NEARFest!

Last weekend, I attended NEARFest, the North East Art Rock Festival, with my friend Joe M. He and I last attended NEARFest in 2003, where the French band Magma was the headliner on the first day. This year, Magma was the headliner for the 2nd day, so Joe asked if I wanted to go again. Being a glutton for punishment, why not, I figured?

Joe arrived here in Jersey City from Rhode Island last Friday afternoon, and we then headed out to Allentown, PA, where we were staying, as the festival was on Lehigh University's campus, at the Zoellner Arts Center. However, as soon as we arrived, after checking into the hotel, we headed off to Reading, PA, to meet our friend Jen, who we attended Boston College with, back in the day.

Amazingly, we found the restaurant, getting there at 8pm, and Jen arrived a few minutes later. Joe had stayed in contact with her more, I actually hadn't seen her since 1994. It was a fun dinner, with a lot of catching up and recalling the lazy crazy days of undergraduate life. A good time was had by all.

Fast forwarding to Saturday, Joe and I arrived at Zoellner at about 9:30am, for a 11am start time for the first band. It's good to get there early to get good parking, and to figure out the lay of the land. Also, there are vendors with plenty of "prog" CDs, who are willing to give them to you in exchange for your hard earned money. Joe and I were happy to partake in the feeding frenzy...


Here's Joe, outside of the Zoellner Arts Center, with a photo of Michael McDonald looking over his shoulder...



Joe, up on a ledge, being seen through the bushes....



Mike, up on the same ledge, almost doing a Hulk Hogan impression. But Hogan's not as buff as I...



Joe, inside at our seats, before the first band...

Now, my quick review of each band. Overall, I really enjoyed the festival, with only one band not really doing anything at all for me (I'm looking at you, Magenta!). The others, we start with....

• Izz: This was the first band of the Festival, and was a great kickoff to the day. Two drummers, a guitarist, a keyboardist/singer, a bassist/singer, and two female vocalists, they were quite good! A good hour long set, and I really enjoyed their music. The lyrics may have been a bit light here and there, some predictible rhymes, but I can live with that.
After Izz, we had lunch at the lunch tent outside... Note the public art off to the left. Don't ask me what it's supposed to symbolize...
After lunch, we had...


• NebelNest: A French instrumental band, the drummer for this band was a monster! Great player, and all the other members of the band (two guitarists, keys, bass) were good also. A fun live experience, but I get the feeling that on CD, the material might begin to sound all the same.
Then, we have...


• Bob Drake: A semi-avant-garde performer, he did about 30 minutes of some "odd" songs with another guitarist and a drummer. Not bad stuff, but nothing that really knocked my socks off.

After Mr. Drake, Joe and I wandered around Lehigh's campus for a bit. Some photos...

Do you really want to live in "Drinker Hall?"

Don't jump, Joe!!!

Then, after walking around, we have...


• Magenta: The one band of this Festival that really did next to nothing for me. At one point, there was some music where I thought they were doing a cover of Steve Hackett's "The Steppes," but nope, it was their own song, that sounded *exactly* like that Hackett one. That happened a few times during the set that we stayed for. Joe and I made the executive decision to go out to dinner during this band. I don't feel we missed much.


• Hawkwind: Hawkwind is a "space rock" band, that has had about 90 members over the lifetime of the band. Their performances are backed up by a slide show, that alternates between photos/drawings of the Earth from space, "Grey" style aliens, and the planet Saturn. If Spinal Tap were real, they'd be Hawkwind. I didn't "dislike" Hawkwind, but they didn't do much for me. But, if you're into taking heavy amounts of mushrooms, they're probably *just* the right band for you.

The Hawkwind banner....

Earth from space! Lookie!

Aliens! Hawkwind will protect us from the Alien Overlords!

After the first day, Joe and I went back to the hotel, had a drink at a local pub right nextdoor, watched a bit of SNL, and went to bed... In order to prepare for...

Second Day -

• Indukti: An instrumental band from Poland, again, with a monster drummer. Also two guitarits, bass, and violin! Great combo, a good kick in the pants opener for Sunday morning.


• La Maschera Di Cera: Italian prog band, with keys, flute, bass, drums, and singer. Not bad stuff, the singer had the best stage presence of anyone all weekend long. But it didn't really do much for me. We stayed for the full set, but I think that the band could have cut one song out of their set, and it would have kept it much tighter for me over the course of the performance, and I may have come out liking their band better.


• Robert Rich: Ambient music, with some animations displayed on the big screen. I liked it, but it isn't the type of music I need to run out and buy. I closed my eyes and almost dozed off during part of it, which isn't a criticism, like it would be with other bands.


• Pure Reason Revolution: Another good band, kind of Radioheadish, a good sound to them. Joe and I did leave during their set, not because we didn't like them, but again, because food was calling to us.


Joe, waiting for Magma like a good boy!
Mike and Joe, in the theater before the onset of MAGMA!!

• Magma: Ah, the band that Joe and I really came to see, and they did not disappoint. They played two "songs" during their main set, Kohntarkoz, and Ementeht-Re. I *may* be misspelling those names, as, for those of you who don't know, Magma sings in their own created language, called Kobian. The two "encore" songs were Kobia, and Linhs. The band is made up of drums (Christian Vander, who writes the music), 4 vocalists (3 female, 1 male), guitar, bass, keys, and a vibes player. With the second song of their main set, it was about 40 minutes long, and I knew it was coming to the end of it, as it was just too intense musically, and there was nowhere else for them to go but to end the music!

Sorry for the blur in the photos, but you can deal, can't you?

Magma taking bows!

All in all, a great weekend! It was fun to spend time with Joe, and see some great music. I got my Festival program signed by a lot of the artists, they all hung out for the length of the weekend. In fact, the Polish band Indukti sat next to us for a segment of Magma's show.

Another aspect of going to these shows, like attending a Star Trek convention, is that you get to see nerds in their natural habitat. It's good times. Joe and I also have an idea to make our own documentary about the NearFest experience. This little interview can be our calling card for investors!

Mike Yakking at NearFest

NP: Gershwin - An American in Paris

We have a winner!

Brian correctly researched for me, and found out that the film mentioned in my last post was "Without Warning," with Sander Vanocer, *not* Edwin Newman as the lead newsman.

So, kudos for Brian for breaking through my mind block, on this film. Oddly enough, the TV movie aired in 1994, not the mid-1980's, as my memory initially told me. I guess I actually watched this show up in Boston, and NOT when I was living in New Jersey.

Funny how the mind creates memories, I really recall sitting in my living room in NJ, watching this show. But, we had sold that house by the time this aired, so I couldn't have seen it there.

NP: David Sylvian and Andrea Chimenti - I Have Waited for You

Edwin Newman in an alien invasion movie???

So, I'll be blogging about NEARFest soon enough, once I get some photos in order. But, I have a question for all the SF nerds out there.

I remember, in the mid-1980's, there was a TV movie on NBC (I think) that was kind of a remake/retelling of the War of the Worlds story.

From what I remember, it starts out with a fake news report, starring real news reporter Edwin Newman. A developing story starts, with I believe some landings of meteors/alien spaceships in a number of places around the world.

The story is told by reporters, reporting into Newman in the home base. One country, perhaps the US, perhaps Russia, decides to destroy the spaceship.

BUT, then, there are three meteors approaching Earth from space. I think that the US and Russia launch missles to destroy the asteroids, and they do! Yay for humans!

BUT! And here's the Twilight Zone ending... Just as the rejoicing starts in the control room for the missles (with a reporter conveniently there), there are more radar hits for incoming asteroids. Hundreds of them. All coming in to destroy earth.

And, that's how the movie ends. Not a real happy story, but I remember being vaguely entertained by it when I was younger.

I checked Edwin Newman's entry in IMDB, and I've googled a bunch of combinations, trying to find the name of this movie, with no luck. Anyone out there remember this? Brian? Come on, if anyone does, you'd remember it....

NP: Peter Gabriel - San Jacinto

Black Swans!

These photos are from about two weeks ago, at Sunset Lake in Asbury Park, where my mom lives (Asbury, not the lake).

There's a local doctor who has imported these pretty birds to the lake, so that they can give the whole city a bit of pleasure from seeing them glide along.

They are quite nice, if I say so myself.

My mom has named them all, they are:

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Emma and Mr. Knightly, and Jane and Mr. Rochester

Full points for those of you who get the literature references.

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since I've posted, not because nothings been going on, but mainly through lazyness, or just being tired in the evening.

I picked Sue up from Hoboken from her knitting class last Thursday, and there was this fire-boat, shooting off different water...

Perhaps they're practicing for 4th of July celebrations?

And, here's a nice skyline photo...

I don't know how to set this up, so when you click on a photo, you get the larger version of it. Hmmmm... Something I will have to learn.

This past Friday was our first Friday off for the summer at work, so it has been good to have a three day weekend. Sue and I both had dentist appointments on Friday morning, so we still had to wake up early, but when it's not for work, it's not as bad...

More to come soon!

NP: ELP - Karn Evil 9

Sleepy Saturday....

Ah, a wonderful lazy day... I slept pretty late today, till 10:30am or so, later than I expected. I drove Sue down to Hoboken, so she could be a part of an outdoor knitting group, and she was gone from about 11:30am till about 3:30pm.

I was pretty lazy most of the day, but I did get rid of some old albums, that I either have on CD, or I'm just never going to play again. Especially since I don't have a turntable at present. I know some people love LP's/vinyl, but I simply don't get it. There's a lot of argument about what's "better" or "worse" in audiophile circles, but CDs are fine with me.

While Sue was out, I watched "28 Days Later," a British zombie movie from back in 2002, I believe. I don't get into huge reviews of these things, but in general, I liked the film, although I thought it lost it a bit about halfway through the movie, pretty much once the little group followed in the film got to the Army encampment. But, well worth watching if for nothing else than another take on the zombie movie idea.

NP: Catherine Wheel - Salt

Hoboken Self Portrait

Today, I hung around in Hoboken from about 6pm till 8pm or so, as Sue was taking a knitting class, and I was picking her up at the end of it (8pm). I got some pizza, went into a shoe store looking for some sandals, and went to Barnes & Noble to pick up the new Al Gore book.

After all that, I went to the park along the Hudson River in Hoboken, and took the following photos.

The Committee for Creative Enactments 2007 Reunion

I'm back from Boston, where I had a good time hanging out with my friend Brian, and attending the CCE Reunion.

While not *quite* a founding member of the theactrical improv group from Boston College, my first year at BC was the first full year the club was in existence, so for the later membership, I was pretty close... There were about 50 people at the reunion, ranging in date of graduation from 1993 (me) to students who were still at BC. Most attendees were from the 1999-2007 timeframe, with a few late 90's folks, and my friend Derek, who was class of 1995.

I got up and said a few words, to talk about the start of the club from my point of view, and to give some context for the day. I've done a lot of public speaking in my day, but I have to say that I was the most nervous I've been in awhile, talking to the group for my 5 minutes up on the stairs of O'Connell House. I think because this group really meant something to me.

I spoke of starting at BC as a student 1989, and not really remembering a time when the CCE was not part of my BC experience. It allowed me to be a "performer," to be interacting with other people of creativity and fun, and to do something that was different from the norm. I gave due respect to Dave Foucher and Dawn Bishop, as the two founders of the club, without whom none of us would have been standing in that room on Saturday evening. I gave respect to everyone in that room at the time, because without them, there would be no club. I had heard before, when I met some students in the summer of 2005 from the club, that some people would have probably transferred out of BC if it hadn't been for the CCE. Afterwards, I was surprised how many people came up to me and said the same thing, that the CCE had given them a reason to stay at BC. It's not like saving someone from jumping off a bridge, but it showed me that this club has had a *huge* impact on people's lives, without us really even intending it.

I took some questions at the end, and one of the recent graduates asked, "Without as many long standing traditions, what did you guys have to argue about?" My response: "Name it, and we argued about it." There was a lot of passion in the group, a lot of thoughts about right and wrong. We didn't really know what we were doing, so we played a lot of it by ear.

Throughout the night, I was continually surprised that people came up to me, to thank me for getting this club off the ground, telling me how much the CCE has meant to them, and the people in the group. It was a bit overwhelming, really. I mean, let's be honest, I'm all for having my ego stroked, but this was more than I really thought would be happening. It does, to me, show the power of an idea, and that idea giving people something to work towards, to have a goal and be able to accomplish it. I asked a present student, who had helped write the last show, if she would have ever thought that she'd write a production that others would perform. That wasn't in her plan for BC, she said. Which is as it should be, the CCE was able to push people outside of their areas of expertise, and get the members to be more than they thought they could be.

I'll be reflecting on this day for awhile. I mentioned to some of the newer graduates that when they come back in 10 years, and meet some of the present members, they may feel similar to myself, because people will be coming up to them to thank them for keeping the club going. They'll be hearing stories of students who were given a real taste of theater through the club, and how the club is one of the main things they'll remember from BC.

All because some people decided to try to put on a murdery mystery in Spring 1989, and then said, "Hey, why don't we do another???"

Some photos from the weekend....

My host Brian, at home... We watched a lot of the show "Spaced" on Friday night... Great stuff....

You know, he *is* a dick!

Brian and I hit The Border Cafe in Harvard Square after seeing the movie "Bug," (not bad, but not good). My favorite restaurant in, well, pretty much anywhere...

Shaw House, where I lived my Freshman/Sophomore years at BC, and where the CCE started up.

The Shaw House lounge piano. The same piano that was there when I lived there. I hope it's been tuned....

It's a bit dark, but the stairs of O'Connell House, where many intro and other scenes during CCE events were staged. Can you hear the voices? I can.

Me and some later members of the club. More and more people kept getting added to the photo. If you're in this photo, feel free to let me know! I'm horrible with names, otherwise I'd say who everyone was...

Just a room shot, showing people hanging out in O'Connell House on Upper Campus at BC.

Derek and I hanging out at the Union Street Restaurant, after the O'Connell House event. It was good to be able to sit and talk to him for a good chunk of time, although the band playing at the bar was a wee bit loud. Reminds me of why I don't like going out to bars... That, and my scratchy voice today, from yelling to be heard in the room.

I'm very glad I went to the reunion, after being ambivalent about it for awhile. It's great to see what the "new folks" have made of the club, and the sheer enjoyment that everyone obviously gets from each other's company. I talked to one of the organizers, and we were saying that the next reunion will probably be in 2009, to mark the 20 year anniversary of the club. So, there's more to come...

NP: King Crimson - Larks Tongues in Aspic II (13 Oct 1972)

Heading to Boston!

This weekend, I'll be heading up to Boston to attend a reunion for the Committee for Creative Enactments, a group I was part of (and *almost* a founder of) when I was in college at BC. We would write, produce, and act in our own murdery mysteries, once a semester. I believe I have the link to the group's website on my links on the right hand side.

I wasn't going to go up to this reunion, but then I realized that I may be one of the oldest members of the group to attend, and I like to represent the aged portion of the group. I can tell the stories about how we did show when we were young, without all this new fangled "talking" and "plot devices" that I hear the kids talk about nowadays.

Also, it's fun to be the representative of history. I was also the 3rd or 4th President of the group, so there's that going for me too....

So, it should be a good time. I'm staying with Brian while in the city, and was going to try to see Joe, but he'll be busy on Sunday, so unfortunately, no Joe this trip. Brian and I will probably see a movie on Saturday, before this big shindig starts up at 6pm. If it's nice, I may try to get to campus early, to take some photos, and just wander around a bit.

I'll be back with regular computer access on Sunday, so I'll update you all then on how it went....

NP: Frank Zappa - The Downtown Talent Scout

Memorial Day weekend

Today was the first day of the Memorial Day weekend. I stayed in bed till about 10:30am, and spent most of the day realizing that it felt like the first day of Summer Vacation when I was a kid. I mentioned this to Sue, and she felt the same way. It was just one of those great lazy days where I had nothing of real consequence to do, so here's what I did...

1. Watched "Being John Malkovich" with Sue on DVD. Good movie, although none of the characters are people I'd like to know in real life.

2. Went to Hoboken. The mission was to go to the Ben & Jerry's store there to find the Stephen Colbert flavor, Americone Dreams. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! It's quite tasty too, with vanilla ice cream, bits of chocolate covered waffle cone, and caramel swirled through it. I also stopped at the Barnes & Nobles, and got $50 work of book. The third book in a trilogy by Alastair Reynolds, a new book on the Revolutionary War, and a collection of scientific essays by Neil Degrasse Tyson. Should all be good reads...

3. Came home, ate the ice cream. Watched the SCTV DVD's that I've been going through, and took a nap on the couch.

4. Finished watching the netflix DVD's of the British version of "The Office" that we started watching last night. Great show, there's something about the uncomfortable human interaction in these comedies that just works for me. People should know better, but they don't, and it makes for great comedy. And, there's some great personal stories running through the show, such as the Dawn/Tim relationship. Great fun to watch.

5. Tucked Sue into bed, she's an early sleeper. Now, I'll just fart around here for a bit, maybe read, who knows....

NP: Anglagard - Sista Somrar

Hello little buddy!

Here's a cute photo for y'all!



This is from a few weeks ago, I was visiting a cemetery in Hoboken, as part of my genealogy research, and there were a lot of groundhog holes in the place. I caught this little guy peeking his head out of a hole near a headstone that wasn't relevant to my research.

Doesn't he look just adorable???

I've really been lax in my genealogy research recently. I need to figure out a few good things to focus on looking for, and give a real effort to search out those items. Maybe I'll take this weekend to do that...

NP: Brian Eno - The Big Ship

Boat Trip!

On Thursday of last week, I went on a harbor cruise for work, I was chaperoning students. A pretty easy gig, but it was fun to be on the boat. Here are my photos of the event...

At the dock of South Street Seaport in NYC, looking towards the boat, the white structure in the distance... Looking east towards Brooklyn.

Again, from the dock, with the Brooklyn Bridge visible.

Now, on board ship, taken from the top open air deck, looking at the dock.

Top deck again, looking up the East River at the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a nice evening, temp in the high 50's, I wore a sweatshirt to keep warm.

Passing under the Brooklyn Bridge. Pretty cool photo...

I like this view looking south, downtown, with the buildings and the sky... Pretty.

I thought this was a neat photo, because the current, from looking at the buoy, is actually moving against the current of the river. The tide must have been coming in, and the Hudson River/Harbor is one big estuary, affected dramatically by tides. This was an interesting view of the tidal effects in the harbor/river. Interesting to me at least...

About as far as we went upriver, we could see the UN Builiding in the distance. I'd like to go on the Circle Line sometime again, to go around the entire island... That would be fun, to me... Maybe during the summer it could be a fun thing to do.

Ruins on the Brooklyn side of the river. Cool.

Domino Sugar! Watch the teeth rot!

We then headed into New York Harbor proper, and here's the restored Staten Island Ferry building. They've been working on it for quite a long time. It appears to be almost done.

Ellis Island. Hello, Immigrant Ancestors!

And we'll end with the Statue of Liberty.... Thank you, France!

NP: King Crimson - Dangerous Curves (14 Nov 2003)

Visit from friends!

I just took pictures off of my digital camera, and here's one of my friend Joe!

He and his girlfriend Sally came down to visit friends in the NYC area a few weekends ago, so we met for dinner the Friday they were here. I've been lazy, and hadn't taken any of the photos off my camera. So, here he is! Sorry ladies, he's taken!

My car wouldn't start today. I *think* the battery is dead, I'll have to try to jump it tomorrow, and see what happens. The car is 10 years old, and I believe it's still the original battery, so it's about time for it to go.

If it's not the battery, it *may* be the alternator. If not that, then I've reached the limit of my guessing.

NP: King Crimson - Indiscipline (27 Aug 1982)

A Lazy Poster....

I've been incredibly lazy with this blog recently, I need to make more of an effort to post here. Work has been busy, we're closing the residence halls tomorrow, and graduation is on Sunday, so that's been taking up a lot of time and energy.

And, I don't *really* like posting much about work on here, and since work has been taking up most of my time, you can see the dilemma I'm under.

I did get a book in the mail from Amazon today, it's the new Tolkien book, Children of Hurin. I'll read it after I finish my present book, about the designing/building of the Apollo Lunar Lander.

The Larry Sanders Show

Today, I finished watching the DVD's I just got of "The Larry Sanders Show," which was originally aired on HBO from 1992-1998. In this show, Garry Shandling played talk show host Larry Sanders, as a "behind the scenes" look at the making of a talk show.

However, the show was much more about character than just a mockumentary style comedy. It really set the stage for later shows, like Arrested Development, that took the documentary style shooting and ran with it. Also, the characters in Larry Sanders (Larry, his producer Artie, played by Rip Torn, and sidekick Hank, played by Jeffrey Tambor) were just fantastic to watch, because they were human, expressed emotions, and were "real."

So, if you're looking for some good laughs, and some surprising glimpses of emotion that are usually unexpected, then take a look at this show.

I'm on duty this weekend, so there's nothing really big going on in my life, besides watching tv and writing blogs. This Thursday, I'll be going on a harbor cruise in NYC, as a chaperone for a Senior Week trip, which should be fun. I'll be sure to bring a camera for some photos to post here.

All non-graduating students have to be out of the residence halls here by Wednesday at noon, so it'll be pretty quiet soon. It's quiet now, with exams happening, but I'm looking forward to the quiet of no one else in the building...

NP: Frank Zappa - No Not Now

An old wedding...

On May 10, 1851, my great-great-great-grandparents, John Lord and Jane Lang, were married in Newark, New Jersey. They had immigrated to the US the year before, on the same ship. I'm not sure if they knew each other in Ireland, or if they met on the ship coming over, and stayed close in the interim between immigration and marriage.

That's the thing about genealogy, sometimes you learn something from documents, but have no real clue as to what actually went on. There's no old Lord Bible, or papers from a diary, to tell what the real story was.

Personally, I think they knew each other in Ireland, but that's just a guess.

Then, on May 10, 1890, the same John Lord passed away in East Newark, NJ. When you do genealogy for awhile, you're used to seeing coincidences of dates, they're more common than you'd think.

Jane Lord, wife of the aforementioned John Lord, died on March 16, 1912. That was exactly 59 years before I was born. Another date coincidence.

So, if John and Jane hadn't been married on this date, one hundred and fifty six years ago, I might not be sitting here right now, typing to you. That goes for any of my ancestors, on either side of the family. If just one thing had shifted, someone else (like me, but not *exactly* me) might be here, writing about their ancestors John and Jane being married on May 11th, or May 9th.

Kind of Twilight Zone-y, when you think about it....

If I have any photos of John or Jane, I'd put them up here, but I got nothing!

A funny environmental comment...

The other day, in just random conversation, Sue said to me, "I can't wait until we have a house."

As the comment was apropos of nothing that we had been talking about, I said, "Why?"

Her reply: "We'll have a clothes dryer, and I can toast my pajamas before bed..."

"I don't know if that would be terribly energy efficient," I said.

And then the classic response: "True, it really wouldn't reduce the footprint much, would it?"

I thought it was a really funny, quick retort...

NP: The Police - Peanuts (Live)

Egging on!

Louie's egging me on to apply for the Director job, as he mentions in his comment on yesterday's blog. I'm still up in the air about it. Here are some factors I'm considering, just so that people know what's going through my head:

• Responsibility. Yes, it's more, which is good. The Director title and responsibility will look good on my resume, and I'll build more skills in those areas. On the other side of the coin, I'll be gaining a lot of the same experiences over the summer, as I learn what I'll need to know to help out the new director, so I could get the knowledge, without the parts of the job that may be personally draining. So, it's a toss up now, which needs more reflection on my part.
• Money. Yes, it would be more, but not a huge amount more. We'd also have to move into the Director's house, which is nice, but it's still another move less than a year after we moved here. Both Sue and I value stability, so a physical move so soon could be rough. Not enough to rule it out, but it's part of the calculus.
• Presidential search. The College is undergoing a presidential search right now, and while this won't have a big impact on my process, I am interested to see the outcome, before I start planning my continued move up the ladder of responsibility. Who the President is can truly determine the direction of the College, so I'd like a bit more knowledge on who is going to be sitting in the big chair before throwing my hat into the ring.
• Longevity. If I apply to this job, how long does it commit me to being in the position? I don't know. I need to think about that, and see how long we'd like to be in the area. Sue will be looking at possible degree programs at the college where she works, so stability could be really good now. More info needed.
• Job description. I still haven't even seen a job description for the Director position yet. Once I see it, I'll have a better idea of what I could be in for with the work.

So, those are some random thoughts. A lot of it is "more input necessary." I can truly say that I haven't really come to any conclusion yet, as I want to see what pans out over the next few weeks, with the actual position posting, and the possible conclusion of the Presidential search. There's also an Academic Dean position that has opened up at the College, that could be interesting to look at, again, depending on the job description.

More to come!

NP: Jon Anderson - Animation

Long Time Gone

Sorry for the delay in writing, I've just been busy with life, and not sitting at the computer a lot...

Happy May Day everyone! Let the revolution begin!

What's been going on recently? Well, my supervisor is leaving her job at the end of the summer, so one of the things on my plate is reflecting on whether or not it would be worthwhile to apply for the Director job. A number of people at work have asked if I am, and have been semi-encouraging about it, but I'm still thinking about it, with no real decision made one way or another... Watch this space for further updates.

We're in the home stretch of the semester, with the Finals period ending on May 15th, and students having to vacate their residence hall rooms by noon on May 16th. Graduation is May 20th, at the Garden State Arts Center, and I'll be working the event. Then, the glorious summer months begin, which will be very nice. I'm looking forward to getting a lot of work done, and having Friday's off starting in the middle of June.

We've had candidates in for the Resident Coordinator position open for this coming year. Good candidates, we have a plethora of riches in this search. That's been keeping me busy at work since Thursday. Soon, I'll get to start reference checks on people, which is always interesting to see what gets said (or not) during these conversations.

Sue and I saw "Hot Fuzz" over the weekend, and I have to say, it's the best comedy I've seen in the movies this year so far, or actually in quite awhile, even back into last year. Simon Pegg and his co-writer/director are great at making a parody, while also not getting caught up in trying to be PARODY, if that makes sense. I'll put it this way, the films stand up on their own as story/comedy, without even knowing all the details of the parody. A great comedy, go see it!

NP: The Moody Blues - Isn't Life Strange

Ah, music...

"Even with good friends, it's easy to feel alone at times. That's when music steps in."

I wrote this last night, in response to some postings on the Genesis message boards.

I've been a bit of a music nerd recently, posting *a lot* on those message boards. So much so, that I've been the #1 poster for awhile. I've recently dropped to #2 or #3, but that's okay. I have no need to be #1 all the time.

I was writing about my personal relationship to music. I have many people I consider friends, but unfortunately, a lot of them are far away, not within easy, just hang out distance. So, the phone, e-mail, carrier pidgeons, whatever communication venue works usually substitutes.

But, there are times when it's nice to have someone right there. Of course, I'm married to a wonderful Sue, and she's always there for me. However, sometimes you just need to be alone, or need some non-interactive consolation. For me, that's when I truly turn to music.

So, now you know a little more about me. Yay!

NP: Genesis - Duchess

Spring? What Spring?

Today, here in New Jersey, we leaped straight into summer...

I was going to say "lept," but when I saw it, I wasn't sure if it was a real word...

I think it hit at least 85F today, which was nice after the unseasonably cool weather we had for the past week or two. On Saturday, Sue and I went out to the movies (saw Blades of Glory, good stupid fun), but beforehand, discovered a little scenic area in Bayonne (who knew?), where we could see the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline. It was a nice area, but needed a good trash pick up.

Litter is one of my big pet peeves. Mainly because there's absolutely no reason for it. If you have trash, wait till you see a garbage can.

There was a garbage can at this scenic area, but it was way out of the way. You have to be motivated to use it. If I were in charge (and really, why aren't I?), I would move it closer to where people actually stand.

NP: Silence

Thursday the 19th

It's just as rare as a Friday the 13th, maybe I should get spooked about this...

This video is hitting everyone on the web, so if you haven't seen it, you should...

Comedy Click Here!

Very funny stuff... Some people, from the comments below it, don't quite realize that Will Ferrell isn't actually yelling at the kid... Editing can be your friend...

Today, I attended a day long workshop/conference on alcohol education at colleges. Quite interesting stuff, got to meet some cool people, and I got a free book out of it, so it can't be that bad!

I have to mention that after I said that my birthday was done, I got one more gift from Mr. Paik, the first season of Ricky Gervais's show Extras, which is shown on the BBC and HBO. It's a riot, very well done! I'll have to pick up the BBC "The Office," which I've only seen bits of on DVD at other people's places.

Patrick Stewart: You've seen Star Trek, haven't you?

Ricky Gervais: No, haven't caught it.

Patrick Stewart: Ah, you're married.

Ricky Gervais: No... Not married.

Patrick Stewart: Ah, okay, you have a girlfriend!

Ricky Gervais: No, no girlfriend.

Patrick Stewart: You're not married, you don't have a girlfriend, and you've never seen Star Trek?

Ricky Gervais: No, can't say I have...

Patrick Stewart: Good Lord.

Funny stuff, much funnier in delivery than I can put into words here... Find it and watch it, if you can!

NP: Jon & Vangelis - The Arms of Love

The joy of presales...

This morning, I found out that there's going to be a Genesis concert at Madison Square Garden on September 25th, on top of the Giants Stadium show I already have tickets for on September 27th.

The Genesis website fanclub presale was this morning at 10am, so I limbered up my fingers, and got tickets in Section 102. Groovy!

This evening, we had our second Group Process interview for Resident Assistant positions here at the college. It was a good time, I always enjoy watching the candidates interact in groups. Then tomorrow and Thursday, they'll do individual interviews, and then we decide who to hire...

That's all for now, just a quick update...

T.O.O.L. - All Along the Watchtower

Tires!

So, this weekend, I went and got new tires for my car. My old ones, I got in about the year 2000, and it was time for a change. They were also snow tires, from when I lived up north. They may have contributed to my transmission issues back in October 2006, as the snow tires cause more drag/resistance between the car and the road, so that was another reason to change the tires.

I always knew the snow tires made more of a sound, because of their bigger treads. Now, with the new tires, my car is riding very quietly! It's amazing, I didn't expect it to be that big of a difference, but the sound is much less in my car now.

Late last week, Sue and I made our reservations for our summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard. We'll be staying in Oak Bluffs, in a little hotel there. We'll have to share a bathroom with 3 other rooms, but that's fine, as the rooms are about $80 cheaper per night compared to other places. I'll be sure to post a full review after we get back in July.

NP: King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man (6 May 1969)

The official conclusion...

...of my birthday season arrived today, when I received a gift in the mail from my friend Brian. It's two graphic novels, of one series, called "The Walking Dead." More zombie literature to fry my brain! Thanks Brian!

I finished the novel "The Historian" yesterday. It was a good read, I enjoyed it, but the book is 675 pages long, and I think it could have been tightened up a good 100 pages or so. The story is about the search for the living Dracula, in semi-modern times, told through a "modern" story, but also through a series of letters, written by the protaginist's father, and an assortment of other characters.

The book kept me interested enough to finish it, but my main critique, as I said, was the pace of it. With that being said, I wouldn't not read other work by the author.

NP: Frank Zappa - Freak Out Drum Track w/timpani

Recap of the week!

Sorry for not blogging recently, I've just been tied up with, well, just relaxing. It's nice to be able to just take it easy for a few days, with no real responsibilities besides hanging with my wonderful Sue, and having fun with her.

On Saturday, we went into NYC to the Lincoln Center movie theater, to see Pan's Labyrnth, which was an excellent movie. I'm always into subtitles, and this was a very fantastical story, about a girl growing up during WWII/Spanish Civil War, and how she deals with it. You never really know if the story is in the girl's head, or if it's real, but that's part of the charm/wistfulness of the film. I recommend it highly...

Today, I had the exciting delivery in the mail of the Genesis 1976-1982 5.1 surround sound box set, which includes the albums A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, And Then There Were Three, Duke, Abacab, and a sixth disc of b-sides (also mixed in 5.1). So far, I've listened to Trick, and a song or two off of Abacab (Dodo and Whodunnit, for those of you who are wondering...). The new mixes in surround sound are quite good, it really opens up the music to hear detail that was only hinted at before. I'm looking forward to digesting the rest of the music over the next week, and afterwards...

Each album also comes with an accompaning DVD, with about 15 minutes of band interviews about the album, the associated videos, and any other items of interest, like live concert clips, tv appearances, etc. Very cool stuff, especially since it's all really just a bonus. I've only watched the Abacab interviews so far, and they're actually worth having... Which is nice, for a freebie.

In regards to the conference I attended, I have to give Al Gore kudos for his global warming/Inconvenient Truth keynote speech. What's interesting is that he asks the stage lights to be dimmed, so that you can't really see him talking, but because of that, you focus on the details of his presentation. Which is quite compelling, I have to say. Global warming is real, and many countries are taking steps to reign in the threat. However, the US is reacting slowly, while being one of the major contributors to the problem. I need to buy a hybrid car NOW! And vote for candidates who actually plan on addressing this issue.

I'm not going to go over what Gore says, you can rent the DVD of An Inconvenient Truth easily enough. Watch it, and be educated. Get past whatever political issues you may have with Al Gore, and just listen to the information.

NP: Lenny Bruce - Our Governors (1959)

The Baltarian Dialogues (Part One?)

The Baltarian Dialogues

Brian and I engaged in an e-mail dissection of the Battlestar Galactica season finale, and since there's no real point in just copying/pasting it here, I give you the link to his blog entry above...

NP: Fonya - Fleabitten Cat

The return from Orlando...

I returned last night from the ACPA/NASPA conference down in Orlando. The flight was fine, except that it left 3 hours later than it was supposed to, so I got home to Jersey City around 2:30am in the morning. No fun there! But, the flight was uneventful, so that's okay...

Here's a photolog of my experiences...

The line for registration. It looks long, and it was, but it actually moved pretty quickly...

Daniel and Brian, two friends from my work years at Dartmouth, we went out with Fu and Krista (pictured below) on Friday, the first night there...

We went to eat at a place in Downtown Celebration, a town that's been built to house Disney workers, from what I was told...

Fu really doesn't have buck teeth, although this photo may lead to to believe that...

I was actually down there to work, not just to eat with friends. Here's the table we had for Saint Peter's, where I (and my Director) interview prospective candidates to work in Residence Life at the college. It was a good area, very comfortable for interviewing...

I didn't really expect to see livestock outside of my hotel window, but life is full of surprises...

I thought this was a pretty evening sky.

The stage for Al Gore's presentation, from my seat, which Fu and Krista kindly saved for me...

The happy couple!

And to prove I was there, here I am, looking semi-professional! And more hairless than I actually am!

Al Gore, on the video screen right in front of us. If you haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" yet, you should! I haven't, but now that I saw Gore's presentation, I know all the relevant information. Watch it, and be educated...

On the phone, talking to Sue... See, there is hair up there!

A crowd from Dartmouth at the social...

That's where I'll leave this for now. Over the weekend, I'll write up more about the content and actual stuff I did at the conference.

NP: Mike Keneally - Bober

Heading to Orlando

I'm heading to Orlando for a conference. I'll be gone till Wednesday. Most likely no blog posts till then...

Enjoy the break from the world of Mike...

NP: Playing? It's too early!

Sunday ramblings...

Okay, I'm going to blather on a bit here about Battlestar Galactica, so if you don't want to be *spoiled,* look away now!

Now, I say!

Okay, I just finished watching the season 3 finale, and my quick thoughts are that it was very good, with a very stupid part at the end.

The doofy part is the All Along the Watchtower quotes, although I did like the Indian influenced music at the end...

Now, are Tighe, Sam, the Chief, and the President's aid really Cylons. Methinks not. Why would an Earth song trigger their Cylon pieces to come alive?

Could it be that they're plants from Earth itself, infiltrating the Colonies? That could be interesting, if "humanity" on Earth has Cylons of their own, or if these people are just real people, planted with some psychological trigger to reanimate their memories.

Although, it's just a song, and it brought them all together. It doesn't appear to have triggered any real mission in them, although the Chief did seem like the one most willing to accept his Cylon-nature.

But, wouldn't that make his kid special? Like Hera?

And, there were only four of them called to that room. There's still one Cylon model missing, if they really are Cylons. Who could it be? The Pres? Baltar? Starbuck? That lawyer guy? This stuff did all start when he had that cane, and he left it behind on the ship, showing that it was just a prop all along...

It's interesting seeing the Baltar groupies make their reappearance. He'll have friends to keep him alive now. It was great to see his character not change one whit from what he went through. Still the same self involved Baltar. Everyone loves Baltar!

More thoughts on this as I have them...

NP: Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song

Lazy Saturday...

Didn't really do much today, as I was on the aforementioned duty... Got up around 10am-ish, showered, watched some TV, read a bit, updated some genealogy on the Scots side of the family, ordered some Chinese food, watched two old Richard Jeni specials I have on VHS tape, and did dishes.

A very nice Saturday. And, it felt like Sunday all day to me, so I think tomorrow will feel like a bonus weekend day, always good...

It was fun to dig out those two Richard Jeni specials. I think the CD I have of his comedy is a bit better than the tapes, but maybe that's just because we watched those shows so much while in college. I think if we were ever wanting for something to do to kill some time, once we got our work done, of course, we'd throw on those shows.

There's lots of little phrases that my roommates and I incorporated into our lingo from those specials. Some Minnesota accents, quick one liners (which of course I can't remember now!), and just general good jokes.

NP: Ensemble Modern - The Adventures of Greggery Peckery

I'm on Duty!

Ah yes, another work weekend, I'm the duty person for campus, so I get to stay around for the next few days and TCB (take care of business) here on campus.

This year has gone by amazingly fast, where we're less than two months to graduation. Maybe it's part of being at a school again where the academic year is more "normal" than working at Dartmouth. Here at Saint Peter's, graduation is on May 20th. At Dartmouth, graduation was usually around June 10th. So, this year, it feels like I'm ending much earlier.

At this time next week, I'll be in Orlando, Florida, for the Joint ACPA/NASPA conference. I'll be there from Friday until Wednesday. It's really much more like work than a vacation, but work in Florida can't really be bad when you're not used to it. Can it?

It'll be a good trip, I believe. I'll meet up with old colleagues, and get to interview candidates for positions here. This will be the first conference since 2005 where I'm not looking for a job myself, which will be a nice relief.

I'll be doing some more updates over this weekend, as I'll be around... What are *your* weekend plans?

And Lou, I really liked the dream you posted... Weird, but, well, weird!

A dress?

Here's two pictures of me in a dress!

These are digital photos of real pictures, taken in late 1991-early 1992. Junior at Boston College. I was doing a scavenger hunt with a friend, and one of the items was a guy in a woman's dress. We found one of his female friends, whose dress I could just *barely* get into...

I also have shots of me in a dress from one of the CCE productions we did, where I played an 85 year old woman. I should dig those out...

NP: ELP - Pictures At An Exhibition (13 Aug 1972)

Not quite Platonian dialogues...

Brian and I just had an e-mail exchange about "THE HOST." Here it is for your enjoyment... '

In a message dated 3/20/2007 10:55:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Brian writes:

BRIAN: The first time I saw HARD BOILED was in college, senior year, with an animatrix friend. I think it was playing for several days in a row and I went back at least once more during that run. I *might* have dragged you to it then, but I suspect we must have seen it a year or so later, post-college.

MIKE: It feels more like post-college to me... I think that was when I saw my first HK cinema... I do remember really liking it, and I still have the Criterion DVD of it, I should break it out at some point soon...

BRIAN: Ah, THE HOST. I started to comment on your post about it, but felt that it would quickly get away from me, and bailed on commenting, figuring that I would do another write-up of my own on it... Alas, haven't gotten around to it. I've been having trouble settling down to write much of anything since getting back from Florida. Don't know quite why.

MIKE: It's the sun. It gets to you...

Feel free to hijack my blog anytime... I enjoy long comments.

BRIAN: The first time I saw it, I laughed at the family falling down in mourning/fighting. The second tme, I didn't laugh. Third time, I laughed. I really do feel that it's meant to be sad *and* funny. I think that goes for a decent chunk of the film.

MIKE: I laughed as it went on, but more of one of those, "My god" type of laughs... Not funny, but more of a reaction... Sad and funny, that makes sense to me.

BRIAN: It's amazing how that film can so smoothly switch gears in tone and style without breaking the continuity of it.

MIKE: It was pretty good with that. I thought at the end, with the brother dropping the Molotov Cocktail, was just perfect too... The music swelling, slo mo, etc. I thought he'd miss, or the monster would move. Didn't think about him just *dropping* it, which was so right...

BRIAN: Within a heartbeat, you get a laugh as the dopey father counts to himself how many shots he's fired with the shotgun, and then just the worst kind of sadness at the spiteful thrashing of the grandfather by the creature.

MIKE: And he doesn't even try to run, because he knows it's not possible to get away...

BRIAN: One scene that I love that gets some interesting audience reactions is when the family sits down for a seo-ri dinner in the abandoned foodstand, and out of nowhere, the daughter joins them. For me, that was incredibly touching and bittersweet. For others, it seemed to be a joke. For really annoying others, it was a puzzle, prompting one jerkass to repeat out loud several times, "Now I'm confused."

MIKE: I know I didn't laugh, but within a moment, it's pretty obvious it's a dream/imagination piece. I can't believe that someone didn't get it, who was intelligent enough to seek out a Korean monster movie!

But then again, I think of the reaction you talked about to Romeo & Juliet, where someone in the audience really didn't know that they both die at the end...

BRIAN: I love that nothing is wasted in the film. At the start, we see dad Gang-dul asleep in the food stand, and a little urchin of a kid attempts to steal a candy bar or something. Before he can manage it,he's whisked away by a big brother type, dressed in fatigues. These are the brothers who get snatched by the creature after seo-ri/robbing the locked up food stand later in the film.

MIKE: Ah, I'd have to see that again to catch it. Missed it the first time. And I thought they were father/son, not brothers...

BRIAN: The beer. The wanted poster. The bucket of change.

MIKE: "If you put a gun on the mantle in Act 1, it needs to be fired by Act 3." I think Chekhov (the playwright, not the starfleet officer) said that...

BRIAN: I like that what would be the subtext in a typical monster film is just plain text for the most part. The political stuff is political stuff, no metaphors. I'm eager to see how an American version of the film frames things, particularly the origin of the beasty, and the activist brother's character/motivation. Perhaps he's a dot-com refugee, overqualified yet unemployable.

MIKE: True, no Godzille=atom bomb here. Here, it's chemicals=chemicals. Is there actually going to be an american version? American movies tend to have no problem with the government being the bad guys. Or, it may be Industry/Capitalism, which works too...

BRIAN: I hope Sam Raimi's involved in bringing it over. He's had a hand in bringing over THE GRUDGE films and they've been solid.

MIKE: I haven't seen any of those. With Sue not being a real horror nut, my viewing of them has been cut down. At Dartmouth, there were a few people into horror, so I could go with them, but no people here are good movie buddies.

--------------

There you have it. A conversation for the ages... We'll have more dialogues on this blog in the future... It saves me the trouble of writing.

High School dream...

The other night, I had an odd high school dream. Of course, upon waking, dreams always fall apart, but what I could remember from this one was:

• It was graduation, but only about 30 people were in a small classroom for the ceremony. I was there, sitting next to one of my friends, Beth Lefsky. Her father (Mr. Lefsky) who was the head of the social studies department, was organizing the ceremony.
• There were three people sitting near us, who were there to pick up a diploma for a friend of theirs, who was actually a student staff member who I worked with at Dartmouth, but they got his name wrong. His name was Mike, but they called him Mark. They also got his last name wrong, but the way it was wrong, it was the same name of someone in my class.
• At one point, Beth and I left, to try to find more people. I *think* we found my friend Brian, but he didn't want to do the ceremony.
• I was curious why there weren't more people around, or people I recognized, but that's dreams for you.

I think there was more of a plot to this dream. It did all seem to hang together when I woke up from it, but time and daylight drive out the details, and make it all just gossimer on the winds...

I'm "on duty" at work this week, which means I'm the administrator on call for the evenings if anything happens on campus. We'll see how this week goes.

Does anyone else out there have any weird dreams of their past to share?

NP: Genesis - In The Cage (24 Jan 1975)

The Host

Sue and I went to see "The Host" today at Landmark Sunshine Theater on Houston Street in NYC today. A really enjoyable film, combination social satire, monster film, and family gathering. The basic idea is that a monster is created from some bad stuff poured down a drain in a morgue (authorized by an American doctor, adding to the politicial subtext of the film). The monster likes to swallow people, and then spit them up later in a bit of a holding pen in a sewer.

Most of the people swallowed die, but a few survive, and one of the survivors is a little girl, so her father and extended family try to save her.

The movie is from Korea, and from what I understand, it's the highest grossing movie in South Korea ever. Whether that includes films made outside of SK, I'm not sure.

There are some interesting parts to the movie, where I'm not sure if the comedy was supposed to be funny, or whether there are just some cultural differences to the approach to comedy or drama. However, it was a good movie, it surprised me in places, and worked on a number of levels.

Sue and I took the PATH trains from Journal Square to 9th Street in NYC, then walked to the theater. It was about a 35 minute walk in NYC, which wasn't bad, except for the slush/snow still on the ground.

NP: Magma - Kohntark (Part One)

Birthday!

Ah yes, today was my birtday, born in Neptune, NJ, at 6:51am, back in 1971. As my friend Brian points out, I'm now officially square, as 6x6=36.

Ah, math humor. I just realized we passed pi (March 14th) the other day, when it was mentioned on Stephen Colbert (that's why he was feeling so irrational).

Because of the crappy weather today, we actually had a half day of work. So, it was nice to get away from work early on my birthday. Yay for me.

Sue and I would have gone out to eat, but because of the aforementioned bad weather, we got a pizza from the place down the street. Personally, it hit the spot for me, so a good birthday was had by all. Sue got me a t-shirt that is "Stewart-Colbert '08," which I will wear with pride.

This weekend, dependent on the weather, we'll probably go into NYC to see "The Host," as I mentioned the other day on here.

That's about it... Happy birthday to me, and all that... :)

NP: Genesis - Firth of Fifth (28 Nov 1981)

The Host

I think I have to seek out this movie during this weekend at some point. It may only be playing in NYC, so it may be worth a trip in...

NP: Brian Eno - Back in Judy's Jungle

Eh...

I'm in one of *those*moods tonight... Just kind of bleah...

I've found that when I get like this, I just have to let it ride out. If I actively try to combat the mood, I end up annoying and depressing myself. But, if I just take life as it is, and try to relax, it generally does get better.

These things don't usually go on for more than a few hours, or a day. Sleeping usually helps. I may be subdued the next day, but it's not horrible. It's just getting through stuff.

I think one of the things that I'm thinking about is what I want to do with my life. I enjoy my work, but is it really what I want to be doing? Is it enough? If it is, that's great! But, I want to make sure that I'm doing the right work for the right reasons. I'm trying to keep my eyes open, and my brain open, to different possibilities out there. I'm certainly not actively looking for another job (I'll be here for at least another academic year), but it would be interesting to see what may be out there for someone with my work history.

I'm using this blog to think out loud right now. Don't take this all as me being in a horrible funk or that I hate my job. I simply want to feel like I'm doing what I should be doing with my time. I generally think that I am, but days where I get a bit down, it leads me to question a lot of this surface/work type things. At my core, I'm a generally happy person. I like my life, and I have a lot of good people around me. So, I analyze and question, to see where I am at, and where I might think about going.

If I come up with any ideas, I'll let you know.

NP: Genesis - The Cinema Show (1976)

In other news...

What else is going on in my life besides talking about comedy? Here's a quick lowdown:

I got tickets late last week to see Genesis at Giants Stadium in September. I wasn't happy that there wasn't going to be a show at Madison Square Garden, which I thought would have been a better venue, but I'm not scheduling the tour. So, I buy where the show is.

It should be a great tour. Our seats are in Section 110, so we'll be on the side, with a good angle for the whole stage. I've also been posting a lot on the new official Genesis message board, and have somehow made my way up to being the number one poster on the board (for now). I think this makes me king of the Genesis nerds, or something, a crown I will proudly wear, as a Genesis nerd myself...

Work is gearing up, I'm going to have busy evenings next week, I'll be on call, and have evening commitments I think almost every night of the week. That's fine though, I'd rather have those meetings when I have to be around anyway. The following week is our Housing process, I get to be a worker bee then. Tomorrow, Residence Life is attending a meeting of the Board of Trustees, so we get to answer whatever questions they have about Residence Life. Should be fun...

It was Sue's birthday this past Friday, which made everything we did this weekend special for her birthday. We have fun together, two geeky peas in a pod.

That's about it for now. More to come later!

NP: Catherine Wheel - Kill My Soul

Richard Jeni and the Art of Comedy

I wanted to write a bit more about Richard Jeni, and his comedy. A bit of background on me.

When I was in late elementary school, I discovered a few old Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby albums in the closet in my house. I recognized both of them from TV, and said to myself, "Wow, I wonder what's on these? TV shows?"

I played the albums, and was amazed to find people talking, telling funny stories, and getting laughs. I thought this was great! Here was something that I could listen to, and laugh over and over again! Comedy, on demand.

I remember one of my friends coming over, and I make him listen to one of the Bob Newhart albums. After finishing it, he left. We did remain friends, but the comedy album format didn't really do anything for him. I couldn't get it.

After listening to them once, some people would ask, "You know the jokes, why do you listen to them again? How can it be funny all over?" For me, the answer was about listening to the nuances, the timing, the rhythm of the words. The word choice. The way the jokes were intoned. Accents. Pauses. All in the art of comedy. What do you do, and what don't you do?

After those classics, I got into Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and really delved into comedy with meaning, with subtext, and with purpose. Did I get all this when I was in Junior High? Nope, but on repeated listenings, I got the ideas behind what they were saying.

This brings me to Richard Jeni, again. When I first saw him, probably on the Tonight Show, doing his Jaws bit, where he talks about watching Jaws 4 late at night, and his body revolting against him for watching such a dumb film, it got me. The imagery, the timing, the thought, and even the animals (in this case, the Shark, and his spinal column) in the story.

Jeni made the comedy look easy, as all the great performers did. But I was in amazement, as I *knew* that he had honed this bit to within an inch of its life, and it *worked!*

When I saw that first Showtime special, I was continually amazed, and delighted, by the amount of effort Richard put into his show. The wording, the phrasing, all showed signs of an intelligent guy, going for it. One thing that continually amused me in his routine was his use of animals. He would mention the indignancy of the lobster tank at "Fred Robster," and how, at the steak house, you guessed it, no cow tank!

In the bit, there was a little line where the cow, crying, says, "Why don't you try the lobster," and the lobster returns the quip, "Why don't you mind your own damn business..." It was a subtle thing, but he used animals often enough in his bits that I had to believe that there was something more to it. Something about us as people. Because, of course, the animals are just substitutes for us. Jeni wasn't as overtly subversive as a Bill Hicks or a George Carlin, but in his own way, he could turn the mirror on ourselves, and make us laugh a bit...

That's as maudlin as I'm going to get in this.

Jeni was also great at weaving his bits into each other, having little references come back from previous bits, culmunating in a big laugh at the end of the show. I saw him live at least twice, and perhaps a third time (those years living in Boston seem so long ago in a lot of ways), and he never disappointed. I regret not having made an effort to go to some of his shows more often, in those intervening years.

I deleted a comment from yesterday's post, saying that Richard Jeni was just a D-list celebrity who didn't make it, that the suicide was the biggest news that he had made in years. And I think that shows just what's wrong with the culture of celebrity. Jeni was a steadily working comedian, playing probably over 100 shows a year, and doing great material. I'm not in his head, so I don't know if he thought that he should have been a bigger "star," or had a better film career. All I know is that he did stand up great, and had a lot to be proud of with that. If this was suicide, and if it was caused by despondency over his career, I'm really sad to hear that, because I think that Richard Jeni had nothing to be ashamed about with his career in comedy. He was a true comedian.

Richard Jeni

I just read about an hour or so ago, on AOL News, that Richard Jeni, one of my favorite comedians of the past 17 years, died by an apparent suicide.

I first discovered Richard Jeni from 30 minute Showtime special from 1989. I still have it on tape somewhere. I showed that tape to so many people, making fans of him when I was in college. I think I was having some friends over to watch Evil Dead II in the summer of 1989, and while waiting for a few more people to show up, we caught this special on cable. We all laughed, but I really connected with his humor.

Later that summer, I taped it, thinking that it would be good to bring to college with me. It was, and the following summer, I taped his second 60 minute Showtime special, and those tapes became regular viewing in our room in Shaw House at Boston College.

I saw Jeni live at least once during college, and a few times while living in Boston before departing for grad school in 1996. I even have a tape of every episode of his short lived TV show on UPN, Platypus Man.

While in grad school, I picked up Jeni's CD, Greatest Bits. The tape I made of it is still in my car, and gets played often on long car rides.

I don't know what may have driven Jeni to suicide. Did he feel that he deserved bigger success? Did he have health issues? I don't know, and it almost doesn't matter, as we've lost a good comic voice.

So, Richard Jeni, I'll miss your comedy. And, I'll miss the potential that once was...

NP: Genesis - Behind the Lines