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Founder's Day 15

2010-12-16T22:46:00.001-06:00

This past Monday a major event happened. It was Founder's Day. Not just any Founder's Day, mind you, the 15th Founder's Day. It's one of those mile stones that one does write home about.

So what is Founder's Day? Well, it's the day when the Monday Club was officially put on the map. What is Monday Club you say? It's the weekly gathering of a group of friends that has now been meeting in some shape or form for 15 years on Monday nights at John D. McGurk's.

The Monday Club has known many faces over the years and its regular meetings have been as large as 20 people and as quaint as 1, that 1 being me on several occasions. But nevertheless, we have persevered.

It all started back in 1995 when I came home from college to begin my Christmas Break. I went to Knox College, which runs on trimesters, which meant that when I got home for Thanksgiving, I wouldn't have to go back to school until the first week of January. It's a pretty sweet deal, and one that my friends and I took full advantage of.

My friend Drew had this idea that he and I should use this break to become regulars at this place he found. It was a magical sort of place, dimly lit with brick walls, great old hard wood floors, wonderful food, portraits of poets, boxers, and musicians on the walls, very pretty waitresses, some fantastic traditional Irish music, and a legendary true Irish bartender known as "Lucky" that manned the bar. The place was, of course, McGurk's.

So, the plan that Drew concocted was that we'd go in on a frequent basis until the folks at the pub knew us by name. We would go on Mondays because on Mondays at McGurk's, there was this great musical duo that performed, Bernie and Barbara McDonald. So, off we went on our quest to become regulars.

Drew had the bright idea that things would work best if we stuck to the same seats each time. So, for a series of Mondays, we sat in the same place, right at the bar in the Second Room, which overlooked the stage and the McDonald's.

On the second night, we got our first nibble, where Bernie and Barbara dedicated a song to "the two young lads smoking cigars at the bar." Drew and I were thrilled by this and were close to achieving our goal of regulardom. During the next break in the music, we introduced ourselves to the McDonald's, and had our first of many conversations about Irish music as well as the shared the first of many stories of our respective lives.

For anyone who has ever met Bernie and Barbara, you know what that first conversation is like. B and B are two of the most genuinely warm and loving people you will ever meet and they leave a lasting impression on you. They are people people and love to talk and get to know those who take an interest in their music, especially two curious youngsters who listened with great enthusiasm. Showing this sort of interest means a great deal to them, and it's the first initiation of sorts into their world.

The second initiation came the very next Monday, when we two young cigar smoking lads were there for a third Monday night and who were intently listening to their music. That night, Bernie and Barbara dedicated a song not just to the two young lads at the bar, but to "our new friends Drew and Ben". It was the moment that we had been waiting for. We made it! We were regulars! And not only that, we became a part of the magic of Monday nights at McGurk's with the McDonald's, who had a long list of regulars with whom we would also get to know over the years.

There are plenty of more things that I can say about Monday Club, Bernie and Barbara, and those other folks that I've gotten to know on Monday's over the years, but will leave that for another time and another place. I just wanted to give some sort of historical perspective to one of my favorite holidays, Founder's Day, the second Tuesday of December.

The pictures above were taken from this past Monday night, and include many of the founding crew, plus pics of the new musical stewards of Monday Nights, Ian Walsh and Kevin Buckley, the legendary chicken wings and the infamous BBQ Chicken Sandwich.

My Reading at The Firecracker Press

2010-10-24T18:05:00.003-05:00

My broadside and the press at The Firecracker
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Last Saturday I had the honor to read poetry along side the talented Kristina Darling at The Firecracker Press on Cherokee as part of their POETRY01 Reading Series.

What makes this reading series so unique is that while we poets are up there reading, owner and founder Eric Woods makes a broadside print from the text of one of the poet's poems. In my case, they used a section of my "Two Green Pears" poem. This is what you see in the picture above.

For my reading, I used a selection of verse poems and then a selection of haiku. When I perform my haiku at a reading, I like to play a chime between each poem. Since the poems are short and don't have titles, it's a great way to queue the audience that one poem has ended and a new one will be beginning.

As I was chiming and reading away last Saturday, Eric and I got into a really nice rhythm where he was printing a broadside during the pause between poems. About half way through I felt that the running of the press was working better in the room than my chimes were, so I put down the chimes and worked with him and the press to complete the reading. It worked beautifully and really made the reading extra special for all those in attendance.

Speaking of those in attendance, I would like to thank everyone who came out, as well as to Kristina Darling, who did an excellent job, and to Eric and Sara at the Firecracker Press for the wonderful opportunity and for making me one cool broadside.

The Firecracker Press is an old school print shop that makes a wide variety of really cool stuff, including posters, stationary and seasonal cards, t-shirts, and the much celebrated Lumberyard literary magazine, all from vintage hand letterpress machines from the early 1900's. In addition to that, they also always have a number of other cool stuff going on from letterpress print making classes to wine classes to, of course, great poetry readings.

For those interested in visiting the shop, and you really should, it's located at 2838 Cherokee Street, Saint Louis, MO 63118. They are open Monday through Friday from 10am – 6pm and Saturdays from 11am – 5pm. You can also visit them on-line at www.firecrackerpress.com.

My iPad Experience

2010-04-03T15:47:00.002-05:00

When the UPS man walked to the door he sort of shook his head at my little kid grin. "You got two of them, huh?" I replied "Yep. One for me and one for the wife." And with that, he took my digital signature and was on his way.

I turned and walked back into the house with two boxes whose movements I've been tracking all week. They started out in China, then to Hong Kong, Alaska, Kentucky, and finally arriving in St. Louis at 4AM this morning. My wife ordered a case for hers that arrived earlier in the day, an "iPad Tease" a Facebook friend of mine commented. A tease it was, too. But tease no more as these two boxes in my hands were the real deal.

My wife and I took our time with lunch, leaving the two unopened boxes on our kitchen floor for our cats to inspect. Once finished, we tore open the boxes and beheld two silver tablets that would have made even Moses gasp.

Without hesitation, we hooked them to our computers and began the initial sync, which includes assigning email, calendar, contact, music, photo, video, and, most fun and importantly, what apps to load. Anyone with an iPhone will tell you, app position is key, and we took great lengths to get these first runs screens to look just right. Once that process was completed, the actual sync got underway and I was reminded of the old commercial that stated "when does one minute seem like one thousand minutes?"

And at last our new machines were synched and ready to play. That was nearly three hours ago. Already we have bought new apps, removed older ones, and have been fully engaged in the "Magical Experience" that Steve Jobs has been talking about.

And, I must say, I do believe that he is right. What happens when you pick up an iPad and start using it is that everything around you starts to fade out and you are transported into the big, glorious screen in your hands. Now, to some, that may sound like a bad thing, and we will see what the long term implications are, but I like to think of this as that toy from your childhood or that new tool or paintbrush or whatever that "thing" is that the moment you picked it up you knew that it was just the greatest thing you'd ever held in your hands and you don't know what you did before you had it. It's even more fun than an iPhone. Plus, you can actually blog on this thing. Woot!

U2's Please

2010-02-10T21:19:00.003-06:00

This is a buried gem from U2's Pop album. It was released as a single, performed at the MTV Music Awards, and made into the above pretty cool video, and yet it is likely not one of the tracks that gets mentioned often when discussing their music.

To me it has all the hallmarks of what makes a good U2 song: a strong lyric with splashes of religion, politics, and love, some really basic chords played with great effects, a driving base line, and Larry's drumming. The song builds, has a tempo shift midway through the song, and then rises to it's climax pulling you in closely and intently before it settles down again.

The mix that's used in the video above is not one that you'll find on an album, which is a shame because I like the guitars much better on this mix than the one they printed. But that's also another trait of the band. They like to change things up with their singles, their live takes, and then the standard releases of the album.

Not much more to say than that I wanted to give this song a nice solute. I found the video on the U2tube site. It's a great resource for all U2 videos and even a few fan vids for those songs that didn't get a proper MTV release.

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Clam Chowda

2010-01-30T19:03:00.005-06:00

Check out this little movie I made called Clam Chowda at www.xtranormal.com.

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The Mac Tablet

2010-01-28T17:21:00.006-06:00

And so it arrived. The iPad. Okay, so the name isn't great. And there are a lot of articles out there about how this product is a disappointment. It doesn't support Flash nor does it multitask nor does it have a built in camera etc. and it uses AT&T as it's 3G provider.

Yeah. That's a lot of negative stuff to take in. And I can't argue against any of the knocks. But…

The big but about the iPad is what will it be able to do soon down the road? What sort of apps will it get? How will magazines use this, for example? Comic books? Newspapers? And when iTunes hits the Cloud, and it will, this device might really prove to be something special. (Ditto for the AppleTV, too.)

The thing about a product like this is that it can only get better. It's all about the software. It can be just about anything that someone dreams it up to be. And with the SDK now in the wild, who knows what will be added to the 140,000 + apps already available for this thing? This puts a big grin on my face. Think of all of those possibilities.

And while I get lost in those possibilities, several practical questions keep popping in my head, too. If I get one, which model will best fit my needs? Will the 3G really be necessary? Will I really be using this out someplace that doesn't have WiFi? I have it at home, and I can't think of one cafe I'd want to lounge in that doesn't have it, airports, hotels, even B&B's have come on board, too. So will I need it and it's extra fees? And if the Cloud is right around the corner, do I need something bigger than the 16 GB model? Because if I can access things via the cloud, who needs the big hard drive in a device like this?

And, before we hit the Cloud, how do I move content from my MacBook to the iPad? Do I need an extra cable for that? Can I do this wirelessly? That hasn't been explained, and since the product doesn't exist in stores, I doubt any Mac Genius's can help out just yet.

I'm glad that this product has a built in wait period of 60 days. That's plenty of time to chew on this and plenty of time for more to be revealed about the device. No doubt we are going to be hearing a lot more about it.

The image above was snagged from the USA Today article Apple unveils $499 iPad tablet. It's a good article, well worth the read.

Is this the Mac Tablet?

2009-12-18T17:32:00.004-06:00

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

In this video, which is a demo on the designs of digital magazines, we see what may very well be the much hyped and written about Mac Tablet. If it's not, this is something very much like it. Whatever it is, it looks like the future. And the future looks good. Seriously, has a magazine ever looked this interesting before? And are you able to contain your smiles while watching it? I can't. That's why I had to post this. Here's to 2010 and beyond!

For a good rundown for those of you who haven't been following the stories on what is known about the Mac Tablet, Wired.com has put together this rundown: Everything We Know About Apple’s Touchscreen Tablet. It was posted back in September, so new stuff has come to light since then, but as everything is rumor and speculation, not a whole lot has changed. The only thing most can agree on, if anyone can make a tablet and run with it, it's Apple. I know that I'm holding off getting an eBook reader until I see what they have to offer. I'm already an iTunes addict, so they'd have me at the "Hello" in the inevitable "Hello, I'm a Mac..." tablet commercial.

Speaking of commercials, how about this fan fake. Sweet, no?

The Blue Spiral of Norway

2009-12-11T06:31:00.004-06:00

This has to be one of the coolest stories of late because it's true. I first saw headlines of this a few days ago and thought the picture looked like a total photoshop job. Then there were reports of a video going around, and then I thought that it must have been some movie trailer or something. You know, another Blair Witch Project or something. But then I found this article, which has a number of different pictures such as the one above and more than one video capturing the event. Something happened in the skies of Norway. But what?

For those of you who need a recap and don't want to pop over to the following article, which has the very long title of Anyone for some Arctic roll? Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway, here's the skinny:

The mystery began when a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain in the north of the country. It stopped mid-air, then began to move in circles. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre - lasting for ten to 12 minutes before disappearing completely.

Sound weird? It totally is. To see a really great video of this, check out the following link (I'm unable to embed it):

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1562587976?bctid=55946023001

Or watch this alternate angle view posted on from YouTube:

The direct link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrNh8b_0elw&feature=player_embedded

The article these are from is theorizing that the spectacle was made by a Russian rocket test that went awry. But I'll let you be the judge. To me it looks like something out of a comic book. Something awesome. But whatever it was, it was real and in the skies over Norway.

Strictly Joy -- The Swell Season Live

2009-12-05T11:37:00.004-06:00

Jess and I saw The Swell Season last night at The Pageant, and I don't recall the last time that I was at a show where I felt so connected to the artists on stage. The kindness, graciousness, and conversationalist nature of the band made the show feel like we were hanging out with them, that we were friends, and we were having a long, late evening together. The music was fantastic. They know how to play with silences, space, and the setting. This is what live music is all about. The Swell Season deliver and play with infectious joy. I'm still smiling a day later. I look forward to seeing these friends again someday.

On a side note, I was shocked by the number of phones out and about during the show. It was great to see so many people taking pictures and, with a few apps, probably bootlegging a bit as well. I found myself making a decision, though, to keep the phone in my pocket and to simply sit back and enjoy the moment. That's something that I'd recommend for everyone from time to time. You may not have pictures, audio, or video for playback, but it's amazing what a memory the mind has for things all on it's own. And, as you can see, you can always blog about it later.

That said, thank you to everyone who did capture shows on video. Watching them on YouTube after the event has been fun! Also, the Deluxe Edition of their latest CD, Strict Joy, is a must have. It has 19 live bonus tracks! Pick it up at iTunes here, and pick it up today. You won't be sorry.

To get a sense of what they are like live, check out this video of them playing "When Your Mind's Made Up" from the fantastic film Once.

The Swell Season - When Your Mind's Made Up from Artists Den on Vimeo.

They Change So Quick -- By Phillip and Henry Mottaz

2009-10-24T08:37:00.002-05:00

What can I say? It just makes me laugh.

For those of you on Facebook that can't see the video, click here.

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Ebert's Books

2009-10-10T09:48:00.002-05:00

I love Roger Ebert. The man has a great nose for films, and he's the main guy that I turn to when looking for a review, be it for a new film or an old one. His site, rogerebert.com, is great way to spend an afternoon or two. Start with the current reviews, like the one for the Cohen Brother's new film, A Serious Man, or the indi horror film Paranormal Activity and then travel back in time by searching for, say, Lethal Weapon 2, where he writes a great review for that flick. From there, you can go anywhere. The man has reviewed a ton of movies, and each review is a delight.

But the man does more than just review movies. He also blogs. And his blog, dubbed Roger Ebert's Journal at the Chicago Sun Times site, is full of the other interests of Mr. Ebert. One of his most recent posts concerns Books. Its entry title is Books do furnish a life.

Now, maybe it's just the English Major in him, or in myself, but I couldn't agree with him more. I love books. I love owning them, reading them, looking at them on shelves, and carrying them around with me in backpacks, in cars, on bikes, you name it. Books are great. And this post is an ode to the love of books. If you are like us, I do recommend giving it a read.

I do realize that it's kind of an odd thing to read about loving books on a computer or phone screen. These electronic devises are supposed to one-day replace books. As a lover of tech stuff, I am eagerly awaiting the day when there is such a device that I can feel comfortable curling up with in a leather chair on a cold rainy day with a mug of tea, but that device doesn't yet exist. When it does, it won't replace my desire to buy books, I think that it will only cause me to buy more of them as I'll get that instant gratification of purchasing something at home in whatever state of dress I happen to be in and can then begin reading immediately all the while becoming more selective of the physical books I purchase. That's what happened to me with music, anyway.

But whether it's paper books or ebooks, the attraction and love is still the same. Reading. It's good for you and if you don't want to take my word for it, Google it. There's plenty written on the subject. With that said, why not at the end of this post go and read some more? I have the perfect piece for you, Books do furnish a life, by Roger Ebert.

Andalucía ~ Spain 2009

2009-10-04T18:02:00.009-05:00

A part of my heart was left in Spain last week. The sights, sounds, and flavors still ring within my senses. I've been back from Jessica and I's biking trip now for several days and the feeling of the trip still lingers. It was a warm country, both in people, temperament, and temperature.

The days in Spain moved with a shadows pace across a sundial. They flowed with an ear to nature in a manner that I've not experienced before. Everything opened only after the light was in the sky. Everyone breaks during the hottest hours. And everyone stays up late to relish the last hours of each day the way olive oil spreads itself upon a plate.

And oh the olive oil! And olive trees, too, for that matter. They are everywhere. They permeate the landscape like cornfields of Illinois, rows upon rows upon rows of them in every field, on every hill, on every mountainside. Or so it seemed as we rode through the back roads and main roads of the alluvial plains.

The route of the trip followed the old marching orders of the Reconquista, when the Catholic Monarchs of the 15th Century drove the Moors back across the straits to Africa, ending a 700 year reign, and settling one more layer of history under the dirt. One over the Visigoths, Romans, and Carthaginians who settled the land ages before.

I had no idea how old Spain was. It wasn't until our first riding day in Carmona where we stood upon the old gates of the city, which were built by the above list in reverse order that it sunk in. The land, so rich in soil, water, and position had been fought over and prayed for by so many different peoples and faiths. This land was far more than what my limited knowledge told me the launching pad of Columbus or the birthplaces of Lorca and Picasso. And everyplace we rode to, everywhere we looked, the mix of cultures present to past showed their marks.

I think it was Córdoba that mixed it all together the best, where you can stand over the Guadalquivir river on a Roman bridge and see the old Roman Gate, the Moorish palace of the Umayyad Caliphate, and the beautiful Mosque, the Mezquita, which contains a Renaissance Cathedral in its center. Each one of these things by themselves would be magnificent. But all together, they represent something that can only be experienced to be truly understood.

Because being there, walking about, mingling and mixing in the tight lanes built for shade in the summer days, the walls painted white to reflect the sun, the fountains in the hearts of buildings that keep homes cool and represent the heart of the home and the reflective purity of God in water, the palm trees whose shape is echoed again and again in the Islamic archways, the Catholic bells that ring throughout the day and night do things start to sink in. Not on an intellectual level, but sink into your skin like the suntan you can't help but take on. Your pace of walking slows to those around you. And you begin to become part of the fabric that has made this part of the world alive and vibrant for century after century after century.

It's a hard thing to capture in words. And so, I leave you with the following slide show of pictures taken from the trip. With the above in mind, journey forward with Jessica and myself as we biked across Andalucía, Southern Spain.

For those reading on Facebook, you can see the slide show by clicking here.

My Issue! Vol. 38, #2 of The Cape Rock

2009-09-15T18:40:00.017-05:00

It's here! The long awaited issue of The Cape Rock is now available for purchase. This is the volume (Vol. 38, #2) that contains my two poems, The Cats and After They Leave (pages 36 and 37).

This, dear friends, is one of those momentous moments in a poet's life, when he gets his first poems in print. It's been a long time in coming, but the day is finally here, and I felt it worthy of a post.

To view the front cover of this issue, click here.
To view the back cover, which includes my name, click here.

Both poems were featured in my set at the Poems, Prose, and Pints reading in July. You can listen to the reading here.

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My Night at Poems, Prose and Pints

2009-08-25T22:27:00.011-05:00

Click below for the audio.

Dressel's Pub
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Finally got around to posting the recording of my reading at Poems, Prose and Pints (VI). I had hoped to have this up a lot sooner, but it turned out to be a little trickier than I thought it would be. But, with a little help from Tips-For-New-Bloggers I now have it here on my blog.

Poems, Prose and Pints has been and continues to be a truly great reading series put together by Kristin Sharp and John Dressel. The readings take place the first Tuesday of each month and are located just off The Pub Above at Dressel's. It's free and open to the public with readings beginning around 7:30 PM. It was an honor to have read. I hope you enjoy the recording of my set and to see you out and about some future Tuesday night.

This recording was made on July 7th, 2009, and recorded with the swiss knife of gadgets, my iPhone. I used Apple's Voice Memo's App to make the recording, which turned out pretty well, all things considered.

A note to those reading this on Facebook, the audio link above might not have been auto-pulled into the FB Note. If this is the case, don't worry! You can go directly to this post on my blog to hear the reading by clicking here.

My 2 Cents On This Week's Health Care Hoopla

2009-08-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

I wanted to wade into the Health Care waters this morning because I think that things are getting a little out of hand. I’m upset at the way that the Democrats are handling the public reaction to their plan, especially in the town hall meetings. It’s not that I don’t support your efforts, because I do, but look, Obama won last year, yes, but it wasn’t an overwhelming landslide victory. There were a large number of people who voted against him, and this upsets people. It upsets them just like the Kerry and Gore supporters of years past were upset. And that’s what’s expected, isn’t it?

So, when the candidate that they didn’t vote for gets in office and tries to bring about a program that they fundamentally oppose, it’s no wonder they’re upset. Democrats and, well, anyone against the war in Iraq and other Bush-Cheney policies were equally upset in years past. Remember that? Remember how patriotic it was to protest the war? This sense of patriotism also extends to protests for things other than war.

At the same time, those on the Right that are leading this charge have to realize that they need to eat a little crow here. You can’t have it both ways, either. You can’t criticize dissenters for protesting against the policies you support and supported and then take up the banner and march in the streets when you find it convenient to do so and expect to seem credible. That goes for everyone.

My advice to Democratic lawmakers for what it’s worth, is that, maybe before opening the floor to questions in Town Hall meetings you do a better job of clearly, calmly, and compassionately explaining to those in your jurisdiction exactly what this massive overhaul is about. The President is trying, but he needs your help to take it to the Main Streets of America. Doing this will go a long way in calming people’s fears about this plan. It will help to show that someone actually understands this legislation. Who better to explain it than those who wrote it? And to those who still disagree, and whose disagreements are legitimate, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to acknowledge that they have a point, and that perhaps that there is room to respectably agree to disagree. That compassionate approach may go a lot further than you might think.

In the midst of all of this hoopla, I do have some commendations to make. I commend the former Bush Administration and the Obama Administration for each sticking to their principles. I disagree with many of the things that the Bush Administration did, but they stuck to what they believed in. And something is to be said for that. Obama is doing the same by sticking to his Health Care promise. Whether or not it will pass will not be the fault of him, but the fault of his party. Unlike the Republicans under Bush, the Democrats, I’m afraid, may cower to those protesters, and fear more for their legislative jobs than for passing historic legislation. Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians thought more about what they are doing in their current term in office than simply getting elected to another term? Make the most of all the time you have, folks! That’s what we’re paying you for.

Pilgrim's Plunge

2009-08-10T20:16:00.008-05:00

Jess and I took the plunge with the in-laws over the weekend and, yeah, this ride rules.

Ride Facts
Type: Classic shoot-the-chute, with open-air elevator
Opened: May 2, 2009
Vehicles: Seven 10-passenger boats
Theme: Honors the wild ride the Pilgrims took in their voyage to America in 1620.
Designer: Intamin Ltd., Switzerland
Length: 1,480 feet
Height: Tower is 165 feet tall
Drop: 131 feet, a world record; drop angle is 45 degrees
Ride time: 2 minutes, 40 seconds
Top speed: 50 mph
World record: The World’s Tallest Water Ride, with a 131-foot drop
Attire: Guests may ride in their swimsuits
Entry: Guests may get on Pilgrims Plunge from both Holiday World and Splashin' Safari
Restraints: Individual, double-hydraulic valve, overhead lapbars.

For those who can't view the YouTube vid posted above, click on this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwHnpQxRrXQ

Pottery

2009-08-03T07:52:00.003-05:00

Here's a slide show of some pictures I took of my Father's pottery. He's been doing this for the past few years now, and he's recently given me two cups for tea and a big handled mug, also for tea, that get lots of use in my house.

Pottery is something that he's wanted to do his whole life, and it took some prodding from my Mom to get him to sign up for a class at SWIC. Once he did, he hasn't looked back since. I'm very proud of him and his work. It's nice to see creativity pouring through him. And it's something that in some way we can share, me with my writing and he with his pottery.

It also adds weight to that old church hymn that I've always liked growing up:

Abba O Abba Father
You are the potter
And we are the clay,
The work of your hands...

Machines May Outsmart Man, Or Something

2009-07-28T21:21:00.004-05:00

I know that I post a lot about robots and their ever-approaching point of awareness and then turn-against-us a la Hal in 2001. It is, I do agree, a little silly to get too worked up over what the future may hold, and to think that robots will, ultimately, turn on us as they do in the movies.

But then I come across the following opening paragraph in a NYT article titled Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man:

A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.

Yep. It seems that scientists are more and more concerned with the idea that robots could turn against us, too, or, at least, be used against us in more complex ways than what their designers have anticipated them being used for. The article is full of interesting tid bits as well as links and is worth a read if you ever dream about things such as what computer scientist Vernor Vinge wrote about in 1972 in a paper titled The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era.

But, hey, technology isn't all bad. I mean, it's really all about jumping in and joining the party. Isn't that right, Jeff Goldblum?

Hot and Cold Poetry

2009-07-28T20:20:00.004-05:00

I ran across this piece on Twitter the other day. It's titled On Poetry: Contemporary American work has turned from beauty and is written by A. S. Maulucci.

The title is pretty telling of what the piece is about. The message is that contemporary poetry is no longer pulsing with life. It is now only filled with academics that write to keep their careers a float. Or, to paraphrase with a quote from one of my favorite movies, Wonder Boys:

His heart, once capable of inspiring others so completely, could no longer inspire so much as itself. It beat now only out of habit, it beat now only because it could.

While I cannot deny that the poetry he speaks of doesn't exist, I have a really hard time with that over-reaching statement. For example, Brian Turner's 2005 Here, Bullet is a book of poems written from the front lines of Iraq. I found it quite alive and a shining example of how poetry uniquely finds humanity in the darkest of places. It also couldn't be more contemporary or American.

Other examples can be found in the issues of River Styx, the work from its editor Richard Newman as well as poets like George Bilgere.

What contemporary poets are you reading today? Do they inspire you completely or do they beat only because they can?

Jess and I at the 2009 All Star Game

2009-07-26T11:02:00.004-05:00

US lab debuts super laser

2009-05-31T07:20:00.003-05:00

US lab debuts super laser

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What's even more crazy about having lasers powerful enough to simulate the burning engines of stars on earth is that the announcement was made by Mr. "I'll Be Back" Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I just hope they had some Real Genius's working on it, not that this is a laughing matter, unless it's an evil sort of laughter. We now can replicate the core power of stars! Click the link above for all the details.

Away We Go

2009-05-30T20:19:00.007-05:00

Really great movie. Quirky, funny, and full of life. So, once you've seen the fantastic Star Trek and the wonderful UP, do yourself a favor and step over to a small theater, sit yourself down, and watch Away We Go.

They're Here

2009-05-29T18:49:00.003-05:00

Ran across a few robot articles recently. One of the lovable nature and the other of the fear nature.

The first, titled Solar-powered Trilobot takes wistful stroll outdoors, shows off a nice autonomous robot that looks like a toddler wandering around simply because it can. See the YouTube vid below for it in action.

The second article comes a bit closer to The Terminator. The title of the article pretty much sums it up: Army Terminators Walk Like Men. Yeah. It's getting more and more real, folks. Check it out, if you dare, and then come back and watch old Trilly roll it's thing.

To Survive Cancer, Live With It

2009-05-27T16:11:00.002-05:00

To Survive Cancer, Live With It

It sounds harsh, but the idea may have some legs to it. Click the link for an interesting read on a different approach to disease.

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U2.com > News > 'Joyful Noise'

2009-05-24T08:57:00.002-05:00

U2.com > News > 'Joyful Noise'

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Robot Scientist Makes His/Its Own Discovery

2009-04-04T10:14:00.006-05:00

It looks like our friends, the robots, who first started assisting us in manual labor are now assisting us with scientific research, and not just in a numbers crunching sort of fashion, either.

A British robot named Adam, developed by the Computational Biology department of Aberystwyth University, is able to apply the scientific method to come up with its own unique conclusions:

Adam formed a hypothesis on the genetics of bakers’ yeast and carried out experiments to test its predictions, without intervention from its makers at Aberystwyth University.

This is a first in the world of science. As such, I thought it deserved some attention. To read the full article, as well as a brief update of Adam's successor, Eve, check out Robot achieves scientific first by Clive Cookson, Science Editor of FT.com.

Also, read more, see more, and watch some video about the very unique and creative Adam and Eve, the scientist robots, at their very own corner of cyberspace, Robot Scientist.

On the subject of robots and what they're up to these days, I found this video quite interesting:

Video: Sociable robots learn to get along with humans

Welcome, Sweet Nephew!

2009-04-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

Danger: Plasma Balls from the Sun!

2009-03-26T19:06:00.004-05:00

Read an interesting article today that details yet another way that our modern marvel of a world can be halted in its tracks with very little that we can do about it. The article was posted today on New Scientist.com and is titled Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe,, written by Michael Brooks.

What's the gist? Well, I think that this paragraph sums it up nicely:

Over the last few decades, western civilizations have busily sown the seeds of their own destruction. Our modern way of life, with its reliance on technology, has unwittingly exposed us to an extraordinary danger: plasma balls spewed from the surface of the sun could wipe out our power grids, with catastrophic consequences.

The article goes on to describe just what those consequences would be. Things like no electricity which means no way to clean water, no way to run sewage plants, no way to pump gasoline, no way to keep the frozen foods section cold at the grocery store, no way to get food to the grocery store, no way to keep hospitals running, no way to access Facebook, or read the Drudge Report, or etc. etc. etc. Quite humbling, really, especially to me as I sit in relative comfort blogging wirelessly on a laptop about an article I read on-line in a house built on coal mines that reside over a dormant fault line that's way over due for The Big One. It's also spring time, tornado and flood season to boot. And don't get me started on the economy and North Korea's potential missile launch and Iran Nukes and....It's no wonder that I've been watching things like Validation and this video by Wes Johnson.

Seriously, though, the universe is a violent place, and we are a fragile species. Sure, we've managed to keep things going for a while, but nothing lasts forever. I look at articles like the one above as reminders of this fact and, in that light, find them oddly comforting. It's like constructive criticism for our collective egocentrism. It's good to be aware that our mighty civilization can be quickly destroyed and ground to a halt by "extraordinary...plasma balls spewed from the surface of the sun".

On a side note, is that really the best scientific way to describe this event? It sounds like it could be the tag line for the next big disaster movie. The article makes a winking reference to it. See if you can spot it when you read it.

Validation

2009-03-21T07:59:00.002-05:00

Ran across this great short film the other day on YouTube titled Validation. The info on the short simply states:

"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne.

Then it goes on to list a bunch of awards, which are all very well deserved. This short is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, a perfect companion to the warming temperatures of Spring. Enjoy!

No Line On The Horizon

2009-03-17T21:33:00.004-05:00

No Line on the Horizon, U2's latest album, is just one heck of a really great record. The songs are rich, textured, and lively. It's not something you'd expect from a band that's in it's third decade. It's a record that's still searching for the perfect song, still trying to reach for things and get things right. Moment of Surrender is my favorite track, just a nice build to the song and at over seven minutes, really allows you to get inside it and linger. No Line on the Horizon, Magnificent, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, and Breathe are the tunes that really get stuck in your head as they are filled with the sort of catchy riffs and hooks that only U2 can do. They also really perform well live. Click on the song titles to see what I mean. I really look forward to their 360 tour this summer and am counting on some more tour dates to come our way soon.

Capturing Youth

2009-03-14T12:08:00.002-05:00

finnhouette from wes johnson on Vimeo.

This video by Wes Johnson is just about as perfect as you can get. It captures this moment of youth fabulously. Perhaps you may argue that it's just an idealistic view, that it's what we want to believe youth is all about, but who cares? It's great. It's like what Steve Martin once wrote, "A kiss may not be the truth, but it is what we wish were true."

Sexy Boots! Yeah Yeah Yeah!

2009-02-11T22:45:00.003-06:00

Get on your boots!

One God, One Word or Many Gods, Many Words

2009-01-24T11:18:00.003-06:00

I ran across this article today about a talk given by Dr. Steven Stannish of SUNY Potsdam on the subject of religion and Egyptian culture. The article is titled: On religion and Egyptian culture. When I got into the article, I found a nice bit about the distinctions between monotheism and polytheism and I thought I'd share it.

Normally, one would think of monotheism as the belief in only one God. That's what I think. But Dr. Stannish disagrees. As the article states:

The clearest representation of this was when he showed references to the polytheistic Gods of Ancient Greece with Zeus being the supreme ruler and Hera, Athena, and Hades surrounding him, and then flipped to a depiction of the Christian God with angels surrounding Him in a similar manner to the first picture. At this point, Dr. Stannish redefined polytheism and monotheism without referencing the number of gods involved.

And how's that? Well, here are his three ideas:

1. "...monotheism really reflects a personal, responsive god, whom you could ask and thank for things."
2. Monotheism is "a religion in which there is a single unified and absolute will which does not face any true opposition."
3. "...these gods were ontologically distinct from the world, meaning that they are not involved in the world at all and are entirely separate from the cosmos."

By contrast, "the concept of polytheism [is ruled by] an impersonal god and various wills and division in the divine power. In polytheism there is no distinction between the gods and the world of man.

I don't really have a greater point to tie this to, only that I read it and it has given my mind something to chew on this morning. I've not fully settled into a specific faith as of yet. I've been trying to get in touch with my Christian upbringing this past year or so, and those closer I seemed to get to something, the further away I seem. And I'm not 100% sure that there is truly Something out there to believe in. I see signs of it, but I struggle to take that ultimate leap to any one Faith.

As I was writing this post, I came across the following If There is One God, Why are There Many Religions? by Douglas Groothuis who writes for TrueU.org which goes into the distinctions defined above in relation to the worlds great religions. The article comes to the Christian conclusion that their way is the right way, but it does provide an argument against the great Rumi quote "All roads lead to Mecca." I used to really like that quote, but this article now gives me pause. For, as they point out While all religions are concerned with ultimate reality and how humans should relate to it, the various religions understand that reality and how we should relate to it in radically different ways.

The 44

2009-01-24T07:28:00.003-06:00

This is a pretty cool look at our 44 Presidents and put to a good tune as well. I like looking at the different head shapes, hair styles, especially facial hair, and to see who is looking out at the viewer and who isn't. I also didn't realize that President Grover Cleveland was elected twice in non-consecutive terms. He's #22 and #24.

Hail to the Chief!

2009-01-22T22:13:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful day. What a great speech. The highlight for me was the following:

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

That's the kind of change that I can believe in.

I also love what the new administration has done with The White House web site, www.whitehouse.gov. Open. Informative. User Friendly. Let's hope he can keep this up. He's sure off to a great start.

The Visitor

2009-01-11T21:21:00.004-06:00

If you missed this movie the first time around, like I did, please, do yourself a favor and rent it. You will thank yourself when it's done. This film is simply fantastic. To sum it up in five words: subtle, funny, touching, unexpected, and real. Need more? Check out this Roger Ebert review or simply watch the trailer again. What are you waiting for? It even qualifies for Free Super Saver Shipping at Amazon. You can get it standard or in fabulous Blue-ray.

Action/Abstraction

2009-01-05T15:18:00.007-06:00

This past weekend, Jessica and I went out and saw the Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940–1976 exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum. There was much to look, think and snicker about as we wandered through the gallery space, Barnnett Newman's Zip paintings come to mind, which I like though find hard to explain why, especially to my wife.

That being said, and before I get to the main point of this piece, I was really impressed with the collection of criticism that the gallery had on display from this time period. Art seemed to be alive in the greater public sphere, being debated in popular magazines and television shows. Art seemed to matter and art criticism also seemed to matter, and matter in a way that neither seem to today. Painting, sculpting, the collage, and now criticism seem to be regulated to museums, textbooks, and retrospectives on PBS or off-hour NPR shows. It is far from the national spotlight, to say the least.

It also became clear as we took everything in that most of what turn people off to art was represented within the exhibit, the stuff that isn't "pretty", recognizable as any specific visual subject, and, to some, stuff looks like a 5 year old could do. This is the stuff that the art critics love and write endlessly about and the average person shakes their head at.

I've had countless debates with a friend of mine on what makes art, art, and he would have none of this exhibit. To him, and I can't help but agree, this dance of nuanced criticism and the deconstruction/destruction of old forms is what took art away from the common person and put it into some other place and some other plane, one that often seems to suggest that you need the critic as much as you do the artist to make sense of the pieces and that these two groups seemed to have become only interested in existing to please each other rather than a larger audience.

To put in another way, the rise of the critic is, at first, what gave art during 1940–1976 a sense of importance, of power and presence in the publich sphere because the critics made sure that it was important. And this dialogue, of sorts, expanded the opportunities of involvement and engagement in art. Engaging in art had become more than simply having an artist and then having people look at what the artist created. A new class of people emerged, the critic class, and one could study to become part of the class of the critic and, by proxi, become part of the artist class. As a result, a sort of clique seemed to evolve that had it's own lingo, it's own in-jokes, it's own inclusiveness that made it more and more difficult for the lay-person, so to speak, to enter into. When this reached the point of impenetrability, people just sort of got fed up with it all and, perhaps with the bridging character of Andy Warhol, said screw it and moved into the era of all things Pop.

With Pop and its 15 minutes of fame, we find our precursor to today's world, our Real World, as it were, of reality television and, to a great extent, blogging, which I am partaking in right now. This is a world where anyone and everyone can be a star, a critic, an artist, at anytime using any common and free means necessary that a person can get their hands on. The only important component being you have an audience, and the broader the audience, the more successful you become. Since success in this Pop/Reality age is indicated in the bigger the audience, the broader the appeal, the less you need that selective, highly educated, highly stylized clique. And thus Modern Art, as it was during 1940-1976, has lost its public appeal.

There is something both admirable and tragic about this demise and it's replacement. It is admirable in that there is a belief that anyone can be a star, which fits in nicely with the American Dream. It is also admirable that, like search engines, those things that are the most popular are deemed the most valuable, which is very democratic. The downside to this is that there is a real pull towards the lowest common denominator and things that are purposely dumbed down so to be easily consumed by all. The only disciplines that may escape this and truly advance are the sciences, engineering, and satire. Yes, satire. Satirists are able to bridge the gap between Pop drivel and the Intellect and make it accessible. Just look at the successes of The Daily Show and The Colber Report as examples.

But I digress. The impetuous of this piece was to write about the Jackson Pollack painting "Convergence" that I have posted above. This painting was a show stopper for me. I stood in front of it for at least 10 minutes, which is a lifetime in today's world. People in the crowded exhibit were walking around me and my wife even peaked around the corner to check up on me a couple of times. I love this piece. In it, I lost all sense of myself. I couldn't focus. My eyes wouldn't sit still. It was like that painting had embodied everything in my surroundings, the murmur of people talking, the shuffling of feet, the echoes of an instillation piece from another room, the narrative words creeping out of earbuds from those who paid for the iPod tour, along with a number of different other pieces of data buzzing around in my head. It was like being transported into the music one hears when listening to John Cage's iconic piece 4'33", which is a piece of music where someone sits at a piano or instrument, and in three movements totaling 4 minutes, 33 seconds, sits there without playing a single note. This is done with the intent of calling to one's attention the natural rhythms and music all around you. In the excellent essay by Larry J. Solomon, The Sounds of Silence, Cage is quoted as saying:

Art may be practiced in one way or another, so that it reinforces the ego in its likes and dislikes, or so that it opens that mind to the world outside, and outside inside. Since the forties and through the study with D.T. Suzuki of the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, I've thought of music as a means of changing the mind. I saw art not as something that consisted of a communication from the artist to an audience but rather as an activity of sounds in which the artist found a way to let the sounds be themselves. And, in being themselves, to open the minds of people who made them or listened to them to other possibilities than they had previously considered.

Whether Pollack was reinforcing his ego when he was painting or not seemed very irrelevant to me while standing in front of this work. The piece simply engulfed me and completely lived up to it's name, Convergence, which Dictionary.com's 7th definition states as being a similarity of form or structure caused by environment rather than heredity.

So, long story short, this painting rocks the socks and I really dug it. It hit me on a personal level without any reading or study into or of the piece being required. And that, to me, means it works.

Another painting that I was happy to see was the below Ancient Wall by Philip Guston. He's just a personal favorite of mine, and one that I feel an affinity with in my own painting.

Before I end this post, I wanted to provide the following definition of "Action painting" as defined at the-artists.org web site. It's a cool definition and one that helps illustrate the simbiotic relationship between the artist and critic in the 1940–1976 time period:

"Action painting" or "gestural abstraction" is a style of abstract expressionism that uses dribbling or splashing of paint. The term was coined by the American critic Harold Rosenberg in 1952, and signaled a major shift in the aesthetic perspective of New York School painters and critics. While abstract expressionists such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning had long been outspoken in their view of a painting as an arena within which to come to terms with the act of creation, earlier critics sympathetic to their cause, like Clement Greenberg, focused on their works' "objectness." To Greenberg, it was the physicality of the paintings' clotted and oil-caked surfaces that was the key to understanding them as documents of the artists' existential struggle.

2008

2009-01-02T22:20:00.003-06:00

Well, now that the new year is here, I feel the obligatory pull to post some sort of highlight listing of events from 2008. Why? Because it's just what you do, I suppose. It's a great way to reflect and pay homage to those things that helped define you, a gesture towards history, and they're also fun.

Here they are, in no particular order, my top 5 highlights of 2008:

Highlight Number 1: Biking in the rain in The Netherlands
This was a highlight moment of our biking trip last year, though there were many other memorable moments as well, but riding through severe wind, through sleet, through horizontal rain for miles and miles of Dutch countryside was purely awesome. Nothing has made me feel more alive than taking on the brunt force of nature like this.

As I said, though, there were many other highlights to that trip, many of which are captured in the following pics:

Highlight Number 2: The Dark Knight
It was the movie of the year for me. It gnawed at my core for weeks and inspired a number of debates about the nature of evil and then there was that terrific performance of Heath Ledger that is on full display in the clip posted below.

A very close second in the film event category would be The Reader, which I just saw a few days ago. The film moved me to tears in ways that no movie has in a long, long time. The story mixes love, sex, guilt, pride, and the nuances of law that make you question right from wrong. It also had some good nudity and Nazi's, I mean, what more could you ask for? You won't find a more beautiful and complex story as powerfully acted and well executed as this in 2008. It's a must see for anyone who loves to be moved by a movie.

Rounding out a sort of list Top 10 list of movies would be the best vampire movie I've ever seen, Let The Right One In (or Låt den rätte komma in in Swedish), Cloverfield--which was the film that brought my nightmares to life, the sweetly perfect Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Orphanage, Doubt, WALL-E, Tropic Thunder, and the deliciously nasty Sweeny Todd which, I know, was released in 2007, but in late December of 2007, so late that I saw it in 08.

Highlight Number 3: Yes We Can!
This year's election was truly historic and it was the first one I was a ground soldier in. I knocked on doors on multiple occasions, donated money, wore t-shirts, had the bumper sticker on my car, and blogged about it many times. I can't wait for January 20th, but until then, I like to watch Obama's speech again and again.

Highlight Number 4: Getting Published
This was a more recent event, but it was very cool, a childhood dream come true, and a day long in the making. And I can honestly say that there's nothing like the feeling of getting that envelope that feels to heavy to be a simple rejection notice and too light to be a rejection letter that contains the poems you've submitted. It's the envelope that feels just right. I've now felt it and hope to feel it again many more times in the years ahead.

Highlight Number 5: My iPhone
Yes. This was a glorious moment in my life. I've had it for half a year now and it hasn't come close to growing old. I use it all the time in more ways that I imagined, and that's saying something since I would say "You know if I had an iPhone..." quite often.

Ah, Bacon

2008-12-14T21:43:00.001-06:00

Two of my favorites, Jim Gaffigan and Bacon together at last. Enjoy!

Published!

2008-12-10T16:53:00.005-06:00

I am happy to announce that two of my poems, "The Cats" and "After They Leave", will be featured in the Fall 2008 issue of The Cape Rock, the literary magazine of Southeastern Missouri State University. This is the first time that any of my poems have been officially published in a journal, which is a lifelong dream of mine. To me, this means that I am an official, honest to goodness poet. I hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg to many more publications to come.

John Cusack Wins Over the World

2008-11-19T21:56:00.003-06:00

There are really two clips that tell you everything you need to know about John Cusack in the movies, accept for, maybe, that his sister Joan isn't in them (though she is in this film) and it isn't raining, but other than that, they show off his brilliant delivery and his ability to exist on the screen and, really, say everything. Wouldn't you agree?

Fuel

2008-11-17T22:49:00.002-06:00

Saw yet another film over the weekend, the documentary Fuel. It was an enlightening film about our dependance on oil and what is being done to change that. It's a wonderful film. It will anger you. It will astound you. And it will make you hopeful for the future.

What I find interesting is that gas is now at a 3 year low. It's $1.65 by my house and gas prices started to go down right as it was becoming clear that Obama, a pro-conservation candidate, would win the election. Will prices continue to drop into his first 100 days in office when he will want to try and pass legislation to raise fuel efficiency standards and to cut our dependancy on the substance making the political will for this change more difficult on him? We'll see. We will see.

In the mean time, try if you can to see this doc. It's well worth your viewing. And check out the film's web site, www.thefuelfilm.com, for more information about the film and what you can do to reduce our dependance on oil.

3 films in 3 days

2008-11-16T09:24:00.002-06:00

Three movies this weekend so far, the big block buster Quantum of Solace, the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In, and the documentary Stanley Kubrick's Boxes which is available on-line courtesy of Google Video. All were great, the kind of movies that you talk quite a bit about afterwards. All of them were also very similar. They had, at their cores, complex characters who don't say much about themselves.

I know I know, is James Bond really a movie that you can talk about afterwards? In this case, yes. It is. Silly name aside, this latest 007 actually continues the Casino Royale plot and advances the character of Bond. Yes. James Bond grows over two movies. It's quite surprising and, given that he's more rugged, less sex driven, and dealing with actual real worldish type villains, those of the Old School Bond may not find it as good as I. This is a Bond for a different era, my era, and I left the theater wanting more and looking forward to the 23rd installment.

If you haven't guessed already which of the three films I liked the most this weekend, it's Let the Right One In, which I saw as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival, which is now in it's 17th season. This quiet, dark, and terrifying film is one of the very best vampire movies that I have ever seen. Why? Because it treats them seriously. It forgoes lots of the shtick and stock and goes for something different, more pure, complex, and, for lack of a better word, innocent. There is still some gore, and the rules of the vampire still apply to the one in this film, but gone is the sense of good and evil, gone is the vampire hunt, gone is the pack of vampires, gone is the campy seductions, and what you are left with is a world where things exist without much of a reason as to why and how. And you can't believe how refreshing that is. Take the following scene when the two main characters, both 12, meet. It's just wonderful. Two 12 year olds in a snowy courtyard, both alone in their respective worlds, that make an innocent and real connection. More movies need to be made like this one.

The full trailer, which does sort of amp things up just a tad, is as follows:

If you can see this film, you will want to do so before the Hollywood remake hits theaters in a year or so. See this first. Just do it.

The final film of my weekend trilogy is the documentary on Stanley Kubrick's boxes. Between shooting of the last films of his career, Kubrick stayed holed up in his home in England out of the public eye. While there, he did a tremendous amount of preproduction work on his films, working through detail after detail to make sure that everything would turn out just right. He put all of those details into boxes that filled up his home. This documentary tries to get inside of Kubrick by looking at what he kept inside those boxes, and comes away with an interesting portrait of a very brilliant man. Highly recommended for those interested in the workings of the human mind and the artistic process.

Just because I can, I've embeded the entire film below. So, go ahead, sit back and enjoy the show. It's only a mere 49 minutes long.

Yes We Can!!!

2008-11-05T10:48:00.003-06:00

I am still beaming after last night's victory. Jess and I waited an hour and a half in line to vote yesterday morning and then walked for over 4 hours yesterday afternoon knocking on 95 doors to remind people that it was the big day and that if you wanted change, then get out and vote. Those we talked to were very excited, optimistic, and nervous with anticipation, and as of this moment, we still don't know who will win Missouri. But we do know this, that America decided, without question, that Barack Obama is our 44th President.

And what a speech last night! 125,000 in attendance, breaking the 100,000 people rally I attended under the Arch a few weeks back. Fantastic!

What was so great about the speech was how focussed and determined it was to say that yes, today was a great victory, but the victory alone does not bring about the change we need. It gives us the opportunity to carry out on the promise of change. Barack Obama made it clear that the road ahead will be tough, and that our journey together, and I always love how he underscores the togetherness factor, that our journey together is only beginning, and that we all must do our part to make tomorrow a better day.

I also really liked how he called attention to the 106 year old woman and all of the changes she's seen in her lifetime, and how those changes were American changes. We all experienced them, fought for them, and made them happen, and that determination, that focus, that sense of urgency and energy is something that we must not only believe in, but stay focussed on.

This speech was a victory speech that was not self congratulatory. It was not highly celebratory. It was not a joyfest. It was a marker of a milestone with a call for another push forward on the long road ahead.

Election Day

2008-11-04T05:53:00.005-06:00

It's just before the polls open and I'm wide awake in America. 20 some months have come down to today. It's now time to vote, and I couldn't be prouder. No matter what the outcome, this is what we are all about.

Echoes

2008-10-29T20:54:00.004-05:00

Here it is, Echoes, Pink Floyd's masterpiece. They have created many a great song over the years, but this haunting 23 minute piece stands above them all in my mind. It's one long piece, rather than one in sections, and this one can and will literally take you places. Heavily inspired, in my mind, in both the lyrics and the overall experience of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, this song is the epitome of why I love Pink Floyd. It's moody, dark, trippy in both atmosphere and theme, and it is so utterly and completely poised in it's composition and execution. It is a marvel to behold, really. And on David Gilmour's recent tour, with the late Rick Wright in tow, it was performed live in its entirety. All I can say is sit back and enjoy the ride. And when you're done, check out the illustrated and narrated version I found on YouTube of Coleridge's epic and do your own comparison. If you've never read or experienced the poem before, this is also a great introduction to it. I saw nearly the same version back in high school and it made a lasting impression on me, for the good.

Ahhh, the iPod

2008-10-23T15:45:00.003-05:00

Can you believe that the iPod is already 7 years old? I can barely remember what it was like to live without one. That little device changed my world giving me the power to carry my entire music collection in my pocket, and that shuffle feature re-introduced me to a lot of my back-catalog.

The folks over at Wired have put together a nice walk down iMemory lane with a slide show article chronicling the evolution of one of the worlds most popular little devices. Raising the Genius Bar: 7 Years of iPod Evolution, written by Daniel Dumas, is also accompanied by a piece by Tony Long titled Oct. 23, 2001: Now Hear This ... The iPod Arrives. And boy did it ever! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

My personal iPod highlight: using the U2 iPod Photo as my wife and I's wedding DJ, and then using it to store my digital pictures on our honeymoon.

Falling in Love with Europe

2008-10-21T22:03:00.002-05:00

I just came across this video on YouTube of INXS's Never Tear Us Apart and I think that it was this video that really put the Europe bug in me growing up. I really liked everything going on in the background of this video and can see elements of it in a number of pictures that I take when I'm over there. It's a really great video and one that still resonates with that sense of romance of the Old World that I look for on every trip I take.

The Speech

2008-10-19T21:36:00.001-05:00

Obama's Speech in St. Louis

2008-10-19T21:15:00.010-05:00

Obama Speech in St. Louis
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Jess, Jason and I were among the 80,000 to 100,000 supporters who came out to St. Louis yesterday for Obama's speech. Jason and I had planed on going door to door for the campaign yesterday but decided it would be better to show up and support him, personally. We had canvassed last weekend in the Afton, Mo area and had a great time doing so. But this was something different, something special. They were expecting 50,000 people to show up and got double that number. That's telling, I think.

Later on that afternoon, Jess and I were out and about doing our normal weekend grocery shopping and errand running and we decided to keep on wearing our Obama t-shirts. This was the first time we'd both been out and about together in the shirts. Normally it's just me. And every time I'm out in one, I always get stopped by people asking questions and showing their support, including a nice security guard at the Van Gough Museum in Amsterdam. But with the two of us out and about, and on a day filled with the buzz of the speech and the large turnout, people were even more willing to go out of their way to ask questions and talk to us. That to me really speaks highly about this campaign and the candidate. People are excited and inspired. And not to knock John McCain, a man who I pulled strongly for back in 2000, but Obama is truly the kind of calm, reflective, reasoning force we need right now. And I, along with Colin Powell, think that people really see that.

I am really filled with hope that this man will get elected. The race is still very close, though, and the campaign is doing a good job of trying to keep people's eye on the ball. They don't want to get over confident about things. I've already signed up to volunteer more time to this cause and strongly encourage anyone else out there who is an Obama supporter to do the same.

This campaign is about us. Obama has stated this for the past 20 months, and for his entire career in public life. And if it's about us, we need to take the opportunity to be a part in it. I want to do more than cast my vote this time around. It means too much to me. If it means too much to you, and you have some free time between now and November 4th, then please, sign up to volunteer. You'd be surprised to find how much of an impact you can make.

Amsterdam to Brugge

2008-10-07T22:30:00.001-05:00

Here's a slide show of pics from Jess and I's recent trip. We spent about 12 days in the Netherlands and Belgium with Kim and Jacob Mills where we cycled from Amsterdam and ended up in Brugge staying on the canal cruiser, the Anna Astal. We flew into and out of Amsterdam, so the pics start and end there. We had a wonderful time despite some cold and wet weather. I hope you enjoy the pics as much as we enjoyed the trip!

McCain Suspends Campaign

2008-09-24T23:47:00.002-05:00

I'm with Dave on this one. I don't think that McCain should suspend his campaign because of this economic crisis. He sure's hell shouldn't cancel the debates. I'd like to hear the two debate the issue. I think that, if anything, they could switch the debate format from foreign policy to domestic issues. Swap out the first and last debates and let's talk about this issue. And, again I have to agree with Dave, if he does need to go back to Washington, why can't Sarah Palin step in and campaign?

Election Score Card

2008-09-24T14:35:00.003-05:00

CNN.com has a wonderful page for anyone who is on the fence regarding this year's US elections or just wants to compare where the two candidates stand on issues. The page is simply called Campaign Issues and breaks things down from abortion to taxes. It will be interesting to see how well these guys and their running mates stick to these defined positions in the upcoming presidential debates.

B&B's Last Monday Night

2008-09-23T13:19:00.001-05:00

B&B
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Well, let me just say that last night was an ending of an era. Bernie and Barbara McDonald, long time friends of mine, have retired from music. They played their last gig at McGurk's in front of a huge crowd of what they call their "real family". For me, it was a bittersweet moment as I've been a part of their Monday night show for nearly 13 years, and The Monday Club was well represented.

Bernie and Barbara have seen all of us who came on Monday night's through so many changes in our lives, and they always were interested in hearing about things and giving out advice. They are two of the most genuine and happy people I've ever known. I can only hope to be as happy and vibrant as they are at their age.

I'd like to say something profound here, something that would sum up those 13 years of Mondays, but how can one really do that? They were so many and covered so much ground in my life that what could I say, really accept that I have treasured them all and will miss them each and every Monday to come.

Pics from The Last Night

2008-09-23T13:08:00.001-05:00

Thank You, Richard Wright

2008-09-16T22:24:00.005-05:00

I just read that Richard Wright, founding member of Pink Floyd, passed away today. My heart pangs a bit to hear this news. While not being a flashy fellow, his voice and keystrokes were an integral part of the sound of Pink Floyd and his track The Great Gig in the Sky is still one of my all time favorites. See it in full technicolor below. The recording is from the Pulse tour in the early 90's. The second YouTube bit is all Richard. It's a beautiful piece called Love scene V. 4 from the film Zabriskie Point. The images are not from the film, but are very suiting to the piece of music. Richard, you will be missed.

Black Cat Math

2008-09-12T10:33:00.008-05:00

I just ran across this article from the New Scientist that takes an interesting look at superstitions. The culprit of human superstitions may be natural selection, and superstitions may offer an evolutionary advantage for us.

Kevin Foster, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, and Hanna Kokko, of the University of Helsinki, Finland, put this theory to task and have come up with a mathematical model that backs up this association. In non-mathy terms, which are what I speak in, this amounts to playing the odds. They use an example of a native hunter who stands before a tall patch of grass. He stops and he hears that grass move.

Now, the superstition is that moving grass like this means lions, lions mean death to the hunter, and so it's best to avoid the area when the grass moves in a certain way. So, the hunter, then, turns and avoids the grass. Now, mathematically, the odds are that most of the time when the hunter hears the grass move, it's likely caused by the wind or maybe even a bunny or something, but, on the off change that the grass moving is caused by a group of lions, the hunter's superstition may have saved his life. Foster and Kokko use this type of model to predict superstitious belief systems.

Want to read more? Check it out. The article isn't too long, and it's fairly interesting, but what's even better are the comments posted below it. I highly recommend reading them.

This bit of math logic makes me reflect upon the hubbub that surrounds the Large Hadron Collider. To get a sample of the superstition surrounding this event, check out a CNN article and one from Fox News. Both these were written before the machine was turned on this past Wednesday. I suppose people are naturally fearful when we start to meddle with powers far beyond our understanding. According the the research of Kevin Foster and Hanna Kokko, mathematically speaking, we may be correct in feeling so.

The cool black cat image above came from the blog Irishblogs.ie. They have a section posted on superstitions that are fun to leaf through.

The Speech

2008-08-30T08:40:00.002-05:00

I know that John McCain and Sarah Palin have been in the spot light these past two days. And they should. This is their moment to shine and to make their case to the American people. Sarah Palin is an interesting choice, and one that deserves praise and admiration as she brings to the table some things that McCain lacks while still underscoring his maverick persona. That being said, they do have a challenge cut out in front of them. That challenge was laid out in the passionate speech that Obama made this past Thursday night, a speech that is now available to be viewed on-line. If you missed it, or if you want to relive it, please do so above.

Yes We Can!

2008-08-28T23:09:00.006-05:00

Jess and I just got back from an Obama Watch Party in East St. Louis that was put on by the Future Democrats, led by St. Clair County Circuit Clerk candidate Brendan Kelly of Belleville, IL. Brendan is a dear old friend of mine from grade school who has dreamed of being a politician all of his life so it was quite cool to share this night with him.

What can I say about tonight's speech except that it had me pumped, upbeat, and filled with hope. I am proud of Barack Obama, proud to support him, proud to be part of this movement to elect him, proud to be here and now at this moment of change in America. We are now one step closer to realizing the dream of the better tomorrow.

The crowed gathered in East St. Louis laughed, cried, shouted, yelled, and applauded the big screen tonight. We were part of that stadium in Denver. We were part of the night, the moment. It was an awesome event with so many people lifted up, joining together in a common cause, talking, shaking hands, sharing a moment in history together. I'll never forget it.

I'm pretty worn out by the whole event and even though it's getting late for me on a work night, I just had to sit here and type something. I had to share. And I know that the words above may seem light or dreamy, but that's what the evening felt like. A dream. And Obama did lay out a lot of stuff in his speech. Check out the transcript if you like. And there will be plenty of time to pick and poke at it in days and years to come, but what can't be done then is recapture the feeling that I feel now. It's special. It's something I shared tonight with my wife and friends. It's something that I want to hold on to as long as I'm able.

On a side note, the artwork I posted above was snagged from the Obama Art Report blog. It's a great site dedicated to artwork in support of Barack Obama. Very cool stuff. Check it out!

History Has Been Made

2008-08-27T18:18:00.007-05:00

My wife, Jessica, and I were at home this evening and happened to catch Hillary Clinton ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi to seal the deal on the nomination process. And with a simple Yeah or Nay vote, Barack Obama officially became the 2008 Democratic Nominee for President.

I find myself sort of stunned a bit by watching this event happen live. I know that in our televised world we see events happen all day every day, but this one was so quick that if you blinked or took your eye off the screen for a moment, you would have missed it. And yet, as quick as it was, that very moment will be noted forever in the annals of US political and social history. It is an exciting prelude to the only moment of this campaign that will trump it, and that is the swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States come this January.

As excited as I am to watch Bill Clinton and VP to be Joe Biden speak tonight, and as thrilled as I am about Obama's big speech tomorrow night, which will be important but to supporters like me also very celebratory in nature, today's quick vote needs to be something for us all to remember.

Like most things in life, the binding moments of change happen quickly. The "I Do" of a wedding ceremony, for example, is the key moment of the whole event, but it is often forgotten, overlooked, and overshadowed by the kiss, the dress, the pageantry of the ceremony along with the big dinner/dance reception. Think of this vote today as the "I Do" of the Democratic Party. The key of this week long political event.

I must give some thanks to the blog Silenced Majority Portal for the picture you see above. Read a bit about the picture and see some other street art with links to more (bottom of page) that has been popping up around Chicago at their entry here.

Hillary Hits a Home Run

2008-08-26T22:12:00.002-05:00

I've got to say that I was very impressed with Hillary Clinton's speech tonight. It was gracious, honorable, and down right inspiring. It highlighted her accomplishments, her beliefs, her hopes and dreams for the future of our country, and tied them to Obama's vision and course for the country. Well done, Hillary. You made your party and your nominee proud tonight.

Pappy's Pulled Pork

2008-08-26T20:51:00.003-05:00

Pappy's Pulled Pork
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Okay, so I finally got around to going to Pappy's Smokehouse. I had intended to head to Pappy's a few weeks back, but ended up at Buffalo Brewing Company instead. They share a building, so if you're not careful, you may end up at the wrong place. And believe me, these two places are a world apart. Read my take on Buffalo Brewing Company here.

Pappy's, my friends, is the real deal. You walk in and the place is bustling with people. Lots of chatter. Lots of laughter. Lots of regulars from all walks of life from Union workers to white collar fair to families, they're all here and they're all happy. And with good reason. This place feels like a dive joint you'd find on the outskirts of Memphis or deep in the heart of Texas. There is Blues music humming through the air along with that wonderful smell of slow cooked BBQ.

They have an impressive collection of BBQ sauce bottles on display like a dorm room beer bottle collection that includes, among others, a bottle of Mauls. A nice St. Louis touch if there ever was one. The walls also contained a t-shirt collection from BBQ stands across the country along with their own t-shirts and hats for sale. I was drawn to their "hog-whisperer" shirt myself.

Unlike their neighbor's, there aren't any waiters at Pappy's. If you want to order food you must wait in line with everyone else. I arrived at 11:45 on a weekday and the line was already long. The line was long the entire time I was in the place, but it moves relatively quickly. It helps to know what you want when you get to the counter, so scan that wall menu as you wait. I went with the staple, the pulled pork sandwich with two sides. My thought being that if you're a BBQ joint and you get the pulled pork down pat, you're likely to get everything else right, too. For my sides, I chose the sweet potato fries, the deep fried corn on the cob, and an ice cold Dr. Pepper. This seemed just right.

The last time I had deep fried corn on the cob was in a place just outside of Montgomery, Alabama. The name escapes me now, but I've got to say that you've never had corn on the cob until you've had it deep fried and dunked in butter.

Seating at Pappy's consists of an assortment of different types of tables as well as seating at a counter along the windows. I chose a counter seat as I was there alone and found it an ideal spot for people watching.

When they brought me my basket, my mouth instantly began to water. The sandwich was heaping. The sweet potato fries, sprinkled with sugar, looked fantastic. And that deep fried corn was a sight of pure lip smackin' joy. The pic above hardly does it justice.

I have to say that the BBQ was excellent. Tender pork. Juicy pork. The kind of pork that you want to smother in sauce and dive in and devour. And that is just what I did. Of the three sauces choices offered, I prefered the Sweet Baby Jane sauce named after the owner's daughter. It just seemed to really complement the pork rather than compete with it. The guy sitting next to me seemed to agree as he smothered his sandwich in it as well. And although I prefer class bottles for condiments, sqeeze bottles are absolutely perfect here. Squeezing out the sauce to coat the sandwich was a true delight.

The fries were great. The Dr. Pepper cold and strong. And that deep fried corn, my friends, was as good as it is down South. Well done Pappy's!

If you're looking for great BBQ, and I do mean great, this place is for you. The only knock I'd have against it, the only thing that keeps it from being that truly authentic BBQ haven is that it is so darn clean. But you know what? That's just the sort of knock that I can live with.

How do you get there? They've provided this link on their web site. Their web site is www.pappyssmokehouse.com. On that site they have their full menu posted, links to places they like, as well as other links to reviews of their establishment. They also stream some mean blues music on their site so if you pull it up at work, be sure to turn your volume down before doing so.

A few other notes on the place:

Styrofoam cups: Not a big fan of them, but you refill your own drink. This ain't a fancy place, so while not great, it's passable as it fits the tone of the joint.

Bathrooms: Didn't use them, but they are shared between two other places and are only accessible through a common hall way. I was so happy with the food, though, that I didn't give this too much more thought.

Final Thoughts: I'd eat here again in a pigs heart beat. This is a place you take your out-of-town friends, your hungry guy friends, and a place to bring your own Pappy. It's just that good, folks. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

Splash of a Titan

2008-08-02T20:43:00.006-05:00

Earlier this week NASA released word that they have found something previously unique to Earth in the universe, liquid. Yes, liquid, you know the stuff. We can't live without it. And just what kind of liquid are we talking about here, not Coke or Pepsi or even good old H2O, but "liquid hydrocarbons and ethane". And not just a little bit of liquid hydrocarbons and ethane, either, but lakes of the stuff. Where? On Titan, the wonderfully mysterious moon of Saturn, of course!

Why so mysterious? Because according to NASA "Titan is of great interest to scientists because it is the only moon in the solar system known to have clouds and a mysterious, thick, planet-like atmosphere." Translation, this moon looks and behaves more like a planet than a moon. It has an active atmosphere, one that we haven't been able to penetrate until one day "in 1994, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recorded pictures of Titan, which suggested that a huge bright "continent" exists on the hemisphere that faces forward in orbit. These Hubble results don't prove that liquid "seas" exist", but now they have that proof. Now they know. The liquid is there.

Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Just imagine, lakes on another world! Want to see what that looks like? Check out the following slideshow from the probe Huygens as it crash-landed on Titan back in 2006. This is pretty impressive stuff. These pictures gave us more and more clues that lakes existed. And not only did they exist, but they looked an awful lot like things we see on Earth. Pay the closest attention to slides 1, 8, and 9. These look like old black and white photos of somewhere on Earth, don't they? I mean slide 8 looks like you could almost vacation there. Not that you'd want to, as NASA puts temperatures on Titan's surface at about minus 289 degrees F. But just because we couldn't live there doesn't mean other things can't.

And I may be jumping the gun a bit here as the press release states nothing anywhere about life or the possibility of life, but, still, a mind like mine does have to wonder. They're finding more and more extremophiles on our word all the time that is making it more and more likely that something is out there, thriving in the space muck. It may not be grey and have two bug-like eyes, but it would be life nonetheless. And that would finally prove without a doubt that we are not alone.

Here's another little treat. It's an MSNBC video showing NASA's Phoenix Lander "touching and tasting" ice on our good neighbor Mars.

Also, just in case you are interested, here's a link to the ongoing exploration of Mars.

Buffalo Brewing Company

2008-07-30T19:43:00.012-05:00

I stopped into Buffalo Brewing Company the other day for lunch. It's not someplace that I would usually go to for lunch at work, not because I wouldn't be interested in going, but my wife and I work together and lunches out mean lunches together and BBQ places aren't high on her list. But that day my wife was working from home and I was feeling carnivorous, so I seized the opportunity to venture out and explore a bit. It's also not terribly far from work and seemed like a safe bet.

This place boasts a tag line of "Great Food. Great Beer. Come Taste The Difference". As this is a work lunch, I wasn't able to taste the beer, so you'll have to excuse me as I focus more on the "Great Food" comment. The menu is reasonable, full of the usual pub grub most of us have come to expect. Pizza, Jalapeno Poppers, Fajitas, Chicken Wings, Ribs, Burgers and the staple of any BBQ joint, the Pulled Pork Sandwich. I opted for this because if they don't do this well, there's no hope for the place.

At noon, the place was about half full and I didn't mind taking up a whole booth to myself. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. The space itself is nice, open, with good light. There's lots of room between tables to let your inner buffalo roam. The decor tries hard to feel western with antler chandeliers and black and white pictures of ranchers and outlaws on the walls, but it's very hard not to escape the urban loft feel with the high open black painted duct work ceilings, concrete floors, and trendy wooden tables and chairs.

When the sandwich arrived, it was garnished with pub chips cut long instead of round and which were sprinkled with parmesan cheese, a toasted bun with tomato, lettuce and onion, a cup of sweet and tangy bbq sauce, and my side option of pan seared veggies which sat in a cup of butter and black pepper. Sure, the squash and broccoli looked like they'd been seared, but they're hardly what one would consider healthy.

Once the bun was attached and lifted I found it to be much larger than I anticipated. The meat was weighty and clung together. This is no drippy napkin soakin' sandwich. It's neat and tidy and, well, pretty average really. The pork was tender and didn't taste like it had been sitting in a pot for ages, but it also lacked any defining characteristics. It simply was. And, I suppose, sometimes that's all one needs. But for a place that advertises it's something more, I was a little underwhelmed.

A few other notes on the place:

Plastic Cups: My iced tea was served in a plastic cup. While this ensures that your beverage is in a clean container, it's also wasteful. They gave no indication that they recycle.

Ketchup: Though I didn't use it, the side of bbq sauce was good enough for dipping chips, they did bring it. They use a non-consumer brand in a plastic squeeze bottle. There's no mess and no wait, but I always prefer glass. Things just taste better that way.

Bathrooms: Didn't use them, but they are shared between two other places and are only accessible through a common hall way. This begs me to question who keeps these clean and can they be trusted?

Good Light: Good light in the place means good pics from your iPhone or any other digital photographing device you own.

Final Thoughts: I'd eat here again. It's a quick sit-down place to get to and eat at for a work day meal. Prices are decent and the wait staff is friendly, the place is clean and comfortable, but it won't be in my Top 5 or Top 10, even. There's nothing distinguished or defining about this place. It may be because I didn't have any beer, but they didn't even go to the trouble of pairing their options to the different menu items like some other microbrewery's in town do, so how good is it, really?

Buffalo Brewing Company is located at 3100 Olive Boulevard in a rehabbed building that is also inhabited by Pappy's Smokehouse and U-City Grill as well as the new St. Louis Obama campaign headquarters. For further information, such as hours and the like, visit their web site at www.buffalobrewingstl.com

Guiness World Record for most T-Shirts worn at one time

2008-07-28T22:37:00.003-05:00

Ahhh! Behold the beauty of YouTube!

The Dark Knight

2008-07-20T14:39:00.005-05:00

Wow. That's the first thing that I'd like to say about the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Wow. I think the next reaction I would make would be a shiver, because that's what this movie does to you as you watch it. It gives you the deep, soul shaking shivers. Why? Because as mouth-full-of-popcorn action packed as this is, it's a very frightening film, it's frightening because it balances on the edge of good and evil like no other superhero movie, and even non-superhero movie, that I've seen has before. That edge is exactly what makes the film so darn captivating, and, I dare say, perhaps even important.

Unlike the first 4 modern Batman movies, these Christopher Nolan films are dark. And that darkness comes from a stern seriousness and depth that blocks out the sunny side of the normal comics. In The Dark Knight, we see an already troubled superhero be pushed to the limit, and be tempted by the dark side by a villain who is so convincing, that it's hard to refute him, even as he strikes the match that burns the world.

His main premise is this, and I'm paraphrasing just a bit: The world is orderly. People like order, even if that order is bad. For example, the news is full of gang violence and soldiers getting killed in battle, car accidents, crime, etc. and nobody gets riled up. Nobody really does anything accept those who are paid to deal with those sorts of things. Why? Because these are things we expect to happen. They are part of our normal semblance of things. But, when someone threatens a life outside of that normal bubble of violence, so says The Joker: "Introduce a little anarchy... Upset the established order... Well then everyone loses their minds!"

That is terrorism. And this film fills us with what is sadly becoming familiar: public buildings on fire, YouTube like kidnapping rants, and threats of further violence unless demands are met. And not the sort of "Take over the world" violence of normal superhero movies, no. Individual killings. Symbolic killings. Terror killings. Not unlike the beheading videos and threats seen these past few years. And this movie really gets under your skin by using these types of visual messages very affectively.

That being said, there is one major difference that keeps this film from being political, transcending it from politics to the philosophical, and that is that The Joker doesn't have an end game. He's not seeking to overthrow a government to establish a new form of government. He's seeking to overthrown the world, to burn it down simply to enjoy watching it burn.

The Joker is the purest form of what we would consider evil. And I say consider because he lives outside of our normalcy. I make this distinction because he is not unnatural. If a shark kills a man does that make the shark evil? No. The shark is doing what the shark does. Our fears project to the shark to call it evil. The Joker, as the embodiment of chaos, of anarchy, is like that shark, pure and honest in everything that he does, though he's a little more photogenic.

I don't want to sound like I'm pro chaos here, because I'm not. I'm not pro-Joker. I'm human, and humanity needs order to survive. We need laws, rules, schedules, and so forth, and for anyone out there who thinks we don't, you're fooling yourself. You're too tightly knit to the rest of society to live without these things. Our lives are dependent upon them. And that's when The Joker steps in to show us just how dependent we are, and how easily we can be shaken because we can't let go of those laws and rules, even if it means our demise.

And this is where The Batman comes in. Sometimes, someone has to break those laws to preserve them. And to do so makes one a little less human, a little less normal. This is the very core struggle our hero, The Batman, a human who must reconcile himself with his alter-ego, his something other that he's becoming or already become. And that struggle, and what it signifies, is what makes me shiver, and what made me say "Wow" as the theater brought up the lights.

****

Me and m-iPhone 3G: A perfect match!

2008-07-13T18:05:00.007-05:00

For those of you that know me, you know that I've been jonesing for an iPhone since last January when Steve Jobs first displayed it at the 2007 Macworld Expo. Since then, I have constantly been reminding people of the many uses and situations that arise in daily life where the iPhone would come in handy, be it discussing a political or historical issue, trying to figure out who was in what movie and what TV shows they might have appeared in, to what the hours are of a cafe across town, etc. I would punctuate these moments with "You know, if I had an iPhone..."

Well, my friends, the time has finally come. I now have an iPhone. =0)

I love my iPhone!

And I'm happy to say that it has been just as useful as I though it would be.

For instance, Jess and I were out yesterday and popped into Borders to look at travel guides for our up coming trip. I pulled up the web site that had our itinerary, and we went through and found the right books that fit our trip. Looking at the prices at Borders, though, we thought that they looked a little high, so we pulled out the iPhone and we did a little comparison shopping. It just so happened that we could get our same selection of books a little cheeper at Amazon.com so we logged into Amazon.com, built our shopping cart and ordered the books on-line at Amazon from inside of Borders. Sweet!

We did this while keeping an eye on the storm front moving into the area live on doppler radar via the free WeatherBug app we downloaded to our phones from our phones from Apple's very cool App Store.

WALL-E

2008-06-24T18:36:00.003-05:00

For anyone who needs a laugh, check out these vignettes of Pixar's latest creation, WALL-E.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

2008-06-21T09:34:00.008-05:00

Okay, now that I've got your attention with that title, I must admit that it's not mine. It's the tag line from a fascinating article by Nicholas Carr titled What the Internet is doing to our brains which was printed/posted in/at The Atlantic recently. The thesis of the article is that the internet, with it's quick access to information through sites like Google as well as the myriad flashing, scrolling, constant streams of information you see everywhere you go on-line is changing the way our human brain works and interacts with the world. For starters, see if you can go to the article and have the patience to read the entire thing or if you simply skim through it for the meaty bits and then move on. I actually challenged myself to read the entire piece, and I'm glad that I did, as it really gives you something to chew on and discuss.

Now, I could spend a lot of time trying to summarize the piece here, but I think that my brain has already been affected. I have a hard time trying to focus on the one thought long enough to really write a long piece about it. I have a degree in English Writing and wrote for my college newspaper so writing and reporting on things in depth used to come easy to me. But they don't anymore.

If you look at the blogs that I've typed, they've not been terribly long bits. They've been things easy to skim though with hyperlinks to other sources spattered within the text should anyone really want to dig deeper into what I'm typing about. I don't want to bog people down, after all. "I don't mean to bug ya."

It's just not as easy to write a well rounded, focussed piece as it used to be, and Nicholas Carr, who has a nice blog himself called Rough Type, may be onto something when he theorizes that it's the Web that's at fault. Maybe fault is to harsh a word, but simply, that the Web is the root of this change in the way we think, speak, and work.

I mean, I work at a Web Help Desk where at any given moment I am taking a phone call that requires me to access two to three different programs at once while being in the middle of an e-mail and/or I.M. while also catching up on the latest headlines from Drudge. To do all of this at once requires that I only skim and scan for essential information that I can input and process quickly, efficiently, and be to-the-point-about it. And usually I can do so using very minimal brain power. But when I am faced with a real stinker of a problem to work, I often get a little agitated because it breaks up the flow of streaming data and forces me to take a step back and actually have to think through something.

I used to love to think through things. Now, most of the time, that feels like a hassle instead of a real challenge. Now, perhaps it's my line of work, but there aren't many lines of work out there that don't require that same sort of process that I detailed above. Because this is how our industries work. A single individual does more work today than was thought possible a decade ago. And this is because we have the technology that allows us to do it, and we have work processes that are forever being tweaked to refine our productivity. This keeps head count down and is good for the bottom line.

This stuff is all touched upon in the article, and it's why I would also urge you to really read the entire thing. I'll even give you another chance to link to it here.

And I must also add that all of this may not be a bad thing. It's how we evolve and grow. Who knows what new frontiers we'll be able to explore with this new way of processing information and engage the world. I mean, I love blogs, YouTube, digital photography, mp3's, on-line book publishing, social networking, wiki's, WiFi and the like. I really look forward to possessing an iPhone and be able to Google anything, anywhere, anytime. The idea of having instant access to anything I want to know whenever I want to know it is mind boggling and awesome, but it does come at some sort of price. And Mr. Carr has taken a great stab at what that cost is and how we can see it already present in our lives.

If you've made it this far in my post, I congratulate and thank you for doing so. Now head over to the article already and leave me some comments about it, 'cuz you can and that's cool. Check it out here.

Meet your nominee...

2008-06-04T20:22:00.006-05:00

There can be no doubt that history was made last night. I can't begin to express how exciting this is. I spent last night with friends at The Royale in St. Louis watching the countdown of delegates until around 8PM when he clinched the nomination. It was, simply put, a time and place worth noting in a presidential campaign season full of great moments. But there we were, sitting, drinking, talking, and witnessing something never before seen in American politics. And when the speeches began, the volume of the pub music was turned down and the volume of the TV turned up, and all sat and watched the events unfold.

And as the night unfolded, and the speeches were given, I was struck again with why I put my support behind this candidate many months ago. It was the following:

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say – let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

This campaign is not about him. This change that he is seeking is not about him. It's about this Moment. It's about our place in that moment. And it's about our journey, together, to make that change happen. The other candidates don't speak in those terms. A friend of mine said this of him last night, and I don't know if she was quoting someone else or not, but I agree wholeheartedly when she said:

It was people who brought Obama to politics rather than politics that brought him to people.

That is so true. It's a consistency that you will find with his story. And it is something that he has held on to during this campaign. It is something that I believe he will continue to illustrate as President of the United States.

This general election campaign is going to be an exciting one to watch, and one that may finally live up to everything that it should. An honest debate between two candidates who truly believe what they believe in, and who do have their eyes not just on their party, but on the wider landscape of America.

John McCain has asked Obama to engage with him in a series of town hall debates, and has done so in a very honorable fashion. I hope Obama takes him up on this challenge. It would be the perfect way to bring the ideas, the vision, and the passion that these two have to the people in a way that we need to see. We need to hear it straight from their own mouths. We need to hear them debate this without lots of moderation. Let them argue. Let them disagree. Let them engage with each other openly, honestly, and without the staged, timed, and sound-byte fashion of the usual television formatting. These are the two candidates that I was pulling for, and I want to see them get out there and make us proud.

And we, the people, need to do our part by supporting the candidate that will best represent us in this moment. I don't care if it's with McCain or Obama. Just be sure to get up, speak up, and do something with your voices. This election is a big one. It's an important one. And we have two candidates that will be reminding us of that in the months ahead. Let's do our part and not let them down. This is a democracy and we should let them know, let the world know, that it means something to us, that it means something beyond us. Register. Vote. Dream out loud. We're American's, after all. Let's live up to that. We owe it to ourselves, to our candidates, to our country, to make this election count.

After They Leave

2008-05-31T21:43:00.001-05:00

Nuff Said Pt. 2

2008-05-24T23:57:00.004-05:00

Who knew that Hillary Clinton could out do the writers at SNL who provided the following three reasons why she is staying in the race:

1. I am a Sore Loser
2. My Supporters are Racist
3. I Have No Ethical Standards

(see the sketch here)

But she did. And boy did she ever. With the following comment, she pretty much took herself out of the running, unless, that is, her statement comes true. What statement you ask? The following:

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."

To see and hear the words from her own mouth, click here. You can also read a number of comments about the statement, and catch a pretty decent, though somewhat over-the-top, bite back by Keith Olbermann who said:

"You actually used the word 'assassination' in the middle of a campaign with a loud undertone of racial hatred - and gender hatred - and political hatred."

To view his entire rant, click here.

I had been thinking that as this primary season continued onward into Spring that she was bent on doing not what was best for her party, but what was best for her with a party be damned attitude. I was still on the fence about this, though, as it didn't seem possible that someone could realistically take that approach. But now I'm convinced of it. She will stop at nothing to win, which is semi-admirable for a leader, but at the same time, you do want that leader to have some sense of dignity. And her comments were simply not dignified. They go above and beyond the normal bad campaign tactics and put them into a whole knew realm of darkness. To me, that is not inspiring talk. That is not the talk of hope and promise and optimism. That is not the kind of talk that brings people together. It is the talk of fear cloaked as pragmatism and I am tired of hearing it from our leaders. Fear is no way to lead. It may work, but that doesn't make it right. And her comments this past week were just not right.

All About Poise and Delivery

2008-05-24T22:54:00.009-05:00

Poise and delivery are two of the keys to performance comedy. In this recent SNL sketch, Mr. Walken gives a master class in comedic poise and delivery. The sketch itself is very lame as are most of the lines, but Walken's skills turn it into gold.

To see a larger version, click here.

(Please note: There is an ad before the sketch begins, but it's well worth the wait.)

The Switch

2008-05-24T22:33:00.006-05:00

I've been looking for this SNL sketch for a long time and wanted to ensure that I had it. I saw this with some friends when it first aired in the 90's and it was one of those moments when you were up a little late and slap happy and you laughed yourself silly. I still remember that moment to this day. Great moments. And now, with the internet, we can sort of hold on to them as long as there's an internet.

'Nuff Said

2008-05-11T22:25:00.003-05:00

I don't like to be negative, but I do feel that this SNL bit pretty much sums things up.

Once

2008-05-05T22:11:00.005-05:00

I realize that I may be late to jump on this bandwagon, but I just saw Once over the weekend, and watched it twice within 24 hours, then bought the soundtrack. I recommend doing it in this order, see the movie and then buy the soundtrack. You will love the songs and I do mean love them. This little film captures that creative moment, that romantic moment, that moment when all is possible and you believe and you make things happen despite everything else. It's a film where it doesn't feel acted, it doesn't feel written or scripted, it just happens, and you come along for the ride.

Other films do this. There's the wonderful Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, the quirky and fun Melvin Goes To Dinner, and, well, maybe there is a little sub genre of these films out there of which this is a part of. But this one has music. And such wonderful music! I know that lots of us could put together soundtracks of their lives, but in this case, in the lives of these characters, they actually sing the songs, making their own soundtrack. And as we, as audience members, take part in their lives, their songs become your songs. There's a great party scene where everyone goes around the room singing songs, and when an ensemble tune breaks out, the wonderful "Gold", you see the others in the room staring off at the musicians, taking it in as we, the audience, takes it in, and we are right there with them. It's really a wonderful scene. Another of my favorites is the first scene with the two main characters. It's such a wonderful conversation. It's one that I would love to have written and it makes me want to try and write my own just like it. There are so many good scenes. One could write about them all, which is truly remarkable. There's not a bad one in the entire film.

And this film, it wasn't made on a big budget. It wasn't made to make lots of money. It wasn't made to make a Statement. It's just simply made because it had to be made in the same way a painting has to be painted or a poem written. And the film moves forward with such energy that I can't help but imagine that the project came together much like the demo tape that gets made in the film did. And you can't help but get swept up and along for the ride. And oh such a sweet ride it is!

I could write about the plot points, the struggles, the twists and turns, but that wouldn't and couldn't do the film justice. You just have to see it and believe. Watch the trailer. Read the blurbs. I agree with them all. And, I'm quite confident, you will too.

Once.

Frankie and Mia

2008-05-04T10:51:00.002-05:00

Frankie and Mia
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Here are Frankie Myers and Mia Gaa at their first Cardinals baseball game. It took place on April 20, 2008 with tickets from my Dad. The game was a blowout, and not for the Cards, but Mia and Frankie had a ball none-the-less. And this also made the day a lot of fun for Andy, Melissa, Matt and I as well. It was great to be a part of this day with these two. I don't remember my first ball game, but I hope these two will. You can catch a full slide show of the pictures here.

The Spiders Are Here!

2008-05-04T10:09:00.003-05:00

Well, it appears that the Minority Report spiders may soon be here. In an article from the Daiy Mail in the UK, these little swarming robots may be deployed in the field by the end of the year. Our troops would take them into urban battle, put them on a little remote control car and send them forward where they would disperse and crawl through buildings looking for targets, relaying their information back to the troops who can see the images on a wrist worn computer. Once a target is found, the troops would use laser guided weapons, perhaps launched by drones, to rain all sorts of Hell on the perps. Yeah, this stuff is real, folks. Read more about it in the following article Robobug goes to war: Troops to use electronic insects to spot enemy 'by end of the year' by Daniel Cochlin.

LOR--"Death Laughs Again"

2008-03-29T07:56:00.004-05:00

I meant to post this a little while back, but here it is, the third installment of The Legion of Roommates! Once again we take a stroll through the mind of Phillip Mottaz co-creator of The Sandwhich.

Send In the Drones

2008-03-28T17:21:00.003-05:00

A Reuters article by Tom Brown titled Spy drones in demand by U.S. police departments, but approval pending hit cyberspace today. I picked it up from Drudge who copped it from the International Herald Tribune site. While there's nothing too strange about having remote cameras in the skies policing our borders and what not, it's kind of crazy to think about, especially in light of the Robots, Robots, Robots! post I did a few days ago. It doesn't seem like it will be long before these UAV's are developed with minds of their own. Then who knows what comes next. Could those little spidery/bug creatures from Minority Report be far behind? I mean, they'd be great at on-the-ground surveillance. But enough about robotic insects. I don't want to sound too paranoid today. It's a Friday, after all, and it's sunny outside.

I do want to add a link to a company's site mentioned in the above article. The company is named Cyber Defence Systems and they have some cool gadgets on hand. Check out their UAV's and their Airships. The SA-60 M.A. is pretty cool looking. It's like a super balloon or something and I just sort of like it. Maybe because it looks non-threatening or maybe because it's like a blow up version of the Death Star?

There Are No Easy Answers

2008-03-18T21:25:00.002-05:00

I'd like to preface the video below with something. And that is, there are no easy answers. This seems like a short and sweet statement, but it isn't. It's complex. It's difficult. And it doesn't provide happy and tidy endings. And we all like happy endings. We all like to know how things wrap up. We don't like being in the middle of the conflict, not being able to see where it all started nor where it will all end, but like it or not, this is where we are in life. This is what we inhabit. This is our chapter in that larger story of our race, our human race.

I like to take this view when I write a play. I don't give tidy endings. I don't wrap things up neatly so the audience can leave and go home without thinking about what those characters they watched went through. I don't like this because I want people to reflect on life. I want people to think things through, to consider, to weigh options, to see the muck and the grey in life for what it is and to provoke conversations about difficult areas in life. Be it a couple working through a struggle to have a child, to a family trying to overcome the loss of a son and a brother in the wake of losing their home, to individuals coming to terms with themselves as men and women and how that struggle affects and impacts their own family and friends, I don't provide answers, but I do show how these characters come to decide on what to do. How they put things aside and find that common purpose to rally behind. How they can come together and find a way forward through the fog.

This is the same idea that Barack Obama is getting at in his speech below. It is something that I hope people will take the time to watch, to listen, to reflect upon and to understand. Not because I'd like him to be our next President, but because what he says is something that I believe in. And that is that there are no easy answers in this world, and that we all as individuals have to ready ourselves, have to enable ourselves to find the capacity, the audacity, to come together and find our way forward through the fog.

Stuff White People Like.com

2008-03-15T17:16:00.003-05:00

I just have to post one more thing today. It's a link to a site I found at a friend's blog, Falls With Grace, and it's had me and my friends in stitches since I found it. The site is simply named Stuff White People Like and is just too funny to even type about. You just have to check it out for yourselves. I never knew I could be pegged in so many ways.

Robots, Robots, Robots!

2008-03-15T16:20:00.004-05:00

Yes, my friends. They are here. Robots. The kind of robots that really scare you, too. Robots programed to kill. There's been a number of articles about them as of late. Three of my favorites are Automated killer robots: threat to humanity by Agence France-Presse, Rise of the machine: Terminator-style robot war 'could be a reality within 10 years' by Niall Firth, and the AP article Robots enter Japan's daily life which features the quote "One day, they will live among us," Ishiguro said. "Then you'd have to ask me: 'Are you human? Or a robot?"' All three articles are as creepy as they are fascinating. And maybe I've just been too into the The Sarah Connor Chronicles lately, but as cool as all of the technology is, it is also kinda scary. Check out the vids below. The multiple Asimo's moving around with real people just sort of makes me stare in wonder. Is it real? It is. Asimo, Honda's little pet project, even has it's own web site. Check it out here. I don't really have much to say or add in this post, other than the to say that I don't think we can stop robot awareness. It's going to happen. And when it does, let's hope they look kindly upon their creators.

For more robot fun, check out the blog Robots Will Rule the World.

Passing the Gas

2008-03-15T16:02:00.004-05:00

While I have been busy with the play, there have been several articles of interest that have floated on by that I haven't had a change to blog about. Now that the play has closed, I can get back to them. The first of which has to do with cow farts. That's right, you read me right. Cow farts. In Riverdale, California, they are now using liquified cow manure as part of their energy grid. It's a crazy concept, but one that is truly novel. Turning natural waste into energy so we can power our wasteful society. It's quite genius, actually. You can read all about it in a recently published articled titled California cows start passing gas to the grid by Nichola Groom.

Yum!!!

Real Love, the Play is Done

2008-03-15T15:00:00.003-05:00

Real Love Poster
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Well, the show is now done. We closed last Sunday to a very good audience. They were only 20, but they were lively and the actors really gave it their all. I was and still am so proud of them. The show just continued to get better and better as we went forward, and it already started on a high note. They also really did come together, work together, and made this something special. I couldn't be happier as a director and as a writer. A job well done by all.

And now, the show is over. It's been a tough week as all of that emotional energy and excitement comes to a halt once a show closes. Those characters you've lived with for weeks upon weeks are now gone, never to return again. What we have now is the memory of them, some pictures, and a DVD. The cast and crew and I will gather one more time tomorrow to revel in the experience and celebrate our accomplishment. And it is worthy of celebration.

I know that I sound like I'm kinda down about the whole thing. And that's because a part of me gets down about a show closing. I miss it. And although I know that there will be another one, I know because I'm already hearing characters talking in my head, but I always like to savor the one I just finished. I should be more celebratory. I should feel more joyous. And I did last Sunday before and right after the show. But we won't ever do this show ever again. We may do it down the line, but even with the same actors, it will be different. That's one of the neat things about live theater is that it is the moment. It is all about the moment. What you create in the span of the performance is something alive, something unique, something that is here and gone. It's very much like one's own life in that regard. It is mortal. And that is a big part of it's appeal and why it's remained an art form for thousands of years. It lives as we live, dies as we die. And now this production has passed on. Tomorrow's party is like its Wake. A bittersweet tribute to this life we all shared and experienced together. And we will drink and be merry and enjoy the last of our Real Love time together.

Cheers to Real Love 2008. It was a very good year for theater.

Second Weekend of Real Love

2008-03-08T11:38:00.002-06:00

Scene from Real Love: Mandy, Kate, Mike, and Joe
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

We're underway with our second weekend of the play. Last night's show was as solid as the first three. This cast just makes things look so easy up there. When we were going through our pick-up rehearsal on Thursday, I kept thinking to myself how natural this play looks now. It's as if you are really watching this play out in front of you. It looks and feels real instead of like a performance. Not that it felt that way the first weekend, but they are really running on all cylinders now. As a director, you can't ask for much more. And as a writer, it's just awesome to see people, you're people living in front of you. They were born in my head nearly a year ago now and here they are, alive and well. It will be sad to see them leave after tomorrow's show, but that's theatre for you. It's here, alive, and then gone tomorrow.

Tonight we are expecting another large crowd. That will be nice. Large crowds really provide a lot of energy from the get go. When they come in and take their seats, they're noisy, laughing, and talking up a storm. That helps set the tone for the evening. Then when the lights go down, the hush settles in, they all become quite, but their energy remains. Last night's show was a smaller audience of around 25- 30 people. Smaller crowds take a little bit more time to warm up. They're unsure if it's okay for them to laugh right away or not. They start with a chuckle here and there, but suddenly, and it was about mid way through this play, something happens and everyone can't help but laugh. And once they get going, they become vocal through to the end. Tonight's show should get chuckles right from the first mention of "pee show" onward. That's my prediction anyway, but only a prediction. You just never know, and that's part of what makes this medium so darn cool to work in. All the variables, all the things that are out of your control.

Two shows left. Here's to two more great performances. I have no doubt that they'll be good ones. If you haven't been out, come on down to the winery and check it out. Details on tickets are listed below.

Tickets are still available for tonight and tomorrow's shows. It is highly advised that you call ahead and reserve your tickets as they do appear to be going fast. Tickets can be purchased by phone (1-866-837-9463), e-mail (info@ravissantwinery.com), or at the winery itself (5950 Townhall Road Belleville, Illinois 62223).

Tickets are $20.00 and include the play, wine tasting, one glass of wine, and hors d'oeuvres. There are nonalcoholic substitutes available as well.

Tonight's show will begin at 8pm and tomorrow's show begins at 2pm. The winery will be open an hour and a half before each show begins.

I hope to see you all at the show!

www.ravissantwinery.com

Real Love: Post Show Update

2008-02-29T23:07:00.007-06:00

Scene from Real Love, Mike, Joe, Kate, and Mandy
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Well, the show opened to a sold out crowd and went off without a hitch. The actors nailed their parts, nailed their lines, and moved the play swiftly through it's one hour and ten minute run time. We had a nice piece written about us in the Belleville News Democrat today which you can read here. We were also an Editor's Pick for the weekend in the River Front Times, which has a nice little write up on us here. I'm very excited and can't wait for the next 5 shows. This Sunday, March 2, will feature a Knox Alumni event, which is a great honor. It's always great when your former school can support you like this. Needless to say I'm looking forward to that!

In other Real Love news, tickets are still available for all other 5 shows. It is highly advised that you call ahead and reserve your tickets as they do appear to be going fast. Tickets can be purchased by phone (1-866-837-9463), e-mail (info@ravissantwinery.com), or at the winery itself (5950 Town Hall Road Belleville, Illinois 62223).

Tickets are $20.00 and include the play, wine tasting, one glass of wine, and hors d'oeuvres. There are nonalcoholic substitutes available as well.

The play will run March 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9th. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8pm and Sunday shows begin at 2pm. The winery will be open an hour and a half before each show begins.

I hope to see you all at the show!

www.ravissantwinery.com

Scene from Real Love: Joe, Mike, Kate, and Mandy

2008-02-29T14:40:00.004-06:00

Scene from Real Love: Joe, Mike, Kate, and Mandy
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

It's here! Opening night! It's quite exciting to say the least. To get a sneak peak at tonight's show in photos, check out the Real Love slide show over on My Flickr page.

I know that my cast is feeling what I am today, which is the rush of nerves, excitement, anticipation, and giddiness that courses through one's veins on opening night. The one thing that I'm not is worried. This cast has come together this week and blew me away with their dress rehearsals. The only thing they need now is an audience, and we're expecting a packed house tonight at Ravissant Winery. If you are planing on coming out this weekend to see the show, I'd highly recommend calling in and reserving your tickets as pre-orders have been very strong this week. To do so, call 1-866-837-WINE (9463) and reserve them today!

Real Love Update Week 5

2008-02-22T23:51:00.003-06:00

Well, Week 5 has ended. Next week we're in Tech Week and fine tune for the show. This past week went, all in all, very well. There are still a few sticking points in each scene that make me a little nervous, but that's what we have next week for. I am also hoping to get in a make-up slot for this past Thursday's rehearsal. It had to be canceled due to a nice wintery mix that fell on the 'Lou and whose residue gave me a nice bump on the back of my head this evening. Fell down outside scraping the window of my wife's car and hit my head on the side of the house. It bled and everything. I've not had a knot on my head like this for a long time. Crazy.

But I'm feeling a bit crazy at the moment. I get this way around this time before a show. The play is slowly slipping away from my hands and into the hands of the actors. It's more their show now than it is mine. It's always hard to let go. It's hard because now the show will sink or swim with their performance. I can simply provide constructive comments and try to instill a few last bits of direction before we open. I find myself pulling back a bit as a director and the writer in me comes forward to try and enforce the words. The writer in me is the one who's the most anxious now. It's my baby that's about to leave the nest and have a life of it's own.

It's been a fun time working with this cast and getting to where we are at the moment. Each performance has grown and has come into its own. Later this week I'll truly be able to sit back and simply watch. Until then, I've got programs to finish. I hope I get the rest of my Bio's soon. I'd like to have them all done by the Sunday sun.

Real Love Update Week 4

2008-02-12T16:53:00.000-06:00

We begin Week 4 tonight. This means all actors are Off Book. It always makes for an interesting week. Everyone is right where I'd hoped they'd be with their characters so far, so I'm not as worried as I've been in some productions past, and that's a good thing. Here's to another good week!

Real Love Poster

2008-02-10T13:05:00.001-06:00

Real Love Poster
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

Here it is. The poster for this year's play, freshly designed by David Carr. It's always exciting to get this. These posters should start popping up around town in the next week or two, so look out for them.

In other Real Love news, tickets are now on sale. They can be purchased by phone (1-866-837-9463), e-mail (info@ravissantwinery.com), through the winery's web site (www.ravissantwinery.com), or at the winery itself (5950 Town Hall Road
Belleville, Illinois 62223).

Tickets are $20.00 and include the play, wine tasting, one glass of wine, and hors d'oeuvres. There are nonalcoholic substitutes available as well.

The play will run Feb 29, March 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9th. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8pm and Sunday shows begin at 2pm. The winery will be open an hour and a half before each show begins.

Thank you all for continued interest and support in my creative endeavors and I hope to see you all at the show!

Real Love is a play about a couple trying to have a baby and the resulting tensions between the two, stirring up questions of faith, communication, and their personal history.

River Styx in the RFT

2008-02-06T15:12:00.000-06:00

River Styx is being featured in the RFT with a well written article titled River Styx keeps on rolling. It's a wonderful piece that speaks to the history and importance of the magazine and has some really nice quotes from Richard Newman, the current Editor in Chief and one a heck of a guy, as well as current and past staff members.

I am a contributing editor to this magazine and have been for a few years now. It's been an exceptional experience being a part of this living journal, reading all the different material that comes through the mail and contributing to what makes it in print each issue. I'd highly recommend reading for a journal to any writer. It has taught me a lot about what makes a good poem good and how few of those there are out there. It's also nice to be in touch with the community of people associated with the magazine. If you love poetry and fiction, there's no greater group of people to be around.

So, if you're into poetry and the like or just interested in local historical news check out the link to the article above. It's a good one. And if you happen to be around the St. Louis area on the third Monday of the month and are looking for something to do, stop by Duff's in the Central West End to catch one of the famous River Styx at Duff's Readings. You'll be very glad you did.

"Yes We Can"

2008-02-06T14:19:00.000-06:00

I know that this is going around the "internets", but I want it on my blog, too. It's pretty cool and I hope will help keep momentum building for the next round of primary states.

'Real Love' Update

2008-02-03T11:53:00.000-06:00

Well, we are beginning Week 3 of rehearsals this week. I hope that everyone is healthy and that the weather cooperates for us. Last week was a killer. Both Tuesday and Thursday's rehearsals were canceled due to some nasty weather that rolled through our area. Wednesday's rehearsal was great but our lead actor was out sick with the nastiness that's going around these parts. Still, I was very pleased with the rehearsal. The three present did a fantastic job, and I really like the way this scene and the group is/are coming together. We've got 4 more weeks to nail things down and I'm confident that we'll get there.

I'm hoping that we will have our poster within the next few days. It's been a tricky thing to lock down this year with schedules and illness as well, but that's theater for you. Lots of uncertainties that somehow all come together in the end. As soon as the poster is ready, I'll blog it here. I'm also hoping that we get our stage up soon so we can begin rehearsing on it. It's always ideal to rehearse in exactly the same space that you'll be performing in. We'll see.

Here's to Week 3. May it be a solid one!

Utah

2008-02-03T11:52:00.001-06:00

P1030327.JPG
Originally uploaded by Ben Moeller-Gaa

My pictures from Utah are now on-line. Jess and I were there last weekend to celebrate a friend of ours 30th birthday. After a very long first day that saw us up at 3:30 am, on two flights, a skiing lesson, a great dinner followed by an unfortunate but good in the end break-up between a couple among the party, it was a really wonderful time. I met a lot of nice people and we took in a lot of beautiful scenery. I wish I had a lot of pictures from the first day, but I was skiing for the first time and pretty tired the rest of the time. My eye just wasn't that focussed. The second day we spent mostly in Park City and mingled with the Sundance Film Festival crowd. We didn't have time to try and catch a film, but it was neat being there just the same.

The remainder of the time was spent in Salt Lake City where we ate very well and toured the big Temple Square and saw Juno for the third time. (Yes, it really is that good.) It's hard to believe, as it usually is the weekend after, that last Sunday we were in Salt Lake City, Utah taking in the sights, but we were. And now I've got some pics up to share with everyone. Enjoy them. Blog you more, later....

Inkuyo Rediscovered

2008-02-03T09:27:00.001-06:00

When I was in college, I worked for this little store called Natural Wonders. It was a fun little place to work. It had a wonderful blend of New Age and Scientific items and a lot of, in my opinion, really wonderful music. That was my favorite part of the store, that and the candy bubbles and monkey puppets. One of the cd's we sold was from a band named Inkuyo titled The Double Headed Serpent. I listened to and sold I don't know how many copies of this disc in the four years I worked there, but I never bought it myself. Why? Because once a disc was discontinued, the employees would get dibs on our demo copy. I had my eye on this one for a long time, but lost out to a fellow employee. Which sucked at the time, but sucked even more because this cd has been hard to track down over the years. Granted, I haven't tried all too hard, as you can find anything these days on the internet, but at that time the internet really wasn't a daily staple of my life, and the local stores and such just didn't carry it. Then the other day I had the inkling to search iTunes to see if they maybe carried this little gem from the Andes. And low and behold, they had it! Just thought I'd share, 'cause it's a great disc and worth owning. But the disc means a little more to me than that, it's one of those little touchstones for me that takes me back to the days of Part Time responsibilities. Those were some good times, my friends. And good times always, always deserve good music. And what's great about good music is that the good times will come and go, but the music, good music, great music, is ours eternal.

The Great Communicator

2008-01-20T11:31:00.000-06:00

I know I'm pulling for Barack Obama in this year's election, but the interview that I posted a link to below had him speaking about Reagan. And, say what you want about him, the man could give a speech, and the man could inspire hope in people. Listen to the clip above and I ask you to tell me if we miss this sort of statesman today. Watch this, and then watch the Obama interview. There is a connection there, and I think that Barack has hit on it. You need to respect your enemies, respect your allies, and bring people to the table not just with a resolve of force, but with equal resolve to disarm. Without that, how can the world ever become a safer place to live?

I Need More Cloverfield!

2008-01-19T18:32:00.000-06:00

For those who have seen the film and are jonesing for some tunes from the soundtrack, which isn't on iTunes yet, check out The Unofficial Cloverfield Soundtrack - PrettyMuchAmazing! You can stream some really great tunes and keep that Clover-high-buzz going!

Cloverfield Widgit

2008-01-19T18:12:00.001-06:00

I got this little widget from the Cloverfield web site, www.cloverfieldmovie.com.

Cloverfield

2008-01-19T17:28:00.000-06:00

Many people are scared of monsters when they are kids. Some leave lasting impressions on your life, reoccurring in nightmares and what not. Godzilla and King Kong and their fellow giants of the screen captivated me when I was young. I don't know how many of these movies I've seen, but I loved each one of them. I attribute this in part because I loved dinosaurs and part because I was enthralled by the menace that these forces of nature represented: the wild, giant karmic kick in the butt for our atomic and nuclear tinkering and the dark, unknown corners of our planet. They could really be out there and exist, I thought. I mean, they sort of did once many years ago.

But more than that, these creatures have haunted my dreams for years. They still do. The dreams are all of me running away from them, hiding in buildings, trying to escape in cars or trains or forests, and never able to get away. They're always up there, looming, their large eyes following me, hands reaching out to get me. So, when I saw a trailer for this movie, I knew that I would be in for a ride.

Last night I saw this movie. And saw it at the Esquire, which is the best place in St. Louis to see a big film like this. And it is big. Not just because of the monster, but because it takes place in Manhattan, the big Big of cities. The movie is all about being there, on the ground, looking up, looking out, and looking down at this city as it's being ravished by an unnamed, unknown beastie, and all of it's wicked little minions. I don't know what the little critters were, but they were quick, could climb on the ceiling, and have a truly wicked bite to them.

The camera work is done with a hand held digi-cam, the kind that you pick up at your local appliance store. And this only adds to the effect of being right there in the thick of things. There are explosions, buildings collapsing, full military onslaughts with tanks, troops, planes, choppers, you name it. And you're put right in the middle of the chaos. Nobody knowing exactly what is going on, why, and how it will be stopped. And this is exactly where I find myself in my dreams. Right there on ground zero muddling through the muck of the situation.

Now, this film isn't for those who can't handle the shaky cam as featured in the Blair Witch Project, and if you didn't like the whole premise of that movie, you might not dig this one, but I would still say go and check it out anyway. Because, unlike the BWP, this movie's characters are a little easier to relate to, and if you don't relate to them, you'd want to. And wanting to be along with them is a key part of this movie. IF we didn't care about them, we'd not be interested to see how they survive this series of events. But we do care, and we come along, and it is quite a ride. And it's a ride that is best shared in a theater with a big, noisy audience. You know the type, the audience that will occasionally talk back to the screen during key tense moments. Normally that kinda bugs me, but in this instance, we all needed that release and those talking weren't trying to be rude, they simply were expressing what the rest of us were all thinking.

I highly recommend this movie. It's perhaps the best of it's kind, the sort of Spiderman 2 of the monster movies.

And my dreams? Well, I did have nightmares after seeing this movie, but I was actually kinda pumped about them, happy to know that a film can still get inside my head and twist me all up like they did when I was nine.