Thursday, January 26, 2006

Just got this one from my ol' buddy Hutch. Seems there's this guy in the UK who made a bar bet with a friend. The challenge: set up a site that gets one billion hits. The only condition was that he couldn't spend any money on advertising. It had to be word of mouth.

The prize? One thousand pounds, or roughly eighteen hundred dollars US.

One Billion Page Views
Let's all pitch in, folks. Can't let a guy lose a bar bet, can we?

Posted @ 2:21 PM

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Happy birthday to two of the late greats, Cary Grant and Danny Kaye. I have stolen learned a great deal from these two outstanding performers and continue to rip off their best stuff pay homage to them every time I get on stage.

Posted @ 6:29 AM

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Saltpeter! Pins! There's a new PBS documentary on John and Abigail Adams hitting the airwaves next week. I love these two people beyond rationality, and I hope this film does them justice.

If it doesn't, I may have to head up to WGBH and knock heads together.

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When you're grocery shopping during off-peak hours and there's only one register open, why do the seven customers in the store all go to check out at the same time? Is there some psychology behind it all, or is this just another instance of Murphy having his way with us?

Someone could make a lot of money if they came up with a working mathematical model to predict the behavior of supermarket patrons...

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Related and long overdue: Attention CVS! For the love of all that's holy, abandon your lineless, long counter checkout system. It is inefficient, confusing, and frustrating beyond words. There's a new Rite Aid in my neighborhood now, and I'm finding it harder and harder to justify setting foot in your store at all, even with you guys right across the parking lot from my office.

As Stephen Colbert might say, CVS, you're on notice.

Posted @ 7:26 AM

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Today is all about waiting for the phone to ring. I auditioned for a show last night, so I'm waiting to see if I got called back and, if so, for which role(s). Luckily, it's one of those shows chock full of good parts, so just about anything I might get would be fine with me. Keep your fingers crossed for me, people.

On an unrelated note, I need to come up with a vegetarian meal for six for this Saturday. I've got a couple options buried in my cookbooks, but I'd love to hear any suggestions y'all might have. I'm looking for something festive and filling that's relatively easy to prepare. Drop me a line if you've got a favorite meat-free dish you think would work.

Posted @ 6:28 AM

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Tim, my blogfather, has retooled and refocused his online activities, hanging his shingle in a new spot. Go sample his wares.

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A small driving revelation from this morning's commute: most drivers that I'd classify as bad drive much the way I do when there is no one around. I allow myself to be a bit more sloppy if I've got the road to myself. I guess that means bad drivers act as if they always have the road to themselves, despite massive visual evidence to the contrary.

Posted @ 8:38 AM

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Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Along with just about everybody else, I'm back at work today after a long, lovely holiday break. I am in no way ready to be back at work, but there you have it.

My post-Christmas doldrums seem significantly less severe than in years past. I chalk this up to having a lot of great stuff to look forward to over the next six weeks or so. My little brother will be down here next week, and the following weekend I'll get to see him in NYC. I'll also be seeing Spamalot (and at least one other Broadway play while I'm at it). It's been over a year since my last trip to New York, and I'm aching to get up there and play tourist again.

Speaking of theater, I've got auditions coming up next week. More details once I know if I get in or not.

After an absence of far too long, Washington is back in the NFL playoffs! That will account for my time on Saturday afternoon at least, and hopefully even deeper into the postseason. One game at the time, though.

There's also Farpoint in February, which promises to be another long weekend of geekdom and debauchery with my buddy Hutch.

On top of those events, I've had a couple other exciting projects come my way recently that will keep me busy and happy, stuff that will let me stretch some creative muscles that haven't gotten a good workout in quite some time. Again, more on those as they solidify.

All in all, 2006 is shaping up very nicely so far. I can't imagine having cause to complain for at least the next ten to twelve hours.

Posted @ 3:18 PM

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