Sooo....  Remember the previous post?  That one?  \I/  Down There? \|/

An even more annoying thing has happened.  We did the show.  I worked hard.  Set up and cross checked 8 channels of wireless in record time.  We made a games list.  We set the levels straight into the camera.  I played with one of the hottest DJs in the country. 

We did the show.  200 people saw the show, laughed at the show, loved the show.  Stand ups came up afterwards.  We taped them too.

Then someone stole the primary camera.  Really, they stole it right out of the club.  I am not pleased.  I want to know why.  I did a bang up job.  The performers rocked.  That DJ indeed made my day, and the record of it is gone. 

What's odd though, is that as angry as I am at whomever took the camera and our tape, I feel fear and pity for them.  Mostly, when you get down to it, the people in the group are good people.  We're not mean, bitter, or ill tempered.  Some of the folks who work in the venue however, and some of the comics who came up, are STREET! 

They will not worry about the blood that will get on their clothes as they beat you to a bone crushed pulp over, and over, and over again.  They really won't.  I truly hope that whomever took the camera returns it or if they're caught, are caught by the owner or law enforcement. 

Things won't be pretty, but they won't be crimson either. 

I am still left wondering why they took the camera.  They knew that an audition tape for the troupe was on the line.  They knew the troupe was flying out for a major entertainment industry showcase and that it was important.  They either cared, in which case I'd like to know what inspired the hate, or they didn't, in which case I'd like to know what drew away their ability to empathize. 

While frustrating and expensive, the camera can be replaced.  The show and the work that went into it, cannot. 

I'm in one of the most annoying sections of my particular job:  I've traveled to the venue, but no one is there yet. 

When I get in I'll have too little time to set up and then our audience will arrive.  However, by then, I'll be running and won't have time to care.  Now is when it's bad; when there is time to think about it and know that the money is too low and the time is too short. 

So I schvitz.  The comedy troupe I am working for is going to L.A. and their bringing the tape we're shooting tonight.  If things go well, it could again lead to flirtation with a development deal.  95% of them end in heartbreak, but this is flirtation #12, so only 8 more to go and maybe they'll hit the big time.  From there, who stays and who goes becomes a total crap shoot. 

I miss my friends.  I miss the people close to me, and I haven't had a day off in a couple of weeks. 

Still come August when I have nothing to do, I'll look back upon these days with fondness.   So I schvitz and hope someone will bring me a cheeseburger.

If you believe the polls, West Virginians are going to vote for Senator Clinton in the upcoming primary by a 70% to 30% margin.   I do not believe she will get  a 40% margin of victory, she will win handily.  

My guess is that she'll get at least 57% of the vote but no more than 2/3rds.  If she wins by a margin of better than 20 points, look for her to re-declare herself a viable candidate and accuse Senator Obama of being unable to 'win across the board'.  

Let's be clear what 'win across the board' means: WASPS.   There is a real question not about Senator Obama, but about America.  Will White Protestant Americans vote for a Black man?  Any Black man?  Senator Clinton has proven that White Protestant Men will cross the gender line and vote for a white woman.  That prejudice is now fortunately off the table.  West Virginia will measure whether a state in which there are virtually no minorities can transcend their own racial characteristics or whether race will play a defining role in this.  

If Senator Clinton's margin is huge, the true winner is John McCain.

Senator Obama has a couple of elements in his favor.  First, he has received the endorsement of the state's largest paper.  Second, if the polls have you down by 40 points, then having a percentage of the vote larger than your margin of loss is a victory of sorts. 

If I were a resident of West Virginia, I might be in favor of Senator Clinton too, but I would want the race to be closer.  West Virginia will be poorly judged if the margin is too big.  They'll become the poster child for 'political might must be white'.  That would be embarrassing for everyone.

The opening performance of 'Driving Ms. Daisy' at the Academy Theatre is going on now.  Right now.  Now, we don't know what the audience thinks.  Now, we don't know if they are feeling the emotions we want them to feel or are connecting with the characters.  

Opening nights are important as they determine the nature of the rest of the run.  A great opening night means great word of mouth and hopefully a nice review.  A lousy opening night and you have to build slowly, but somehow keep the revenue coming in.

Regular theater is a completely different ballgame from most of what I do.  First, you have to say the same lines each night.  Second, there are sets!  Third, people seem to think of regular theater as a higher art form than they do improv.  I love theater.  I love the performances, but I'm not sure it's higher art.

So, now I wait for the show to end, for Ms. Daisy to grow old, for the country to change, and for Hoke to feed her pie.  

Then it will be what it will be.

BTW, if you like 'Driving Ms. Daisy', it runs through June 1 at the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates.  More information is available here! 

 

 William Earl Lynd went to sleep forever last night and I didn't sleep very well.  

Mr. Lynd killed his girlfriend while both of them were drunk and high.  What he did was horrible and stupid.  

I recognize that the law was followed, that Mr. Lynd does not deny doing these things, and that the Constitution clearly envisions the death penalty as legal in the most henious of settings. 

Still I do not sleep well in the face of an execution.  When the state kills someone, they do it my name... whether I like it or not.  Because I do not advocate the overthrow of the state, I, per se, consent to each individual killing committed by it.  

I never cease to be amazed that religious conservatives of all stripes are pro death penalty.  One would think that those who value life and who believe in limiting the power of government, would start by taking away its power to kill you.  

Killing people should not be easy.  Capital punishment is envisioned in the Constitution, but it is not required.  It's legal, but it is not right.  Increasingly, we're a lustfully bloody society and we enjoy the kill. 

I still think that if a Jury decides to send a person to death, they should all have to flip the switches that kill the prisoner.  One should not pass judgment isolated from its consequences when they involve taking the most basic right, which is whether to live.  

As we move forward, my sleep will improve... until the next person is on the clock.  What if that one is the one who didn't do it? 

This Tuesday will bring a primary split decision.  Clinton will win Indiana and Obama will win North Carolina.  Obama's tiny victory in Guam will not be enough to make a difference. 

Senator Clinton will win by 4 points but not more than 10 in Indiana.  Baring an announcement by John Edwards one way or another, Obama's margin of victory in North Carolina will be bigger. 

The big question is when will Obama's supporters pick themselves up off the mat and start fighting for their candidate?  One phrase rarely heard is "But Obama is Right!"  People find him an inspiration and they like supporting him, but they don't seem to think he's right on the issues, even when he's dead on. 

The gas tax suspension is a perfect example.  Senator Clinton pandered.  She sees the tax suspension as a gesture.   Obama has rightly pointed out that it will widen the deficit (which only makes the credit crunch worse)  and that prices would change only a fraction of that 18 cents.  The people who will make the money are the oil companies and not the Federal Treasury or individual citizens. 

It's a silly idea.  Obama has been unable to turn the corner and show this as pandering by both of her opponents.  If he can win this decision in the next couple of days, he stands the chance to close it.  If he can't, Senator Clinton will continue to look stronger.

Obama has proven that he has the big vision.  Now he needs to display a mastery of an issue that will separate him from Clinton and let him close the deal. 

Clinton needs to prove that she can do more than scrap.  She needs to show her skeptics and Obama supporters that she has a realistic vision of the forest and not just the trees.  Moreover, she needs to find an 80-20 issue that she can use against McCain and to enthuse all Democrats. 

Guam has it's primary today.  My guess is that Obama will win.  It may not seem important, but the winner gets two things:

1. Momentum.  If Obama wins then he has stopped the Clinton streak and can go into Indiana having won the most recent contest.  That will likely give him another 1%.  Likely not enough to win, but it will help.
2. Delegates.  Each candidate needs every single one.  If Clinton wins, she'll use the information Monday and Tuesday to indicate that Obama's lead has been reduced. 
   

Hopefully Guam's turnout will be a record and give one candidate or the other some clear momentum going into the Indiana Primary.

Another member of the Blog-o-sphere recently posted comments to the effect that part of their frustration with dating someone who toured was that the touring person felt nagged by the blogger who wanted them to check in. 

That's legit.  There is a real tension between those on tour and those left at home.  It's not only true for theater companies, bands, and other folks, but as the recent show 'Carrier' on PBS shows, it's also true in the military. 

The tour is a funny lifestyle. It's a really band of brothers kind of thing. You substitute one family for another. Know that EVERYONE on the road gets frustrated with checking in, just as the people back home get frustrated because they have no idea what the people on the road are doing.

Most people on tour see the following:  Highway, rest area, Wendy's, Highway, Gas Station, Highway, Venue, Hotel, Venue, Hotel Bar, Bed, Highway.  Rinse, Repeat. 

I'm weird because even though I'm the guy who will spend the most time at the venue, I am the one who itches to get out and see where we are.  I push for the post show meal to have local flavor.  I don't want to worry about whether or not I am going to get back too late to check in at home.  Moreover, most musicians turn their phones absolutely off during the event.  I know that I have to when I am sitting behind a soundboard. 

I've had the 'You turned your cell phone off!' fight. It's not fun. There are times when I honestly just didn't turn it on until the next day. [For those of you wondering why it has to be turned off in the first place, if you're at a concert and your phone is too close to the sound equipment, the radiation from the phone causes static through out the entire system. Silent won't do it. It really does have to be off].

I do eventually check in.  We all like the camaraderie of the road, but we love the people at home.  Love makes a big difference.  However, when I do check it, griping and whining isn't the hope.  What I always hope to hear when I check in is, "Hey! I am glad to hear from you! I miss you, but I'm having fun back here and have new adventures to tell you about!"

That gives more to call about.  I share my adventures if you'll share yours.  It also makes me even more excited about getting off the road. 

I spent 40 minutes avoiding my house tonight.  I spent extra time in Kroger, sitting in my car, and avoiding the inside.  Why?  Beethoven's fifth symphony came on WABE.  It really is a masterpiece.  It's majestic.  It's absolutely influential (don't believe me?  Listen to the last movement and then John William's score for E.T. .)  It's the bridge between Mozart's chamber approach and the majestic music that we now associate with films. 

Considering that the whole thing is based on 4 note themes, it's fantastic.  It's power comes from the minor to major changes and back.  The changes in rhythm and in instrumentation are what make it worth keeping my ear pasted to a radio.  The whole orchestra works together to create majesty. 

Which brings me to Jeremiah Wright.  Recently, the reverend mocked bands from the University of Michigan and MSU for their "European  precision:"  He instead heralded an alleged individuality among bands from schools such as Grambling.  Has this man not seen 'Drumline'?

One Band, One Sound.  If this is a European ideal, it's one that the glee clubs from Morehouse, Spellman, and the bands of these fine schools share with their historically white counterparts.  African rhythms and ideas are essential to American music, but so too are the European influences.  Doubt the power of orchestral music?  Look no further than to the Champion of 'Blackness' in jazz, Wynton Marsalis who revels in playing Bach, Telemann, and other European composers. 

European influences in the world and in American Culture have been under attack as of late, but it's a shame.  From Bach to Whitacre, there is beauty, power, and majesty to enjoy, and to deny the pleasure of it, because it's 'too white' is just stupid. 

Lake Lanier is still down.  A lot.

Scary.

There are abandoned docks everywhere, but it could be worse.  It's halfway back to full from last summer. 

Still, there are dead fish all over the place and the hawks are flying lower than every to find food.  They leave the dead fish instinctually... interesting.

So, someone comes to you and says, "Hey!  You!  How'd you like to work on my campaign?"  You generally agree with this person's positions. 

How then should you decide what you're actually going to do?  This is advice recently given to another person considering such a decision.

1) Do you see a winning scenario for yourself if you do this?  (This is different from do you see Candidate X Winning).  Can you see a way for this to advance YOUR career?  E.G. Even if you lose, might you get points for fighting the good fight or doing better than expected?
2) Can you imagine a situation in which Candidate X can actually defeat that incumbent jerk, short of catching that incumbent Jerk in bed with either Enron or a Ewe?
3) How will the Presidential contest effect the local race?  I.E.  Does a likely Obama victory help or hurt Candidate X's Candidacy in the Primary?  If he gets through the primary, how will Obama's candidacy effect the statewide run?
4) How bloody will the fight against Well Financed Candidate Y be and are you willing to run that kind of race?
5) Are you willing to work with Candidate X's consultants or will you want to hit them with a Taser?  (James Carville saying 'Don't Taz me dude! would be worth it).

Now, all that being said, I have no use at all for that Incumbent Jerk.  I've already given money to Candidate X.  I want him to win desperately.  I very much doubt he will.  He's exactly the right guy for the job, and being that state he's in, that pretty much assures his defeat.

Plus there is this:  I think that the better Obama does, the more it bodes well for Well Financed Candidate Y in the Primary.  If Candidate X can somehow knock  Financed Candidate Y off in the Primary, and Obama is the nominee, then there might be an interesting dynamic that could buy you an extra 5 or 7 points, but I don't know if even that is enough.

I think that if you look at the race and think "You know?  I have a plan.  I can win this thing..." and You BELIEVE, then you should go for it.  If you think as I do, then you need to be cunning and work on the race if it helps you.

Pat Summitt has reached another national title game.   She Coaches the Tennessee Volunteers Women's Basketball program and is among the most successful coaches in any sport anywhere.  She's won 7 national championships. 

She plays again on Tuesday.  Win or Lose, she should not take a break.  

She should finish out the season coaching an NBA team.  No woman has coached in the modern NBA.  THere are plenty of teams that need what she can bring:  a focus on the fundamentals and knowledge of how to translate that into wins.  

The Memphis Grizzlies are a team in her home state that needs the help.  The Charlotte Bobcats too need a turn around.  Since their current program is not working, how could bringing in Summitt not help?  Women's basketball is often much better than the men's game because the behemoth show boating factor is largely absent.  THe women's game is about passing, shot selection, defense.  Both teams need that.  Summitt can bring it.  

There is not much more for her to accomplish in collegiate athletics, but there is a lot to bring to the NBA.  She can do it.  Attendance would go up for the teams, expectations are manageable, and the players might learn something if they gave Coach Summitt half a chance.  

This might also have the advantage of leading the way for women in the NBA!  THAT would invigorate the whole sport!  

Awards are important.  They are a chance for a given specialty to recognize excellence.  Awards can serve as independent third party certification.  However, these days, so many award programs have expanded to the point where they lose some of their value.

The Peabody awards were given by UGA last week.  At first, my concern was that the wrong people had one.  This too is a common award show problem.  How many times has Meryl Streep been up for an Oscar that went to a truly less deserving performer?    Often, award selection committees are tired of one person simply being better than their peers and so they vote to give it to someone else even if it is not deserved. 

No, that is not the Peabody's problem.  They have given themselves a wide berth with their mission: "The Award is determined by one criterion – "Excellence." Because submissions are accepted from a wide variety of sources and styles, deliberations seek "Excellence On Its Own Terms." Each entry is evaluated on the achievement of standards it establishes within its own contexts."

Basically, they can give anyone an award for anything, and they do.  I feel left out. 

Now, some of the folks who you expect to be there are there:  Front line, Independent Lens, Planet Earth, and NOVA are all there.  They deserve it.  Their work is among the most important media produced year in and year out.  As much snarky fun as it might be, the Colbert Report does not compare.  Neither does '30 Rock'. 

I acknowledge that given the mission of the Peabody Awards have given themselves, they can contextually justify what their doing.  The result however, is that the Peabody weaken the value of their award.  They have become less like the highly respected Pulitzer prizes and more like the Grammys, which has so many categories that nearly any major release will get nominated for something. 

In some ways, the Peabody awards are worse because they do not even have categories.  They're simply 'We Like You' awards. 

Now, to be fair, some of their choices do make sense in their own context.  As long as you are going to award game/reality television, 'Project Runway' is among your better choices.  If you're going to give an award for Radio Quiz Shows, I suppose 'Wait Wait' is more informative than Michael Feldman.  Again, though, one has to be circumspect about the need to reward such programming at all. 

Without category, it would seem a stretch to argue that 'Runway' has the same media excellence value of Frontline. 

The Grammys, Emmys, Peabodys, and countless other awards all have the same problem.  They want to be worth something as awards, but they want to be inclusive.  Inherent to act of of deciding 'better than' is exclusion.  Awards such as the Grammys and Emmys need to reduce the number of categories dramatically and adjust the process to remove 'popular' from the concept of good.  Awards such as the Peabodys and say, the Atlanta Magazine 'Best of Atlanta' awards (and I've won that one) , need to be more selective if their not going to have categories. 

Even then, it will take a long time for any other award to approach the Grand Daddy of Them All!  

One of the best items that happens in the world of shows is that sometimes you get paid not to work.

Now this is not musician's union kind of not working, where people get paid to sit in an orchestra pit and play video games because someone is playing a triangle patch on a synthesizer. 

No, this is having been booked for a show only to see the show go away.  However, in this day and age, it's common for audiences to be limited and so bookers often want to cancel shows to save money.  Artists often have been burned in this process, so now many producers require non-refundable deposits.

The best producers are smart enough to share the wealth.  For me, this likely means seeing another play-off hockey game!  Hooray!

Hillary Clinton recently compared herself to Rocky.   Not such a great comparison.  First, that's subtext for a racial argument.  Big Black front runner attacked by underdog white person. 

Further, if you've actually seen 'Rocky' all the way through, Rocky loses!  It's the powerful Black man that wins!

When it's the Presidency, even if you don't win by knockout, you have 4 years to relish the victory. 

 

Supporters of Hillary Clinton are the women who have won the battles, so where is the outcry to support their Iranian sisters? 

Iranian women are fighting hard for their rights.  Under Iranian law, they are considered to be worth only half of what a man is worth.  Let's be VERY clear about this, it's not an Islam thing, this is a strictly Iranian thing.  It takes two women to counter the testimony of a man.  Women are only awarded half the damages of men.  Women are routinely denied all kinds of rights and privileges. 

Iranian women who have protested and declared that they should be equal are finding themselves on trial essentially for sedition. 

People need to understand that this is the true problem with the Iranian regime.  It's not that they want nuclear weapons.  It's not that they want a bigger role in international affairs.  These are all symptoms.  It is, in a very un-Islamic way, that they think that they're better than everyone else including the women in their own country and that they should have dominion over the world.

What's sad is that a majority of Iranians don't even support their own government.  They stay in line through terror.  Whenever their given the chance to vote for reform, they take it.  When they can't even choose their own candidates, the game is fixed at the outset. 

The Iranian regime however, will change.  It's just a matter of waiting it out.  Their economy has gone south.  Their people are restless and as India and China grow in power and Iranians see that it's not only the west which is strong, but also Hindu and non-religious nations that prosper, they will slowly weaken the regime. 

It will fall.  The only question is whether the Iranian government will assure that everyone else falls with them, and that perhaps, is something that only the Iranian women can stop. 

It snowed today!  Yes, it's springtime in Atlanta.  I spent most fo the weekend in shorts and today, it snowed!  

I could not be happier!  To see that white flaky stuff was fantastic!  Again, no snowball fight for me, but that's okay.  Just the chance to see it accumulate on my car was enough.  Anyone who thinks it's cold had better not complain in July when it isn't. 

Then, the people started to call.  "It's snowing, do we still have to come to rehearsal?"  YES!  You do!  Snow or no snow, you have to be here!  

Oy, perfectly good weather ruined by perfectly silly people.

I spent this weekend fighting zealotry.  It seems everywhere I went, political zealots were in evidence. 

First, I had to fend off the Democrats.  I had numerous people tell me that "Republicans don't care about the country, they don't care about integrity, their just power mad."   They pointed to Vice President Cheney on the national level and Glen Richardson on the State level and paint everyone with that brush. 

My Democratic friends are wrong.  Yes, Vice President Cheney is paranoid.  Yes, Speaker Richardson is an arrogant power hungry maniac, but there are other Republicans.  No one, and I mean NO ONE, can doubt the sincerity of John Danforth.   When he quit the Senate, he did so because he was disgusted with what he had become in it.  He spent a considerable amount of time an effort apologizing to those who he thinks he did wrong, even if the very folks to whom he apologized just felt it was part of the game.  He took on his own party and the religious people attempting to influence despite being an Episcopal pastor.  Danforth is a decent man and a Republican.

Similarly on the local level, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle is trying his best.  He's a political animal, but the guy is not crazy.  I don't agree with him on a lot of items, and I have no doubt that he wishes to be the next Governor, but the guy has turned out to be a much more thoughtful leader than I expected.

There are other current notable Republicans who are level headed folks to whom the country should be grateful.  Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Brent Scowcroft, and Former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson all have made America better.  You can disagree with them on policy, but their sincerity is not to be doubted. 

I met Republicans this weekend who were equally foolish.  The lover of a close friend of mine tagged all Democrats as 'stupid... and useless'.  Oy.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a genius.  Her legal writing flows from a mind ennobled both from spirited debate and compassion for the Constitution itself.   Dennis Ross is among the greatest diplomats the country has ever had. 

Locally, the hits keep coming.  Mary Margaret Oliver has been a tireless champion for well organized laws, a sensible judiciary, and sensible laws regarding children.  Jim Martin towers as both an effective legislator and executive office holder.  He was so good that the Republican Governor could not politically afford to fire him.  And then there is President Carter.  Go ahead.  Tell me that you doubt his decency or intelligence.  Again, want to disagree with his politics?  Fine.  Doubt his loyalty to the country or that he has helped it?  You are just plain wrong. 

Now, all this said and done, I am a Democrat.  I tend to agree far more often with the Dems than the Republicans.  However, I am unwilling to condemn the Party of Lincoln as containing nothing but evil and I am dismayed at the Republicans who find no use for the Democrats at all.  No matter the party to which you belong, the other guys are not universally possessed of bad intent.  They are not without merit and if you so dismiss them, then YOU are the problem, and not the other party. 

The important thing is to actually be right; to learn the lessons of history and be able to draw the proper inferences.  Democrats need to acknowledge that the Laffer curve was right.  Republicans need to learn that people deserve privacy and freedom from persecution.  Libertarians need to learn that completely free markets tend toward monopoly and you really don't want that.  Greens need to learn that markets can help improve the environment. 

I pity all the zealots and feel sympathy for those around you.  We're all worse when we cannot even contemplate an argument not our own.  

The Atlanta Story Telling Festival is this week at the Academy Theatre! From Thursday to Sunday there will be several opportunities to hear Atlanta's best Story Tellers do their thing...

However, that's not the key. The key is that Friday Night at 10:30, there will be an Open Mic session! Several of you have stories to tell and would be really great! There is really now minimum and I think there is a 15 minute maximum. COME OUT AND TELL YOUR STORY!

The Festival Schedule is

Schedule:
Thursday, the 27th 8:00 P.M. (opening night with free food and wine)
Subject: LOVE
Friday 8 P.M. Subject: Coming Out
Friday 10:30 OPEN MIC YOU GET THERE EARLY AND SIGN UP!
Saturday 7 P.M. Generations
Saturday 9:30 POWER
Sunday: 4 New Americans
Sunday: 7:30 Crossing Boundaries

FOR KIDS:
There are several sessions 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 & 2 PM
Some of you may know Ronnie Byrd and her session is at 1 P.M.

WORKSHOPS
There are two workshops 1 to 3 on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's workshop is with Barry Mann and Sunday with Christy Foelsch.

Won't you be part of the magic?