Where The Law Stands

California courts have now weighed in on a matter that comes up, oh, every now and then:

A three-judge appeals panel said in a 20-page opinion that relieving oneself in public does not qualify as a littering crime under state law but does qualify as a crime of committing a public nuisance.

The court said public urination fit the definition of a public nuisance, described in state law as an act that is injurious to health, indecent or offensive to the senses and that interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.

Justice Anthony Kline wrote, "There can be little doubt that urination on or near a busy commercial street interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of both life and property."

Kline continued, "The sight and smell of urine are vile and offensive, and those who use the public streets and sidewalks cannot be freely subjected to such unpleasantness."

The ruling applies to acts in public places such as the vicinity of a busy street.

The court noted that "there might well be circumstances in which a single, discreet act of public urination would not violate" the public nuisance law.

Kline wrote, "Thus, for example, a hiker responding to an irrepressible call of nature in an isolated area in the backwoods cannot reasonably be seen as interfering with any right common to the public."

Aoili's

Left: Michael Miiller welcomes everyone to the DMTC fundraiser at Aioli's.


A GREAT fundraiser last night for DMTC at Aioli's Bodega Española, recently opened at 808 Second St., in downtown Davis. Lots of people were there, including Mayor Pro Tempore Sue Greenwald. Many thanks to Michael Miiller, and the staff of Aoili's for arranging such a wonderful time!

As your DMTC Treasurer, today, I need to figure out how much we raised, and put it in the bank. There are several possible uses for the money, but probably first priority is putting deposits on royalties for next season's shows, in order to lock in the performance rights.

Nice restaurant!

Jane Katherine Arthur, RIP

July 13, 1947 - March 4, 2006

It took a few days for word to reach me..... A wonderful, wonderful person. Would that we could all share her spirit!

Examining An Iceberg

Even the pessimists would be surprised how big a problem it is:

The National Council on Problem Gambling kicked off an education campaign this week by noting that 2 percent to 3 percent of Americans - or about 6 to 9 million adults - have gambling problems.

Numbers can be worth a thousand words. They also can have political and social implications. That's why the National Council's estimate is bad news for the casino industry - it's two or three times as high as the 1 percent rate often cited by the industry.

The greater the percentage of problem gamblers, the tougher it is for the gaming industry to persuade states without casinos that the economic effect of gambling - jobs, tourism, and especially taxes - more than offsets the social cost of increased exposure to casino gambling.

... The 1 percent rate often cited by the casino industry represents only a narrow category of people defined by treatment experts as "pathological gamblers," he said. "It's a fairly limited number that doesn't represent the full scope of people with gambling problems."

The industry-cited number is taken from a 1997 study that collected and extrapolated from much of the previous available research on the subject.

... The 2 percent to 3 percent estimate cited by the National Council is based on a more representative group of people who showed signs of problem gambling behavior in the past year, not just "pathological gamblers" who exhibited the most severe problems, Whyte said.

... "The issue is whether there are questions that are raised that can't be answered using data that's five years old," Volberg said. "Presumably it's time.

"You didn't have Internet gambling available to the extent you have now,'' she said. "You didn't have the poker phenomenon you have now. Nevada has the highest immigration rate in the United States, so the population may be changing demographically in a way that can affect the numbers."

Toilets Down Under

Apparently they need to be stronger:

Standards Australia, a nongovernment group that establishes safety and design standards, is considering recommending strengthening loos for larger users, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Obesity levels have been rising for years in Australia.

Standards Australia spokeswoman Kate Evans said the current industry standard for toilet seats is just 100 pounds and that the group is looking to increase it to 330 pounds.

I remember reading an account, written by a young Australian girl, travelling in the U.S. She said one highlight of her trip was how entertaining the toilets were in the U.S. in comparison to the ones Down Under. Ours gush and swoosh and swish and burble: Down Under they simply go 'glug, glug.' Well, I guess we had to upgrade our standards and buy new toilets many years ago - our own obesity epidemic started way back then!

"Onward To Colorado City"

Actually, our battle cry was "Onward to Fredonia", in 1980, when my friends and I travelled through the Colorado Strip, the fairly-isolated area north of the Colorado River around the Arizona-Utah border, on the way to Zion National Park. Fredonia is a town right at the border. We were passing through, but of course, others settled this area. Despite the natural beauty of the area, its isolation has always been problematic.

Nearby Fredonia is Colorado City, AZ, and Hildale, UT, where a secretive Mormon cult, under the erratic leadership of fugitive Warren Jeffs, still practices polygamy, and where the dread genetic disorder, fumarase deficiency, is spreading rapidly. Indeed, more people with this rare disease are found in these two towns than anywhere on Earth.

John Dougherty at the Phoenix New Times has written an excellent feature article on the disease, and the reaction of the State of Arizona to it. One story regarded Dr. Theodore Tarby's efforts to educate people regarding what was going on:

Tarby says he explained to the gathering at Town Hall in Colorado City that the only way to stop fumarase deficiency in the community is to abort fetuses that test positive for the disease and for the community to stop intermarriages between Barlows and Jessops, Barlows and Barlows and Jessops and Jessops.

Tarby says members of the community made it clear that neither choice was acceptable.

..."They have to outbreed," [Dr. Kirk A.] Aleck says.

But this is a very unlikely scenario for FLDS faithful, who practice a religious doctrine that requires men to be strictly obedient to religious leaders and requires women to give birth to as many children as possible to increase the sect's numbers.

"Who [from outside the fundamentalist Mormon religion] would want to go in there and join their population?" Aleck asks. "It's probably hard to recruit into that environment."

Indeed, even if an outsider wanted to join the FLDS community, such a person would not be welcome.

"They are discouraging any new blood," historian [Benjamin] Bistline says. "They've got this idea that their blood is pure and that they want to keep it pure."

There is also a companion article regarding the collapse of the local economy and civic life in the two towns. It's so alarming, it almost makes one yearn for the hyper-efficient government of the nearby Indian Reservations instead:

In the months since the indictments, evidence that the economy of the polygamist communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, is plunging toward collapse is obvious. Many businesses have closed or moved out, the Colorado City and Hildale governments are facing serious financial problems, the electric utility jointly owned by both towns is in default on $21 million in bonds and the Colorado City public school district has been forced into receivership.

...

Residents already are constructing large walls made from block, steel, wood and stone around the perimeter of their residential lots and posting "no trespassing" signs on land they do not own.

...Unless the world does suddenly end, FLDS members in Colorado City and Hildale could face three difficult choices:

Defy their fugitive religious leader and pay property taxes to remain in their homes. Abandon the community they and their forefathers helped build and set off with their large families to Texas and elsewhere. Or refuse to pay property taxes or leave when authorities attempt to evict.

...

[Hildale Mayor David] Zitting, who will mark his 20th year in office in January, says there was a long period when living on UEP trust land and strictly adhering to the commands of FLDS religious leaders was a spiritual utopia.

...During last month's election, only 100 votes were cast for mayor in Hildale, population about 2,000, and he got all of them.

"It was a lower turnout than usual," Zitting says, as if that were the unusual aspect of the election.

One of three election judges overseeing the votes was a woman who, Zitting says, shares his household, which is a polite way of saying she is a plural wife.

... It is not as if Zitting was the only candidate who had a spouse judging the election. Patricia Jessop also sat as an election judge and shares a household with Hildale Councilman Dan C. Jessop, who, of course, also won reelection.

Such blatant conflicts would cause a firestorm of protest in most communities, and the election results would probably be voided. But these anomalies are a fact of life in the fundamentalist towns.

...As for Zitting, he is faced with the difficult task of trying to keep the Hildale town government in operation as it teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. Prophet Jeffs' order to FLDS members to refuse to pay property taxes is contributing to the financial woes gripping Zitting's town.

Reductio Ad Absurdum

Via Josh Marshall. This stuff is too good for comedy. Jack Abramoff has been convicted of bribing 'Representative Number One.' Speculation has it that particular person is Ohio Congressman Bob Ney. Ney's press spokesman Brian Walsh says that we can't believe Abramoff, not just because he's a (nonpracticing) trial lawyer, but because he's a convicted felon - convicted of bribing Walsh's own boss!

"When Jack Abramoff 'names names,' ‘Representative Number One’ will likely be first on the list," [Chillicothe Mayor and likely candidate] Sulzer said. "That is why I am calling on Bob Ney to resign immediately if Jack Abramoff names him. The ongoing investigation of Ney's corruption is keeping him from doing the job that we elected him to do."

Ney — through his spokesperson, Brian Walsh — called the announcement another in a series of negative attacks. He also hit at Sulzer’s connection with trial lawyers.

“Joe Sulzer has a history of siding with and taking money from trial lawyers so it's not a surprise that he would base his latest negative attacks solely on the tainted words of a slick trial lawyer and a convicted felon like Jack Abramoff,” said Walsh.

Blondes

(picture by Aerixis Prime at B3ta.)

I'm wondering whether this suggestive idea (that a new study strengthened) is correct; that blondeness evolved recently in Europe due to selective evolutionary pressure. Kind-of-like lactose tolerance, which is also fairly-new in human development, and not yet fully spread through the human population.

Blondeness is certainly a striking personal trait, but does it mean more kids who survive to produce their own kids (the acid test of evolution)?

Finally, A Break For Arizona

Deborah in Ahwatukee, just south of Phoenix, writes:

It sure looked like it would rain yesterday afternoon but if it did--it was not in the valley. I know it's a desert, but I do remember rain, snow up north just last year. This has got to break--you need to take that sledgehammer to the jet stream. What's up with that??

I respond:

All that the long-wave trough off the west coast of the U.S. has to do is move slightly east and AZ will have it made, with a series of storms lined up. Usually, these long-wavelength troughs move west instead, but AZ apparently will catch a break.

Episodic rain for the next week! All but guaranteed! If it doesn't rain soon, you can take a sledgehammer to my head (easier to reach than the jet stream).

Irresistible Forces Meeting Immovable Objects

James McElroy had a few more comments regarding collisions of ships with things:

I'd like to draw your attention to the rant by XHawkeye (05-12-05) on page 2 of the message board. This seems to be a recurring theme in accident investigations, first protect the guilty, then hang the grunts out to dry.

Here is a direct link to a photo of the bow of the San Franciso with the blue tarp missing. I assumed that the tarp was there to hide something militarily valuable, but apparently not. This series [the photo is one of a series of five] explains a lot. The first picture that I sent earlier had me wondering how they were oriented at impact, but these shots make it clear.

[Referring to a point made in comments on the previous post regarding the Titanic collision with an iceberg] Your point about the glancing blow is a good one. To minimize effort, concentrate less energy at a weak point. To inflict fatality on someone, hit them over the head with a concrete block, or slip a filet knife between their ribs. Much less effort, same result.

Ice daggers! The Titanic was mugged by the North Atlantic!

I was struck by the comments on the message board made by PeteRR, who was apparently at the scene as the on-watch Diving Officer:

The next thing to cross my mind was why am I pushing myself off of the SCP (Ship's Control Panel, the main instrument and control panel for steering and driving the submarine) and where the hell the air rupture in the control room come from? I didn't know it, but I did a greater than 3g spiderman against the panel, punched a palm through the only plexiglass gauge on the SCP and had my leg crushed by the DOOW (Diving Officer Of the Watch) chair that I had just unbuckled (seatbelts are normally worn at high speeds) from. The DOOW chair was broken loose by the QMOW (QuarterMaster Of the Watch) flying more than 15 feet into it and smashing my leg against a hydraulic valve and the SCP. I don't remember freeing myself from it. If I had been buckled in, I don't think I would be writing this.

It's scary to be a fragile human being at the mercy of irresistible forces!

Solar Minimum Has Arrived

So if you are looking for sunspots any time soon, you are out of luck.

Dusty Snowstorms

When I lived in New Mexico, I used to hate these windy storms - dirty snow in the mountains, dusty grit on the flat. They had one of these storms recently in the Four Corners area. Today, there are reports that Algeria, of all places, has been paralyzed by one of these storms, with 70 cm of snow (nearly 25 inches in places).

Ships That Go Bump In The Night - HMS Titanic, USS San Francisco, and Others

(Left, Original Captions): Apra Harbor, Guam (Jan. 27, 2005) The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711) in dry dock to assess damage sustained after running aground approximately 350 miles south of Guam Jan. 8, 2005. The Navy former dry dock known as “Big Blue” is capable of docking ships that weigh up to 40,000 Long Tons. The Navy certified Big Blue for the one-time docking of San Francisco. San Francisco is the second fast-attack submarine to be attached to the forward-deployed Submarine Squadron Fifteen, home ported on board Naval Base Guam. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Mark Allen Leonesio (RELEASED)

(Also): On January 7, 2005, the USS San Francisco, while on its way to making a routine port visit to Brisbane, Australia, ran aground and hit the ocean floor, approximately 350 nautical miles (560 kilometers) south of Guam, in the middle of the East Marianas Basin. The incident reportedly caused one critical injury and a number of minor ones to 23 of the submarine's crew ranging from broken bones, lacerations, bruises to a back injury. The critically wounded sailor later died of his injuries. Initial reports indicated that the submarine's hull was intact and that the submarine's nuclear reactor plant had not been damaged. The submarine resurfaced following the accident and proceeded to return to its homeport of Guam.


Provoked by blog musings regarding The Titanic, James McElroy (Michael's father) composed a very interesting essay about ships at sea colliding into objects:

Your bringing up the recent Nuclear Sub incident near Guam relative to the Titanic Disaster got me thinking of other accident studies, so I did a little research on the relative magnitudes, and the investigations thereof. Anyway here are some thoughts on what I found. I'm afraid we live in a very non-linear world, and are in constant ignorance of what is going on about us.

The Titanic is much upon our minds these days, and it has been an obsession with many people for 94 years. Just think, in only six years we will "celebrate" the Centennial of the sinking of the Titanic. You should start right now to secure performance rights for the show on Apr 14, 2012.

Your comparison of the Titanic vs. Iceberg to the USS San Francisco vs. Seamount (the USS Scorpion was another incident, top secret, hush hush espionage, and all that [Marc: Sorry! I got the name wrong!}) caused me to ponder the physics of the collisions. First of all, here is a photo of the result of the latest (7 Jan 2005) maritime disaster, from a USN oriented message board. There is a lot of talk back and forth from a miscellaneous collection of readers about the accident. Interesting reading.

I acquired a couple of books from my local library, the classic reference "A Night to Remember" by Walter Lord, and "The Night Lives On" by the same author. The first was published in 1955 and made into a movie by a British Studio in 1958, both are still readily available from Amazon.com. The second was published in 1989, shortly after the discovery of the hulk of the Titanic in 1985. It did not fare so well and is out of print. It focused mainly on the various Hearings conducted after the sinking, the later lives of principle passenger and crew survivors, and some information about the discovery of the wreck. It was very interesting and useful, but the Internet makes these kinds of books a hard sell today.

The results of the various inquiries are interesting. It is almost a given that the Bureaucrats came out blameless, the Maritime Industry was verified to be doing its best to build and operate increasingly large vessels safely and the crews (while some lower level members were faulted) was faced with an impossible situation. Humph! Some interesting things did come out however and changes were made (without admitting any blame, of course). For one thing, on the very next voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic, the passengers refused to board the ship until enough lifeboats were aboard to carry all the passengers. As a result it was a very uncomfortable trip, with the boat deck very cluttered with, of all things, boats! There was tsk, tsking by the Board of Trade that this made the ships top heavy and less safe.

It became known at the hearings that the Titanic actually carried MORE lifeboats than were required by regulation. The number was a standard calculation based on tonnage, from the era of much smaller vessels. The justification was that larger ships took so long to sink (if they ever would) that they would be surrounded by rescue vessels and the boats would only be used to ferry passengers from the damaged vessel to the rescuers.

Was the Captain running the Titanic too fast, from pressure by an overbearing ship owner, or internal pressure to retire with the title of fastest ship on the crossing? At the hearings it became apparent that standard procedure of all captains was to go full out even at night, to shorten the turn around. Hopefully in fog they eased off a bit, though that wasn't discussed. Damage to ships from ice was infrequent, though the time between incidents was decreasing. All the ships in the North Atlantic trade could make many crossings before an unlucky one would earn a few weeks downtime for repairs.

In 1879 the Guidon Lines "Arizona" was the largest and fastest ship on the crossing (at the time). One midnight, in roughly the same area as the Titanic incident, while steaming at full speed it collided head on with an Iceberg. The first 30 ft of the bow was crushed, but the forward bulkhead was not seriously damaged. At slow speed it limped into St. John's Newfoundland, eventually repaired and put back into service. This event was used to justify the standard operating procedure of full speed in open ocean. Modern ships were just too big and strong to worry about a little ice.

It is instructive here to do a little comparison of various vessels involved in accidents. The "Arizona" was 5,750 Tons and capable of 17 knots. The USS San Francisco was (public data) 7,000 Tons and capable of 32 knots officially. Various people commenting on the message board stated that the Navy later admitted to 45+ knots for that class of submarine. The Titanic was 46,000 Tons, and capable of 24 knots. In case of a collision between a moving ship and an Iceberg (or seamount) the parameter of interest is it's kinetic energy which must be dissipated by crushing structure to bring the moving ship to a full halt.

Using the standard equation KE=M*V*V, where M is the mass in 1000 Ton units, and V is speed in knots we get:

Arizona KE = 5.75 * 17 * 17 = 1,662 (arbitrary units)
San Francisco KE = 7.0 * 42 * 42 = 12,348 (who knows how fast?)
Titanic KE = 46.0 * 24 * 24 = 26,496

Based on the photographic evidence of the USS San Francisco a collision with slightly less than half of the Titanic's Kinetic Energy is survivable. One must admit however that the structure of a Nuclear Submarine is a hell of a lot stronger than a 1912 Ocean Liner. This question actually came up in the Titanic Hearings in regard to the famous 37 seconds between warning until the bow began to move sideways. It was suggested that if the Titanic had hit head on, it would not have sunk. Maybe. A number was thrown out that the first 100 ft of the hull would have been crushed which would have taken out the first three, maybe four compartments, but left the engine room intact. Never saw any justification for the calculated number however. The Arizona lost 30 ft of structure with an impact of 1/16th of the Titanic's kinetic energy. No one could bring themselves to fault the helmsman's attempt to avoid the collision, however.

What happened in that 37 seconds? In the movie and theater versions there was the implication that the helmsman "froze" for several seconds and did not begin execution till later, but evidence given was that the execution was immediate. The order was "Hard to Port" and "Full Reverse". It would take a few seconds to swing the rudder to full and even more time to halt all that rotating mass and reverse the propellers. You don't change direction of a 882 foot steel beam moving in it's direction of least resistance easily. The iceberg must have been off center initially, and the turn made in the proper direction. It almost missed. The sad thing is that it turned just enough to maximize the damage. A little more and there would have been not a scratch, a little less and the crumple zone would have been determined. The fact is no one knew how the ship would respond to those commands.

Another thing that came out at the hearings was that the sea trials of this new leviathan were minimal at best. Of course it was the second of three sister ships. The Olympic had been in service for over a year. An emergency stop had been tested once, from 18 knots. It took 3 minutes 15 seconds and 3,000 feet from 18 knots. Turning tests were done, also at reduced and constant speed. At no time did testing occur at full speed, and certainly not at full load. The passengers on the maiden voyage were paying full price to participate in a Beta Test! The question was not raised during the hearings, but I can't feel but that the commands given, "Full Port Rudder" and "Full Engine Reverse" were contradictory. The rudder was straining to get the ship turned with a force proportional to the square of the water velocity over the rudder surface, while the reversing screws were modifying the water flow at the stern of the ship in a major way.

That the large propellers on the Titanic and it's sister the Olympic could do weird things to the water flow was undoubtable but apparently not appreciated. Both ships were involved in incidents which indicated that the effects of propeller wash was not understood. On it's first arrival in New York, the Olympic, for some obscure reason, reversed engines on one side at significant power and a tug working the ship to the dock was sucked under the stern, doing considerable damage to the tug and to the Olympic's propeller. On another occasion the Olympic and a Royal Navy Cruiser were proceeding side by side in a narrow channel, about 200 yards apart, when the Olympic increased power to move ahead and the Cruiser's bow swung into the stern quarter of the Olympic, doing considerable damage to both ships. At the inquest Naval Engineers presented evidence from model tank towing tests showing that the increased prop wash from the Olympic could cause the two vessels to impact. The Board of Trade harrumphed that boys playing with toy boats could not convince them the Navy helmsman was not at fault. As the Titanic left South Hampton on its maiden voyage with it's first load of passengers, another ocean liner was pulled from it's moorings as the Titanic passed, and a similar collision was avoided only by the heroic efforts of a passing tug, and reversing the Titanic's engine to swing the stern sideways.

Probably the correct action on sighting the iceberg would have been to leave the engines alone at full forward, and swing the rudder hard over. That would maximize the lateral force on the hull to execute a turn. Reversing the engines would reduce flow over the rudder surface. That was certainly the technique used by the Carpathia on it's mercy run toward the Titanic's reported position. The captain stated that he added as many lookouts as he could and swerved around any large ice reported. Of course his full speed was only 14 knots. After sunup, he said he looked back over his course into the area and noted many, many more icebergs than had been reported, and attributed his safe arrival to Divine Guidance. Too bad the Titanic didn't have some of that on board as well. It seems that no one on board really knew how the Titanic would respond to emergency maneuvers at full speed and load. If the Olympic had ever been tested under those conditions it was never mentioned at the hearings.

To put a more modern perspective on the numbers mentioned above it is instructive to look at the case of:

(1) a fully-loaded Boeing 747 impacting a mountain at cruise speed
437.5 Tons take off weight, 484 knots cruise speed
KE = 0.4375 * 484 * 484 = 102,487
Almost 4 times the impact energy of the Titanic!
No wonder there is so little left to pick up.

(2) a Ford Excursion, hitting a concrete bridge pier at 80 mph
3 tons gross weight at 69.4 knots
KE = 0.003 * 69.4 * 69.4 = 14.4
About 1/1000 the KE of the USS San Francisco
Ponder the survivability of that!

Once more it will be instructive to reread the book "You Must be Joking Mr. Feynman!", especially the chapter on his participation in the investigation of the Challenger disaster. The investigative board was getting bogged down in endless discussions of hypothetical minutiae when Feynman whipped out his little tabletop experiment demonstrating that the O-rings lost their seal at 0 degrees C, and when hot gases blew by they were gone. It became impossible to deny that the designers and management had screwed up in a big way.

Memories of 1972

Before the 1972 election, Henry Kissinger announced that peace negotiations with the North Vietnamese were near a breakthrough. The emptiness of that announcement - the cynical abuse of people's hopes for electoral advantage - became clear after the election, with renewed bombing at Christmas, and the U.S. incursion into Cambodia.

I was very much reminded of that time, this time in advance of congressional elections, by the latest Iraq announcement from Britain:

The United States and Britain are planning to pull all their troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2007, two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions, quoting unnamed senior defense ministry sources.

The Sunday Telegraph said the planned pull-out followed an acceptance by the two governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now a large obstacle to securing peace.

"The British government is understood to be the driving force behind the withdrawal plan but all 24 coalition members are likely to welcome the move, given the growing international unpopularity of the war," the Telegraph said.

Heavy Artillery Movement

The Air Force has deployed frightening AC-130 gunships back into Iraq.

Infringing Patent

Damon Wayans apparently wants to patent the word "niggas":

He wants to put it on a product line of apparel and whatnot. So far, he has not been successful, but one can imagine young American kids wearing that word emblazoned on their apparel and listening to rap "songs" in which the N-word frequently appears, in conjunction with "bitches" and "hos," among other denigrations.

Diet Soda

Experts ponder diet soda:

Harvard pediatrician Dr. David Ludwig worries that diet soda is causing "infantilization of taste buds."

I drink more diet soda than I drink water. And as soon as I get the sippy cup, the pacifier, and the teething ring out of my mouth, I'll tell you more....

Dang Weather!

These Hawaiian floods, in a just universe, should have gone to Arizona!

Can't Quite Believe His Eyes

Good government liberal Josh Marshall can't quite believe how rapidly Brownie's post-Katrina reputation is recovering, but at least he understands why it's recovering. In comparison to Chertoff and Bush, Brownie looks more and more like a wizard every day! Digby has two posts for March 3rd on the same point.

VAPAC Troubles

I wonder why Sacramento Unified School District is being so rough with the VAPAC Performing Arts Charter School. Ostensibly, Sac Unified is concerned about financial irregularities, but the roughhouse approach they're following, attempting a hostile takeover - literally, a hostile takeover, where security guards are required - hardly seems calculated to inspire confidence. Schools require mutual confidence to thrive, and that confidence has been shattered.

Governmental agencies, no matter how benign, look with suspicion upon satellite groups, like charter schools, no matter how selfless, where both private and public funds are involved. Clean lines of authority get fuzzy. (Reminds me a little bit of DMTC and the City of Davis!)

I hate to see this battle, though: VAPAC is a very positive part of the Sacramento Performing Arts community, and we would sorely miss it!

Hoping For The Best!

Best wishes for a good second Friday! (picture from PsychoWardJester at B3ta).

Hungry Next Week in Davis?

A fundraiser at Dos Coyotes on Monday evening for Davis Senior High Symphony Orchestra:

Plus, of course, DMTC's fundraiser on Wednesday evening, sponsored by California Advocates and graciously arranged by Michael Miiller:

YOU ARE INVITED

". . .Splashed with rich earth tones and a warm European flair, and accented with murals and wine glasses suspended above the bar, serving as candle holders. It features hot and cold tapas, dinner and lunch entrées, . . . and a lengthy list of California and European wines.…” --Davis Enterprise on Aioli Bodega Española Restaurant

Aioli Bodega Española, is hosting a fundraising event for Davis Musical Theatre Company. Wednesday, March 8 from 5 to 7 p.m., 808 Second St., downtown Davis (formerly Cafe California.) Please join us at Davis’ newest restaurant, having the charm and romance of old Spain, and fill your belly with the finest sangria and intoxicating tapas.

$25 per person (covers admission, food and drink). All proceeds from this event benefit DMTC, a non-profit 501(c)(3) community theater company. The deadline for reservations is Sunday, March 5, 2006. Please RSVP to Michael Miiller at m_miiller@yahoo.com (Yes, that is two i’s in Miiller) or Jan Isaacson at jan@dmtc.org

DMTC gratefully thanks Aioli Bodega Española and California Advocates for their generous support of this event. As a non-profit organization, DMTC recently opened its beautiful, new 240-seat home, the Hoblit Performing Arts Center. Much of this million-plus dollar dream came true through the heroic efforts and generous support of dedicated community volunteers and friends. DMTC is now in the process of retiring its remaining debt. Your donation to DMTC is greatly appreciated to keep the dream alive and real.

Getting Stranger

Apparently the Department of Homeland Security is somehow mixed up with the mysterious car crash that destroyed an extraordinarily-expensive automobile along the California coast.

No one was injured when the rare Ferrari Enzo traveling 162 mph smashed into a power pole on Pacific Coast Highway. But the case continues to generate interest because the Ferrari is one of only 400 built, and detectives have struggled to understand what happened.

Eriksson told investigators he was a passenger in the Ferrari and that the driver was a man named Dietrich, who fled from the scene. But officials have been skeptical, noting that Eriksson had a bloody lip and the only blood found was on the driver's side airbag.

... Just as murky is Eriksson's connection to the San Gabriel Valley Transit Authority. The organization is a privately run nonprofit that has agreements with Monrovia and Sierra Madre to provide bus rides for disabled residents.

... According to the website, the organization also has its own police department with a chief, detectives and marked police cruisers. Sheriff's investigators said Eriksson told deputies that he was deputy commissioner of the department's anti-terrorism unit.

Bush Caves On Discouraging The South Asian Arms Race

Doesn't seem wise:

It appears that, to close the deal during his visit, Bush directed his negotiators to give in to India's demands that it be allowed to produce unlimited quantities of fissile material and amass as many nuclear weapons as it wants.

The agreement, which requires congressional approval, would be an important step toward Bush's long-held goal of closer relations with India. It would reflect India's status as a global power. And, not least of all, it would more firmly establish India as a military ally and bulwark against China.

Critics have long denounced such an agreement, saying it would reward India for its rogue nuclear-weapons program and could encourage other nations to do likewise.

But now the criticisms may focus on this question: By enabling India to build an unlimited stockpile of nuclear weapons, would this agreement set off a new Asian arms race?

And here's another question: Were Bush and his aides so eager for some good headlines -- for a change -- that they gave away the store?

Trained Seals

A rare Joint Session of the U.S. Congress was called in order to provide camera shots for the current Italian election campaign. Your elected representatives applauded like trained seals for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, even though he spoke entirely in Italian, and no Congress member had a freakin' idea what he was saying.

Blowin' In The Wind

B3ta's Question of the Week asks their readers to submit their best airport stories. Here's my submission:

The Boeing 737 was an hour late taxiing to the runway for takeoff in Albuquerque, NM, USA on a windy evening. Many passengers were upset that they might miss their connection in Phoenix, AZ that would take them to Orange County, CA. They would arrive in Phoenix with just minutes to spare to run through the airport to make their connection.

Looking out the window, I saw a tumbling plastic dry-cleaning bag, being blown by the wind, towards the aircraft. Abruptly, the plastic bag jumped off the ground and went right into the engine. The lights flickered and my heart filled with dread: was there engine damage? Were we doomed? I frantically began waving my arms at the stewardess, she informed the pilot, and he did a U-turn and rolled right back to the terminal for another hour of delay, while mechanics picked plastic out of the engine cowling.

It's funny, despite all the broken connections, not a single person complained about the additional delay. All the impatient people suddenly had the patience of Job.

Apples Are Better Than Pears

At surviving car accidents:

Moderately overweight males are more likely to survive serious car accidents than either the thin or the very fat. Apparently, a bit of extra padding -- but not too much -- provides extra protection, according to the study.

... For reasons that aren't clear, women don't get the same protection from extra weight: Being fat, thin or in-between didn't affect their likelihood of dying in a car accident, the study found.

Was It Something I Said?

In 2002, Randall Kennedy wrote an interesting book: "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word." Here is an excerpt from a review:

Kennedy seems to be a strict interpreter of the Constitution. He surprises the reader with his conservative takes on several remarkable cases of N-word litigation. When discussing famous rulings that invoke the fighting-words and mere-words doctrines, he opts against the fighting-words doctrine because it "gives more leeway to insult a nun than a prizefighter since the nun is less likely to retaliate." He also comes down against the mere-words doctrine (where words alone are not sufficient for provocation) by adding, "I am persuaded that there should be no bright-line limits to the array of provocations that a jury is permitted to consider for the purposes of mitigation."

Even further, he sides against the regulationists, who advocate for laws against hate speech. He also opposes the eradicationists, who condemn all uses of the N-word -- even in art, literature or by comedians. Kennedy, who is black, has little problem defending Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn over the controversy regarding its use of the N-word 215 times, of which he says, "... Twain designed to subvert, not to reinforce, racism." Onto which he adds that "... [our] thought becomes stunted in the absence of any sense of irony."

I was reminded of when DMTC did "Showboat" in the summer of 2003. I played racist Pete Gavin, who opens the show with crude, nasty use of the N-word. Like with 'Huckleberry Finn,' the N-word was used in 'Showboat' in order to subvert racism, not promote it, but nevertheless, Director Jan carefully lectured the assembled cast that DMTC would not use the N-word in our show at all, in order to avoid offending any sensibilities.

Unfortunately, I wasn't paying much attention on that summer evening: I was doodling instead. So, when the time came, I faithfully followed the script: I used the N-word in a nasty, crude way to one of the lead actresses. It was the first time, and probably last time, I've ever heard an entire assembled DMTC cast fall, utterly, into aghast silence.....

Mississippi Sheriff Shows Initiative...

during Hurricane Katrina, and brain-dead feds prosecute him:

About 150 people gathered in support of Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee on Sunday, outraged at federal charges against him stemming from a dispute over ice trucks in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

..."We had diabetic people who hadn't been able to put their insulin on ice for three days," said Lee Behrens, 53, chief of the McLaurin Volunteer Fire Department. "If it was up to FEMA, those trucks would still be at Camp Shelby."

McGee, 53, was scheduled to plead guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of interfering with, intimidating and impeding a federal officer, but the hearing was delayed indefinitely late Thursday. A new court date has not been scheduled.

McGee acknowledged to the Hattiesburg American on Thursday that he acted outside federal guidelines when he asked two ice truck drivers to follow him to distribution centers in the Brooklyn and Sheeplo communities.

... About 1,000 people relied on the McLaurin VFD for ice and water during those sweltering days, said volunteer firefighter Rhonda Hobson.

"I can hardly even describe the looks on people's faces when we had to tell them we couldn't give them anything," said Hobson, 37. "(McGee) did it for us, for the reasons we voted him in there - to protect us and take care of us."

...Charlie Sims, 47, of McLaurin asked sheriff's deputies to relay a request from the people of South Forrest County. "Would you please ask him to write a handbook for FEMA on how to make a decision?"

Las Vegas Musical Theater Lessons

Faced with Q-miliation, mogul Steve Wynn apparently has been bad-mouthing "Mamma Mia," but Michael Riedel at the New York Post (via blogger Richard Abowitz) has done some sleuthing regarding just how successful "Mamma Mia" is (and continues to be). Riedel comments:

People involved in "Mamma Mia!" think Wynn is trashing their show because he tried — and failed — to get it himself. He offered Judy Craymer, its producer, several million dollars for the exclusive North American rights. He wanted "Mamma Mia!" to forgo a U.S. tour, bypass Broadway and head straight to Vegas.

Craymer turned him down, a decision that has made her one of the richest women in England. The Broadway production and the U.S. tour have made tens of millions of dollars. All that plus the Vegas profits.

What Craymer understood instinctively — and what Wynn is now, only after his "Q" black eye, just beginning to grasp — is that for a show to be successful in Vegas, it must have a high profile. It must, says Wynn, "arrive in Vegas late in its life." "Mamma Mia!" criss-crossed the country and ran on Broadway for a year before playing Mandalay Bay. It was already a famous show by the time it got there.

The lesson theater people are drawing from the failure of "Q" and the success of "Mamma Mia!" is that the Vegas audience only buys what it knows and likes. When you're in Vegas, you take your chances with the slot machines, not with the price of theater tickets.

So That's What Happened!

I once had a VW Bug. I once had a cat. These days, I have neither, and now I know why.

Davis Enterprise Review of DMTC's "Titanic - The Musical"

Since there is no indication that Bev Sykes' review will even be archived by the Davis Enterprise, to allow paying readers to access it, so here is a JPEG of her review. Just copy and save it, and zoom in on it, to get readability.

Every technical annoyance she mentions did occur on opening night, and to my knowledge, has been fixed. Whatever annoyance she had with the singers can't be fixed so easily (except to note that many of us mercifully drown in icy North Atlantic waters).

"Wizard of Oz" Callbacks

Lots of talented people! I was surprised, actually. I expected this show to be a showcase for new, unknown talent, and there was some of that there, but many of the Sacramento Valley's young, experienced musical theater people were there as well. That will make casting decisions hard!

More On Kelly Daniells

Mentioned in passing in this Las Vegas Sun article. It's interesting how the reporter seemed to have no particular tag to put on Kelly (a community theater veteran) except "Annie Get Your Gun." Jumping into the professional world appears like a rebirth: talented people magically appear, fully trained, just out of nowhere! In any event, Kelly will become known to everyone soon enough!

The big rollout of the new "Mamma Mia" cast apparently happened last Thursday. Jason says the new cast was invited to the Mandalay Bay's posh Foundation Room for a party. More information should be available soon at Kelly's Weblog (address on sidebar).

Obecalp

Drug of choice these days at the VA for Gulf War Syndrome.

(Personal experience): Actually, Obecalp might be preferable to the usual VA approach, which is to prescribe mind-altering drugs, and then not follow up with a review of medications until after the side effects are bizarre enough to frighten small children.

Cool As A Cucumber

Panicked stewardess freaks out over Greenland.

Swindle's Maglev Express

The City Manager wants to connect Bernalillo, NM (3rd-oldest town in the U.S., and trailer park capital of the universe) with Rio Rancho, NM (exploding subdivisions from hell, characterless sheet-rock capital of the universe, but without trailers) with a Maglev rail line. I wonder if this is connected with Rio Rancho Mayor Jim Owen's megalomaniacal idea to push his exploding subdivisions all the way to Laguna Pueblo?

I remind these low-budget fantasists that Sacramento had to give up computer-driven light rail trains, because they kept crashing into cars and drunks and cows and any number of other inconvenient objects, on a routine basis:

Swindle believes it could happen with the urban maglev, a high-speed train that floats above its track on a magnetic field, transporting passengers above the metropolitan area without traffic congestion, expensive rail lines or even a driver.

It's a real technology, already carrying passengers in Germany and Japan. In the United States, maglev exists on test tracks in San Diego and Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo.

The stumbling block is the price. At an estimated $20 million per mile, Swindle's idea would cost $100 million.

But with support from neighboring Rio Rancho, Swindle hopes to find investors to help build a five-mile maglev system connecting the Bernalillo rail stop for the state's Rail Runner commuter train to Rio Rancho's downtown, which is under construction.

Medical Malpractice Crisis Is Over

For now....

....These kinds of volcanic eruptions in insurance premiums have occurred three times in the last 30 years — in the mid 1970s, again in the mid-1980s, and then again following the year 2001. The cause is always the same: a severe drop in investment income for insurers compounded by underpricing in prior years. Each time, insurers and the health care industry have tried to cover up their mismanaged underwriting by blaming lawyers and the legal system.

It's Not Racist To Be Concerned About Port Security

With the Senate majority leadership falling in line like little robots to support the port deal with the UAE, it's important to note that security questions remain:

That post-9-11 pressure has caused the UAE to switch sides is surely a good thing. But America has allies, and then we have allies. Our strategic partnerships with close democratic friends -- Britain, Germany, Japan, etc. -- extend across decades and involve presidents and prime ministers from all parties in both states, transcending personal ties or whims of the day and reflecting deep alignment of values and interests. Partnerships of convenience with friendly despots dating back to the early 21st century and reflecting handshake agreements between George W. Bush and the local monarch aren't the same thing, and there's nothing racist about pointing this out.

Plumb Forgot

I was supposed to be the expert involved, but I ended up going to the supermarket instead:

Scooter Libby, lawyer, foreign policy hand, author and Dick Cheney's personal one-man heat shield, has hired a memory loss expert to assist in his defense.

So, the Red Chinese Are Miffed

What are they going to do about it? Close the port of Los Angeles? Well, ..... yeah! They already run the port! Just a few phone calls and they could shut it down, if they wanted. Do we have enough National Guardsmen to keep the place functioning if we had to?:

Chinese President Hu Jintao denounced the Taiwanese president's decision to scrap an agency dedicated to uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland, and warned Tuesday that Beijing will not permit the self-ruled island to pursue formal independence.

Hu's criticism came amid a series of stern Chinese statements Tuesday that vilified Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian but refrained from repeating Beijing's frequent threats to attack the island, which it claims as part of its territory.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the United States, Taiwan's only major ally, to block any moves toward independence for the island, split from the mainland since 1949.

Hu accused Chen of taking a "dangerous step" toward independence.

"We will continue to strive for the prospect of peaceful unification, but we will never allow Taiwan to be split from the motherland," state media quoted Hu as saying.

The high-level warning reflected the depth of Beijing's alarm at Chen's decision Monday to abolish the National Unification Council along with guidelines calling for uniting Taiwan with the communist mainland.

Pass The Bon-Bons

Oink, oink:

Half of Europeans are obese or overweight, but citizens do not see obesity as a major health threat, a food industry report said on Tuesday.

Bad Timing

Time for the blackboard:

I promise never again to have the gutters removed just before heavy rains.
I promise never again to have the gutters removed just before heavy rains.
I promise never again to have the gutters removed just before heavy rains.
.....................

Three Marsupial Night

I don't know whether they were freaked out by the winds, or excited by the smell of wet earth, but the streets of Sacramento were swarming with possums last night, in the early morning hours. Sparky thought it was invigorating fun to make these peculiar tree dwellers freeze right in their tracks.

YSG Valentine

On the evening of Friday, February 17th, I was leaving Old Spaghetti Factory with the DMTC borg, when teenagers abruptly stopped me and raved about the "Tommy" DMTC sweatshirt I was wearing. "I LOVE The WHO!," one girl exclaimed, "I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl!" I was surprised, since I thought The Who stopped touring years ago, but I was even more surprised to discover they were from the West Valley, or Hollywood, or somewhere down in the South Coast, in Sacramento for a YSG (presumably Youth in Student Government) weekend at the State Capitol. They gave me a little YSG Valentine, colored red, green and yellow (looks Italian, which is fitting for the restaurant).

I've since tried to confirm the YSG acronym on Google, but all I get is 'Young Solicitor's Group,' and 'Yap State Government,' and 'Yokohama Shakespeare Group," so I don't know for sure who they were, but I'm carrying around the YSG Valentine wherever I go.

Franklin Foer Named Chief Editor of TNR

Too late. That rag is headed to obsolescence. To think I subscribed for a quarter century too. Surprised I didn't get neoconservative scabies.

Right From The Heart

Assistant to the State Treasurer of Arizona resigns.

America Is Not Alone

And if we all could wedge ourselves out of the comfy chair, we could do something about it:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics national health survey, released yesterday, found 62 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women were overweight or obese.

However, only 32 per cent of men and 37 per cent of women saw themselves that way.

It also found Queenslanders are fatter, drink and smoke more and have higher levels of preventable diseases than the average Australian.

The 2003 Recall Candidates Respond....

To Gerald Gorman's candidacy:

Cheryl Bly-Chester: Good Luck on your Assembly Race - I agree - engineers know how to work through problems. - Fellow Historical Figure - Cheryl Bly-Chester

Marc Valdez: Engineers are good with most problems, but too quick to answer others: questions like 'do I look fat in this dress?' kinds of questions, the kind where the human element gets involved....

Diana Foss: Mark - I'm not an engineer, but you don't look fat in that dress. Don't worry - Diana

Marc Valdez: Thank you, Diana (whew!)

Christopher Sproul: Once again, I agree with Diana's judgment. And while we were in the minority in urging No on Recall, I trust that history will vindicate us on both Arnold and your attire. - Borrowing from Cheryl, Your Fellow Historical Figure, Chris

Nation's Wackiest Street Names

(Courtesy of Noel): results of a poll:

10. Tater Peeler Road in Lebanon, Tenn.
9. The intersection of Count and Basie in Richmond, Va.
8. Shades of Death Road in Warren County, N.J.
7. Unexpected Road in Buena, N.J.
6. Bucket of Blood Street in Holbrook, Ariz.
5. The intersection of Clinton and Fidelity in Houston
4. The intersection of Lonesome and Hardup in Albany, Ga.
3. Farfrompoopen Road in Tennessee (the only road up to Constipation Ridge)
2. Divorce Court in Heather Highlands, Pa.
1. Psycho Path in Traverse City, Mich.

Mister X

Has a blog.

A Day of Non-Sequiturs

Gabe notes that today is the anniversary of the Reichstag Fire. After throwing today's date around a bit, Gabe has a Guy Fawkes fantasy:

Future news flash: Marc Valdez was found naked behind the State Capitol after a stink bomb went off on December 13, 2006. The Governor declared a state of emergency, dissolved the Legisature, and the people cheered the end of governmental stalemate. Forever after the period of Utopia reigned, and from there on out, every December 13, Marc Valdez is set free on the Capitol grounds to throw a ceremonial stink bomb. After the air clears, the Governor appears to declare a year of prosperity with much rejoicing. Marc Valdez is shown by his side, with mouth gagged, to show a sign of the loyal opposition. With many cheers and hurrahs, Marc is put away for another year to star on a tv show strangely reminiscent of the 1960s: The Prisoner.

I respond: Hurrah, Progress! I like it! Especially the ceremonial part (being chased naked by a big balloon in public somehow excites me...)

Gabe responds with a Wikipedia reference to 'The Simpsons':

Another episode, "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes", had the final act completely based on The Prisoner. Homer became trapped on an island which was similar to the Village and Patrick McGoohan even reprised his role as Number 6 (Homer was Number 5). While on the island, some of the reasons for prisoners being there were revealed. Number 27 could turn water into gasoline, Number 12 knew the deadly secret behind Tic Tacs, and Number 6 invented the bottomless peanut bag. While trying to escape, Homer was pursued by Rover and easily popped it with a plastic fork. The episode ends with Homer returning to Springfield, only to be abducted again, this time with his family, but they find that life in The Island isn't that bad after all.

Gerald Gorman, Candidate

Former 2003 California Recall candidate Gerald Gorman is in the running again, for State Assembly:

Yep, I've got my hat back in the ring again. This time it is for the State Assembly seat that will be vacated by Joe Canciamilla at the end of the current term due to term limits. Interestingly enough, even though I ran for Mayor of San Bruno in 1991, and for Governor in 2003, and another time for a County Board of Education spot - the Contra Costa times still considers me to be a political unknown.

Now I realize that some of the things that I have said over the years have been very contraversial - and this may be problemetic insofar as how I should approach the current situation. My first instinct is to run a basic platform that I think that "political decisions would be better off being made by engineers than for engineering decisions to continue to be made by politicians" AND that "I have a track record of identifying (the critical) issues (that are most often overlooked by those suffering from a failure of imagination)"

Gerald has formidable memory skills: name a week in the last half-year, and he can tell you what the Super Lotto Megabucks number was for that week. If politics were like 'Jeopardy,' he'd win easily. But as we know, politics is a trickier game....

Tipping Point?

How forgiving will the voters be in 2006 regarding Bush Administration missteps? It's dangerous to provoke voters - witness how California Governor Gray Davis generated a massive backlash in 2003 with the 2001 electricity debacle and his ham-handed interference in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary. Voters can lunge for the pitchforks at times. Rhode Island's Republican Governor is a little more optimistic this year, though:

The Medicare program left several governors shaking their heads, though they said efforts to improve it were helping. "Probably the design of the plan could've been better," said Republican Don Carcieri of Rhode Island. Bush has called for steps to limit the confusion. Still, Carcieri was sure voters would forgive, both on the drugs and on the hurricane response. "They're more understanding of that kind of thing. They understand they're only human."

Well, in 2003, fickle California voters changed their minds and decided Gray Davis was an alien from Mars, with thin green blood. What will happen, this year, to Republican candidates?

A More Relaxed Schedule For 'Showgirl'?

Kylie's Australian tour may be stretched out to leave R&R time:

[T]he Showgirl show itself certainly won't be scaled down - quite the opposite, it looks set to be revamped and updated - but the tour schedule looks likely to be a lot more relaxed than previously, with large back-to-back blocks of shows being replaced with more spread out dates, giving Kylie chance to regain full health in between, and hence not tiring her out; we all know how Kylie has suffered from exhaustion due to the chaotic scheduling of previous tours. There is no word about exactly how the show will be updated yet, although we were excited to hear that William Baker had been spotted visiting Kylie in Melbourne, and Showgirl must certainly have been one of the many things they must have discussed.

A more-relaxed pace is a good idea. I remember the original schedule: finish in Brisbane and open in Adelaide: the next night! How would that even be physically possible? All that equipment, travelling a thousand miles, supposedly by truck? For everyone's sake, take some time!

Ebony and Ivory

Mixed race couple have twins. One baby is white and the other is black, the odds of which are about one in a million.

Disturbing Trend

Run as a Democrat, end up on the no-fly list.

First Weekend Complete

Opened the newspaper this morning: got a jolt!

"Titanic - The Musical" is off to a good start (well, as good a start as a sinking ship ever gets).

Just a few problems today: several bobbled lines, that's all. With experience, the show continues to improve! Second Friday approaches in a few days - usually the bane of community theater - so we'll have to continue to maintain our focus.

Amazing Coincidences

Steve just distributed this E-Mail he received to the cast of "Titanic - The Musical":

To the cast and crew of Titanic,

Dear cast and crew, I have just come off stage after seven full-house performances and have spent the day nursing bruises and reflecting on what has the best week of my life.

I have been searching the web for reviews of our shows following the verbal support that we have received. Imagine my surprise when I found you lot!

The reason is that I am a member of DMTC (Durham Musical Theatre Company) based in Durham City in the North East of England. Our home is the Gala Theatre in Durham and my aches and pains have been caused by the fact that last night was my last performance of the Northern premiere of Titanic! How weird is that!

Last November my colleagues and I visited Liverpool to see West Kirby's production of Titanic where I met my namesake Jonathan Taylor who played Etches, the part for which I was auditioning. I did not get the part of Etches, instead that of Charles Lightoller and have thoroughly enjoyed playing him in this show. I'm sure it is too much to assume that you too have a cast member named Jonathan Taylor!

Never have I experienced such powerful emotion and such a strong vocal bombardment. I have loved ever second of it and wish you all well in your forthcoming show.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan R Taylor
Second Officer Charles Lightoller

Brown Snow

In Colorado:

FRISCO, Colo. (AP) — Snow that some residents described as dark as chocolate brown was reported across parts of Colorado Thursday, a result of a wind storm in northern Arizona that kicked up dust that fell with the snow overnight, officials said.

"Titanic - The Musical: First Two Nights

Things are going swimmingly! (ha! ha!)

Considering everything, we are off to an excellent start. The stage issues have been resolved, to the extent that serious difficulties are increasingly remote, and maybe statistically improbable. As Michael McElroy notes, the stage is not loaded when it is moving, and blocks are positioned to carry the weight when the stage is stopped, so any chance of breaking cables is remote. In addition, the strengthening of the rear coupled timber with nails and steel plates went well, so trouble there is now highly unlikely.

Robert Rehmus is the best kind of Stage Manager: paranoid about making everything work right, serious and dedicated, with safety as top priority number one, even above the show itself.

There were some light programming difficulties the first night, some prop problems, and actors were dropping lines (myself included). But not bad - I've certainly seen worse. The biggest set flaw was not getting enough of the right kind of chairs, so we ended up with white plastic chairs in the dining salon. If they had had white plastic chairs in 1912, they would have been very popular marvels on board the Titanic, but they didn't actually have them, to our discomfort.

Interestingly, the Crow's Nest seems to be among the most-popular innovations of the entire show. This is the Mark II version of the Crow's Nest: Mark I, which Michael once described as 'the bane of my existence' was mercifully cannibalized - the 'Dream of Progress' realized.

Second night (tonight), I nearly got into serious trouble, right off the bat. In the opening scene, I apparently was staring directly into a light, so when I turned to make my exit, I was utterly lost, bereft of all bearings in the darkness. I took a step off a platform without knowing where I was. Fortunately, the surface below was flat and even, so no harm.

Some minor problems: Rich Kulmann made a late entrance (places may not have been called at the top of Act II); 'Murdoch' froze, 'Lightoller' scrambled geographic coordinates. Steve believes 'To The Lifeboats' still isn't intense enough. But the cart scene went well!

I've been hearing lots of good reactions to 'Edgar' and 'Alice'. It's a distinct pleasure working opposite Lauren McElroy: her sharp focus contrasts well to my pixellated blur, and helps sustain our couple-at-cross-purposes act. For 'Edgar' and 'Alice', it's good we look at things from different perspectives. Lauren really hams it up in 'The Latest Rag,' shamelessly stealing focus and hearts.

Time to recoup for tomorrow's matinee!

My Dog Is More Powerful Than The Sun

And maybe your dog too! San Francisco wants to use dog doo for power:

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but the city's estimated 240,000 cats and dogs leave calling cards of their own. Norcal has decided to focus on dog doo because it is easier to collect, since dog owners frequent certain parks and could dispose of their pets' waste in controlled receptacles.

Final Dress Rehearsal - "Titanic - The Musical"

Took longer than expected, in order to restage 'To The Lifeboats' with a tilting stage, but we have a show!

At one point, there were 36 people on the tilted stage. Assuming for the sake of argument, that each person weighed 160 pounds, that works out to roughly 36 x 160 = 5760 pounds, or nearly three tons. Add in the weight of the stage itself (600 pounds?) and that's more than three tons.

'To The Lifeboats' was restaged so that there won't be more than about 24 people on the tilted stage at any one time - roughly two tons civilian cargo, maximum.

I've been worried about two types of potential failure:

• rigging failure, such as snapping cables; or,
• tilting stage structural failure, such as snapping 2 x 12 timbers.

The first kind of failure would be by far the most dangerous - an abruptly falling stage weighing tons, plus flying cables. It might not kill you to be whipped by a cable, but afterwards, you might want someone to kill you. Plus, falling people would be bad - real bad. Nevertheless, I have complete confidence in the rigging. There is no indication whatsoever of any untoward strain there. We could swing several automobiles from the truss system, if we wanted.

The second kind of failure is more likely. The stage noticeably bows: it's hard to bend coupled 2 x 12 timbers depthwise, but the bend is there. After trying the maximum load test last night, the tilt angle was increased for 'Still,' and several of us got on the tilted stage, but abruptly left, when pops were heard on the rear coupled 2 x 12. Apparently the front coupled timber had already been stiffened with steel, but not the rear one, where the pops were heard. Today, the rear coupled timber will be stiffened as well. Even if there is a catastrophic failure of the coupled timbers, the presence of the broken timbers themselves would blunt the stage's fall, and therefore help limit the damage. It would be bad, and embarrassing, but probably not catastrophic.

I was puzzled why a load of fewer people at a greater tilt angle would pose a greater problem than many people at a shallow angle. Chris Neff said "well, the torque is greater," but I don't think that's correct. Still, there is a shift of pressure within the coupled timbers, less contact of the timbers with the floor, and that pressure shift may somehow be to blame. [update: with the presence of blocks, the hypothesis of greater torque becomes more plausible - the axis of rotation is not at stage level, but rather at the top of the block. Therefore, a steeper stage will have a greater moment arm, as the block is moved closer to the bottom end of the tilted stage.]

The design of the tilting stage is quite impressive: clever forethought! Some carping has been overheard - one cast member suggests a better design might be a counterbalanced stage rotating around a central pivot, and elevated several feet above the main stage, in order to give room for movement, but that idea hasn't been clearly thought through. Such a design would place the entire weight of the stage (plus counterbalance) on just two points - a potentially dangerous concentration of weight, especially with musicians in the orchestra pit below. McElroy's design distributes weight much better.

Oh yes, and did I mention that the Titanic cast is sounding better all the time? That kind of improvement gets overlooked when dealing with a novel apparatus.

Last night, walking the dog past the 24th Street Theater at 2:30 a.m., I noticed the lights burning. Ah! I know what they're up to! "Baby" opens tonight at Runaway Stage Productions!

Drip, Drip

The approaching West Coast storm is so large that even rain-proof Arizona can't avoid getting something (Feb. 28 - 29).

"D00d Check Out My Bl0g!!"

*response* "How about you check out the edge of my knife?"

One of the 29 entries alone for the word "blog," plus many, many other slang words, over at Urban Dictionary.

Proof Of Concept

Left: Cracking wood? No, a shout that the stage is about ten degrees from horizontal!


On Broadway, "Titanic - The Musical" was notable for its incorporation of a tilting stage, and Set Designer Michael McElroy has been designing exactly that marvel for DMTC. Last night, we tried it out to see if the concept actually works.

It apparently does! Applying the concept will be interesting, because there will be people on the stage - small, fragile heavy people. There was some bowing of the stage: the stage alone weighs hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand of pounds, and the addition of people will only add to the burden, but it looked acceptable last night. Nevertheless, the engineers were dissatisfied with some of the rigging, and thus that whole assemblage is being reworked today.

Michael and James McElroy, father and son. Michael is Set Designer, and also plays Tom Andrews, Chief Builder of the doomed vessel HMS Titanic.

There she is!
Towering high!
Broad and grand!
Stage of dreams!

'Lady's Maid': Wednesday night rehearsal of "Titanic - the Musical."




Meanwhile, Laurie Fio completes her portrait of the First Dogs of DMTC, Scruffy and Mrs. Lovett!

Lambda Acting Opportunity

Updated information from Juan Ramos regarding ballplayer acting roles:

The Lambda Players will be holding a second audition for their upcoming production of "Take Me Out" specifically for the purpose of casting the lead role of Darren Lemming (African-American or mixed race), Davey Battle (African-American or mixed race), Martinez (Hispanic or mixed race) and Rodriguez (Hispanic or mixed race). We will also audition all actors who can recite Spanish dialogue directly from the script for the roles of Martinez and Rodriguez. Auditions will be held at the Lambda Players Theatre, 2427 17th Street (17th and Broadway) on Saturday, March 18th at 1:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Juan Ramos at (916) 653-8863 during the day and (916) 428-1555 during the evening.

Spirit Reaches 'Home Plate' on Mars

And finds that it's layered. That's a surprise - most people believe Home Plate is a shock effect from an ancient impact, and finding these layers wasn't anticipated.

Secret Food Spam

I just received some spam entitled: "Wanted: Secret Food Critics."

I have an opinion about that spaghetti over there, but it's strictly need-to-know information, for-eyes-only, and that's all I'm going to say.

Is It Hitting The Fan Yet?

Maybe so. According to Juan Cole, the bombing of the Askariyah shrine in Samarra has triggered momentous events in Iraq. Iraq, not a terribly stable place, barely under U.S. military control, and after Saddam, a seething cauldron of religious hatred, looks set for a volcanic eruption of violence:

They told B. how the demolition was carried out. You see, it was nothing like a hipshot sneaking up bombing by night. It was meticulous, skilful piece of work, taking a lot of time, the guards knowing all about what was going on. At least that´s what they told him today.

So now they all gather downtown Nejef rallying, preparing a gruesome revenge. Sistani tries hard to stop them, they told him, but the boys won´t listen. They´re heading for Samarra. '

Furriners Running Ports

A conservative friend had this reaction:

Hey Marc: I just read this excellent parody in the ONION! It said how President Bush wants to turn over cargo unloading responsibilities at 6 US ports to a group of Arabs. Furthermore, if the deal somehow fails to go through, that would send a "terrible message" to the world that we don't trust Arabs. According to the ONION, Bush says that there is no reason to treat an Arab importation company any differently than, say, a British company. Then, the article goes on to say that Bush later revealed he didn't actually know about the approval beforehand, but found out about it after the fact. But he still wants to let Arabs run the ports. After all, what could happen?

What a hoot!

It's a hoot! Too bad the ONION doesn't seem to have anything to do with it! (Just checking, today's ONION has an article entitled: "White House Had Prior Knowledge of Cheney Threat: August 2005 Briefing Warned 'Cheney Determined to Shoot Old Man in Face'" They're a couple of days behind....)

What's interesting is that the Chinese already run the Port of LA, and Singapore runs the Port of Oakland, so it's not like there aren't precedents. That's probably why Bush thinks it's a small shift.....

Nevertheless, an Arab state-owned company sets off alarm bells. After Sept. 11th, I'm with the alarmists.

Zombie Mob

Here's an acidic quote I liked from Daily Kos regarding the port deal, and Bush supporters' unwitting role. Really, even Michael Moore couldn't have come up with a better illustration of the power of Middle Eastern oil money to corrupt the American political process. Bin Laden himself has entertained UAE princes at camps in Afghanistan. Wake up, zombie mob!:

The 'trust us on this port deal' meme was never directed at those of us who don't trust Bush and Company to run a Dairy Queen, it was a plea to the Bush-base. That in itself is more evidence of a White House disconnected from reality. The negative reaction among the right-wing faithful was an all too predictable, classic example of the monster turning on its creator: After years of pumping their fawning admirers full of terror and working as hard as they can to blur the distinction between regimes in the Middle East that had nothing to do with 9/11 and the people who did, the Bush Administration shouldn't be surprised that their supporters are unwilling or unable to objectively whip out the analytical razor-blade and expertly split hairs between a nation with direct links to 9/11 and Al Qaeda, and a company owned by that nation's government.

Faced with that self created dilemma, the comically feeble Bush Administration talking point is that the everyday terrorist sympathizer will think better of us if we help further enrich a handful of obscenely wealthy oil Sheiks? Here's an idea for improving our image in the Arab World: Stop torturing Muslims. But either way, it's doubtful the zombie mob that Bush and Rove have spent the last five years shocking back to life care what the citizens of Muslim nations think about the United States.

Love In The Age Of The Wireless Telegraph

Radioman Harold Bride (right, Robert Coverdell) reconsiders a request from stoker Frederick Barrett (left, Steven Ross) to send a love note across the Atlantic Ocean, to Nottinghamshire.

"Titanic - The Musical," DMTC, opening this Friday.

Irish Dancing

Gabe is intrigued by (as Yoda might say).

More Bush Non-Sequiturs

The NREL scientists who were supposed to take the lead on Bush's switchgrass initiative had already been dismissed because of Bush budget cuts. So, they've now been reinstated.

The 32 layoffs this month included eight researchers working on many of the alternative forms of energy Bush came here to champion. But on Monday, Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced that $5 million would be transferred from another government account to bring the workers back -- and avoid an untimely political embarrassment for Bush.

Baffling Bush

George W. Bush is threatening his first veto ever, in order to transfer shipping operations at several American ports to a state-run company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). September 11th clearly showed how Arab terrorists can take advantage of legitimate business contacts between the U.S. and the Arab world to further their own agenda. It's time to call GWB's bluff:

Lawmakers from both parties have noted that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used the United Arab Emirates as an operational and financial base. In addition, critics contend the UAE was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist.

As might be expected, Digby gets the best dig in on the liberal side:

If there are three hallmarks of this failed Bush administration, it is hubris, incompetence and cronyism. This port deal features all three.

The hubris is illustrated by the fact that they actually thought after years of fear mongering and beating of Islamic terrorist war drums, they wouldn't be questioned about a United Arab Emirates contract for port security. The king shall not be questioned. The incompetence feature is that they believe it is smart to outsource security, of all things, to another country. If there is one thing all sides can agree upon, it's that the US should control its own borders and ports. It's common sense.

Check Digby for the cronyism angle. And as for Josh Marshall:

Does he wear it well? I really did chuckle when I heard him with this stuff. I mean, with racial profiling pretty much the whole world, not outsourcing our foreign policy to people with funny accents, eavesdropping without warrants because that's what tough guys need to do to get the job done, a whole foreign policy framed around the premise that the rest of the world can blow it out their $#@#&.

Even if he's right on the merits, it just doesn't work from a president who makes his political coin of the realm not caring what anybody else thinks or even what the law might be so long as security is even conceivably at stake.

Mystery Goo

Attacks Los Angeles.

Just Say NOAA

TV meteorologists in Roanoke, VA, have their hands full battling heroin addiction.

Acting Opportunity

News flash from Juan Ramos (who played 'The King' last summer for DMTC's "The King and I"), for local males:

I will be directing the Lambda Players upcoming production of "Take Me Out" by Richard Greenberg which won the Tony award for Best Play of 2003.

I am looking specfically for:

• Two African American or mixed race actors (21-35 years old) to portray Darren Lemming, the lead, and his best friend on an opposing baseball team, Davey Battle.
• An Asian or mixed race actor (21-35 years old) to portray Takeshi Kawabata, a pitcher recruited from Japan by the New York Empires (based on the New York Yankees). This role requres the actor to be able to recite in Japanese from the script as well as English. The actor chosen will be coached in Japanese dialogue if necessary.
• Two Latino or mixed race (21-35 years old) to portray Martinez and Rodriguez, two Hispanic baseball players on the New York Empires. These two roles require the actors to recite dialogue in Spanish. Jake Montoya comes to mind and if you can get this information to him, I would appreciate it.

This is a rare opportunity for actors of color to really display their acting chops. As an actor of color myself, these opportunities do not present themselves often in Sacramento. This play is very intense and adult and requires very skilled actors or at the very least, actors who have the guts to tackle these roles. I welcome both.

We had auditions last night and they will be held again tonight (Tuesday, February 21st, 2006) at 7:00 p.m. at the Lambda Players Theatre, 2427 17th Street (Broadway and 17th). I will audition serious interested actors on an individual basis if they are unable to attend auditions tonight. They can contact me during the day at (916) 653-8863 and (916) 428-1555 during the evening hours. Thank you again.

Juan Ramos

Making Plans

Kylie's been lying so low the last two months she's practically invisible, but there may be a reason why:

KYLIE wedding rumours are gaining strength after a Melbourne wedding dress shop closed its doors for a special VIP customer on Saturday.

The shop is saying nothing, but some brides-to-be had their appointments cancelled at Mariana Hardwick's Brunswick St store after being told the place was off-limits.

Fashion experts told The Eye it was highly unlikely Kylie Minogue would get married in one of Hardwick's dresses, but an outfit for the mother of the bride, Carol Minogue, could be a possibility.

Kylie had been sighted in the shop a week before, according to witnesses. Sources also said she was in Fitzroy clothing store Shag again last week.

The shop closure comes as boyfriend Olivier Martinez's mother, Rosemarie Martinez, was quoted as saying Kylie and Olivier would marry at Kylie's French Island getaway in April.

Opening "Titanic - The Musical" This Friday!

Tech week is here! (Picture from rabid peanut, etc. at B3ta).

Noise and Memory

I don't know about drug Ecstasy, but I do like noisy discotheques - the noisier, the better!

Listening to loud music exacerbates the effects on the brain of taking ecstasy, researchers have found.

Italian scientists gave the drug to rats who were then exposed to music at nightclub noise levels.

The researchers measured the electrical activity in the rats' brains and found that noise prolonged the effects of ecstasy by up to five days.

...Ecstasy is usually taken by clubbers - who are in an environment full of flashing lights and loud music.

The drug produces feelings of euphoria and energy, and a desire to socialise.

But there is mounting evidence from both animal and human studies that it may damage nerve pathways in the brain. Long term use has been linked to memory loss and depression.

Experts have suggested that loud music may also affect higher brain functions.

The researchers, from the Institute of Neurological Science in Catanzaro, found low doses of ecstasy did not modify the brain activity of rats if no music was played.

But total electrical brain activity in the animals significantly decreased in the presence of loud music, selected to mimic levels commonly found in clubs.

High doses of ecstasy reduced brain activity even without noise, but the effect was enhanced by loud music and lasted for up to five days after the drug was administered.

...Martin Barnes, chief executive of the drugs information charity DrugScope said: "Ecstasy is very much associated with the clubbing and dance scene and users report a heightened sense of awareness and a greater appreciation of music and their surroundings.

"After taking ecstasy users may feel tired and low and this may last several days leading to a 'mid-week hangover'.

"Short-term memory can be impaired and there is emerging evidence that prolonged use can lead to periods of depression.

I had a particularly important point to make regarding this post, but I ...um....can't quite recall what it was.....and that bums me out SO bad!

Erin Jones and Tevye Ditter - The Happy Couple Wed

St. Francis Church, 26th and K Street, Sacramento, across the street from Sutter's Fort. Beautiful church - first time I've ever been inside.
Tevye patiently waits as the photographer takes her last pictures of Erin, before Erin's grand entrance as the bride (to Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major.")

Behind Tevye is Laurent Lazard: seated to the right - is that Gil Sebastian?

Many local musical theater veterans were in attendance (Kelly Mustain, Pepper Von, the DMTC crowd, the RSP crowd, Gil and Lenore Sebastian, etc.)




Blue luminarias at the entrance to the reception hall: Clunie Auditorium at McKinley Park. Erin credits her mother for the inspiration, but it could be Erin's idea: luminarias are popular walkway decorations at Christmastime in New Mexico, and Erin attended St. Johns College in Santa Fe (or was it College of Santa Fe? - either way...)
First dance of the happy couple.