And We Shall March

Okay! Here's How That Swag Thing Is Going To Work

Once it starts, here are the guidelines I made up that I am going to use! They are mostly fair! I think!

• Participation is limited to people who wanted to, but for whatever reason couldn't, attend SDCC '12,*** thus having no chance to get any swag at all. Poor dears!

• Which means that if you did go to SDCC '12, you may not participate in this swag gifting thing. Clearly honor system in play with that. Let's see what happens.

• I don't need to know you (or you me) in order for you to participate.

• Wait until all swag items are listed and I give the GO before trying to claim an item. I will wait 24 hours before opening it up.

• Claim an item via @ reply of the item you want.

• Claim an item only in the live stream after the GO has been given. Item claiming via DM, email, texts or the like will be ignored. (Pickup/delivery will be worked out via email. But claiming an item will only be done in the live stream.)

• Timestamps are all. S/he who gets to an item with an @ reply first (and fits most or all of the other guidelines), wins.

• I figure getting everything up and then giving folks a day before saying GO gives all interested a fighting chance, and an opportunity to see everything on offer so informed choices can be made.

• Limit one item per person or household. 

• Priority given to locals, a.k.a. the LA metro area.

• For those living outside the LA metro area, priority is given to those I know over those I don't.

• Not open to folks living overseas. Unless you are Kwasi.

• No giant bags are on offer, so don't ask as I've already given away my extras and have plans for the rest.

• If you have no idea what I'm talking about, worry not!

 

*** Yes, I've caved to the masses. It should be #CCI, but people just won't let go of #SDCC due to custom. <eye roll>

I'm Sorry, I Didn't Hear You Because I Was Thinking About Godzilla ***

So here's a picture of the new friend Long Tail Kitty made instead!

** Dude, the surprise teaser of the upcoming Godzilla reintroduction was EPIC.

There Will Be Feasting And Dancing In Jerusalem Next Year

No, I have not abandoned my beloved blog. I am punishing myself by not prancing around here until I get certain huge writerly things for other people THAT MUST BE DONE GODDAMMIT END MY TORMENT AND GET THEM DONE all done. Two of them are done! Two more to go!

The blog takes more effort than the randomness of Twitter, so I figured de-blogging a bit would help me get THE OTHER THINGS THAT MUST BE DONE done. It's sort of worked! So has the lurking fear that Goonan will get on a plane and come to my house and glare at me sternly while going through my laptop for manuscripts to take away if I don't GET THESE FUCKING THINGS DONE already.

When I do return to my blog -And! I! Will! - will have Stuff that is New And Shiny and some of it Ranty and there will be pictures. I can't wait!

Until then, please enjoy this fabulously hysterical video I did not know existed until two days ago, created by The Mountain Goats, a band I did not know existed until about a year ago and now am on a quest to get everything he/they have ever done. Which, I'm lead to understand, is quite a lot. **

** For those of you who saw In Transit, or perhaps caught me performing a version of it at The Moth, this is the "odd little yelpy guy" I was talking about in the closing story. Seriously, this guy's work is magnificent.

If You Flew on Southwest Airline From Austin, Texas to Oakland, Calif. The Evening of 3.4.12, or Know Someone Who Did PLEASE READ THIS

Yes, I am going through such great lengths to get back a lost baseball hat for a reason. Maybe I'll tell you the reason later. Probably not.

For now, please see this very ugly jpeg** with all of the needed information, and share the image with whomever you like, especially if the person is are in Oakland. Just download and email it.

Thank you!!

** It's very ugly because I just now threw it together at this very moment while sitting in the jury assembly room the next morning, waiting to find out if I am going to be trapped on a panel to be given an opportunity to serve as is my civic duty. They have free wireless here. So that's good.

 

 

This Is Going To Be Way Fun

 

Happening here, March 13 & 20! More deets, soon.

 

I, For One, Love It When China Mieville Gets Irritated Enough With Someone To Take To His Keyboard With Furrowed Brow

and calmly pummel them into the earth.

(I swear I'll be back around here, soon. Ish.)

Goodbye, Google+

Quick update. If you read me over there, and you probably don't since all I ever do over there is romp around at random, you won't be reading me over there anymore because they got me! G+ doesn't like the name I have been using all over the place for like, forever, and they just now noticed that I'm using it there, and so they have suspended my G+ profile. Which I figured would happen eventually.

I don't know what a suspended account looks like to readers. Best suggestion I can give is to update your Circles by removing my so-called "name" to avoid problems looking at your stream. I think. I don't know.

Gmail still works. I think. I'm about to find out! Dunno what the impact will be on my YouTube account, which I need for other reasons.

I'm still Mostly Away. Regular blather will resume around here soon-ish!

 

Here's A Picture of Me & H.R. Until I Get Back

Busy Bee.

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Dispatch From The Annals Of Conversations With My Mother, Who Found This Picture And Then Had Things To Say About It When I Had Been Awake For 37 Hours And Also Traumatized

Mom: We are proud. But...

Me: But? What but?!

Mom: What's wrong with the sleeves?

Me: Sleeves.

Mom: That ... thing ... you're wearing.

Me: You're talking about the coat? That coat is boiled wool! It's vintage! It's from Bullock's! The original one! On Wilshire! It's from the '40s!

Mom: What I'm saying is -

Me: I got it for two dollars at a church sale in Claremont! It's vintage! It's my Pat Nixon coat!

Mom: What. I. Am. Saying. Is -

Me: Costume designers have stopped me on the street offering serious money for that coat!

Mom: Will you calm down, please?

Me: I AM CALM!!!

Mom: ...

Me: ...

Mom: ...

Me: I'm sorry.

Mom: Thank you. What I'm saying is I don't understand why you wore that? Common sense is there would be news people with cameras around.

Me: ... Is Dad there?

Mom: I'm talking to you, now. Your Father can wait until I'm done.

<In the background, I can hear Dad laughing.>

Me: ... Outfitting was not on my priority list that night.

Mom: Well, for the future, maybe you can remember that there will be news people with cameras around.

Me: ... Okay.

Mom: What's wrong with the sleeves?

Me: Nothing. The hem came loose a while ago, and I just never got around to fixing. I kind of like it, because it helps keep my hands warm since I don't have gloves.

Mom: You can get some gloves and fix the hems.

Me: ... Okay.

Mom: We are proud. But I would like you to fix the sleeves.

Me: ... Okay.

Mom: I have to tell you that I don't like that I had to find out about all this on CNN.

Me: I didn't want to worry you.

Mom: You always say that.

Me: Because it's true!

Mom: We want you to tell us about these things ahead of time.

Me: You always say that!

Mom: ...

Me: Sorry.

Mom: You do look a little bit like the Statue of Liberty.

Me: Ahahahaha!

Mom: I'm going to put your Father on the phone.

Me: Love you.

Mom: Love you, too.

 

 

Mario Brito - "Why We Occupy"

(In the photo, Mario's the one on the left. He stands next to Jim Lafferty, head of the National Lawyer's Guild chapter in LA. Photo taken when they announced the city's intent to attempt to close the Los Angeles occupation next week.)

We occupy to build a better society, country and world. We occupy for our families and those we love. We occupy for the working men and women of the city who labor all day but yet fail to receive a fair shake.  We occupy for the tens of thousands of homeless heroes who fought in this country’s uniform yet are thrown away like some disposable tissue. We occupy for all those losing their homes to a corrupt and broken banking system. We don’t occupy for ourselves, our ideology, our ego, or a piece a land. 

"We're just talking about things that hurt Americans."

Some of the duties involve video editing, and I'm super proud of this one. So far, I tend to work with the footage of JP, one of our amazingly-super-fantabulous gifted shooters, and edit in collaboration with JH and / or GB. This one, we were up until 3 am getting it done and out.

Zuccotti, From A Distance, In Between Days

(Same version across sites; written between 2:30-3 a.m. after the march.)

Members of Occupy Los Angeles clustered in shock in front of the white tent that became an impromptu screen late Monday night, as they bore witness to the New York Police Department’s destruction of Zuccotti Park, streamed live on the internet.

There, on the other side of the country, two jangled feeds sent sometimes blurry images of the chaotic raid; the screen at times freezing on an anguished face, a crumpled tent, the gleaming edge of a riot shield. Here, on the lawn on City Hall, the harsh light from the night sun aimed down from an LAPD helicopter created stark, shifting shadows of those watching the screen.

At first, they were quiet in Los Angeles.

Then someone said the whole world is watching and someone else joined in, then more, swelling into a chant. Then another voice, sharp and strong, threw out from New York, to LA, occupy the U.S.A. and in an instant that was the one thing shouted, the one voice together.

Suddenly, the Los Angeles Occupiers were on the move. Signs and flags were grabbed, bandanas pulled up over noses, and nearly 100 set off to a riotous drumbeat to march through the fashion, bank and theater districts. Though the streets were mostly empty, the alarm still had to be raised. People had to know.

“I was just in New York,” said Miles, 25. “It’s wrong. This is wrong. They gotta realize they can’t just come in and stop a movement. They can gas anywhere, we’ll just move on to another area.”

Though loud, the march was peaceful and largely cohesive. As they approached Sixth and Spring streets, a small group splintered off from the main to head for Skid Row, while the rest continued the loop back to City Hall, with Occupiers shadowed by LAPD from above and on the ground. Twice the line of about 30 officers following the group slowed down to let more space fall between the groups, which went a long way toward reducing tension. Riot gear was deployed, but never used.

At one point some marchers wanted to sit down in an intersection, but the rest, with shouts of  “solidarity,” kept the march moving.

Alifah, 35, said it was important to stand and shout in the streets that night as the founding Occupy Wall Street assembly was torn down.

“We have one purpose, that’s it,” she said. “New York has stood by us. We’re one in our hearts. We’re together.”

It ended back at City Hall with a solidarity clap, applause for the continued restraint of the LAPD and — as is our habit — a drum circle, with a bit of dancing.

Bureaucratic Diversity of Tactics: Food and the Occupation Movement

(Same version for both sites.)

On Nov. 11, the Los Angeles County Health Department restricted certain types of food distribution at the Occupy Los Angeles food tent, a move that came as no surprise to some of the region’s professional cooks who have been providing hot meals to the peaceable assembly surrounding Los Angeles City Hall. For many weeks food service professionals have noticed an unusual focus by county health inspectors on commercial and nonprofit kitchens known to have donated cooked meals to OLA.

“I tried for six months to get an inspector to show up so my school could get certified, and nothing,” said Brent Boultinghouse, lead instructor for the acclaimed culinary program at Santee High School. “But the day after we serve Occupy, I’ve got an inspector at my school?”

Chef E, who works as both a private chef for celebrities and for a catering company that provides craft services for major movies and television shows, put it this way: “Who’s mad you guys?”

Under the latest restriction, the OLA food tent cannot serve any unwrapped hot or cold food that was not prepared in a certified kitchen, though it can continue to distribute commercially prepackaged food.

The amount of resources being deployed by county health to food services at OLA is disproportionate, especially considering the level of cooperation the Occupation has extended to government agencies, Chef E said.

“They don’t have that many people to spend that much time at one place,” he said. “There’s people with hot dogs wrapped in bacon all night on the streets of the city, but they’re attacking our supply lines. Why? This isn’t a war.”

Three weeks ago, a local church that had allowed OLA volunteers certified safe serve to use its kitchen was targeted by health inspectors, said Sara Chambers-Moss, who has assisted with OLA food distribution. Department supervisors made a surprise visit to the space, armed with paperwork and pointed questions.

“They were very aggressive about who was there, and where they had been cooking,” she said. “They hung out there for an hour, which was very unusual. They obviously expecting someone from Occupy to show up. They didn’t know we weren’t using (the church) anymore because of scheduling.”

What’s happening is easily explained, said Robert Egger, president of the D.C. Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that reallocates leftover food to at-risk populations in Washington, D.C. while providing job training to people transitioning from homelessness. Municipalities are trying to figure out how to shut down Occupy sites, and are deploying well-defined and regulated health codes that apply to providing meals outdoors.

“This is one of those areas where local governments can come in with pretty good cover and say that ‘we’re just doing what we always do for any outdoor event’. They can use the existing regulations,” Egger said. “It’s a legitimate thing, they do it all the time, but they have discovered this approach is perfect to apply to the Occupy movement. Inch by inch they’re chipping away at the ability to set up an encampment.”

Egger, who sometimes counsels Occupy sites about this issue, said that’s why Occupy sites should diversify how meals are provided on site.

Mud Baron, winner of the 2011 Green Shorty Award, said the best thing would be for OLA to have access to its own cooking space. If an individual or organization donated short-term use of a certified commercial kitchen for use by OLA cooks certified safe-serve, a lot of the harassment can be circumvented and taxpayer dollars wasted on extreme scrutiny of OLA’s donors put to better use, he said.

“I’ve never been in a restaurant where the health official spends the whole day in the service area like was done at Santee, and I’ve done a lot of different food events,” Baron said. “Nothing that’s happening is business as usual. If we had a space donated for one or two months, it would be harder for them to come at us.”

To donate short-term use of a certified commercial kitchen space, contact us via the form here or leave a note on our Facebook page.

 

Action Morning Muster At Occupy LA

(This is the feature story version.)

Elise Whitaker, a member of the Occupy LA actions committee, spent Tuesday morning preparing for the first of the day’s protest marches as she often does, walking through the sprawling encampment surrounding City Hall trying to rouse participants - some of whom were enjoying yet another drum circle until 3 a.m. - out of their tents and onto the streets.

It didn’t go well.

Over and again reactions to Whitaker’s upbeat pitch describing OLA’s first flash mob-style action ranged from mute nods, to quasi-sincere thumbs-ups, to bleary-eyed blank stares. One man glanced up from tamping down a small pipe and promised to round up “energy” to send toward the effort.

“You should help me find the people,” Whitaker said, carefully stepping through a gnarl of tent ropes as she targets another clump of slumbering tents. The man nodded serenely in her general direction.

“Yeah,” she said. “They’re not going to show up.”

There’s an alchemy to putting together an action, and more importantly, finding people to participate. For the flash mob, OLA, joined by members of the “Justice for Janitors” effort guided by the SEIU, planned to march from City Hall to the Los Angeles Times, which has been in a pitched two-year battle with the union over janitorial layoffs. From there, the group would march to the Bank of America at 7th and Figueroa streets. At both locations they planned to pitch a tent and people laying in sleeping bags for a symbolic occupation.

“It changes from time to time what people will turn out for,” Whitaker said. “Early on people shied away from direct civil disobedience, but now they’re itching for it. At the same time there’s still some push-back. I mean, you have to show up.”

Launching a bank action so soon after the nationwide “Bank Transfer Day” was a way to build on the momentum of that effort, Whitaker said.

“City Hall can’t give us a whole lot, but the banks can,” she said. “You can get a symbolic message out there by occupying a bank.”

That symbolism was strong enough to bring Eric Baran to downtown Los Angeles from his home many miles away when he saw the flash mob announcement pop up on the Occupy LA website. Married with three children ranging in age from nine- to 13-years-old, he said wanted to participate in part of of concern about the economic future of his children. An employee of a major grocery chain, he recently “came through brutal contract negotiations” where new employees will “take forever to qualify for healthcare. What does that say about the future for workers?”

Baran said he showed up to be counted as one of the 99-percent, and to directly support the efforts of City Hall’s occupiers.

“Through my own senses I can see this is an honest group of people who are trying to find a solution, even if they don’t have an exact list of what the problems are,” he said. “They’re trying.”

Baran was joined by many members of OLA drummed up by Whitaker’s ultimately successful efforts, who formed a cheering “Soul Train”-style welcome line for the SEIU when they arrived. About 100 strong, the group set off for an afternoon of targeted rabble-rousing. Their message: demand fair dealings for janitors and accountability by the bank.

“We stand together with you, in front of you, behind you, fighting the greed that has overcome America,” said Mike Garcia, SEIU president, during an impromptu speech at the Bank of America stop. “We will not stop.”

The marchers, joined by several types of LAPD escorts, made their way through downtown’s streets crowded with workers, dwellers and people just passing through. More seemed bemused by it all than indifferent.

The Rev. Tara Little, of the Unitarian Universalist Church, and Rabbi Joshua Grater of the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, each delivered words of encouragement from the faith community during the rally at Bank of America.

“People of faith are on the streets with you,” Little said. “We pray in our churches and houses that the 99-percent becomes the 100-percent.”

Words by me. Photos by Mr. M’s cellphone.

"Labor Without Pleasure Makes Us Our Destiny's Slaves." ***

This is not my kitchen.

It's up in the Hills. It has a stove the size of a sedan, enough counter space to run a bowling league, and a hand-built stone BBQ and a firepit with more counter space outside, just off the patio.

It's a gorgeous space brimming with natural light, courtesy of sheets of windows providing a magnificent view of greenery and the glittery city below. I spent many glorious hours in this kitchen rescuing it from its sad life as essentially a neglected set piece, and putting it to use as the gods and his credit line obviously intended. It's all shiny chrome and soapstone and oak butcher block. I never used the dishwasher because it makes me nervous, but the oven. It's got a wok built into it.

Once I got that kitchen up and running it revealed itself, as I suspected it would. It was so warm. The acoustics in there were great for some reason. It got to be where people would come over and, instead of gathering around the ridiculously huge television in the living room to socialize, they'd wander into the kitchen and not leave. Thus, a small pile of stacked bar stools were obtained for overflow use, stored in a corner of the walk-in pantry that on its own was big enough to go for $700 a month as an efficiency studio in some parts of town.

When I arrived on scene there was a slightly less ridiculously huge television in the kitchen, which I ordered removed about two weeks in. It was gone the next day. It never showed up anywhere else in the house, and I didn't think to ask what happened to it at the time.

Soon after that, I decreed the name of that kitchen to be Heart of Gold. He instantly argued that it should insead be named Bistromath. I remain astounded that his assistants and the people in his working life still have no clue of just how fucking deep a geek he is.

Anywho, many months later, the conversation formalizing the terms of !!! I'm Outta Here You Bastard !!! took place in this kitchen, over a bottle of riesling that I brought to the negotiations to go with the last chicken I roasted in the oven, along with coffee that he made because the espresso machine makes me nervous due to what happened that one time I tried to use it. The IOHYB Topic had been in play for a week or so, with some of the related conversations conducted at Great Volume. An extended leaving was necessary because we were trying to find and navigate an exit strategy that would result in this Ending Well as much as possible, because, even then, neither of us wanted to completely excise the other from our general life down the road. It was difficult, but we pulled it off. (There was a brief period of mutual Recrimination And Sulking, but we had factored that into the timeline!)

Once he delivered his failed last pitch trying to get me to change my mind, he stood up and did a silent walk around the kitchen Heart of Gold / Bistromath. When he finished he sat back down next to me on a stool at the counter, topped off my riesling, and said "you'll be back."

I answered with a hearty "fuck you."

But he was right.

This is not my kitchen, but I still have all access to it when either of us are in need of me doing Big Cooking, which is why earlier today ... technically yesterday ... actually it started the night of the day before yesterday because I had to start cooking at night after a rant-filled viewing of the third Transformers movie on blu-ray with his guys who still get wigged out when I'm in the house ... which me and his fiance find hysterical, because even after all this time those younglings Don't Get It, and the three of us choose the entertainment value over explaining it to them ... even as we sometimes feel guilty over not trying to help them prepare for Potential Outcomes And What To Do About Them in their relationships which, as far as we can tell, are based on the lovely fantastic lies fed to us all by pop culture.

And that's why today I was happily back in the Heart of Gold / Bistromath today/yesterday/night before yesterday creating this:

* Four ducks steaming
* Two pans of rolls baking
* One nicely-marbled hunk of Perfectly Normal Beast braising
* One Elvis cake cooling
* A pile of turnips, potatoes, leek and garlic getting all cozy in their bath
* A pot of basmati simmering in saffron-infused water
* Another pot of basmati simmering normal
* A combo of smashed blueberries, pomegranates, cabernet and sugar reducing
* Outside in the fire pit (yes), a cider mulling, a cast iron cornbread with apple and pomegranates, a vodka-soaked cedar plank prepped for a beautiful chunk of halibut

There was so much counter space left - and ripe mangos that were sitting decoratively in a bowl - that I threw together a whipped mango pie Just Because.

It rained today in Los Angeles, which is not something we react to well, but the rain makes this city look like every noir template you people who are not here have ever digested through pop, and I gotta say, it's better in real life than anything you've ever seen on screen.

There's a lot of down time when you cook. Did you know that? I hope you do. That down time meant I spent more than a few moments in the empty house, cozy on the auxillary bridge of my Heart of Gold / Bistromath, which is located on the patio near the fire pit, where I can take the remaining bottle of cab and watch the beautiful wet and gleaming city beneath me through breaks in the fluffy clouds.

Today was a good day.

Meanwhile, I am mostly not online of late because when I'm not hunting for gigs I'm mostly downtown with things I will probably start to talk about at some point. It's a mess, but it's fascinating - and kinda beautiful. In an OMGWTFSERIOUSLY sort of lovely way.

 

** Al Swearengen, philosopher. 

"People of Earth, Your Attention Please"

Via my friend Grinder, who rocks.

Please Give Tobias Buckell Your Spare Money

(First in a series of reposts you were warned about, but this one is also timely because he's 8 days out and only 40% away from hitting his Kickstarter goal! Almost there.)

I hope Tobias Buckell hits his Kickstarter goal in his effort to bring out the next Pepper book. These works are fab adventure filled with action, fun and thought. I can't wait for my eldest nephew to get a little bit older so I can sneak him my set of the three books out so far. Unlike when I was coming up geek, my nephew will not have to wander in a realm of genre whiteness in search of heroes that look like him. He's gonna get my Buckell and my Minister Faust. He's going to experience a different world.

Buckell's pitch video, which is in desperate need of editing, is entirely too long but please overlook that. If you have a few bucks to spare send some to this worthy project. If you want to know more about the Pepper books beyond what you can find via search, ask away. Buckell is an excellent writer who gets better with just about every outing. He's supreme at adventure stuff, to the point where I actually purchased a Halo book because he wrote it! And I enjoyed the read! It almost (but not quite) made me want to play Halo!

If I could, I would throw as much cash as possible at this project. As such, all I can do is signal boost its existence to folks. Here is a short story set in the world of the novel he's Kickstarting.

(No, I don't know him personally. I met him once at a convention years ago - and of course blogged about it! We talked for maybe two minutes, I haven't significantly spoken to him since. What I have done is read his works as they come out, cuz the man is good at what he does.)

Housekeeping Notice

I don't know how much longer the other site is going to last, which is fine since being over there is experimental for me, my entries there are mostly random fun puff, and if it's taken away, no big deal. But there's some stuff there I don't want to lose if that space is spiked, so I'm going to cut/paste them here over the next week for safety. Despite all my bitching about Typepad changes over the years, I trust it. Stuff I post here stays here, without any interference from the overlords.

I'm doing this because I absolutely do not trust the experimental (for me) site's whole Ooo We Killed Your Site Without Advance Notice But You Can Still Get Your Data Because Dude We're Totally About Not Being Evil Despite The Fact That We're Part Of The NSTIC Team, Okay?

Riiiight.

Which means those of you who read both spaces are going to see repeats. The Management apologiezes for any inconvenience this may cause. One day there will be lemon-soaked paper napkins. Until then, there will be a slight delay.

But once all that's done, I'll tell you about The Mixtape!

Also: The four of you patiently waiting for Significant replies to your Significant emails, it's in the works. I can't answer that level of meaty smart with off-the-cuff piffery, and that takes time which, at this moment, doesn't exist in abundance this month. Arg.

The Story Of The Giant Black Man Who Wanted To Be A Muppet That Made Me Cry

Being Elmo.

I've seen this documentary. You need to see this documentary. Here's the trailer:

"Now They Have Us In Thier Windows Living Those Five Freedoms."

Dude! These Feynman Series (re)Mix Videos Are Great!

Watch them all. Hat tip to my pal Kwasi.

Molly Prather Is So Bad Ass They Need To Invent A Word To Describe Her. You Have Several Chances To See Her Perform! DO IT.

Once the editing is done and ready to go out,* the Kickstarter backers who chose either dvd or download option of the full ! Death 40-Feet Tall ! will see, at the end, a bit where I call a stunning white woman up on stage, introduce her, and then literally shove her off the stage before I started crying. Happily, she didn't turn around and punch me for flinging her off my stage!

That woman is Molly Prather. She is the one who taught me how to put together not just a solo show, but an honest solo show (there's a difference). I learned of her when I started training at iO West,** and if there is one thing among many I am most grateful for about iO, it's meeting Molly. She not only gave me the tools I needed to begin serious pursuit of V.2 of the life I truly want, but the confidence to believe it's possible.

Secret Fact 1: My original plan with D40FT was to write it and hire someone else to perform it. When I told Molly, she said No. Actually, she said Hell No. Secret Fact 2: There are items in the 2010 first version of D40FT - and more in the (award-nominated) 2011 second version - that I put in only because of Molly's subtle, relentless pursuit of dragging you past your ego, through the dark to the truth, for the benefit of the the work. Secret Fact 3: It is because of all that, because of Molly's fearless example, that I am trying to go one more step toward honesty and truth for my second show, tenatively titled My Suicide Year.***  I am terrified, but I got Molly. I can do it.

Molly is a fearless, award-winning writer and actress. She is vicious smart, wicked with insight, and deadly hilarious. Check out the anecdote I shared about her last year, where you will also find my fave picture of her. Her teaching goes beyond the classroom; by watching how she's out there doing the #HustleHard; listening to her keen advice when I go to her with OMG WHAT DO I DO; and observing her direct efforts to support other women performers in a Not For Yourself Alone sense, she's giving me a template. Just by going through her life in the way she does, and sharing real-world facts about this alien world I'm entering, she's teaching me How To Do It Without Compromise Or Being A Dick.

Molly is amazing. I owe her. The only way I can truly pay her back is by working my ass off, hustling hard and putting my work out there to the best of my ability. For me, Molly is like Kathleen Goonan, so in a way I've got two mentors. Fuck am I lucky!

This month and next Molly is performing a solo show, an improv show, and two storytelling shows at venues throughout Los Angeles, which means you have several chances to see how awesome she is as a performer. Here's where you can find Molly on stage in the near future:

• Sept. 17 (tomorrow) @ iO West, 10:30 p.m.: Host of Dr. God Revival, where Molly will tell true tales from her life, and then a bunch of people will improvise off of them.
• Sept. 22 @ iO West, F*ck Marry Kill, 8 p.m.: One of her amazing solo shows, which I have seen a few times and will see again, cuz it's that' good.
• Oct. 1 @ the Improv Lab, 10:30 p.m.: At the CREEPSHOW, where she will share a story about being stalked.
• Oct. 2 @Bar Lubitsch, 8 p.m.: Where she will share a story at the Ladies Only Sunday Night Sex Stories.

She was recently interviewed at Comediva. The answer she gave to the first question still has me giggling. Check her out at her Tumblr as well!

 * Man o man what's involved after the fundraising is done ... but it could be because of my particular incentive set. Will add these lessons to the What I Learned Using Kickstarter post to come.

** Which I have not yet completed because I'm broke, but I swear I will finish. I really, really, really love and want to do live improv, to the point that I don't care that I'm starting late with all of this, and don't care about all that comes with dealing with being far older than most of the people in my classes / that theater / bar culture. I also want to obtain my iO West certificate of completion for personal reasons. Actually, I don't know what they give you once you finish. I just want to finish.

*** Yeah. That's the title. Don't be alarmed! If I pull this off, it won't be depressing. However, it's kind of a mess right now, so I will be returning to Molly's classroom in the future for her unique guidance. I'm aiming for #HFF12 with this one, but we'll see...

Please Help Abie Philbin Bowman Get To DVD

I met Abie Philbin Bowman two years ago when I went to see his show, Jesus: The Guantanamo Years, at the first Hollywood Fringe Festival. I was very eager to see it because had learned of him well before then via the internet(s), when the link to an interview he conducted with the head of a KKK outfit on the night of Obama's election landed in my inbox. That interview was astonishing. Abie, it turned out, even more so!

Abie is not only hilarious and wicked politically astute, he's also extremely generous with his time and insight; when I asked him for a few notes on a thing I did? He dropped a giant analysis that was critically useful, and he did this even though he was in the middle of a tour in Europe. I was all !!!

He's using the European version of Kickstarter to raise funds to turn three of his shows into DVDs. Here's the pitch. Please support him!

"When will people understand that it is useless for a man to read his Bible unless he also reads everybody else's Bible?" - Father Brown / G.K. Chesterton

Oral histories from that day, fact based. A play informed by that day, fiction based. An interesting selection of stories curated by WNYC.

#Peacealujah

I'm Cheating With This Post In The Interest Of Available Time

Since once I started work today at the awesome temp gig at 10:30 a.m. I would not be able to leave until my backup arrived at 8 p.m., it was important to have a hearty breakfast on site. Breakfast of Champions!

Lemonade in the special cup, spicy seafood cocktail in the clear cup. I got halfway through the mountain of chili curly fries before I had to give up.

Many hours later, dinner was three-cheese pizza, a deep fried pickle, a dipped strawberry and more coffee.

I'll tell you about the awesome garlic later.

Also, I don't think the event organizers meant for the special cups to look like an engorged penis ... but I'm not entirely sure.