Looking back, in retrospect, hindsight is 20/20.

After being referenced in Pete's blog (thanks, man!), I felt it only fitting to take time to do a post-X-mas, pre-New Year's post.

Looking back at 2005:

• Got a "real" job.
• Had one of the most financially beneficial years at CSz.
• Celebrated being at CSz 10 years!
• Got to document, be cast in, do behind the scenes work on, and help make Project Z.E.A.L. a reality with Tim and company (looking forward to sci-fi fun!).
• FINALLY making a triumphant return to the theatre by having major roles in The Drawer Boy and Twelfth Night Or What You Will. I went for a theatrical hat-trick and also had a fun time in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.
• Having one emotional relationship end (unfortnately, in a rather immature fashion), but then seizing the moment by discovering and embracing an even more amazing relationship with a person that was right under my nose the whole time.
• Read three great novels; Angels & Demons, The DaVinci Code, and The Historian (if you haven't read any of these, go find them and enjoy them).
• Embraced new technology by getting an iPod, joining NetFlix, making South Park versions of myself and my girlfriend (see images at right), and starting this blog.
• Saw the best film of 2005, King Kong.
• Discovered the music of Johnny Cash.

Things to look forward to:

• Enjoying every moment possible with my girlfriend.
• Being a creative part of the relaunch of CSzQC.com with my web guru friend (it's coming in January, folks, and it's gonna be cool...).
• Finally getting a long form show out of the creative recessess of my brain and onto the stage.
• Opportunities that have opened up in the job field outside of the QC that I may now pursue.
• Dedicate myself to getting in shape to start playing volleyball again.
• Studying and understanding Eastern philosophy.
• Traveling.
• My sisters' wedding in Arizona.
• Doing more theatre (I'm actually now being offered roles)!
• Bringing two of my favorite shows, Hate Mail and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) to the QC in some way.

Lights! Camera! Spend a truckload of cash!

Holy crowbars, was King Kong an amazing film. We went to the midnight show and it was so worth it. I've had moments from this film replaying in my head at least once a day since seeing it and I can't wait to experience it a second time. As a friend of mine so eloquently stated, "it's a big monkey fighting a dinosaur..... how can you not like it?"

Seriously, I think this was the film of the year for me with Walk The Line a close second. Peter Jackson has done it again! Even if Lord of the Rings wasn't your bag and you didn't get wrapped up in that story, this film is easily accessable with a story that everyone is familiar with in some form or another (it's no secret that one of the first popular video games was Donkey Kong, which takes not just it's name, but apes the storyline directly from Kong..... pun firmly intended).

At any rate, this film was WAY better than the lackluster Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and I hope they handle the rest of C.S. Lewis' work a bit better than they did this one.

Class dismissed.

Walk The Line.....to Minneapolis

Thought I'd gave ya'll a brief update as to what all has been happening around the homestead since "Twelfth Night" wrapped.

M'lady friend and I went to see Walk The Line last night following another outing refereeing at CSz and it was great! Honestly, I wasn't really that keen on going to see it as we were more focused on seeing the unfortunately sold out Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I'm so glad that it was because this bio pic of Johnny Cash (whom I was very unfamiliar with) was worth every penny. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon turn in amazing performances and not just as actors - they did all of their own vocals as well! They sounded terrific and I'm hoping that the soundtrack features them because they did an excellent job.

Seeing as how my parents are four states away, I wasn't sure what I'd be doing for Thanksgiving this year. My adopted family here, the Campbell's, have given me an open invite pretty much to spend any holiday with them, which is exceedingly generous on their part and I have taken them up on it in the past. However, this year Thanksgiving weekend is going to be a special one as Steph surprised me not only by offering up her parents place for Thanksgiving, but then shocked me again with tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band in Minneapolis two days after turkey day! This will be concert numero 27 for me (her first, although I did treat her to a Jason Mraz show so she's becoming accustomed to my concert-like ways) and I'm one step closer to my goal - seeing my 30th DMB concert on or near my 30th birthday.

The last time I saw DMB was in Alpine Valley and we got caught in the mother of all thunderstorms on the way up so I'm hoping mother nature will play a bit nicer this time around. Although Minneapolis is pretty far north and I'm not anticipating the roads to be very kind...

I also caved, because I have a problem, and instead of waiting and asking for it at Christmas, I treated myself to Season 2 of Scrubs. This, in my opinion, is the best sitcom on television right now and actually seems to play out like a really good long form improv scene if you look at an episode in the right way.

Anyhoot, I hope all is well with you and yours and have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!



Now get the hell off my lawn.

Testing, testing...

Trisha took this test and posted it on her blog so I thought I'd follow suit. It's kind of fun - give it a try and post what you are too:

The Loverboy Random Gentle Love Master (RGLMm)

Well-liked. Well-established. You are The Loverboy. Loverboys thrive in committed, steady relationships--as opposed to, say, Playboys, who want sex without too much attachment. You've had many relationships and nearly all of them have been successful. You're a nice guy, you know the ropes, and even if you can be a little hasty with decisions, most girls think of you as a total catch. Your hastiness comes off as spontaneity most of the time anyhow, making you especially popular in your circle of friends, too.

You know not to make the typical Loverboy mistake of choosing someone who appreciates your good humor and popularity, but who offers nothing in return. You belong with someone outgoing, independent, and creative. Otherwise, you'll get bored. And then instead of surprising her with flowers or a practical joke, you'll surprise her by leaving.

ALWAYS AVOID: The Nymph

CONSIDER: The Window Shopper, The Peach

Your exact opposite: The Billy Goat (Deliberate Brutal Sex Dreamer)

FACT: You embody the German principle of Konstantzusammenschaft, which is best described in English (without using the obscure English word "sammenschaft") as "eternal togethermanship".

You can take this same test at The 32-Type Dating Test at OKCupid.com.

Shamless plug

The critics agree…

“Twelfth Night is a mad, glorious, superbly-performed version of the Bard’s classic…”
“Enough cannot be said about Jeff De Leon’s performance as Orsino...”
“…there’s an encounter so heart-stoppingly strong that it might be the single most effective stage moment I’ve witnessed all year.”
Mike Schultz, River Cities Reader

“…a comic, gender-bending, romantic romp that is simply too good to miss.”
“…the collective talent and comprehension required to successfully stage this show make it easy for me to promise that you’ll love it…”
Ruby Nancy, Quad-City Times

“All in all, it’s a kick…Director Stephanie Burrough has done a good job.”
Julie Jensen, The Dispatch

CLOSING WEEKEND!

No reservations will be taken and tickets are available on a first come/first serve basis.
Admission is an $8 suggested donation for adults and $5 suggested donation for students and seniors.

Come enjoy Shakespeare in a truly unique setting!
Hope to see you there!

A challenge accepted...

The Prenzie Players production of Twelfth Night or What You Will makes its debut this Friday at the Historic Montgomery Wards building in downtown Moline (for those of you who remember, it's the building downtown that used to have the two suits of armor on display in the windows). Refreshments will be served, although there may not be an abundance of green tea and tofu. The spin the Prenzies take is a fresh one and doesn't mind bringing a bit of pop culture into the Bard's work.

Personally, this is my third foray into the world of ye olde Shakespeare and it's been a very pleasurable experience. I think we're going to have a fun run despite some technical glitches here and there - but those are to be expected. I really like the Prenzie creed about everthing is real that happens on stage - the mistakes, the audience, and the emotions. Very cool. Kind of a ComedySportz'ish attitude to say the least.

Speaking of CSz, I reffed my last show for awhile on Friday night and it was a blast. We had a lady from Belgium in the audience and she ended up as one of the stars of the show. Reffing is really fun and, when you have an audience that's there to laugh, it's SO much easier. Granted, I tend to let shows run a little long, I think if the audience is having a good time, so what if we're 15 minutes over.

Another very cool thing is that my favorite movie of the year is finally out on DVD!

No, not Rocky VI, Batman Begins! If you haven't seen this film yet, do yourself a favor and NetFlix it. Better than that - go purchase it because (and this can be cause for discussion) this is, in my opinion, the best Batman movie ever made. The story it tells is really good - even if you're not a fan of the graphic novel. And the cast is incredible. According to IMDB.com, Christian Bale had to gain all the weight back from his role in The Machinist before they would let him don the cape and cowl.

Did you see that we may be getting yet another hurricane hitting Florida before the month is out? That's insane. Soon, there's going to be no Southern coast left!

Oh, and if you're wondering why this post seems random at times and wondering what "challenge " is being referenced in the title, I invite you read the comments section of my previous post.

And Trisha - it's on like Bob Barker at a Plinko board, baby!

Ni!

They finally made it to the big screen...

Stop surfing the web.

Go see this movie.

Guess who was here this weekend?!

Oh, did the graphic give it away?

The troupe from ComedyC ity - Kansas City rode their most noble steed into town this weekend to have a comedic throw down with the crew from CSzQC. As always, they never fail to impress and this weekend was no different. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hook up with them Saturday night post show for too long, but I heard the show itself went really well and they all looked happy consuming copious amounts of alcohol and pizza as I left them at Huckleberry's.

They left with a copy of Your Little Ponies in their hands and I'm curious to see what they think of it.

At any rate, I hope they all had a fun time hanging in the Quads and I can't wait to get back down to Missouri and tear it up with them at their venue again.



But not literally tear anything because Clancy will probably get mad.

It's all about the Wordplay

Went to see Jason Mraz at the Congress Theater in Chicago, IL this weekend. The set was great and we actually had seats instead of having to stand all the way through both opening acts. He played a ton off of his new album, "MR. A-Z", but also hit all of the standards from his previous effort, "Waiting for My Rocket To Come".

I have come to find that in every concert I've been to, there's always that, "Hell, yeah!" moment where something either really cool happens on stage or you experience something really special with the person you're with. Well, I can happily state, the latter happened that night.

Mraz ended up playing a song that isn't on any of his albums and is only available on iTunes as an EP. It had kind of become "our song," for lack of a better term, but I knew (unfortunately) there was no way he was going to play it live because it was too obscure.

He played it.

But what was even more special was that moment of realization that washed over our faces as the opening chords flew into our ears and we both looked at each other at the same time with that half surprised/half "no f'n way!" stare. Our arms found each others waists and we just got happily lost in the moment. And although, according to iTunes, that moment only lasted 4:17 - for some reason it still feels like that moment hasn't stopped happening. And that's cool.

It was a really amazing night.

What kind of Starbucks coffee are you?

This is me (and apparently Trisha too).

What kind are you?

Find out at: What kind of Starbucks coffee are you?

Granted, I've been to Starbucks maybe four times in my life, at least this is something you can do to pass 5 minutes of your boring day.

Photos from the tournament

Here are photos from the tournament itself. The referee is James Bailey, manager of CSz L.A. and our host. Our team consisted of myself, Tim, Monta and Jeff A. The theater we performed at was called The Ivar and was used in "Spider-Man 2". We had celebrity judges from "MAD T.V.", "Designing Women", and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". It was an amazing experience and, despite coming in 3rd place for the second consecutive year, we wouldn't have changed a thing.

We'll hopefully see everyone back next year in San Jose.

Photos from Los Angeles

Here, as promised, are some of the photos from the 2005 ComedySportz World Championships.

These are mainly from our trip to Universal Studios, Hollywood. Tim is being devoured by Jaws and Back to the Future: The Ride was the nostalgic happening I so hoped it would be. Mann's Chinese Theatre is here too, which was directly across the street from our hotel.

I should be posting more from the actual tournament itself later. Enjoy!

Green (Day) with envy

So I get a phone call from a friend of mine and, long story short, I was about 11th row for Green Day's American Idiot tour last night at The Mark. It was AWESOME! I was in just about the exact same spot when they were here last time in 1995 and I said then that they were one of the best bands I've ever seen live - and I can happily state that that is still very much the case.

Sooper Bowl of Comedy champs...again!

The weekend of August 4th, 5th & 6th was the Sooper Bowl of Comedy held at Comedy City in De Pere, WI.

Our CSzQC team, consisting of Jim, myself and Patrick (see pic), took on teams from De Pere (Green Bay), Chicago, Kansas City and Raleigh for the coveted Guy Lombardo Trophy. The championship match consisted of a stacked De Pere squad facing off against one rep from each of the other cities. In a free-for-all final round where any city could win it, yours truly hung tough and brought a home a share of the championship as we three-way tied with Kansas City and Raleigh. This is CSzQC's second Sooper Bowl title as we had won it previously in 2000.

The De Pere squad were excellent hosts and, after an almost 5 year hiaitus from playing up there, it was nice to reconnect with them in their new home.