2010

"Oh, dear God," you're thinking. "More year-in-review, 'what a great/terrible year we had,' social media narcissism? Is that what we come to your blog for? Are we not even safe from that here, in the secluded, warm, fortress-like confines of your blog?"

You may determine that for yourself when you finish reading this.

2010 was, by all accounts, a year on the Roman calendar by which most peoples on Earth in the 21st century (again, by the Roman calendar) observe the movement of their planet around the sun. It was a bit different than 2009, and even more different from 1999. Still more different was 1739, but I digress. Professionally.

In 2010 there were a lot of wonderful moments which will overshadow, in time, any momentary frustrations or small sadnesses. I hope that's true for everyone.

In 2025, children born from 2005 until 2010 will begin to look back with faux nostaglia at terrible music and popular culture that exists now, things they were too young to actually remember and did not take any part in at the time.

In 2030, you will see "period" entertainments set in 2010, or in the "naughts." I say entertainments instead of films because that word may be archaic by then.

In 2010, I had a good year. I look to do my very best with whatever 2011 throws me.

Happy New Year.

A kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time

Tonight, as I enjoy delicious Australian coffee from the new stovetop percolator Marina's parents sent me for Christmas, I find myself reliving a personal tradition. Every year, at Christmas, I find myself stepping backward in time with year-sized boots, stepping backward from Christmastime to Christmastime, finding what it is that I remember specifically about each year.

Only now, it isn't just that; I find myself thinking of my favorite story and how many different versions of it I've been part of in my professional life. Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL has been adapted in so many ways, but the only versions that I can really lend credence to are those that don't diminish the absolutely pitch-perfect, nuanced language of the original novella. That all sounds very lofty, and I don't mean it to. What I mean to do here is to pay tribute to some of the best (or at least my favorite) people I ever did some version of this show with.

In one production or another of A CHRISTMAS CAROL I have played Joe the junk dealer, Young Scrooge, The Ghost of Christmas Present, Bob Cratchit, and had a couple of runs at Scrooge himself. Add in a few smaller roles without much import and a version done by two actors and I know that text almost by heart, even today. I have loved every single production of this story I've done, if not every adaptation. I've been working for some years on my own adaptation, and one day I hope I'll get the chance to put it up... maybe with some of the following people helping me out.

John Clemo comes to mind first; an excellent Scrooge, excellent actor and a fine gentleman whom I still consider a close friend despite years and distance.

Matt Jones, who did the NTC tour of the show for many years and probably knows their version better than anyone else in the world... I never saw you do it, Matt, but I would love to see your Bob Cratchit or your Fred.

Travis Ploeger, from my very first Christmas Carol, who played Fred but I primarily remember as playing a completely dimwitted and deficient version of Dick Wilkins as I tried to maintain as Young Scrooge. His Dick Wilkins was the kind of lumbering oaf who might pet a bunny rabbit to death, and I completely stole his idea in a later production when I played a party guest I invented called "Special Tim."

And finally I'd like to pay tribute to a man who really did, in my experience with him, exemplify all the best qualities of a Scrooge transformed. Matt Kamprath, who passed away in 2009 at only 49, was (both on- and offstage) the life of the NTC tour I did in 2002. He was such a beloved Scrooge on the East Coast leg of that tour that many venues would simply not book the show unless Matty was playing the role.

I have been so lucky and so blessed in my life to have met and worked with so many very talented actors and professionals. It's a time to think about blessings, and a time for people to "open their shut up hearts open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

I have an immense feeling of gratitude tonight, for no specific reason but for all those blessings I've had that I haven't deserved and all those people whom I have been able to learn from over the years. If I've ever spent a Christmas with you, please know that tonight I am thinking of you and raising a glass in your honor.

"It is required of every man," the Ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world -- oh, woe is me! -- and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!"

A Christmas Card For You

My Blackberry Is Not Working

Just silliness.. they do not make this style of comedy enough anymore.

Cookie Monster and Jeff Bridges

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/c-is-for-christmas-wish-cookie-monster-gets-on-saturday-night-live/

Solitary as an oyster

It's that time of year again, when I begin sharing all my favorite Christmas videos for your enjoymafication. Usually I try to deal in the semi- to VERY obscure, but some of the better stuff I just can't ignore. So I'll begin the marathon with the opening number to what I seriously defend as being in many ways the most accurate film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novella A CHRISTMAS CAROL, done by the Muppets. Here is "Mr. Scrooge" from "A Muppet Christmas Carol."

Man's Artistic Destiny, Fulfilled

http://www.nipponcinema.com/trailers/executive-koala

This is a trailer for a Japanese film about a koala who is a businessman. #thisisreal (via AICN)

Merry Christmas, Gaiman Fans.

39 Degrees North: Christmas Card 2010 on Vimeo

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Spins a web, any size.

I just read this article.

I'm sure we've all seen the coverage of this attempt at... who knows what. I am now moving squarely toward disgust here. I will admit curiosity at what can be accomplished onstage for $65 million, and to see Spider-Man web-slinging and flying around onstage. I'd like to say it really interests me, but I can't be interested when reading how Julie Taymor justifies the expense.

"If it were a movie, people would think it was cheap."

...and if it were a battleship, it would be a real bargain. It's not a movie, it's a musical whose budget has ballooned to $40 million more than any other musical in history. We are in a dying industry which is scrambling to reinvent itself to find relevancy in a dumbed-down culture of populist mediocrity, and frankly there are aspects of this that sicken me.

I also bristle at her pride at the originality of the piece. IT'S SPIDER-MAN! I don't know how original it really was when Stan Lee cooked it up almost fifty years ago, but it's certainly not breaking extraordinary new ground now. Sure, there are some new ditties and Ms. Taymor has found people to develop new ways to throw people around the stage. I'm sure it's quite a spectacle, but for $65 million it had better be.

Don't say it's original, just because it isn't specifically based on an existing movie. It's Spider-Man. Don't say it's justifiably expensive. That's an insult to a lot of people who produce great theatre everywhere and manage their budgets responsibly.

I hope it runs, but only for the sake of all the actors and crew who have work thanks to the show. I don't think it bodes well for the future of an industry already struggling to find a foothold as something more than an novelty in a digital world.

For anyone who has performed on a ship.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I stayed up til 4:30 making this. It says "singer," but it's meant to apply to anyone who has worked as a performer on a cruise ship. Enjoy.

This exists.

My day is brighter for knowing this.

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Lesson learned?

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/actress-thora-birch-fired-from-dracula/

I will now be sure not to allow my father to sit in on rehearsals.

New design, New format, New purpose

I am rolling up my sleeves and hoping to make my blog something more than it has been recently. It will become the default place to go for my photos, videos, and posts... all of which I hope to be more prolific with.

The Assassination of Yogi Bear by the Coward Boo Boo

Merry Christmas 2010

My Christmas card this year comes in the form of a video....

Watermark books

Ha!

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Random photogramaphy

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Location:E Harry St,Wichita,United States

Christmasiness

What with all the social presence on the web, I have allowed the blog to fall to the sidelines while constantly pumping videos and photos and whatever else onto facebook. Can someone help me with a way to aggregate my postings so that I can easily put stuff on the blog and facebook at the same time? Or at least easily blog the stuff?

From my android phone, if possible.

I want to be a better blogger. I used to be so diligent.

Friends4ever

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Homeowner

I am a homeowner. Remember that last syllable, it’s important.

Lumberjack

Ketchikan AK

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Thank you, Htc Evo. Suck it, iPhone.

Final Vancouver day, 2010

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New Demo

Hey all… Just a quick post saying I’ve updated the demo reel, for the first time in a good long while…. Check it out if you care to. I just noticed a few recent posts are not visible, and I’m working on that. Going back to the beginning of June, I have reviews for Quirk Classics’ ANDROID KARENINA that they sent me a free copy of, and my Ipad 3g review. Both were overwhelmingly positive, if the ipad review was begrudgingly positive. I have high hopes for Android tablets yet to come.

Let me know your thoughts on the new demo. It’s on the site, under… well, “demo” obviously.

Mom and Dad visit the tugboat

Mm





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Location:United States

Vladivostalking you.

I intended to put up several entries detailing each port as this time in Asia went by, but neither internet access nor convenience of time allowed me to do it that way. So, some random photos and words to catch you up.

I’m staring out my window at a horrible day in Vladivostok, where the wind and rain bring the bones to chill on a day that otherwise might just be a bit brisk. Sad because we’ve been looking forward to seeing the “lord of the East” on this, our next to last day soaking up Asian amazement before we spend seven days at sea on the way to begin our summer Alaska run. I spent a couple of hours trying to brave the wind and wet, but found myself soaked and in need of blankets. Now, it’s Muroran, Japan and then Alaska. Ahh.

Don’t get me wrong, Alaska can be beautiful under the right conditions, but so can Kansas or Newfoundland. It is not, however, a foreign land rife with history, adventure, and unfamiliar culture. It is a place I have spent most of the past three summers doing much what I’ll be doing this year, and I’ve done the hikes and most of the tours and the cupcakes. Diamonds International runs neck and neck with onboard art sales as the biggest racket and exploitation of the passengers, but at least onboard art auctions don’t overflow into every city and turn ever other store into questionable jewelry dealers. I digress… but I do that. Moving on…

It’s been a great Asia run, forgetting the extraordinary amounts of needless rehearsals foisted upon us by injuries, unreliable replacements, and other circumstances which I shan’t go into here. We’ve more of these rehearsals to come in Alaska… two more replacements yet to fit in. Missing a day in Skagway, however, is not as dreadful as missing a day in Shanghai.

I’m excited now because my parents are coming on a cruise on June 26, as long as everything gets approved as it should… so bring it on, Alaska! Now I just have to ship all this Asian crap home before the end of the Alaska season. Gifts purchased in Asia will be gradually sent out from Juneau weekly, so be on the lookout…

I’ll be posting videos as I get time and internet access to upload them in the coming weeks. Some pics:

Our second chance to spend the night off the ship in Hong Kong found us upgraded to an even larger suite than we were upgraded to when we stayed in Kowloon. The main island didn’t offer us as much interesting nightlife as Kowloon, though. Most of the nightlife on Central is of the type you’ll find in the states, and while it’s fun it’s not the reason we were in Hong Kong. 

So, we went back to Kowloon and visited out friends at the Jade Market before exploring even further. I bought a brass (?) monkeyman thing which has some significance which I never learned; I also bargained for this “antique” urn. Gifts are coming, people. That very heavy monkeyman is headed for one of you very soon. 

In Nha Trang, I finally broke down and bought a creepy waving cat. Godzilla seemed very happy to finally have a playmate. 

Tsingtao Brewery in Qingdao, China… Marina and I toured it with a private guide and spent less than one tenth what the same tour would’ve cost if we’d done it through the ship with hundreds of complaining passengers.

Aha! So now I know. In order to actually be a swastika, it has to go to the right. The peace sign goes to the left. At least, that’s what the brewery people told me. Either way, it’s probably not the best logo for your beer. Unless you’re marketing entirely to skinheads, and that’s just a niche market. I suppose you could air commercials on Fox News, though.

 

This was at the brewery, and I have no idea what it means except that it will be the title of my novel.

 

The amazing special beer peanuts they make and hand out at the Tsingtao brewery.

 

Beer for me, beer for Dustin. Gifts!

 

For 30 yuan, they’ll take a picture of you and have it on a bottle of fresh unfiltered beer before you’re done with the tour. 30 yuan is like 5 bucks, by the way. The unfiltered beer we sampled was SO good… and I don’t like beer too well… that I want to drink this despite all sentimentality. I won’t.

 

Marina, sampling the unfiltered fresh beer.

Some bespectacled geek lost in the hops. 

In Singapore, setting up a Godzilla based desecration of a Hindu shrine.

Suspiciously drinking a street coffee thing as Darrel approves.

 

The aforementioned Godzilla vs. Eastern Religion

In Xingang: Creepiest sculpture ever, made worse by small child running into frame and reaching for inappropriate area.

Xingang sculptures… needlessly detailed. Trust me. 

Don’t worry, Xingang; Godzilla’s got this. 

Disgusting seeming Starbucks foods found all over Asia: Black Sesame Green Tea roll

Cuttlefish Cheese Bread

 

Black bean Muffin

 

…more to follow. See you in Alaska!

Great, wall.

So here I am, somewhere between Tianjin and Shanghai, looking at the internet. Yesterday was one of those days which will not come into clear focus until I’m farther away from it – it’s too much, too big. I climbed a section of The Great Wall of China. I touched part of history that in large part predates our religions, our countries, pretty much anything save the pyramids. I had a very similar lack of focus in regard to seeing them, I remember. I know I haven’t been the worlds most faithful blogger lately, but little has been happening due to our prolonged install/handover period. Thanks to a few badly timed injuries combined with insensitive scheduling in the first place, we’ve basically been in rehearsal nonstop since we arrive February 9. That doesn’t even take into account the (increasingly superfluous) LA rehearsal period which began January 14. The singers such as myself have had a significantly higher amount of free time than the dancers in the ensemble, and even we have missed a number of important ports. That’s death to morale, so I thank heaven that we have a mostly wonderful team whose attitudes have rarely betrayed their true feelings toward our prolonged process while at work. That said, there have been some great adventures.

Like yesterday, when we visited the Great Wall of China.

The section of the wall we climbed is level and then becomes VERY steep. It’s a trial and you feel like a hero for getting through it. Then, you descend back into the little village desperate for tourist dollars/yuan/yen/anything at the bottom. It’s not “touristy” per se but the abject poverty that is obvious puts your experience at the wall into perspective. These aren’t unhappy people, but they are poor rural people in a small village which just happens to be located next to part of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Increasingly, they see their little town play host to the kinds of people whose income or situation allows them to roam the world, and that provides opportunity to graft whatever they can.Tourism is a growing industry in China, and with the Great Wall so far off the beaten path not much “growth” is visible here other than signs on a few teahouse in English promising “Icebeer” and “Coffee.” Our experiences in two of these teahouses were a bit tragic and I think I was nearly killed by a clear local “cognac” which smelled and tasted like someone had found a way to sweeten kerosene.

The above is a menu, from which I stuck with the easy and fairly safe “egg fried rice” option for something under $2, while avoid things like “sparrow” and “pungent curd.”

Also present, as ever, was Godzilla.

In other news, I visited Okinawa some time ago, venturing out on my own. I bought Marina a beautiful kimono set because she was stuck on IPM (another story of its own which is a shitty mess and, for most people I work with, another push in a new direction) and spent a lot of time wondering why my primary knowledge of any place could come from KARATE KID 2. Also, I was terrified by a mammoth, nightmarish waving cat.

There is a barista/bartender on the ship who makes the best vanilla lattes I have ever experienced. His name? Morphin. Yes, like the Mighty Power Rangers. Eventually, one assumes, he’ll be finished “Morphin” and be something else entirely.

Marina and I had an AMAZING Hong Kong experience when the cast was released for an overnight in Hong Kong. We were all very close to mutiny at that point, and it was a great pressure relief for the team. We had booked a nice harborview room at the BP International and found that due to overbooking they’d had to upgrade us into a suite. No complaints here, whatsoever at all.

More to come… A lot to catch up on. VERY excited about Shanghai and a return to Tao Bao Market, one of my favorite markets into the world.

Random pics:

 

Searching for a memory in Hong Kong

 

Marina eating at Temple Spice Crab in the Night Market

A stitched together photo of the view from our suite

Finally, a little animal exploitation in Thailand.

More to come!