Nerdcore!

Two blogs I have been enjoying lately:

http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com
http://sexfoodandcomicbooks.com/

These are two totally nerdy blogs written by folks associated with the porn industry and I love them. The first is written by Zak S, and is surprisingly thoughtful exploration of Dungeons and Dragons. I don't even really like Dungeons and Dragons, but I don't mind reading his posts about Vampires, being a good Game Master and the gaming sessions he has been running with folks like Sasha Grey, Kimberly Kane, Mandy Morbid and Satine Phoenix. The second is Satine Phoenix's blog about things that she digs. She's apparently a huge comic book nerd, perhaps a little less than I am. She has vegan recipes and makes recommendations for sex toys and comic books alike.

I totally get that.

Like Edison's

Here's a short thought:

My bias against discussion is something I've learned to see as very English. I've known political theatre groups in Europe which would readily cancel a rehearsal, but never a discussion. My feeling is that the best argument may be a testimony to the skill of the presenter than to the excellence of the solution advocated. Also the bulk of discussion time is visibly taken up with transactions of status which have nothing to do with the problem to be solved. My attitude is like Edison's, who found a solvent for rubber by putting bits of rubber in every solution he could think of, and beat all those scientists who were approaching the problem theoretically.

From Impro, by Keith Johnstone

I'm re-reading Impro, which can be considered one of the seminal books on improvisation. The last time I read it must have been close to twenty years ago. I consider this a formative book to the way I view the world. Reading about Johnstone's approach to teaching, I see a lot of his ideas have been present in my teaching, theatrical and otherwise.

What I enjoy about the passage is that it implicitly draws a distinction between discussion and communication. Perhaps Johnstone meant to draw a distinction between argument and work. That seems valid to me too.

What I've been up to lately.

I am loving yoga and improvisation classes. I'm also playing plenty of board games.

I'm taking improv classes through Monkey Butler, which offer many free classes throughout the week all over Southern California and in some other places too. I'm currently in the level one class in Sherman Oaks. I'd take classes closer to home if they didn't conflict with the LindyGroove Technique Class. I'm also backing up this with the I.O. West Improv Jam, hosted by my buddy Nando Velasquez. The Improv Jam is an opportunity for students to play with IO team performers. They're currently reconsidering their schedule, but at the moment the Jam is scheduled for every Wednesday at 11:30pm.

I'm learning a ton there and really putting in the work that I was never able to do in college. I feel like I'm hitting a lot of breakthroughs, so I'm pretty happy with my progress.

I'm taking yoga at Mission Street Yoga in South Pasadena. At the moment I can only afford the $5 lunchtime yoga classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. There's a donation class tomorrow afternoon that I'm planning to take and there are FREE classes every Monday through the end of the month at 10:45am. I'm planning to hit those for the next couple of weeks.

Also hitting breakthroughs here too. I may even soon be more comfortable with going upside down. Don't know why that's so huge, but even being close to it is a lot for me. I'm also returning to a point at which I no longer need the belt to reach my toes in a sitting stretch. It's especially wonderful to be in a place where breathing is so praised. One day I was experimenting with Crow position, a position with which I've never been comfortable and the instructor (without my realization) had pointed me out to the class as having a fully engaged breath. I didn't in fact know that she was speaking to anyone but me until I heard the applause of the rest of the class. It took me by surprise because I take my breathing for granted. That should be the case after having done it for so long.

I'm playing board games a lot. I just picked up Vasco Da Gama and I'm really looking forward to getting it on the table. We've been playing a lot of Power Grid: Factory Manager lately and mostly I'm just going with the flow and being a decent host.

Buy me stuff.

My birthday is coming up and I won't hesitate to say that most people never have any idea what to buy for me. This has been a common theme over the years, with one of my most recent holiday gifts being a Garmin, a pricey gift which I plan to never use, and perhaps to sell. Getting presents like this makes me a bit sour. I like to put at least a little effort into gift selection.

In aid of this, I've maintained my Amazon wish list, from which I believe the best present I can ever remember receiving came. Plenty of my favorite presents can be found used (and I prefer that if you buy, you buy used) for less than five bucks. One of my presents has been available for a penny. I don't care if it came from a library, I could use five of those Hikaro No Go books. No, I'm really not sure why the Adventures of Pete and Pete CD is listed over $11k. It must be a really good CD.

Probably the most immediate suggestions would be the improv books. I've been getting back into improv over the last several months and I'd just like to pick up the recommended reading for my classes. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm dirt poor. There's plenty of cool stuff on the list, and it's all stuff I plan to get sooner or later.

Even if you now have no interest in buying a present for me ever again, I think the list is still pretty interesting. At least it's interesting to me. If you have ever been curious about me (and at least some folks have mentioned facebook-stalking me in the past) this is certainly your opportunity for a massive info-blast!

I still haven't worked out my birthday plans yet. I'm thinking karaoke and some kind of food.

Remember Here When You Are There.

The new volume in Larry Marder's Beanworld series arrived on shelves this week. To say that this book was formative to me would be an understatement. To say that I've been anxious to read this book for over fifteen years would not be an exaggeration. As I mentioned in the link, that first issue of Tales of the Beanworld changed the way I view the world, how we work together, how art and music make our days easier... There are so many little secrets in this book. The book is refreshingly simple, yet surprisingly deep. I highly recommend a reading.



The three volumes in Marder's Beanworld Spring Cycle are:
Wahoolazuma!, A Gift Comes! and Remember Here When You Are There!

More from Larry Marder can be found on his blog: larrymarder.blogspot.com

Zoom Schwartz Perfigliano!

I've started taking an improv class offered by Monkey Butler. I've been toying with the idea of getting back into improvisation, but have found the rates to be prohibitive. The Monkey Butler classes are free, and generally everyone seems to be very welcoming and open. It's been really great to find a place that gets me back to work. I have missed performing for quite a while and am really enjoying the process of rediscovery!

More later. I'm just taking lots of notes and doing my best to improve.

Stuck in your head?

I've been watching the first three seasons of SOAP. Some people said that my recent postings on Facebook have gotten the theme song stuck in their heads. If you don't know what it sounds like, here it is!


This is the original theme.


Here's the shorter one after they introduced Chuck and Bob.


Here's the Batman theme song in case you need help getting the other one out of your head.