Here's a fun way to spend time late at night:

Take every major project you've helped to be a part of (in my case, shows/video/improv/standup) and put them in a list. For optimal results, add the role you played (actor/writer/director/mime) and sort them by the year completed.

You will eventually have a list of some sort. You can then spend time looking through this list, pat yourself on the back, and generally feel productive. This method of feeling productive is far simpler (and way easier) than its alternative: actually taking part in some sort of project.

Occasionally, I have moments in my life where I feel I have moved from the realm of "procrastination" to that of "advanced procrastination".

Not only is this a neat article about viral videos on the web, but it also has the best local news interview of all time.

This is post 900.  Hooray.

Add another movie to the list: watched A Clockwork Orange last night.  I'm not sure how easily I can summarize my feelings about it into a blog post.

It's a great movie for sure, and you should see it.  However; it's incredibly disturbing.

The first act of the movie is mostly comprised of the protagonist, Alex, committing various crimes.  The most graphic scenes are all clumped in this act.  Until things started moving into act two, I wondered more than a few times why I was watching the movie.

Alex is arrested and put in prison where -

Actually, I'm not going to describe the rest of the movie.  If you really want, you could look up a detailed synopsis on Wikipedia or IMDB.  The point is this: the movie takes many unexpected turns, and a synopsis couldn't do it justice.

I can tell you this: the movie will mess a bit with your sense of your morality towards characters.  There are few "good guys" in this movie.  Arguably, the film is made up mostly of victims and perpetrators. These roles aren't constant, though.  The main character, Alex, goes on sort of a status rollercoaster.  In one scene, he'll be committing a terrible crime, and in the next, he'll play the victim to another. Even when a character seems to be doing good, it turns out they're only acting for their own agenda in the end.

Anyway, it's a great film, but is by no means light stuff.  Great writing, directing and acting all around.

For those who have finished the last Harry Potter book: Rowling goes into further detail about the epilogue.

I've always had a thing for phonetically pronouncing abbreviations (i.e "PSA" = "pssaaa"), but this takes things to a new level.

At about 8 AM, lightning struck a tree by the dock.  The tree is in interesting shape; bark is lying all around next to it.  Stranger yet, the lightning strike caused dirt to fly all over the area near the tree.  The dock, a few chairs, and even a couple of the boat lifts are all covered in dirt.

Next to this tree is (rather, was) a power outlet.  Our neighbors decided that the charge from the lightning strike went up the electrical outlet and then hit the power grid which connects to our houses.  This caused our power to temporarily go on and off.

During this time (while I was asleep):

We keep a nightlight in our hallway.  The surge caused said nightlight to explode and break into three black, charred pieces scattered across the hall.

Our TV is no longer working either.  My Mom tried to turn the TV on, but the outlet only started sparking and the TV made a strange buzzing noise.  Needless to say, she shut it off.  I'm not too disappointed about this loss; the TV is old and I don't spend a lot of time watching TV at the lake.

My Mom also tried to see if the microwave worked.  It did things a microwave should not do.

And finally, a while ago I brought out a computer we used from 1998 to 2001.  There's nothing really important on it, but there are a few fascinations, like a few episodes of a (really terrible) webshow a bunch of us put together in 5th grade.

Anyway, I turned on the computer and things seemed to be in working order.  The little power light went on, it made the familiar humming noises - but the monitor didn't recognize that a computer was plugged in.  And then it started smelling like smoke.  I took this as my cue to unplug it.  

It was strange; it was plugged into a surge protector and everything else plugged into it survived just fine.  Then I noticed our dial up modem was plugged into the phone line.  I think the storm caused the modem to fry up, which may have in turn damaged the other ports.  If it's dead, it's not too terrible of a loss, but still, there's a lot of sentimental value within that computer.  I'm just glad that no one was hurt.

Pictures will be up soon.  What surprised me most of all was the nightlight.

The Banner Mime Company's run at the Fringe Festival is now over.  A staggering three people showed up to our show today - not counting the KCCI cameraman.  We were sort of hoping that no one would show up so we could have a "free form" show; a show where we could switch characters, talk and generally mess around.

We were on the 5 o'clock news very briefly.  Instead of showing something majestic, like the Pegasus skit, they instead decided to show a scene where we were all dancing as I get the crap beat out of me by Mary and Nick.  And I didn't even get to Tivo it.

The following blank space is a Harry Potter spoiler.  Highlight it if you've already read to about page 300:

First: How badass is the jacket?  The synopsis is only seventeen words long: "We now present to you the seventh and final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter."  Nothing more needs to be said.

Second: Hedwig's death was sad, but I'm glad J.K Rowling didn't spend too much time on it.  Dwelling too much on it could have become very sappy.

And as I discussed with Mary, it's good to know that Rowling can write a good book without the "crazy adventures at Hogwarts" formula to rely on.  I'm very excited to see what she plans to write next.  That is, as long as it has nothing to do with Harry Potter.

Please don't discuss the plot in the comments.

As you may have noticed, there's a new thing on the right hand side: Twitter. I'd recommend that you try it out too. It's strangely addictive. Making Twitter posts is sort of like mini-blogging.

Also: got ahold of the new Harry Potter book this afternoon. I'll go no further since I don't want to spoil anything for anyone...and also since I'm only on page 82.

Who says you need web design skills when you can just buy a fridge?

I watched Fight Club a few days ago.  Everyone who recommended it said this: "It's not what you'll expect it to be."

And that's true.  Fight Club isn't just a movie with lots of fighting and a neat twist; it's also a very clever and funny movie.  I really liked it.

Wikipedia quote of the day day: "Despite the name, it would be very difficult to do the moonwalk on the moon, due to its low gravity."

Speaking of the moonwalk, I've recently got ahold of a few albums.

• "Family Tree by Nick Drake" - Nick Drake may be dead, but that doesn't mean his estate has to stop churning out new albums. This one is made up of home recordings, most of which are of Drake covering blues songs. It has some really great moments, but non-fans won't find much value in it.

• "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan - Haven't been able to listen to it all the way through, but boy can Bob Dylan rock. And boy is he angry when he rocks.

• "Thriller" by Michael Jackson - For as weird of a guy Michael Jackson is now, he certainly was capable of writing and recording amazing pop songs. There are some cool but strange celebrity cameos too - like a duet with Paul McCartney. Not to mention Van Halen on "Beat It".

• "The Wall" by Pink Floyd - I still have to listen to this one.

Happy Sturgeon was a very entertaining YouTube video. And so is Happy Sturgeon from 2003.

There could only be one thing worse than this, and that is a live action version of the Rugrats movie.

Actually, being drafted would be worse than that.

Things to Think About:

• Flight of the Conchords is worth your time.  If you're unfamiliar with the folk/comedy duo, check out Business Time, The Humans are Dead, and She's So Hot...BOOM! as starter points.
• "The big stone castle in Winterset" is not necessarily an appropriate basis for an impromptu road trip.  Trust me.  I have learned this from experience.  Pictures coming soon.
• I miss The Show with Ze Frank.  Or, rather, I miss Ze in general.  It'd be nice to see what he's working on.
• A tidbit from the TV: "In the great Kalahari desert, all are seduced...by the prospect of rain."
• As you may have guessed, the tidbit above was from PBS.
• Has anyone else ever had the problem of turning the channel to PBS and for some reason the commentary for blind people is playing?  It usually isn't very annoying, but it can become distracting.
• I think the iPhone is amazing, but my contract with Verizon doesn't expire until nearly 2009.  Which is good, I suppose - because it'll be even neater come 2009.
• A hayrack is an environment that is somewhat designed but not quite conducive for sleep. Like sleeper cars on trains.

One of the more bizarre clips I've found on YouTube: a man trying to get inside a giant balloon. In two (seperate) parts.

Also: the This American Life TV show is now on iTunes.

Say what you will about The White Stripes (Jack White is a great songwriter but...eccentric, to put it kindly), but if this isn't the coolest way to stage a surprise concert, then I don't know what is.

Yesterday I woke up in my own bed in my own room and that was weird.  I had gotten so used to waking up at 5 AM thanks to the cries of a 1 year old.

Oh, posting.  What is there to post?  That I do not know.

It is late and I am tired and this is one of the most unsatisfying posts I've ever written.  But if it means that it helps me get back on the post a day bandwagon, then I'm for it.

PS: Summer Mix Pepsi is terrible.  And I am glad they brought back Vanilla Coke.

Second City
Day 10

For many days Jordan and I succeeded in nearly missing the train a few times, but today we succeeded in actually missing the train. As a result, we were five minutes late for class. I was able to say "Sorry, won't happen again" and actually mean it.

We ran through the show once on the mainstage. During this time, the four of us in one of the sketches decided that we didn't like our sketch anymore and asked for it to be scrapped. It was. It made me happy to kill it.

We sat and talked until it was time for the show to begin. Our teachers discussed what they would have done for a living if they hadn't done comedy. "Guys," one of them said, "if you have a career in the arts, be prepared to have this conversation with your friends a lot."

After more talking and a brief warm up, the show began.

The Show

• Gallows - A man is being sent to the stocks by the town. The townspeople are incredibly stupid and give terrible suggestions in an attempt to punish him - such as "Tie his shoelaces together!"
• 185 - An improv game. It went as well as it could have gone. The secret to this game, as it turns out, is not having a really clever joke, but making sure there is no blank stage time. If you have to go out there and tell a crappy joke, sell it.
• Taffy - A sketch written by Jordan and I. The boss at the Laffy Taffy factory scolds a worker's performance. I'd describe it further, but a YouTube video is coming soon.
• Ying-Yang - Office workers burst into a song by the Ying-Yang twins. Went better than everyone originally thought.
• Mystery - Characters from famous mystery books are old and living at a retirement home. These characters include Nancy Drew, Dr. Watson, Harry Potter ("You're not even in a mystery book!" one character exclaims to him) and Hardy Boy ("I have a name," he tells a nurse. "No, you don't," she replies.). I really liked this one. I wasn't involved in it, though, so I have reservations uploading it to YouTube.
• Story - Improvised. A group tells a story, but each member must tell the story in the style of a certain genre. Jordan was in this, I wasn't.
• Chicago - A blackout sketch. "Welcome to Hawaii, here's your lei!" "Welcome to Mexico, here's your sombrero!" Jordan steps out: "Welcome to Chicago! GIMME YOUR WALLET AND WATCH!"
• Waldo - Another Jordan/Thomas collaboration. Waldo is missing and he bothers his friends. This will probably go on YouTube.
• New Lines - I forget the name of this game. The last line of dialogue in one scene becomes the first line of dialogue in another. I helped to screw up the introduction to this game.
• Declaration of Independence - John Hancock is missing for the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Fellow countrymen get mad at him and try to contact him via cell phone.
• Billy - A blackout by Jordan. I am not going to describe this one unless he is against me uploading this to YouTube.
• World of Warcraft - A geek is obsessed with World of Warcraft. I don't know if I can describe the premise any further.
• Blind Line - AKA "Pick Up Lines". The crowd always likes this one.
• Freeze Tag - A nice way to end a show.

After all of this, we picked up our "wearable diplomas" (aka t-shirts) and said our goodbyes to one another.

The gist of what our improv teacher said to us: "You guys take this very seriously and I can tell it means a lot to you. You guys did great and if you ever think of coming back in the next few years, I'll be here." To hear those words was a mind-boggling and humbling moment.

So that was Second City. If I've learned only one thing from this experience, it's that I have a lot to work on.