Why I Hate Politics

Other than the uninformed idiots running loose on facebook, convinced that they, and only they, have a full grasp of the way our country should and shouldn't be run, the thing that really bothers me about politics is the complete lack of respect it seems to promote.

Things I Don't Understand

1. Brides who bring their fiances wedding dress shopping

2. Mark Rothko

3. Joel Schumacher

4. Popcorn balls

5. Those little silicon packets

6. Jim Carey's face

7. Mondays

8. Pizza with pineapple

9. Pomegranates

10. "Do not remove under penalty of law."

ETA: I also don't understand chihuahuas.

Chlorine Excerpts

Over the course of the past 7 weeks I have been on-and-off working on my novel.  I'm not prepared to share everything about it except that I first started it about 3 years ago, promptly got distracted from it, and then picked it up again at the beginning of my tour, having been freshly inspired to rework it.

This Itinerary Has Never Made Much Sense

If I try to explain to myself why we go to these cities in the order that we do, I get a headache.

*Sturgis, MI: home of the Country Hearth Inn, a.k.a. the world's most unfathomably horrendous hotel imaginable

**Muncie, IN: drop-off for Jack and where Jenn and I turned in our 17 days notice

Looper—A Film Review

Flashy cars, loud explosions, a beautiful woman…and let's don't forget Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.  Combined with a gripping story line, it all adds up to one thing: darn good cinema.  I recently had the opportunity to see Rian Johnson's new action-thriller Looper, which lived up to its hype.  Naturally and unsurprisingly, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was spot on as Joe, a hired gun or "Looper" in the not-too-distant future, a world where time travel does not yet exist, but soon will.  Joe works for the mob, killing off targets sent from thirty years in the future with his "blunderbus," a shoddy weapon that is only effective in close range.  In an era where action heroes, from James Bond to Jason Bourne always seem to be equipped with the best of the best, it was an exciting twist having the film's hero as poorly armed as possible.

Spiders, Panic Attacks, and My On-Going Love Affair with Food

I'm afraid that all the while I'm writing this and you're reading this, there's going to be an elephant in the room, and that's because I don't want to talk about the tour.  I really don't.  And I won't until my contract officially ends with the — — Players.  But I will take this moment to officially announce to my friends and family that last Friday I delivered my 17 days notice.  I'm coming home early.  And yes, I see this as a very good thing.  I am counting the days with desperate longing.  As I jokingly said in a facebook status lately, "I am so over any city in this country that isn't Chicago."

Also

…I got rid of the hideous pink and orange tie-die theme and managed to find something that suits me a little better.

Eventually I'm hoping to personalize this page a bit more, but we'll see.

Shush, Dear. You'll Scare the Children.

There's an interesting and inherent flaw in performing Beauty & the Beast for children that I feel I need to address:  In order to do Beauty & the Beast, you have to have a beast.  But it's a children's show.

A Few More Photos

A few of the better photos from another school:

The Banker telling Madame de Terre he's going to evict her.

Michigan Map

I changed the map to read Warren instead of Detroit, given that our hotel was in Warren, and only one school on our list there was actually located within the city limits of Detroit, and not the surrounding suburbs.