Robot Monkey Pants

My initial suspicions aside, I gotta say — Leopard Spaces rocks. I am suitably pleased.

My submission for The Violent Acres Catchphrase Contest:

Come For the Interesting Commentary, Stay for the Boring Blogger Pissing Matches.

Jesus, this is getting old really quickly. Guess it attracts the traffic, though.

I really love the blog, but the assorted dick waving contests are a big ole blemish.

(And, yes, this blog of mine is no literary or journalistic juggernaut, I know that. I’m also not writing for any particular reason, especially traffic. No ads here, chum.)

French iPhone buyers may choose Orange or unlocked - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

So… angry…

Wouldn’t it be grand if we had laws like that?

My first review for The Bastion hit today. Yay!

Ever have one of those dreams where you wake up and you just can’t shake the thing? It follows you around all day making you question your assumptions and ideas?

I hate those.

The drink of my homeland is rum. Depending on who you talk to, it’s either a golden rum, like Lamb’s Palm Breeze or Captain Morgan Newfoundland Gold, or it’s a black rum, like Captain Morgan Dark (what I used to drink in my days there), Old Sam, or the iconic Newfoundland Rum, Screech (I prefer this older label to the new one).

While I appreciate the golden rums (and, please, none of these water-colored rums. Sheesh!), I’ve a soft spot for The Old Black Rum. And we use Screech to make someone an honourary Newfoundlander at a Screech In.

My friend Brian (an honourary Newfoundlander) pointed me at this review of the fine elixir.

Wusses.

In moving to the iPhone, I gave up ‘Push’ e-mail, and I’m eager to get it back. The once every 15 minutes model offered by the iPhone isn’t quite fast enough for urgent issues, and despite claims that Yahoo’s Mail is “Push” on the iPhone, I just don’t see it. Maybe it only works for AT&T users — not sure. In any case, this guide shows us how to set the iPhone to check every 5 mins instead of every 15 minutes (if you’re unshackled, like moi).

Enjoy.

Previous serendipitous moments

If you were going to get up on a stage and do something you’d never done before, be it acting, improvisation, singing, dancing, you name it — would you want the audience to be full of friends or full of strangers?

It’s something I’ve gone back and forth about over the years. I’ve had my share of performing moments… mostly on the radio but occasionally on a stage.

The first time was back in 1990 — a local comedy club whose name escapes me now had an open entry stand-up comedy contest. They had a few weeks of it, followed by a finals, where the winner would get a trip to Toronto and get to perform at Yuk Yuks. I slapped together a 5 minute bit that was, by and large, horrible (though included this ever so topical gem.) I told all my friends about it without hesitation — there was no internal debate. I wasn’t afraid of bombing, for some reason, and I didn’t. I came in second place in audience voting, but the club manager called me aside and asked if I’d come back for the finals, because he liked what he saw. I did so, but ended up not doing so well — the crowd was way too drunk and chatty by the time I got to the stage. I tried one other contest in St. John’s, and once hopped on the stage at an open mic will on vacation in Halifax in ‘91.

That’s the last time I took the stage in front of an audience. Aside from my incredibly fun tenure with the Audio Toon Theatre doing writing and performing on the radio, I’ve never had any real performance experience.

Which leads me back to my original question. Think about it — if you were going to get up on stage doing something new, would you want an audience of friends, or an audience of strangers? The argument for “strangers” is that, if you do horrible, nobody you know is going to see it. It somehow feels less humiliating. But the argument for “friends” is that you stand a better chance of succeeding, because they want you to do well, and will support you with applause (and laughter, when appropriate).

I’ve gone back and forth, but I think I’ve landed on “friends”. I’ve been on the other side of that coin once or twice, and as an audience member with someone you know up on stage prancing and performing, you just want them to do well. You send out the best possible vibes, you applaud loudly, you’re like a proud parent.

Why have I been debating this lately? For the past 5 weeks, I’ve been taking Stand-up Comedy lessons at Zanies in downtown Chicago. The four week beginner class culminated with a 5 minute performance on stage in front of the class, with helpful criticism from the instructor (Dobie Maxwell). The Intermediate class culminates with a 5 minute performance in front of a real audience and a booker at Zanies in Chicago (the best comedy club in Chicago, might I add).

On December 4th, I will, along with the rest of my class, take to the stage and perform a 5 minute bit that I’ve only just begun to write. Wish me luck! And let me know if you’re interested in coming to the show and I’ll get you in for free.

TUAW announces progress in the quest to unshackle the 1.1.1 iPhones. Hooray!

Still, stay away from 1.1.1 if you’re unlocking or using apps.