Happy Birthday, Cloudy!

Left: from Bunny


Age, seven, today!

She started eating again yesterday. Perking up, so to speak. I've had to cancel two euthanasia appointments at the vet. She scares me witless, sometimes.

But today, we will party!

Making The Show Work

Can crime help? The argument in favor:

Cast members of a community production of "High School Musical" belted out lines about learning lessons, acting with dedication and working as a team during Thursday's outdoor performance.

They crooned sweetly about standing up to the status quo and making musical performances successful.

Often, the lines were hard to hear. Now and again, static interrupted the singing, and feedback caused audience members to wince. But the performers smiled through their troubles and, in the end, pulled off a great performance.

Thursday was an encore of Wednesday's troubled but valiant effort.

The production's troubles began sometime between 11 p.m. Tuesday night and noon Wednesday when thieves entered the backstage area of Midvale's Outdoor Theater at 400 W. 7500 South and stole most of the speakers, microphones, a small portable sound system, some cords, eight receivers, candy used for the concession stand and a pair of expensive tennis shoes. In all, about $8,000 in goods was taken.

The theft could have halted a community production of Disney's "High School Musical" halfway through its weeklong run, but the cast was determined to go forward with the show.

Wednesday, the amateur actors took a vote about whether to give the performance. The thespians, many of whom were acting in their first production, had been in rehearsal since mid-May. They chose to go on with the show.

"It was a hard decision to make, but we pulled it off," said Shawn Hauenstein, acting as the male lead, Troy Bolton.

Twenty-one-year-old Hauenstein explained that many of the actors were forced to project their voices farther, and the entire cast worked to stay close to the front of the concrete stage. But overall the performance went well, he said.

Co-star Jennifer Evans, playing the part of drama queen Sharpay Evans, said Thursday that the burglary and the cast's choice to continue made the show stronger.

"It's kind of ironic, actually, because it was last night that really pulled our cast together," she said.

Thursday, an adult team of volunteer directors, choreographers and sound technicians scrambled to find equipment. They were able to rent some at the last minute and worked until the moment the show started to get everything mixed properly.

Audience members, many of whom had seen Disney's made-for-television version of the show, were thrilled. They missed some of the jokes and sometimes suffered through the actor's inability to mesh with the music, but overall they were pleased.

"They do pretty good," said 12-year-old Brittany Cook, who watched the show from a blanket with two other young girls. "They're exactly like the movie."

Audience member and long-time community-theater proponent Debe Jacobs was also very proud of the crew.

"I think they're doing a great job," she said during Thursday's intermission. "They're great. This is what actors do."

Director Cindy Revels said the burglary was a good opportunity for the cast to learn a lesson about sticking through trials and making good on its commitments.

...Kathi Heywood, a supporter of the production, summed up the cast's attitude from her position at the candy counter.

"They didn't want to just be the victims of a crime," she said. "The sound is kind of awful, but we've just gotta do what we gotta do."

Just Too Much Crap

A reader writes:

I think there must be too much "stuff" on your blog. It keeps freezing my Mac and I can't scroll or read your posts. Maybe you can purge anything older than a couple of weeks? Just a thought.

People used to complain about that more, but my guess it that it is the two slugs of pictures, BATB and Tommy.

I’ve changed the rolloff setting from the main page from 14 days to eight days. BATB has now rolled off the main page. Maybe that will help.

Just Don't

A few travel tips:

In the South Pacific, don't tell people they live in paradise.

In Paraguay, don't say your least favorite musical instrument is the harp.

In Italy, don't order cappuccino after 11 a.m.

In Japan, don't blow your nose.

In Spain, don't pick up your paper napkin if you drop it at the bar.

In Ecuador, don't spray paint graffiti on the Equator.

In England, don't touch the queen.

In Thailand, don't badmouth the king.

In Vatican City, don't correct the pope.

In Morocco, don't always listen to the man in the street.

In Iran, don't approach women in the street.

In Chile, don't say you've always dreamed of driving cross-country.

In Uruguay, don't tell people you're enjoying your stay in Paraguay. (Similar rule for Sweden and Switzerland, Slovakia and Slovenia, Niger and Nigeria, Macedonia and Mesopotamia.)

In Latvia, don't say your least favorite sport is ice hockey.

In France, if you're a male, don't go to a public swimming pool without a Speedo.

In Mexico, don't ask mariachis to play "Oye Como Va."

In Russia, don't stand with your hands in your pockets.

In Kazakhstan, don't mention Borat.

In Vietnam, don't say pho with a long "O" when ordering the popular noodle soup. (It's pronounced more like `fuh').

In Ireland, don't ask, "Are there any good books by local authors?"

And whatever you do, wherever you go, never say you don't like soccer.

Rugby Is Like The Tooth Fairy

Teeth just vanish:

RUGBY league prop Ben Czislowski ran around for 15 weeks without knowing an opponent's tooth was buried in his forehead.

Ben Czislowski had a clash of heads with Tweed Heads forward Matt Austin during a Queensland Cup game on April 1.

He had the wound stitched up but was wondering why he felt lethargic, had an eye infection and had shooting pains in his head ever since.

Czislowski, a former Broncos and Bulldogs player in the NRL, visited his GP last week and all was revealed.

"I can laugh about it now but the doctor told me it could have been serious with teeth carrying germs," Czislowski, 24, said.

"I feel so lucky that the worst that I got out of it was that my head looked uglier than it does normally."

...Czislowski is not the only rugby league player to have been left with an unlikely souvenir by an opponent.

In 2004, Australian hooker Shane Millard also had a foe's fang removed from his head while playing for Widnes in the English competition.

Two years earlier, Australian Jamie Ainscough's arm became so badly infected while playing for Wigan in England there were fears it would be amputated before the source was discovered. Yep, a rival's tooth.

Reprieve For A Day

Went home to take Cloudy for her 'appointment'. She seemed to have perked up. Even nibbled at an apple.

Can't do it, not today.

Cloudy The Bunny Weakening Rapidly

Today might be the day to put her under. A shame, too, since tomorrow is her 7th birthday. Nevertheless, she hasn't eaten in several days, her breathing is labored, and she seems to be in a lot of pain. It's time....

Tough Being A Mercenary These Days

No support:

AN Australian private security operator was left for dead by US forces in Iraq after he was seriously wounded during an ambush, and the Americans refused to evacuate him.

The Americans actually refused to provide a helicopter evacuation flight after they were told the wounded man was Australian, sources told the Daily Telegraph.

Looking For A Global Warming Signal In Australia's Climate Record

I love playing with these maps!

What strikes me most is the uniformity of the upward temperature trends across most of Australia over the last century. The greater homogeneity of Australian geography and climate when compared to a noisy place like the United States, and the absence of local variability, suggests to me there is a global warming signal here.

What’s interesting too is that, despite recent droughts, overall rainfall amounts are also slowly increasing over most of Australia over the same period. Warmer seas generate more water vapor which generates more rain? Might it be that simple?

The Governor's Survivor Audition tape

Daniel Watts, among the very youngest of the 2003 California Recall gubernatorial candidates, and the only one of whom who won $11,000 on "Wheel of Fortune", is auditioning for "Survivor." This is his audition video.

LA Times Vegas Photos

The LA Times asks for readers to contribute photos for the newspaper's photo galleries, one of which regards Las Vegas. I kicked in two - kick in your own as well!

Weather Records Smashed In The Bay Area!

As Jerry says, time to build an ark!

Despite forecasters' early morning predictions that San Jose would stay mostly dry today, there was enough rainfall for the city to make weather history.

With one-hundredth of an inch of precipitation recorded, it rained on July 18 for the first time in nearly 70 years of record-keeping, according to the National Weather Service.

At 8 a.m., forecasters at the weather service thought the streak would keep going, but by 11:30 a.m. there was a heavy mist rolling through town. The National Weather Service's Dan Gudgel said it might not be enough to leave more than a trace amount, which wouldn't count toward breaking the record.

But Gudgel hedged his bet, stating that "it's not out of the realm of possibility."

San Francisco also made weather history today by recording one-hundredth of an inch of rain. At Moffett Field, six-hundredths of an inch of rain were recorded in the past 24 hours.

...Gudgel said the downtown climate station in San Francisco recorded a measurable amount of rain - at least one-hundredth of an inch - for the first time on this date in more than 150 years.

Arachnophobe Gets Religion

Making the world spider-friendly, one fire at a time:

A woman who hates spiders is crediting them with helping save her from a house fire. Danielle Vigue, 18, says she awoke early Tuesday to find spiders in her room, and started killing them. When more showed up, she says she went across the hall and got into bed with her 15-year-old sister, Lauren.

"At first there were five, they were all around the light fixture," Danielle Vigue told The Saginaw News. "I hate spiders, they freak me out."

A fire, the newspaper said, apparently was smoldering in the attic of the home about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.

A few hours later, Vigue's 48-year-old mother, Debra, and 8-year-old sister, Shelby, smelled smoke, and flames greeted the family when they opened the door to the room Danielle Vigue had earlier left.

"I will never kill another spider again," she told WNEM-TV in Saginaw.

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

My favorite aerobics instructor at Step One (apart from Pepper, of course) is Brandee. She has a special choreographic instinct that makes the physical routine surprising and unpredictable, and hence much more fun.

She's one remarkably busy lady, though. On the sports medicine faculty at UC Davis, she serves as a doctor for marathons and triathlons around the world. She was in the Gobi Desert last year, and earlier this year, and she's off to Chile next month for the fun, fun, fun Atacama Desert crossing (the Atacama is not as cheery and hospitable as the Sahara, and the ascent into the Andes is vertiginous - egads!)

Catching up to Brandee means eating a lot of dust, but you benefit from the effort....

Here is her profile:

Brandee L. Waite, MD received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine with an interest in physical medicine and rehabilitative sports medicine. She earned her Bachelors Degree from Stanford University, graduating with honors from the Department of Human Biology. She has worked in numerous health spas and fitness clubs, sharing her multidisciplinary expertise with clients young and old, beginners and competitive athletes.

Her emphasis is uniting the mind and body of her clients to empower them with inner wellness through the medium of physical fitness. She was able to exercise this philosophy while employed at the Rancho La Puerta Health Spa in Baja, Mexico. As a fitness instructor at this internationally renowned health spa, Brandee taught hydrofit/aquatic, cardio kickboxing, and aerobic/ cardio-funk classes. She challenged her clients with daily hikes through the natural splendors of the Baja terrain. She was one of two fitness instructors on an international cruise line responsible for the development of the fitness programs and social activities for over 500 passengers aboard the ship. That takes, if nothing else, organization and great people skills! Brandee is surely talented in both respects.

The Plank In My Eye

On Sunday, while trimming tree branches, I dropped some debris into my left eye.

I tried to flush it out and tough it out and ask others to hunt for it. No luck.

Went to the doctor this afternoon. He was able to locate and remove that nasty leaf tip, or itty bitty seed, or whatever it was. I'm supposed to get some antibiotic drops for the eye as well.

Freed from the plank, I am now free to look for motes in the eyes of others.....

The New AT&T California

Kevin Drum has a good post regarding this new menace in the lives of people with land lines.

I did see the little mailings announcing the advent of AT&T California, but paid little heed.

Terrible phone service. The scratchy connection suggests they are using that switchbox down the street again, the one that was nearly decapitated by the runaway truck several years ago and that the old AT&T had consequently abandoned.

I'm paying more too.

I'm a Neanderthal who does not want cell phone service, but it sounds like it's time to drop the land line altogether.

Here's Kevin's post:

A few weeks ago my friends suddenly started complaining that whenever they called me they were forced to identify themselves before their call was put through. After a few days we figured out that Caller ID Blocking had been turned on for us, even though we didn't want it. So we called AT&T to find out what was going on.

The first two times, they hung up on us after we'd been on hold for 20 minutes. The third time, I got transferred to about nine different people, including twice to India, before someone finally transferred me to "AT&T California," where I learned, among other things, that my phone service had been switched from "Legacy AT&T" to "The New AT&T." Fine. Whatever. But I don't want all these new services (caller ID blocking turned out to be just one of many new services I now had), so can I get rid of them?

Long story short, the answer was no. I could get rid of them all and just pay for the two or three I wanted, but that would actually cost more. More? Yes indeed. OK then, I'll keep them. But how do I turn off this annoying caller ID stuff? The customer service rep didn't know, but ten minutes later after making several internal calls, she decided she could do it. No more caller ID blocking.

Whew. But then she told me that this was just the beginning. Eventually my long distance service was bound to get switched to The New AT&T™ as well. Did I want to just go ahead and make the switch now? Sure. I guess so.

But then she sighed and asked a question she had obviously asked a thousand times before: did I have a fax machine at home? Yes I did. Well, you're not allowed to use a fax machine on The New AT&T's long distance service. If their computers detect a fax tone on your line, they'll automatically drop you from the flat rate plan and start charging you ten dollars a minute for all subsequent calls. Or something.

By this time, I was laughing. Even the customer service rep was sort of laughing along. She then made a desultory pitch for AT&T internet service and AT&T television service, and we hung up. But I suppose this means that eventually I'm going to have to switch my long distance to a phone company that allows me to use my fax machine.

The customer service rep I eventually talked to was actually extremely nice, but overall this was by a long margin the most annoying customer service experience I've had in years. And just like you, I've had lots of annoying customer service calls over the years. To recap: AT&T switched my service without telling me; added some new features I didn't want; hung up the first two times I called; was flatly unable to figure out who in their vast empire I needed to talk to on the third try; eventually told me there was no way to eliminate a feature unless I wanted to pay more; and then told me that sometime soon I wouldn't be able to use my fax machine anymore. And by the way, would I like to sign up for their internet and TV service today?

Welcome to the brave new world of telecom competition. It's working out well, don't you think?

Episode 6: Sacramento Sexuality

Good grief. The scariest part of this video is they walk right past the building where I work. I'm surprised I didn't stumble into the video by mistake.

"Stomp The Yard"

This last week, I rented and watched a buncha movies on DVD. Mostly, they were movies I had already seen before, and were either better or worse than when I first saw them in the theater: "Lord Of The Rings 3 - Return Of The King" (better); "Superman Returns" (worse); "Spiderman 2" (better).

Almost as an afterthought, I picked up the new dance movie, "Stomp The Yard". In my television-free exile, had seen no advertising on it, so I had no idea what it was about. Since I don't follow sports either, I knew nothing about the Black Southern College sports tradition of Step Dancing. And since I hardly know any African Americans at all, my ignorance was damn-near complete. Just a babe in the woods over at Blockbuster....

The imbd synopsis states:

After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.

Very interesting movie! The movie purported to show the introduction of individualistic krumping-style break dancing moves into the presumably-stuffier group-oriented tradition of step dancing. Two teams are featured - not as cartoonish as 'Lord Of The Dance' Good Guys and Bad Guys, but along the same lines.

For me, since this kind of step dancing was so new that I barely had ever heard of it, it was disorienting to see it portrayed as the older style. Like, where have I been for the last 30 years, or so? Then, the newer krumping styles are so staccato, yet fluid, I found them amazing. I skipped through the DVD, ignoring most of the plot (kissing, ewww!), stopping just to glance at the fun shots from Stone Mountain, outside Atlanta, and looking again and again at the dancing. Maybe it's best that I did so, since some of the criticism of the movie is that the plot line is predictable, but it seemed darker - grittier - than other movies in the same genre, at least, as far as I could tell....

In a featurette, the director, Sylvain White, described how he kept the two teams motivated, and how the last dance was a ten-minute choreographic challenge he threw at them when they had had been worked into a frenzy of excitement. Amazing! The director described how he had reviewed all the dance movies of the last 20 years, to use what worked, and leave out what didn't. What distinguished this movie from previous dance movies, in his view, was the sports component, and the emphasis on pride. He also used a Taiwanese kung fu movie style of cinematography, so as to embed the viewer in the dancing, rather than keeping the viewer removed in a detached audience.

Check it out!

Marcus Crowder Looks At The New Garbeau's

From left, Michael R.J. Campbell, Hannah Collins, Dahni Trujillo, Elise Reese, behind, Scott Woodard, Shanta Robinson, front, and Michelle Fox, right, prepare and talk about the upcoming show backstage before the reopening night of Garbeau's Dinner Theatre. (Sacramento Bee/ Kevin German)


Interesting article looking at Mark Ferreira's new approach.

Nevertheless, there was one quote that I found both telling and disturbing.

"We're not going to try and do Rodgers and Hammerstein, where our Swiss Alps look like snow cones on the stage"

Excuse me, but those snow cones were both serviceable and inexpensive. They worked. Do not disparage them, nor (perhaps by extension) the many folks who may like listening to 'The Lonely Goatherd'.

Then there was the story that Mark stood next to a table and sang the praises of P.V. as the 'best choreographer in Sacramento' - an understandable, heartfelt opinion. Nevertheless, sitting quietly at the table, among others, was someone Mark likely did not recognize, R.C.

The very best to Mark on his new venture. I just hope he doesn't have too many diplomatic faux pas, or step on too many toes....

I want to go see the "The All Night Strut: A Fascinatin' Rhythm", but it is isn't because P.V. himself has been promoting it, nor is it because Scott Woodard and Michael R.J. Campbell are both in it. No, what I want to see is Ana Maria Shexnayder dance. She's so hot, she's a significant source of Global Warming. Goodbye Swiss Alps snow cones, hello Venusian heat prostration....

Pepper's Balls

Both J. and myself have gone to different health clubs over the years. The last few years, we have both gone to Pepper Von's Step One Health Club, in Sacramento.

Stopping off at J.'s apartment, I noticed she had a big inflated ball, like a glorified beach ball, of the sort used in health clubs across the country:

M.: Look, you stole one of Pepper's balls!
J.: No, that's mine!
M.: Admit it! That ball comes from Pepper's!
J.: Look, I've had balls long before Pepper.
M.: Well, I'm sure Pepper would beg to differ....