Experiment Farm

Shorts

2009-11-10T11:17:00.001-08:00

I've been out of touch with the blogosphere for almost a week. My
Reader is probably overflowing.

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I don't know the word count on the play I'm writing 'cuz it's all hand
written at this point, but I hit that point of "is this going to be
entertaining to anyone other than me?" Which while nerve wracking is
an important point to hit I think.

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If Gerry Fuast could go undefeated against Navy, what's wrong with Charlie Weis?

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Sent from my mobile device

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Let It Snow! an Improvised Holiday Musical
November 19 - December 19
http://www.un-scripted.com

http://www.experimentfarm.com

Project Runway 6, Episdoe 12:

2009-11-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Wha… what? Wait a minute. So they are only having a final 3 this year? Ok, on the one hand, thank god. My dream of a final three with only three designers showing has become a reality. On the other hand, how bad is it that I had no idea they were eliminating two people last night until Heidi mentioned it in the runway show intro?

Double Elimination
I cannot comprehend how the producers didn’t think the double elimination merited even a mention. Instead they made sure to let us see Irina and Gordana bickering, rather than use the fact that only 3 of the designers were moving on to fashion week as an opportunity to raise the stakes and build tension throughout the episode. They had a whole year to find footage of someone mentioning the double elimination, and if they didn’t have any usable footage then #1 shame on the producers for not asking the right leading questions during taping and #2 they had a whole year to bring someone back into the studio to record a voiceover and insert it over footage of the designers running around looking for a sewing machine bobbin. A technique they’re intimately familiar with as close to 50% of Heidi’s comments during judging and eliminations are obviously voiceovers added in post. Somehow it just didn’t figure into their arch for the show, the only excuse for which is shear incompetence.

Bad TV
I’m sorry, but this season has just been some bad TV. You can only blame so much of it on the designers being a rather bland nondescript bunch. (What was Christopher smoking saying he was the “wacky” one? The last word I would use to describe Christopher is “wacky”.) How was Michael Kors not one of the judges for the final challenge? That’s inexcusable. I’m sorry, you build your shooting schedule around him being available for the last challenge. And what was the point of the mayor’s cameo? Oh, right. There wasn’t one. And the challenges were all pretty lazy. As you sit there right now reading this, can you remember one of them? Their non-traditional materials challenge was paper. PAPER. That’s not a non-traditional material for clothing. I liked that challenge, but not as their non-traditional challenge. Ugh. Bad, bad TV.

Heidi
Whatever Chirstopher was smoking, Heidi must have had some too. She actually said “Christopher has made some beautiful garments the last two weeks”. Now, true, the challenges only span a day or two in real time. So her two weeks could have encompassed the entire shooting schedule of the show, but even so he’d spent 5 consecutive challenges in the bottom three.

Nondescript
Whoa, suddenly we get some character development and backstory on Irina. Where did that come from? It made me realize that I don’t know anything about any of these people, except that Christopher was self-taught and from Minnesota. I didn’t know that Carol Hannah was self-taught until she mentioned it on the runway. They’ve made a lot out of Gordana’s immigrant status and history, but suddenly Irina is an immigrant too? Might have been nice to mention that earlier. Anyone know anything about Althea? Cuz I don’t. That ladies and gentlemen is more bad producing.

The Final 3 and the Losers
No surprises here, thank god. Gordana made a beautiful dress, but was still sent packing because she had no real point of view. Christopher made a nice top, but screwed up the skirt and finally went home because he wasn’t skilled enough to have made it as far as he did, let alone go to Bryant Park. Irina’s dress was strange, but a good strange. After ripping on Gordana for not taking a risk, the judges weren’t going to send Althea home for taking a risk that didn’t quite pay off. Carol Hannah’s dress was pretty but had nothing to do with the challenge. I guess that was ok this time, where it had been unforgivable in previous challenges.

What’s Next?
Two more boring, poorly edited hours of watching the three designers bicker until Irina finally wins. Yawn.

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

2009-11-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd (or by God's mercy*)
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring. (Holla*)
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!

Shorts

2009-11-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Paris as a Star Map

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fred lebain: a spring in new york (follow the link for more images)

via This Isn't Happiness

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14 Who-Knew? Uses for Your Microwave

Damn Yankees

2009-11-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it seemed pretty clear all year that baseball was doing everything in it's power to get the Yankees their 27th Championship. I predicted they'd make the World Series come hell or high water.

Now the Phillies are doing everything they can to get the Yankees the win. Not only did they inexplicably not start Cliff Lee yesterday, Brandon Lidge finally exploded giving up 3 runs to the Yankees with 2 outs in the 9th.

After a marathon at bat, Johnny Damon reached base in the 9th with 2 outs and then proceeded to steal two bases on one pitch because no one was covering third base:

If it weren't the Yankees, it'd be really cool to watch.

D'oh Shorts

2009-11-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Paw Paw, MI in the news: If it's not a heart in a car wash, it's a truck pushing a wheelchair down Red Arrow Highway. I just hope it wasn't my Dad driving.

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Funny headline from a sports page (any more info would spoil it).

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Busy secretary costs Pepsi $1.26 billion.

This Year's Halloween Story

2009-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Johnny's Road

Johnny’s parents often forgot about him. It’s hard to blame them, really; he was a small quiet boy, easy to miss if you weren’t looking specifically for him. He even got the feeling his own stuffed animals forgot who he was from time to time...

Halloween

2009-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Nosferatu animated GIF

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From This Isn't Happiness

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Very old Halloween photos

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"Don't mind if I do!"

Project Runway 6, Episode 11: Ho Hum

2009-10-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

After this episode, I had to stop and ask myself “Why am I still watching this?” There’s really nothing compelling about any of these designers or their work. I’m only watching out of loyalty to the show. Next season better be better than this. Fortunately Project Run Gay reported that Nina and Michael will be in every episode of Season 7.

The Challenge
I really liked using the designer’s past looks as inspiration as the challenge. Although it did make it glaringly obvious that Logan had never won a challenge. I think a better challenge would have been to use someone else’s design as their inspiration. Oh, wait, that’s what happened anyway.

The Winner:
In the Great Sweater Battle, Althea and her Sweater with Boobs edged out Irina and her Sweater with Bordello Wallpaper to take the title. I guess sweater looks were big last fall. For some reason Althea’s suddenly being edited to look like a bitch. She and Irina went through some strange junior-high BFF to Worst-Enemies cycle in last night’s episode. Now I don’t like either of them.

The Loser:
Voldemort continued his string of 5 consecutive appearances in the bottom 3 without being eliminated. I guess Heidi was lying when she told Mitchell “Three strikes and you’re out”. He must still have the judges under an Imperius Curse because there was nothing redeeming about his Bed Skirt Dress. Of course Logan got auf’d on his 4th consecutive trip to the final 3 and 5th overall. His Bride of Frankenstein in Space outfit was so bad. I just wish they’d eliminated both of them and been done with it. (And how bad is the editing when I could tell from last week's previews that Logan was going to get eliminated this week?)

Final Four?
From the previews of next week, it appears this year they’re picking a final four instead of a final three. I don’t know why I find this so upsetting. Looking back, there was only one season previously with a final four (Season 3). Sure every other time at least 4 designers showed at fashion week because fashion week always happened before the episode aired to reveal the final 3. So, on the one hand, why not just have a final 4? On the other, because of Project Runway’s legal issues, they could have only let 3 designers show for the first time ever.

Maybe it’s because I just think of the show has having a final three not a final four? Maybe it’s because I’d rather see a three-person finale and get to see more of each designer’s back story, process, and collection? Maybe it’s because it makes it that much easier for Voldemort to show at Bryant Park?

I mean seriously, I can’t think of anything more frightening that having to watch him send an entire collection down the runway.

The Judges
It was fun to see Nick come back and judge, even if he did look really nervous shuffling through his note cards. And, yay, Kerry Washington was a judge. As I mention every time she pops up on a TV screen, I went to college with Kerry. She was so nice.

Hey Lifetime
It'd be nice if your Project Runway website featured more than just video clips and photos. Can you not afford a writer? Oh, and it would be nice if your links worked. None of the "Rate Their Design" links in the designer's profiles actually take you to their design.

Halloween Everyday

2009-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

I will post this year's Halloween story tonight at midnight, but to tide you over until then, I finally got around to putting my 2007 story up:

Halloween Everyday

Out the Office Window: Sunset

2009-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, technically this isn't out my office window, but from the balcony at ACT where we rehearsed the other night.

Shorts

2009-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

'Monster Shark' Chomps Into Great White! Where's the giant octopus when you need it?

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This is really sad. This is not going to help revive Detroit:

Detroit house auction flops for urban wasteland

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I remember trying to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special when it aired when I was a about 4 years old and a rabid Star Wars fan. I didn't make it through 5 minutes. I've still never made it through all of it, and I never will.

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Stunning Views of Glaciers From Space

Spooky Shorts

2009-10-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Many months ago when Stacy’s was closing, I bought The New Annotated Dracula by Bram Stoker, Leslie S. Klinger, Janet Byrne, and Neil Gaiman. I finally started reading it a few weeks ago in preparation for the release of the sequel. Unfortunately it’s annotated using the conceit that the events of the book actually happened and Bram Stoker covered up the real identities of those involved. I say “unfortunately” because it’s damned annoying. The true annotations are really interesting and the references to Stoker’s notes are fascinating. I just wish it had all been done straight. Instead Klinger is being too insufferably clever. (Kind of like Jasper Fforde in the later Thursday Next Novels.)

I think I might just spend the money and buy the facsimile copy of Stoker’s notes. The brief windows into his writing process I've gotten from some of the annotations have been very educational.

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I still have yet to find a bookstore in the Bay Area (independent or chain) that has Dracula: The Un-Dead. Admittedly, I’ve only looked in 5 stores, but no wonder Amazon is the juggernaut that it is.

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If this isn’t one of the freakiest things you’ve ever seen, you live in some world where freaky things don’t exist:

From Boing Boing

Project Runway 6, Episode 10: WTF?!?

2009-10-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

There are no words. Seriously. The man who will henceforth be referred to as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” or Voldemort for short, is dead to me. As far as I’m concerned he is no longer on the show. He must not only be sleeping with ALL of the producers but also have incriminating photos of Heidi, Michael, and Nina. He must have incriminating photos of Satan himself to still be on the show.

The Challenge
The look of obvious disappointment and forced excitement on all of the designer’s faces when they learned the “famous designer” they were meeting on Redeo Drive was only Michael Kors was priceless. In the words of Nelson Muntz: “Ha ha”.

The Winner
Yeah, yeah. Irina won with her Aspen backless sweater thing. Yawn. It’s a forgone conclusion she’s in the final 3. Might as well just let her go home and start working on her collection now so we don’t have to listen to her bitching. I would say I’m certain we’ll have an all female final 3, but unless someone breaks the Imperius Curse that Voldemort has cast on the judges he’ll somehow make it to Bryant Park.

The Loser
Farewell Feather Prince. You were robbed. Your outfit, while not in anyway inspired by Greece, was at least wearable and interesting. Voldemort’s hoe-down outfit was essentially an interesting belt with some amateur-hour fabric attached. I defy you to find anyone who would wear that thing without being confunded first.

The Unhappy
Tim Gunn was visibly displeased with the outcome of the eliminations. He clearly did not think the Feather Prince should have been sent packing. The guys at Project Rungay (which is magically no longer blocked by the company firewall, yay!) did a funny montage of Tim from last week’s episode: Tim Gunn is tired of your bullshit.

Milla Kick’s Ass
Milla Jovavich was the best celebrity judge yet. She was forceful with her opinions and even went toe-to-toe with Heidi (“If this were ‘Project I Don’t Mind It’ it would be fine”). Maybe it’s because she’s been modeling since she was 11, has her own clothing line, is an actress, etc. I didn’t expect her to be so accent-free however. She’s come along way from her Fifth Element “I can barely speak English” days.

The Logan
Logan and his run-of-the-mill jeans outfit could just as easily have been aufed as any of them. I’m not sure why he’s still hanging around except that all the girls are hot for him. That and he’s clearly not the worst designer left on the show. The previews made it look like he explodes next week. He’ll probably be aufed and You-Know-Who will live on for another challenge.

Dangers of Over-Exposure/Over-Hyping

2009-10-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have two playwright friends with shows running right now. Friend X did a great job of publicizing their show in Web 2.0. They mentioned it just enough for me to know about it and learn enough about it to be intrigued. I want to see that show, even though the subject matter itself is one that I tend to steer away from. The way it’s being treated interests me.

Friend Y has completely over-exposed their show in Web 2.0. I’ve been hearing about it for months and quite frankly I’m tired of hearing about it. I have absolutely no interest in seeing it as a result, in spite of the fact that the subject matter itself is one that I ordinarily have great interest in.

It leaves me wondering if I over-expose my shows. Is it too much to blog every week about rehearsal on my improv blog? Then I remember that Friend Y posted statuses about their show nearly every day since the summer. It’s like they got a text book on how to market a show in Web 2.0 and followed it so religiously that they ended up sounding like a text book and not a person.

Movies, of course, are frequently guilty of the same thing. Take the new Sherlock Holmes movie for instance. Is that ever actually going to come out? They ran footage of it after the Oscars in February. It doesn’t come out until Christmas Day. Is it just me or is 10 months of hype a little much? By the time it comes out, it’ll feel old. Shouldn’t it be on DVD already?

I have similar thoughts about Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movie. Sitting here I honestly believed it must have come out already and I missed it. No. It comes out in March of 2010!

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’ve been burned too many times and developed an ingrained opinion that the more hyped something is the less likely it is to be any good. But after all, if it’s good, it doesn’t need to be over-hyped.

WWII Vet Speaks Out for Gay Marraige

2009-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

The woman at my polling place asked me do I believe in equality for gay and lesbian people. I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her: what do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?

Funny Poop Jokes

2009-10-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Admittedly these both lose something without the rest of the movie to set up the dynamic between the uber-intelligent sounding monkey and the monkey that doesn't talk, but these are

1: two of the only funny poop jokes in movie history
2: the only two funny moments in Madagascar

Pretzels Pretzels Pretzels Pretzels

2009-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Pretzel Party at Jack's house!

2012 Movie Cartoon

2009-10-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I drew a cartoon:

Baseball Shorts

2009-10-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know the White Sox almost moved twice? Once in 1975 to Seattle and then in 1988 to Tampa. If only they'd gone!

8 Franchise Relocations That Fell Through

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It's mentioned in the article above and again here and here, but the A's almost moved to Chicago!

Seattle was suing Major League Baseball for losing the Pilots to Milwaukee (to become the Brewers) after just 1 season in Washington. The White Sox were on the verge of bankruptcy. A's owner Charlie Finley wanted out of Oakland after poor attendance during their 3 year championship run (72-74). So the owners brilliant idea was to force the White Sox owner to sell to Seattle interests and for the A's to move to Chicago. Brilliant!

Except it all fell through when Bill Veeck bought the White Sox and kept them at Comiskey. As much as I love you Bill Veeck, I have a hard time forgiving that (or the several other times you owned the White Sox).

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6 Theories on the Origin of the Bullpen

Project Runway 6, Episode 9: Who is Christopher Sleeping With?

2009-10-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Seriously, who is Christopher sleeping with that he’s still on the show? That’s the only way to explain how he was not eliminated last night. The only thing I can think of to explain why the judging has been so wildly inconsistent this season is that the judges have been different every week. None of this week’s judges, save Heidi, saw Christopher’s hefty bag dress last week. Had they, they would not have let him pass. He’s been consistently bad and yet he survives.

The Loser
Whereas Shirin almost won last week, but got aufed this week. Of course none of the judges (save Heidi) saw her fabulous dress last week. What’s Heidi thinking? Was she so distracted by the show’s legal troubles when this was filmed that she wasn’t paying any attention? Maybe they were trying too hard this season to live by their “in fashion one week you’re in and the next week you’re out” tag line?

Sure Shirin's dress wasn’t that good, but the judges said they liked the top. There was nothing redeeming about Chris’s outfit. Not only was it poorly made, but Christina Aguilera had already worn outfits just like it for the Lady Marmalade album. How does that slide by? What do they see in him?

Who is he sleeping with?

Christina Aguilera
He's certainly not sleeping with Christina Aguilera. She made a much better celebrity judge than Lindsay Lohan. She had well-articulated insightful comments. She’s also incredibly short. Did you see the heels she had on?

The Fakeout
Like clockwork, the 6 people that Tim talks to when he comes into the workroom end up the three best and three worst scoring designers. Except last night. We never saw Logan’s zoological society gown at all until it came down the runway. Except for distracting Carol Hannah with his hotness, we didn’t see him at all. Then suddenly he’s in the bottom three? Ok. We knew he wasn’t going to be aufed at least.

The Winner
Carol Hannah finally won a challenge with her black-on-black feather gown. She even managed to out-feather The Feather Prince who got lucky with yet another challenge that played to his strengths (his dress). But “yay!” for Carol Hannah, especially since it must have pissed off Irina to no end.

The Bitch
Yes, Irina is a bitch, or at least is being edited that way. The Feather Prince even said it on camera. It’s one thing to have confidence and think you’re the best. It’s another to have to keep putting others down to keep up your confidence. The "I'm not here to make friends" excuse only goes so far, especially on a show like Project Runway where the social interactions don't really play any part in the outcome. Hopefully she’ll get her comeuppance at some point, but I can’t see how she’ll miss the final 3.

Foggy

2009-10-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Shorts

2009-10-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

From This Isn't Happiness

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Underwater Logging from Boing Boing

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Also from Boing Boing:
Airlines that charge fees lost more money than airlines that didn't

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My brother-in-law's brother (got that?) did the music for this Henleys ad.

Shorts

2009-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

The world isn't really going to end in 2012. That's apparently a western interpretation of one Mayan ruin, but ask any Mayan what's going to happen in 2012 and they won't know what you're talking about:

Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University.... notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.

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Letters of Note is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at. Updated 2-3 times every weekday.

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Jodi Skeris, a cast member of the Un-Scripted Theater Company's upcoming production of Let It Snow, was on a date October 30, 2006 in New York with a friend of 2007 Let It Snow cast member Molly Robertson when she got hit by a car and thrown through a Daffy's store window. Not only did she survive, but she wrote a very funny song about it too. Read her blog about it here (you can also listen to the song there). I will try to embed the song below, but I don't know if it will work.

Why Notre Dame needs to join a conference

2009-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

I know this is heresy to Notre Dame alumni and fans, but Notre Dame needs to join a conference. Why? Two simple words: National Championships. If the Irish want to stay relevant in the National Title hunt, they need to play a big time schedule.

Let’s look at this season. Had Charlie Weis managed the clock better and the Irish had beaten Michigan, and then they beat USC and finished the season undefeated, in my opinion they would not have played for the National Championship. They simply will not have had a strong enough schedule. They will play one game this year against a ranked opponent and that’s next week against USC. And let’s not forget that USC is just one amazing fourth quarter drive against Ohio State from being unranked with two losses right now. That is not a BCS quality schedule. That is Boise State territory. Utah and TCU will play more games this year against ranked opponents.

If the season ended with an undefeated SEC champion, an undefeated Big 12 Champion, and an undefeated Notre Dame, who would you put in the title game? Certainly not Notre Dame. Even a one-loss SEC or Big 12 Champion probably would have deserved a spot in the national title game ahead of an undefeated Notre Dame. Would they have gotten it ahead of the Irish? Hard to tell. It’s hard to imagine an undefeated Irish team not playing for the championship, even if they didn’t deserve it. Notre Dame has a lot of pull. Had Notre Dame played for the title, they would have gotten killed, and it would never have happened again.

Even now if Notre Dame beats USC and finishes with one loss, they will not play in a BCS game. They simply do not have the schedule to finish ranked 8th or higher (what they need to be rated to get an automatic spot in a BCS game).

By picking a few teams from different conferences and playing a schedule against teams that don’t play each other, the Irish have no guarantee year in and year out of playing a tough schedule. Ever since they dropped Miami from their schedule, they rely on two teams to make their schedule legitimate: USC and Michigan. When one of those schools falls on lean years, like Michigan has, it hurts Notre Dame, a lot.

Teams in major conferences don’t have that problem. If a perennial powerhouse has a few off years, there’s another school in the conference to pick up the slack. They know they’re going to play several games every year against ranked opponents, and if they’re going to win their conference, they’re going to have to beat some.

Notre Dame will never have that certainty. Even if a miracle occurs and the NCAA institutes a playoff system, Notre Dame’s only way in as an independent will be reliant on some sort of subjective ranking that will factor in strength of schedule.

At some point, Notre Dame is going to have to decide what is more important to them: their national TV contract or National Championships.