| The Yankee's deliver for the Ally-Seals |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|08:55 am] |
So, Mariano Rivera win the playoffs for the Yankees pretty much on the minute of my Dad's birthday.
And now?
My Dad is going to Game 2 of the WORLD FRAKING SERIES in New York. He got a ticket.
I don't have much more to say. Frak yeah.
(Also in Frak news, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is out on DVD. Is Edward James Almos getting my money? Hell yes he is.) |
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| A word to Lil Kim |
[Sep. 23rd, 2009|09:43 am] |
Okay, here is a film reaction that I had, like, four years ago and I am just now commenting on it. It's kind of a delayed film reaction.
Maybe it was Step It Up maybe it wasn't. It was about a Step Team and they from the hood trying to make it big. I believe the main character was named Lil Saint, or perhaps that was the name of the Step Team or perhaps it was both. The way the Mighty Jack was a Japanese black ops team and also a giant transforming jet plane.
In any case.
So by the end of the movie there is this hot competition between Lil Saint and the evil Soviet Step Team. Perhaps they weren't Soviet, but they were white, had red and black jump suits and jet black hair. They were Soviets in my book.
Okay here's the deal. In this contest the team that wins gets to be featured in a new Lil Kim video. This is all fine and traditional but it is made clear that Lil Kim favors Lil Saint. Is it because she's been following their progress, she knows their rep, she's from their hood. I'm not sure. But she's in their corner. While she's going over the rules for the contest she leans in to the leader of the Saints and says, "I'm looking for saright street. You hear me? Straight. Street." She gives them a consperitorial wink as if to say, "You know what you need to do. I want you to win. Now bring it!"
Someone should tell Kim. . . you can just put them in your video. You don't need the contest. If you like their dancing, like their moves (and since you're Lil Kim have slept with all of them) you can just hire them. You don't need to have some sort of mythic greek test of strength and skill. The record company will just let you put tem in the video. You've already decided who you want to win. It doesn't need to be a chance thing.
Please, Lil Kim. Just hire them so we can go home. |
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| We be rockin' with the Def |
[Sep. 11th, 2009|01:40 pm] |
So, I was lucky enough to see an awesome hip hop show with three of the best you can go with (Dave "Dirty D" Robles, Marques "Spelled Weird" Simmons and Jocelyn "The Goth Chick" Ally-Seals).
First, The House of Blues in Boston is a very pretty but oddly set up venu. We scored standing room tickets for the third floor with meant we were crushed up agains the railing looking down. Perfect veiw of the stage (probably better than if we were on the floor) but it meant we had to guard our spots on the railing hardcore.
Whosane (1st act)- Generally agreed upon by the audiene at large as a completly decent MC who accomplished his goal of getting people to wave their hands in the air with the general feeling that they just didn't care. Other than that he was prett bland.
Note One: Whosane may have the most lazy DJ in history. He basicly was just pressing "next track" on I-Tunes.
J-Electronica (2nd act)- Pretty damn awesome, though not a traditional rapper by any means. As he said at the beginning of hit set, J-lec doesn't have hooks he has words. Great rhymes done mostly without beat. Dave informs me later the "stop start" quality of his tracks comes from the fact that he doesn't have many solo joints and mostly is featured on other peoples. Therefore he's doing just his lines from those tracks. Side Note One: When he gets the crowd to shout Kweli until they're ready to go mad, I really wish Kweli would come out and not let the crowd wait ten minutes while there's a mic check.
Note Two: I get why J-lec begins his set by getting the crowd to chant "Fuck the Yankees!" It's Boston, we're across the street from Fenway and there is a game playing. But both Talib Kweli and Mos Def are hardcore New Yorkers. This might not be the best thought out part of the show.
Talib Kweli (3rd act)- Okay now we've got a show. Kewli comes out like a mother fucking freight train and doesn't slow down at all. He's just awesome. I find myself writing less about the main acts but, what more can I say. He got the crowd moving as good as anything I've seen and was a great performer.
Note One: Kweli starts toning down the "Fuck the Yankees" stuff and reminds people they're there for the Hip Hop and not baseball. Saw that coming.
Note Two: Main I was hoping that in the end of Kweli's set Def would burst out and they'd do some Black Star stuff together. Doesn't happen. Sigh.
Mos Def (Main act)- And now the show comes full circle. We go from one of the most badass traditional hip ho sets to one of the most eclectic sets you can imagine. And a marathon! Def just keeps going. He never stops. And he's just plain awesome. He performs well more than an hour after the show is supposed to end. He does no encore. He takes the time he would use for an enore and just keeps performing (and adds more time to that). Again, just awesome.
Note One: Def is really having trouble with the cord on his classic style crome mic.
Note Two: Def has some shinny ass shoes!
Note Three: It's the middle of the show and I'm starting to crash. I something dosn't happen soon I'm going to--
Note Four: -- and now Kweli bursts out and they do pretty much an entire Black Star set! Fuck yeah!
Note Five: Seriously, can a roadie help Def with the mic cables? He should not be having to untangle these things by himself.
Note Six: Best Billy Jean cover I've heard. And Mos Def does a flawless Moonwalk. Hell yeah.
Note Seven: I spend the next two days humming, "1, 2, 3! It's Mos Def and Talib Kweli! We came to rock it on to the tip-top! Best alliance in hip hop!" Jos is getting pissed. |
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| Last School Play |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|10:56 am] |
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This Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm at Thomas Edison Middle School in Meriden CT we're performing my new school play. If anyone can come it would be awesome. It's a special show for me since there's a good chance it will be my last at this school (the budget for my meager stipend has been cut for next year). There is a crap load of sword fighting and cross dressing. It's fun, I promise. |
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| Red Sox Suck |
[May. 20th, 2009|11:00 am] |
I was going to write this in Liz's post but I realized that it had much less to do her her story than with mine so...
Since we're talking about obnoxious baseball behavior. . .
I was at a dear friend's law school graduation and graduation lunch on sunday. His father flew in from over seas to be there, which was really great of him. Over my fifteen years as friends I've had a rocky relationship with his dad. He is extremely accomplished, brilliant and has done wonderful works that are spoken of in collee text books. He is also possibly the biggest, rudest, most obnoxious drunk asshole I have ever had the displeaser of meeting. In this same way he is both the best and worst baseball fan I've known. He is a true student of the sport, loves the game, but engages in the worst kind of team bashing. Which is fine, whatever.
So, on saturday my dad and uncle went to their first game at the new Yankee Stadium and had the time of their lives. He was really at cloud nine. I know there are people who have issues with the new stadium and I respect that. But it was an awesome experience for my dad.
At the luch while making coversation he mentions to my friend's dad that he went to a game at the new yankee's stadium and--
immediately this 72 year old guy starts making vomiting sounds and saying, "why the fuck would you want to do that. You seriusly went to that piece of shit?" And starts going on and on. And then he starts going on about how the only parks worth going to are fenway and wrigley and fenway this and fenway--
At which point after spending all afternoon trying to avoid this guy I looked up from the table and said, "Fenway is a piece of shit."
He stammers for a second and starts to say how the thing about Fenway is its age and how storied--
"Whatever, it's a green piece of shit." And he shut up.
Thing is I love Fenway. And I love the Red Sox. I love the history, tradition and mythos of both teams. But when someone uses team rivalry to belittle another person's genuinly great experience of the game then fuck them. Fuck Yankees fans who do it (they make me ashamed to be a Yankees fan) and fuck Sox's fans who do it. Its not being a super-fan it's just being mean. I will end this post with a scene quote from Saturday Night Live:
Jimmy Fallon- Jeter you suck!
Jeter- Excuse me?
Fallon- Yankees suck! Jeter you suck!
Jeter- I really don't.
Fallon- Yes, you suck and Yankees suck!
Jeter- That's really uncalled for. How would you like it if I said that Nomar sucked?
(pause)
Fallon-(in tears) Why would you say that?
Jeter- No, no I mean--
Fallon- Why would you say that?
Jeter- I didn't mean it. Normar is a great player and we're good friends.
Fallon- But-But then why would you say that?
Jeter- I was just trying to make a point.
Fallon- Well it hurt. And... and oh god, why would you say that? |
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| Classroom quote of the day |
[May. 5th, 2009|10:55 am] |
Assignment: Choose a scene from your favorite movie and recreate it using Flash Animation.
Part of Class: Each student tells me their movie and scene for approval.
Mr. Ally-Seals: Okay, what movie and scene are you doing?
Student: The Fast and The Furious- Tokyo Drift.
Mr. Ally-Seals: That's fine. And what scene are you going to do?
Student: The part where they drift.
(Pause)
Mr. Ally-Seals: Touche. |
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| Movin' on up |
[Apr. 29th, 2009|11:25 am] |
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Jos and I are moving to Park Place Towers, the big green highrises in Hartford that you see next to the Candy-Cane smoke stack while diving on 84. It's a pretty swanky pad on the 15th floor looking out over down town City of 1,000 Wonders. So, there you go. Move in date is June 10th. One week after the school play and one week before the print deadline for Shadow Tracers issue 3. Three and a half weeks before the wedding. It's gonna be a packed summer. |
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| New Rare Earth Webcomics |
[Apr. 26th, 2009|11:25 pm] |
Hey everybody! New pages of Shaman, Living Legend and Doberman are up on the Rare earth Comics website. Check them out!
www.RareEarthComics.com |
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| Rare Earth Web Comics Update! |
[Apr. 16th, 2009|02:23 am] |
New Living Legend, Shaman and Doberman (featuring the musical stylings of Bonnie Tyler) pages are up on the Rare Earth Comics website.
Check them out! |
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| REC Webcomics are up! |
[Apr. 5th, 2009|07:04 pm] |
The new updates for the webcomics Living Legend, Doberman and Shaman are up! Check them out at www.Rareearthcomics.com
I had some fun doing some funky lettering in this weeks Shaman! |
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| Off to San Diego again! |
[Apr. 1st, 2009|11:40 am] |
And so the yearly wait to see if Rare Earth Comics is accpented to atted San Diego Comic-con comes to an end. We get an awesome price for our table since we apply as a small press company but the downside is that there is a review process and anyone can be rejected.
It was a pretty safe bet that we would get in (besides having a good book seniority matters a lot and we have three years under our belt). But still, every year it's scary. This is the big 40th anniversary and the small press section shrinks every year.
Since we knew our odds were pretty good Jocelyn, Dave and I bought our plane tickets in January to get the good deals. This was a gamble since even got if we got rejected and wanted to go to the show as fans the all weekend passes for this year sold out months ago.
The number of small press companies who applied swas nearly tripple what it has ever been so the review process deadline was pushed back three times. I finally bit the bullet and called our rep. yesterday. He told me that we had been accepted and the e-mails went out two weeks ago! A number of people did not get the e-mail so they may have a system problem. Also, the e-mail said that the payment deadline was in two days so I had to get it sent out andt postmarked asap. So then we have the mad dash to the post office.
And there we go. Another year at the best comic show in the world (also, the unofficial honneymoon for Jos and I). I'm so relieved that it all worked out.
Also, screw Rhode Island, I'm going to get to do some REAL fraking surfing this year! |
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| REC web comic updates! |
[Mar. 30th, 2009|12:33 am] |
The new pages for the Rare Earth Comics webcomics are up! Check the website www.RareEarthComics.com to check them out.
David and Tony did a great job on the new Living Legend and Spencer's Shaman is really fun. I'm glad Jos got one more Mer Kitty done before she (Pandora, the kitty who inspired the comic) passed and look forward to when she's up to do more. |
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| New Rare Earth Comics website! |
[Mar. 22nd, 2009|12:16 pm] |
Hey everybody! When you get a chance check out the redesigned Rare Earth Comics website at www.RareEarthComics.com .
The redesign has been done by the awesome Ross Yankouskas who's put a lot of effort and love into the site.
I'm really proud of the webcomics section. We have four webcomics that will be updated every Sunday.
1. Living Legend: Two of my oldest friends Dave Robles and Tony Negron are doing a very fun super-hero mystery story that is going to be great. Do to the obstacles of life Tony hasn't worked on comics in years. It's been amazing seeing him get back into the work. This also marks the first time david has written a published story so that's very exciting. Now I can yell at HIM for writting too much dialog in one panel.
2. Mer Kitty: Jocelyn is working on a uber-cute comic about her 14 pound cat. The art work is just adorable.
3. Shaman: Spencer Pitt is doing a comedy/fantasy story about a village trouble maker who's sent to live with his uncle after basically cooking crystal-meth in the smithy. Expect lots of magic, aliens and a time-traveling Steve Jobs.
4. Doberman: And of course Jeff Tingley's fun story about a kid taking his love for super-heros too far is still going strong. If you haven't read it the first 14 pages are all archived on the page.
You can check them all out in the webcomics section of the page or at their individual addresses:
LivingLegendComic.com
MerKittyComic.com
ShamanComic.com
DobermanComic.com
I'm really happy with the way the site worked out and am proud as hell of all of our webcomics creators. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 9th, 2009|11:55 am] |
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So, for what it's worth, I officially have tenure. |
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| True quotes from my classroom |
[Feb. 24th, 2009|09:46 am] |
Kid across the room: Okay, what happens if the kid with Heart fights the kid with Fire.
Other kid: Kid with fire wins.
Mr. Ally-Seals: Kid with Heart controls mad penguins. |
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| This time when you sing it, could you do it a little more liquid metal? |
[Feb. 23rd, 2009|02:31 pm] |
As many people know I'm a crzy huge fan of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chrinicles. Dispite the fact the the lastest two episodes have been pretty craptacular it is still a solid science fiction action show.
One of the best reason's to watch the show is Shirley Manson's character Cathrine Weaver (aka the T-1001). As the liquid metal head of a tech. company she is both quirky and creepy.
The odd thing that her role has done for me is make me like the band Garbage a lot more. I always kind of liked their songs but now when I hear them I can't help bt imagine that they are being sung by a time displaced robotic killing machine.
I am totally concinved that when Garbage was on tour and Manson's was looking steely-eyed out into the aduience she was not trying to make a connecton with the fans, she was searching for John Connor. |
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| Having kids is damn scary |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|10:26 am] |
I think the danger for me working as a teacher is thatas every day goes by I want to have children less and less. I still want them, but that in your gut emotional desire to have a child that I've had most of my life has pretty much vanished. It's just so damned scary. I've talked with David Robles about it a lot and we share similar feelings, him workning as a nurse in the adolesent wing at the Institue of Living. We've both seen how much it can go wrong. When I think about a kid I don't worry about the medical issues, I think what happens when they bring a knife in to school. What happens when they try coke. What happens when they give a blowjob on the bus at 12 years old? What about when they stab someone or beat someone up in a bathroom? Or start cutting them self. Or are just sad all the time. And these are mild compared to what David has seen. And the point for me is right now in my life these are not "ifs" they're "whens". And it's always middle school to teenage stuff I worry about.
Dave comforts me with the knowledge that we both see the worst that can happen and that clouds our feelings. But I don't know. Sure I get a pretty upclose and personal look at pre-teens but am I really seeing more of the ugly side of life than someone working in retail? Or any other job? We all see horrible situations and that doesn't stop most people from wanting kids. And certainly most teachers want kids. Having kids is all most of them talk about. So what's up with me?
Even with all this fear, I'm still overjoyed for my friends who have had or are having kids. I am! And I still do want kids and intend to have them. Most likely in the next few years. But I can no longer relate to the internal desire for them. That soul longing that is a stereotype (and in many cases a reality) for women. While I never told anyone, I've had that pretty much since I was in early highschool. And after only five years teaching it's gone.
I wouldn't mind if it came back. |
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