

So that's where I stand. Although I really wanted to be, like, a skater dude in the play, but I have like gnarly gray hair and stuff, so that was OUT.

P.S. For further background on this post, please see the real Donald Stover's teacher rankings from ratemyteachers.com. You may also want to see how an impromptu ECONOMICS lesson from Hugh Chrestenson changed a student's life.

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KOET Undead - The "Thrill the World" Thriller Dance is Held

They did it. Franklin Avenue shares the evidence.

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Darkness falls across the land

From Franklin Avenue:

If you're looking for a different way to celebrate the holiday, you might want to consider joining in on L.A.'s mass "Thriller" group dance.

The event is part of Thrill the World, a global effort to get as many people dancing the "Thriller" as possible.

The local Thrillers, or whatever you call them, have a MySpace page.

Vincent Price is not expected to join the festivities.

And if you have never heard of this dance, watch the video. My favorite line: "I'm not like other guys."

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No, I didn't forget. I'm chilling.

Last Friday I promised a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of this post.
http://mrontemp.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-glasses-time-non-blind-vision.html

I still haven't made the B.A. yet, 'cause I've been chilling.

Yup, I've been listening to Sirius Chill on DISH Network, and writing down names of songs to add to my last.fm playlist.

But I promise that I'll make my stupid BIG ANNOUNCEMENT before my next RGP dance party. (Don't ask. It's incredibly geeky.)

And I also have to say why I love comment fragmentation (seriously), revisit company announcements of employee terminations, continue to look at third party presidential candidates, see what happens in Lambeth, and talk about "High School Musical" (the musical).

Or perhaps I'll bag it all and search for Doctor Orange (the "Taco Taco Taco" guy)...

[WEDNESDAY 7/16 8:00 - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT MADE.]
[WEDNESDAY 7/16 12:45 - ADDRESSED COMMENT FRAGMENTATION.]
[WEDNESDAY 7/16 1:00 - REVISITED EMPLOYEE TERMINATION ANNOUNCEMENTS.]
[FRIDAY 7/18 5:10 - FOLLOWUP ON JOHN COX.]

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The lyrical intricacies of Roger Miller and John Lennon

Several years ago, I had an opportunity to appear in the Children's Theatre Experience production of "Big River." One of the things that I gained from that opportunity (other than some knowledge about cigars) was an appreciation of the music of the late Roger Miller, who had the ability to write songs that were simultaneously extremely silly and deadly serious. When you listen to "You Ought to Be Here With Me," for example, you don't know whether to laugh, cry, or both.

I was musing on this while listening to Side 3 of "The Beatles" (a/k/a the White Album) in the car this morning and thinking about John Lennon. Sure, he had his moments, such as the time he took the Communist Manifesto and repackaged it as a sing-along. But I'm not sure if he ever exceeded what he did with "Yer Blues," which (to my count) works on four levels.

• First off, you can look at it as a straight "Beatles Do The Blues" workout. The Beatles were able to mimic a number of popular sounds of the day, including Motown and country, so why not do the blues?


• On second thought, perhaps it's just a wild parody of a blues song. Take your average "I feel real bad" Mississippi blue song, then take the lyrics to extreme "Dead Man's Curve" levels. Yes I'm lonely. Wanna die?!?


• Then again, perhaps the model for this song isn't "Dead Man's Curve," but "I'm a Loser." When that earlier Beatles song was released, the idea of Johnny Moptop being a loser was ridiculous to the public, but life at the toppermost of the poppermost ain't all it's cracked up to be. And with all of the friction going on in his life at the time, perhaps Lennon really did want to die.


• But a fourth interpretation is possible. After the singer says he wants to die, he then notes that if he isn't dead already, "Girl you know the reason why." In other words, this whole thing is a love song to Yoko.

Now I'm not knocking musicians who don't work on multiple levels, many of whom write very effective songs. In fact, Lennon himself wrote some pretty direct songs that couldn't be misinterpreted. But it's interesting to delve into the music of people like Miller and Lennon and find the intricacies within.

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Short Attention Span Theater - Big Lots

ACT ONE

SCENE

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Short Attention Span Theater - Al Gore's Radio

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

In an eco-friendly Tennessee shack

AL GORE: I'm going to listen to the radio.

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Short Attention Span Theater - Mildura

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

In Ontario,

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Short Attention Span Theater - A Rhodesian in Saigon

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

Behind the

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