thank you

xin cảm ơn
xièxie
thank you
spasibo
shukran
salamat
obrigado
ngiyabonga
merci
mauruuru
komapsumnida
kiitos
kia ora
khawp jai
grazie
gracias
diolch
dank je
danke
asante
arigato

Matt's new commercial

[I missed posting yesterday, so I'll be trying to do another make-up-cheat-double-posting-day for my NaBloPoMo effort this month.]

My hub Matt is in a new commercial for Napa Auto Part and their commemorative football for the "civil war" rivalry between OSU and U of O (Hate the civil war reference, but oh well, it's not my game).



Here's a link to last year's:

2009 Napa Commercial

The Market

This post is sort of a mini-ode to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. The last day of the market for the season was this past rainy Saturday. It prompted my first poem in about 20 years and some images taken last week.

Kabocha, pear, bell pepper, onion, chard.
The market air filled thickly, hunting for
our meals. It's crisp now, autumn giving dare
to cold of winter. Where to go? Inside.

eclosion

I finally had a chance to catch up reading my friend Sarah's blog avventure. She's a professional clown who is in Florence as a pedagogical knight (read more about that on her blog) for a brand new international clown school Helikos, founded by her mentor Giovanni Fusetti. Not only is she blogging wonderfully about her own process as a teacher in training and a witness to the "emergence" of a new school, she's sharing a lovely portrait Florence.

In one of her posts - giocavamo [we have been playing (imperfect)] - she shares one of the teacher's lessons on LeCoq's Twenty Movements. The one that resonated with me was "eclosion" or the verb "eclose"

Definition: "Emerge as an insect from the pupa case, or of a larva from the egg."

I love that essence of emergence. And as a concept for movement... very interesting. I'll be checking out more LeCoq.

how did I become such a dance geek?

Doh. I did not get to post yesterday. So, I'm going to have to cheat a bit on my NaBloPoMo and post twice today....

I, myself, do love to dance. What's more I've been thrilled with the extreme success of dance in pop culture today. It's one of the "hot" things right now that I actually think is worthy, recognizing dancers as the incredible artists and talents that they are and bringing them to the forefront when they are most traditionally relegated as a backdrop.

Anyhoo, my current dance phenomenon obsession is The LXD - Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. It's a web-only series on hulu, the most successful one existing. The story is somewhat simplistic: dancers as superheroes and super villains whose power is the dance itself; good vs. evil; recruiting and training of new team members. What makes the series super freaking awesome is the dance. The LXD includes so many genres of dance, from krumping to poi to popping to contemporary to tap. The other thing I love about it is that the series is filled with people of color, both in front of and behind the scenes. I think it could use more women. Regardless, it's a hip hop ballet circus that kicks ass. I can't wait for the next episode!

Here's Season 1, Episode 1 (they are currently in the midst of Season 2, with new episodes released on Wednesdays):

Tina and Twain

Thanks to my pal Sarika for pointing me to this! (She's part of the APA Compass crew and also writes for Hot House.)

Last week, Tina Fey received the venerable Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Whoohoo! Though, I've been rather disappointed with 30 Rock of late, I still do ♥ Tina Fey, a most righteous and deserving recipient for this stuffy (Kennedy Center/PBS, represent!), yet impressive award.

A little background on the Mark Twain Prize : The Kennedy Center established the award "to recognize those who create humor from their uniquely American experiences." Past honorees the prize, which was first awarded in 1998 to Richard Pryor, include other amazing comics, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin.

On a side, statistical note: 3 of the 12 awardees have been African American, and 3 have been women. Not, too shabby. However, only 2 prize winners were given the award when they were age 50 or under, Tina being the youngest at age 40. Due to the "American" nature of the prize, I'm guessing it will be a long time before we see anyone of any other ethnicity honored with this prize (Margaret Cho? Cheech Marin? Mindy Kaling?), especially given the current climate towards immigrants in this country.

Back to the brighter note of Tina Fey's awesome achievement, here's her spot-on acceptance speech from this year's presentation:

Watch the full episode. See more Mark Twain Prize.

The full program:

Watch the full episode. See more Mark Twain Prize.

dinner theatre for families!

For those of you in the Portland area with school age children, there's a great family event benefiting a great children's theatre company (admittedly I'm biased, as I'm on Portland Theatre Brigade's board of directors - but really it is wonderful!).



Details:
Sunday, November 21
4:00pm
Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE MLK, Portland
Tickets: Kids under 16 $7, Adults $12
Pre-purchased tickets include grilled cheese and tomato soup! Purchase tickets here.
Sponsors: Curious Comedy Theater, The Waterbrook Studio, CheezyFlicks.com, Dave's Killer Bread

The performers include two local actors and three professionals from across the country who all specialize in story theatre, having studied with the venerable Paul Sills, son of the godmother of improvisation Viola Spolin.

More details about the company and the dinner theatre event on the Portland Theatre Brigade website.

Friday's A to Z: the "Boundary" Edition

Keeping with a theme from earlier in the week, a list of words from A to Z. I'm working with the loose theme of "boundary," a little research for possible exploration in improvisation. I actually broke out an old-fashioned printed dictionary book for this one: Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, published in 1990. Wow, it's hard to believe 1990 was 20 years ago. That'll have to be a whole other list (the A to Z list of things that makes me feel old)... also consulted my Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus from 1993.

abut vb 1) to touch along a border or with a projecting part; 2a) to terminate at a point of contact b) to lean for support / vt 1) to border on; touch; 2) to cause to abut

boundary n something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent; a bounding or separating line, point, or plane

compass n 1a) boundary, circumference b) a circumscribed space c) range, scope; 2) a curved or roundabout course; 3) a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle or group of needles turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north

door n 1) a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened, also, a similar part of a piece of furniture; 2) doorway; 3) a means of access

edge n 1a) the cutting side of a blade b) the sharpness of a blade c) penetrating power d) a noticeably harsh or sharp quality; 2a) the line where an object or area begins or ends, border b) the narrow part adjacent to a border c a point near the beginning or the end d) a favorable margin, advantage; 3) a line or line segment that is the intersection of two place faces (as or a pyramid or of two planes

freestyle n a competition in which a contestant uses a style of his choice instead of a specified style

game n 1) activity engaged in for diversion or amusement, play; 2) a procedure or strategy for gaining an end, tactic; 3a) a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other b) organized athletics c0 a situation that involves contest, rivalry, or struggle

husk n 1) a typically dry or membranous outer covering of a seed or fruit; 2a) an outer layer, shell b) an emptied shell, remnant c) a supporting framework

ictus n the recurring stress or beat in a rhythm or metrical series of sounds

jalousie n 1) a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding sun and rain; 2) a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation

kern n a part of a typeset letter that projects beyond its side bearings

latchkey n a key to an outside and especially a front door

myopia n 1) a condition in which the visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye resulting in defective vision of distant objects; 2) a lack of foresight or discernment, a narrow view of something

né adj 1) used to indicate the original, former, or legal name of a man; 2) originally or formerly called

obstruction n 1a) an act of obstructing b) the state of being obstructed, especially a condition of being clogged or blocked; 2) something that obstructs

pattern n 1) a form or model proposed for imitation; 2) something designed or used as a model for making things; 3) a model for making a mold into which molten metal is poured to form a casting; 4) an artistic, musical, literary, or mechanical design or form; 5) a natural or chance configuration; 6) a length of fabric sufficient for an article; 6) the distribution of shrapnel, bombs on a target, or shot from a shotgun; 8) a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution; 9) the flight path prescribed for an airplane that is coming in for a landing; 10) a standard diagram transmitted for testing television circuits 11) discernible coherent system based on the intended interrelationship of component parts; 12) frequent or widespread incidence

quay n a structure built along the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place

regimen n 1a) a systematic plan, especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patient 2) a regular course of strenuous training; 2) government, rule

symmetry n 1) balanced proportions; 2) the property of being symmetrical, especially correspondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median place or about a center or axis; 3) a rigid motion of a geometric figure that determines a one-to-one mapping onto itself; 4) he property of remaining invariant under certain changes

transparent adj 1a) having the property of transmitting light without appreciable scattering so that bodies lying beyond are entirely visible, pellucid b) fine or sheer enough to be seen through, diaphanous; 2a) free from pretense or deceit, frank b) easily detected or seen through, obvious c) readily understood

unbridle vt to free or loose from a bridle, to set loose, free from restraint

village n 1a) a settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town b) an incorporated minor municipality; 2) the residents of a village; 3) something suggesting a village; 4) a territorial area having the status of a village

wall vt 1a) to provide, cover with, or surround with or as if with a wall b) to separate by or as if by a wall; 2a) immure b) to close with or as if with a wall

xenophobia n fear and hatred of strangers of foreigners or of anything that is foreign

yielding adj 1) productive; 2) lacking rigidity or stiffness, flexible; 3) disposed to submit or comply

zenith n 1) the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the nadir and vertically above the observer; 2) the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body; 3) culminating point, acme

Small Space, Big Stories tonight

I've been directing three improvisors for a show we're calling Small Space, Big Stories. Our venue is a very small, intimate space (hence the title), Nisus Gallery. Tonight we'll explore themes of place, relationship and constraints, in the first of what we hope will be regular improvised theater performances at Nisus. There is just the tiniest amount of seating so get there early (doors open at 7:30) to ensure you've got a spot.

More details about Small Space, Big Stories here.

You'll also get to see the visual art exhibit up at Nisus, "Barbie" by Claudia Porter.

the wonderful world of words

Still NaBloPoMo-ing, though I did take a break on the weekends. I get so caught up in writing these that I need to have that breather. If (or rather when - think positive, right?) I succeed at NaBloPoMo this month with weekends off, the next goal will then be full, daily blog posts. Hooray. Speaking of writing...

I've seen and heard a few good wordy things of late.

My friend Rich shared this great post of 20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from Around The World. My favorites from this list include...

Mamihlapinatapei: Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start” - perhaps it's because I'm an improvisor, I recognize this feeling so well; the best improv, though, is to do away with that reluctance part of the equation

Cafuné: Brazilian Portuguese – “The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.” - that's just sweet

Duende: Spanish – While originally used to describe a mythical, spritelike entity that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe of one’s surroundings in nature, its meaning has transitioned into referring to “the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person.” There’s actually a nightclub in the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, where I teach, named after this word. - I love the dark origins of this word, very evocative

On NPR this week, Robert Siegel did a piece (Website Helps Rescue Obscure Words) about savethewords.org, a clever, promo developed by ad company Young and Rubicam for Oxford English Dictionary. You can adopt a word by pledging to use it in everyday conversation. I adopted the word jobler, one who does small jobs. Appropos for an unemployed person, no?

Finally, for the type geeks of you out there here are some of the font blogs I follow. Mostly they go over my head, but I still love gazing at nibs and stems and rhythms of text. Please feel free to suggest others!

I Love Typography
The Grid System
The FontFeed

The art of the music video: OK Go

I'm generally a fan of many art disciplines from theater to visual art to film. But, as a art buff with a limited budget and never enough time, I've sort of placed music lower on my priority list for things I spend time on. In other words, I've not bought any new music in probably 10 years and I rarely go to see live music.

I'm no connoisseur of music, as I've already stated, but I like OK Go's music. Even more, I do fully appreciate their music videos. For a fun behind-the-scenes, Nerdist (fun podcast for tech and comedy nerds) did a nice podcast with the OK Go guys here.

They've just released their newest video - freakin' gorgeous stop motion toast animation for their song Last Leaf. Check it out:


Last Leaf

OK Go | Myspace Music Videos

Other favorites...

That awesome Rube Goldberg machine one, for This Too Shall Pass:



And then there's that other This Too Shall Pass, the original I believe, featuring the University of Notre Dame's marching band:



Finally, one of the earlier amazing videos, Here it Goes Again:

bizarre job postings

As one of the 10%+ unemployed in this state, I peruse craigslist on a regular basis. Because I'm such a multi-talented individual (read: hard to pin down "career" path) I look at many of the categories of job opps and gigs. Here's a collection of the stranger postings of late...

case law research-temp
Potential! (?)
All Hands on deck - Seeking Hot Female Amputee
Models with over developed legs

Election Day

A clip from one of my favorite political movies...

Movie Videos & Movie Scenes at MOVIECLIPS.com

Seriously, though. Don't be like Tammy. Show that you do care - about our country, about our neighborhoods, about our communities. It does matter! If you haven't already, vote today!!!

Butternut Squash Egg Casserole

I'm going for it. One blog post each day for the month of November. They say I can be blog free on the weekends so we'll see how that pans out. Speaking of pans, I'll start this month with a nice Autumn recipe. Remember, I'm an improvisor at heart, so this is more of an idea starter...

We recently bought a lovely butternut squash at the farmer's market. I had nothing particular in mind, just know that I love winter squash. Here's what I decided to make with it based on what I already had in the kitchen. It's rather quiche-like.

Butternut Squash Egg Casserole

Ingredients
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 in cubes
1/2 large onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 red pepper (roasted or raw), diced
6 eggs
1 cup of milk
a splash of water
dash-1/2 tablespoon of 2-5 spices (I used thyme, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon)
1/2 cup of cheese (I used monterey jack because it was in m fridge, but swiss, cheddar or even smoked cheese like gouda or provolone would probably work well)
1/2 package of tofu (if desired)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Saute onions in olive oil for 5-7 minutes. Make sure they don't burn, but are soft and aromatic. Add butternut squash and and bit more oil. Add spices. Saute until squash is soft enough to pierce easily, but not so much that it's complete mush. Probably about 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, water and milk together until completely blended. Also, oil small-medium size casserole dish and preheat oven to 400º. Crumble tofu in with squash and saute for 3 minutes. Add bell pepper, salt and pepper to the squash and saute for 3 more minutes. Transfer squash mixture to casserole. Top with cheese and then egg mixture. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove cover and brown top for 5 minutes.

That's it. Pretty darn easy and yummy. Suggest serving with an arugula salad or other greens.

donut wedding

My friend Lena just moved here from Boston. Her sweetie Paul just, just moved here from London. Today they got hitched in true Portlandia style - at the legendary Voodoo Donuts. Proprietor Tres Shannon did the honors. There were kazoos, a pirate and of course, lots of donuts. It was very sweet!

Here's a few photos. More on flickr.

Seth's Quake

Here's a short story I wrote a few years ago. I had developed this exercise inspired by some work Matt and I were doing at the time. "Oppstacles" we called them - opportunity-obstacles. I created four buckets to inspire some flash fiction - 1) Word/Object, 2) Place, 3) Relationship/Character, and 4) Song (lyrics). For this particular piece, my randomly chosen items from these oppstacle buckets were: quake, parking lot, obsessed, Bizarre Love Triangle.

Seth's Quake
Seth was sick and tired of being the “bad” brother. Sure, Osi was righteous and all that, but geez can a brother get a break? Osi has a beautiful wife and a son, and what about Seth? Nothing. Torrents. Terror. Destruction. Again, he’s lonely sitting here at the Costco parking lot for the 100th day in a row. Why? To see if Isis will appear again. She doesn’t show herself often, but Seth knows that Isis can hardly resist the wholesale quantities like a crate of fresh strawberries or that 24 pack of toilet paper. Seth has loved his brother’s wife since third grade when her voice cut through the torrent of anger and humiliation he endured as Osi yet again found victory at the school spelling bee. Isis told Seth, “You spell fine, but your real talent is to move the earth with your heart.” And from that point on, Seth did just that. His first natural disaster was a landslide in Peru. 18,000 died. Another kicker was the monsoons in Thailand. 10,000 died. Seth felt great power and shame. Osi, meanwhile brought food to drought stricken Ethiopia. He clothed poor in China. He built houses for homeless in Guatemala. Seth and Osi were like two sides of the same coin. One couldn’t exist without the other. It’s just that Seth’s side got such a bad rap. How can being so good at something be so bad? Finally, in the 23rd hour of the 100th day of waiting, lovely Isis appeared with her perpetual baby boy in a sling. Seth slowly rose up from his waiting spot in parking space 301. Each movement from Seth snowballed into a thundering rumble and shaking of the ground, as he reached forth to his unrequited. Before he could reach her to tell her of his undying love, she fell through the cracks of the broken ground slowly floating, like a feather in the wind. She waved as she always did, the broken record of missed connection between one who loves and one who is loved.

Day 8 NaBloPoMo done. Quarter of the way there.

zombie haiku

apparently haiku is a favorite form on twitter. i recently discovered a special niche - zombie haiku (#zombiehaiku). here are a few of my picks:

Oh, friend, lasting friend, you have taken a mouthful. I am whole no more. @lamusique

Silent morning air / still as a lonely graveyard / morning rendezvous @Christwitery

rigor mortis pain / the living all move too fast / a zombie's lament @kristen_pfaff

With a strong sucking, they pop right into my mouth. Eyeballs taste like grapes. @WootiesDotNet

i am grey on the outside, blue inside, dead all over so sue me @t_love_pdx (yes, that's me)

the boneyard

When Matt and I went to Las Vegas back in March, the one thing I wanted to be sure and see was the Boneyard. It's part of the collection of the Neon Museum, an organization preserving, salvaging and restoring old signs so they just don't end up in the dump. They are also all about celebrating the "neon sign" as a uniquely Las Vegas artform. For now, the Boneyard is a big lot (actually two lots) where they store all the signs that they've salvaged. In addition to neon signs (many of which also also use incandescent bulbs) the museum ends up salvaging all kinds of other large signs. I thought it was pretty dang groovy, and a great Vegas activity if you're not much of a gambler or need time away from the regular action. You can only visit by appointment only, so don't forget to call at least a week before you want to go.

Here's a few of my favorite photos from the Boneyard. My whole set is up at flickr.


Next time, I'll be hitting the Liberace Museum.

reading list

In an effort to create better life balance, I've made time to read more lately. I'm really into sci-fi right now, especially women authors. Any other recommendations are welcome! And please share your reading lists, too.

t-love's Reading List May 2009

Current

• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Standing Up To the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times by Amy Goodman and David Goodman
• The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 edited by Dave Eggers

Recently finished

• Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

On deck

• Tales From Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin

NaBloPoMo day 5.

news roundup

It's May 4, which means Day 4 of my NaBloPoMo month. Only 27 days to go...

Here are some random news and headlines that have caught my eye over the past few days:

When Coffee Wars Get Bitter: The Floyd's Saga - There's some shady stuff happening with one of my local coffee shops. Our PDX explains how Floyd's, the cool drive-thru coffee shop, were forced out of their space. Photo courtesy of One True b!x on flickr.

R.I.P. Al Robles and Manong Al Has Left the Building- Longtime Filipino-American community activist and poet Al Robles passed away. He's best known for his work around the closing of the I-Hotel in San Francisco, a former low-income residence for lots of Asian American elders that got torn down amidst lots of controversy and not-without a huge resistance from the community. He is featured in Curtis Choy's classic documentary Fall of the I Hotel as well as his latest film Manilatown is in the Heart, currently hitting the film festival circuit. Hyphen and Racewire report.


Brazilian theater director August Boal dies - Another sad loss for the community. Boal is the founder of Theater of the Oppressed, which he continued to teach until now. His work has been incredible in empowering communities to communicate and make powerful change. Photo courtesy of Teia 2007 on flickr.

If Pigs Could Fly: Traveling in the Time of Swine Flu - Interesting commentary from Sandip Roy at New American Media about America's new-found role in the swine fly scare.

Highest Paid CEOs for 2008 - In case you're not pissed off enough already. Based on AP research here's an unfuriating list of some folks who've made off well, despite the rest of us struggling. And yes, 4 of the top 10 are from our friendly banks.