Blocks Are For Building, Right?

Working through some creative blockage(s) the last few days. Can't fully discern the trigger(s) yet.

I know that blockages happen to most everyone from time to time. And there are exercises to help clear them. What this is about (this blog entry) is more of some rhetorical (or maybe not so rhetorical) questions...

Do blocks come from being drained of ideas? Empty tanks? Or is it the opposite and the tanks are too full and so the pressure of concepts and ideas blocks a too small exit passage? If so, how do you "broaden your exit"? Sometimes, speaking just for myself, it seems as if the flow is being crimped off somewhere. The nagging feeling of an idea (or ideas) floating somewhere just beyond reach. The seeming inability to drag a concept from being a brain-spark down my limbs and make it "real". Annoying.

Herrmn.

Yes. That is a semi generic vocalization I use when wrestling with thoughts....amongst other things. Somewhat stolen from a video parody artists online version of Rorschach from the graphic novel The Watchmen (credit where due).

Off now to work on blockage clearing and such. More later.

This Just In.....

Bleheh.

Yes. I said it.


And that is all.

So...here's this gadget....I found it interesting:

Get Your Own Map

View Larger Map

I suspect that I have missed a state or two....But it's mostly accurate. Mostly.

That's all for now.

Japan In 2012???

Just a short post (for now) to mention this new bit of news that has shown up via several online news sources over the last few days:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2011/10/10000-free-round-trip-tickets-to-japan/

What it boils down to is that the Japanese tourist industry is hurting due to some recent (March of this year) disasters there. And so they want to distribute 10,000 tickets to help bring in tourists and then have those tourists spread details of their trips via blogs and/or social media. The recipients would still have to pay for food, lodging, etc but the savings on airfare could make such a trip more immediately feasible for yours truly....And I have no issue with detailing my adventures as a requirement for being on the list....No problem at all.

The program has yet to get funding but I am going to go ahead and start working on my proposal soon (as classwork and productions allow) so I can get it polished. Yeah.....Oh yeah.

All for now. Hopefully I'll do a longer post soon.

Some Grad School (And Undergrad Too) Stuff

I'll start with some slightly frustrating undergrad news: while I had been hoping that I'd be able to work things out otherwise it appears that, rather than being able to receive my degree by Spring (or even Winter) 2012, I will almost certainly be finishing in the Spring of 2013. I'll be adjusting my resume accordingly within the next week or so. It's a question of getting all my minor requirements and some of my missing core classes completed. But that's okay. I love UAF and Fairbanks and all. After all, I plan on making this place my "base of operations" from now on so....

Now on to less frustrating and still in process news/items: while working the Mycology Society conference here on campus, I had the chance to speak with a biologist who is a retired professor at the University Of Kansas: Lawrence. It was a very pleasant talk about various things including theatre and afterward I decided, sort of on a whim, to take a look at the graduate program in theatre at UK:L. And I was sort of surprised and pleased and impressed all at once. You see, the program there does not separate into scenic, costume, lighting and tech direction. Rather it is a scenographic degree much like one might find in Europe. As someone who has long described myself as a "theatrical generalist" and who has as one of his favorite quotes the Robert Heinlein statement "Specialization is for insects" I kind of like the idea of having to do designs in multiple areas while in grad school. So I will be adding UK:L to my potential schools list, along with University Of IL: Urbana-Champaign and some of the various other URTA schools. I will definitely still (if I can arrange it) go to the URTA session(s). And continue to research and seek suggestions about potential schools and programs too. So if anyone has any suggestions or comments please let me know. Since, as I mentioned above, I will most likely not be entering grad school till the Fall of 2013 and so I have some time to work through things. And yes, I suppose that some folks may think "why start so soon?" And my answer would be, with potentially needing to take the GRE's (depending on what the schools ask for...many don't for theatre but some might) and scheduling for the URTA's and possible campus visits and interviews and.....well, you get the idea.

So....anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Once More: Only. In. Alaska.

So here I am, doing some stuff (wow, that was descriptive) and I look out the window after seeing some motion outside and I figure "Oh, it's a raven, landing on the streetlight..." But then I really looked. And even though I have seen some big ravens in my time so far up here, I have not seen many as big as this bird was. And the body shape is wrong for a raven. And I realize: it is an owl. One that is at least as big as my head and neck combined. Maybe even a bit bigger, but it was difficult to tell since it was "fluffed up" to help deal with the rain going on. And so I sit. Watching from inside for awhile. As a smaller bird (Robin perhaps? Starling maybe?) keeps flying close in by the owl, attempting to drive it off, lure it away, what-have-you. There are some nests nearby so it might have been a "parent bird". But the owl was having none of it. It just sat there, atop the streetlight. Watching. Waiting. Because of the glare from lights inside I could not get a really good look at it so I went on outside. And as I walked up towards the streetlight, the owl would occasionally turn and glare at me. But then it would go back to just sitting. I got up to about a dozen feet away from it, plus or minus the distance of it's elevation on the streetlight (about 8 feet up). The little bird kept swooping and chirping. The owl sat silent. After a little bit I started to walk away and that is when it (the owl) decided to move. It opened it's wings and dropped down, gliding past me and further along into the plaza. As it swooped I suspect that, if I had foolishly stretched out my arm, I would have easily been able to touch it's wing as it went by. Yeah. That close. I am virtually certain that the species was a Horned Owl of some type. With the lighting level (it was 11pm local time) it was a bit difficult to get good details. And sadly I did not have my camera. Anyway, after it swooped I looked back towards where it had been and experienced another "only in AK at this time of year" sort of moment. Because in the mist, at 11pm-ish, there was a rainbow visible.

So. Darn. Cool.

All for now. More later.

An Early Start For 2012?

Well with the exception of a single class that I am waiting on instructor approval for I am registered for the Fall semester. And now, all other things not-withstanding, I find myself considering various other things I'd like to accomplish. The sad/funny/silly thing is that these goals are not really school related, nor are they anything that will happen before next year (Summer 2012) at the earliest. And I still will have at least one more semester here at UAF (the Fall of 2012) before I have all the credits/etc I need to graduate....But even so, I'll share some of the plans/ideas. And, as always, I welcome comments/suggestions/etc.

In absolutely no specific order or preference:

WorldCon. 2012's WorldCon will, once again, be in Chicago. This will be at least the 4th year that that has been the case and so I expect that they will have stuff organized pretty well. I've always wanted to do the WorldCon thing. And even though I have not lived in Northern IL for some years I still have a basic knowledge of the area. However, a primary issue there is that WorldCon always falls on the "cross-over" between August and September. Which means that it will potentially conflict with the first day(s) of classes here at UAF.....

San Diego Comic Con. Calender-wise a better bet. It falls during the 3rd weekend of July. Which only becomes an issue depending on any Summer gigs I might have next year.....

My long hoped for, long delayed, trip to Japan. I have promised myself to do it before I end up saying "I always wanted to...". And, depending on Fall enrollment at UAF and the entire grad school plan next Summer would potentially be a good time for it.

Grad school. Yep. Still sifting and sorting schools. Again, depending on the UAF graduation situation, something I need to figure out.

I had also been thinking about the other international trip I'd like to make but with the Olympics being in London next year I think it might be wiser to wait on that.....

Shrug. Not many factoids or real points in this entry I guess. Just a ramble. That's my brain today. More (perhaps more detailed) stuff later.

Where Did I Put That Empty Mirror?

I do not immediately recall if it was here or elsewhere that I've kvetched about this sort of thing previously. But no matter: this is now and the kvetching begins. Beware! Rambling ahead!

It's a strange sort of day. Mentally and emotionally it's like there is this "hump" that I am working at crawling over. Not at all certain as to why. Plenty of weirdness recently that I will not go into detail about. So that's potentially a part of it. It could also be related to the time of year, since we are entering into the "downhill portion" of the Summer. But I am also really, really REALLY looking forward to classes (and everything else school related) starting up again. That said, the weather here near the pinnacle of the world could scarcely be more beautiful than it has been the last few days. And even when the weather is grey and foggy, it's still got an awesome beauty to it...So I have no real complaints there. Perhaps it's due to my adjusting my caffeine intake over the last month or so. If that is the case I definitely want to get it hammered out before classes start, given how much of a crutch caffeine has been for me previously.

Sigh. You know what is sort of pathetic? When your thoughts are so scattered that you can't even seem to recollect what all the things were you were going to kvetch over. Maybe a walk would help. Or a nap....Aha! Maybe that's it: I need a "sleep walk"! Ah, self referential and semi self effacing humor. That's what has made the internet what it is today.

More later.

So. Very. Close!

It's so strange to me. This will be my second academic year here at UAF and you might think that I would be potentially blase about the process of registering and all such stuff. Yet it is quite the opposite. I find myself today feeling like a DIY nerd in the new tool section. Yes, I know that the standard cliche is child in a candy store but, as it has been some time since I was physically a child or physically in a candy store....you take my point.

The only current stumbling block to stuff is that one of my courses needs instructor approval. And that instructor is out of state currently working on a design gig. Sigh. But with the wonders of the series of tubes we ofttimes call the interwebz perhaps it will be accomplished shortly. Until it does I am not at the level of "full time student" based on required number of hours. Thus the subject line of this post. Sigh.

After that and once financial aid disbursement happens it will be book buying time. So far the only class for the Fall that has an actual required text is my Art History course. And that book looks to be a monster. I may have to borrow the scene shop hand dolly to tote it around. Plus it also bears a standard "textbook price tag". Yikes!!!

I also have to admit that I fear I will need to add computer shopping to my list. My laptop, while still sort of viable, is showing some wear and tear. Sort of like the person who owns and operates it. Of course, if computer years are like dog years it is worth noting that immediately after I bought it and attempted to go online to register it (fresh out of the box) the Acer online system told me that that unit was "past it's service life and no longer eligible for warranty." And that was back in 2007. Based on Moores Law it is, at minimum, 2 generations old. Which is kinda ancient in CPU years. I still want my Windows XP. Yes, I know: it too has passed its service life as well. But it is generally stable and I know it. Windows 7 not so much. Even with using the CPU's here at the campus computer lab and learning some of it's (Windows 7) quirks....Shrug. Anyway, since much of what I use program-wise I carry around on a USB drive (thanks to Portableapps.Com - I love that site!!!) I am leaning heavily towards a netbook. I can get an external DVD drive that connects with USB. And I really only use an optical drive either to access my archival CD ROMS, which are currently in storage in Arkansas anyway, or to watch movies on DVD. Which I could still do with my old laptop (I am not going to trash the silly thing - it will be a great "shop computer" and such). That is my thinking as of today. If anyone has any comments or suggestions they are, as always, welcome.

Well, I need to get back to UAONLINE and finish a couple of things before the system "times out"...As always, more later.

May You Live In Interesting Times......

Probably a rather short entry:

The title just about sums up my day today.

Lots of small issues. And a few large things like some dimmer issues at the Salisbury Theatre. But also some additional compliments, primarily from folks involved with The Elixir Of Love.

Feeling both strung out and strangely confident. A very disconcerting feeling.

Broke my on again, off again caffeinated soda fast. At one point I was going on three weeks or so without indulging. Then someone bought lunch for the Elixir crew and.....sigh. Then another week or so till today. Shrug. I may not ever give it up totally, but I am making progress at cutting down. Which is, in the main, a good thing.

Still trolling for a contact with the FDA producers to hopefully get a design slot for their season in addition to my designing the SDA Winter Shorts and The Messenger this Fall. My hope is I can get an FDA slot for the Spring, since that is when A Streetcar Named Desire is being presented and since it is a recognizable title it would be a good addition to my portfolio. IMNSHO that is.

Yeah. That's all I have for now. Till later.

Steel Drums Everywhere.....

Well, The Elixir Of Love is now history. It was an interesting experience and I will work for/with Opera Fairbanks again. I mean after all, how many times do you get the chance to work with a conductor and stage director from NYC's Metropolitan Opera? And that's who they bring in, since the Met season closes in May and that makes such folks available. My next self appointed task is to get connected with another group here in town, the Fairbanks Drama Association. I'm trolling to see if I can get a scenic design gig for at least one of their six shows in the 2011-2012 season. No pay but it'd be a portfolio builder. We shall see....

In other news, the Summer Arts Festival has set up shop on campus. Thus the title of this entry. The lab space, where I should be working on some maintenance projects for the theatre department, is filled with a huge set up for a steel drums class. And when they did the set up the folks shoved everything that was in the lab back into one section that the facilities folks will be needing to get to within the next week or so. Which really makes that impossible. And the festival folks also have an annoying habit of not closing doors to potentially dangerous areas (such as the scene shop with all of it's stationary power tools) once they are done moving items through those areas. Sigh. It would be potentially so easy for us to work together if they had just contacted the department rather than just assuming that, since they have been here for the last two years, we would automatically schedule ourselves around them. Which is what one of the festival folks basically said to me: "Well, we've been here the last two years so you would think someone would assume...." Of course, he himself followed that statement with "Of course, assumptions can be dangerous."

As for non work/theatre related stuff:

I'm an excited fanboy - Friday the movie Captain America: The First Avenger opens. I'm pretty anxious to see it. Due to opera conflicts and stuff I still need to see X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern too.

On Saturday there is the Golden Days Parade. Golden Days is an annual salute to those folks who founded the city of Fairbanks, most especially Felix Pedro who discovered gold locally. I'll be joining the College Of Liberal Arts contingent and walking in the parade. Which should be an interesting experience.

Well, that's all that crosses my mind this AM. I need to get back to the theatre and get started on some projects. More later.....

If Brevity Be The Soul Of Wit.....I May Be Somewhat Witless.

Well, lets see if I can keep this missive short, even though it may well turn into a stream of consciousness ramble.....

First, the Summer here near the top of the world is an AWESOME season! The interplay of light, shadow and fog....wow. Before it ends I definitely need to spend some painting/drawing/sketching/photographing time out on the hills. Don't get me wrong: I do like the Winter too. But the fall of light right now.....Zoot!

Secondly, I will be serving (am serving, since I've already been working on stuff) as the TD for the Opera Fairbanks production of The Elixir Of Love . It loads in on July 8th and will run July 14th and 16th....

Thirdly....And I hate to toot my own horn....But....I have been selected to be a recipient of the William Wood Talent Scholarship. And I also have apparently been selected once again for a Theatre Department Talent Scholarship. Which means that, unless things change mightily from my current understanding, the 2011-2012 school year will be completely paid by scholarships. I just need to keep my grades within certain parameters. To call me stunned would be a bit of understatement. I still worry that somehow I will find out that it is all some sad mistake or that there will be some cataclysm that upends the entire deal and so I feel nervous talking about it. But all that said, for now I am just thrilled more than I can say.

Funny. When I sat down to type this I could have sworn there was more to say....Perhaps I should make better notes next time. Till then though, I suppose that is all.

Wooops!!!! I seem to have missed a bit.....

Well.

Here I am again, finally updating this blog. Last update was October. 2010. It's now the end of May, 2011. Sigh.

The short version of stuff that has happened:

Spring semester went alright, except for some issues with bronchitis around Spring break...And then some other health issues which caused me to end up having a cardiac cath done about 10 days ago (Friday, the 20th). Things turned out okay cardiac-wise but there are still some questions about my kidney function, which was initially out of whack according to the hospital blood work. It's better now but I suspect it will always be something I need to be hawk-like about since I just have the one and all. Sigh. I see the cardiologist again this coming Friday and I expect that I will be "fully released"...which is not much different than right now, just paperwork (as I understand it...Protocols and all). Being ill did impact my grades some but from my calculations I'm still above the 2.5 that is the absolute bottom of acceptable.

I'm working on the Fall mainstage production as scenic designer. The production is a multi/mixed media event called The Messenger written and directed by our department chairperson Professor Mendelowitz. We had a filming day yesterday for some of the early scenes which will be a part of the "pre-show video". And it was very interesting to work the film side as opposed to stage. More filming should be happening both this Summer and also into the Fall. Then the live show portion (which will also be being filmed) happens in November. And then again in the Spring, a compiled version of the filmed and live filmed portions will be premiered here on campus. Definitely a unique sort of process. Some info on the entire season (including The Messenger) can be found at: http://theatreuaf.org/

Additionally I was nominated and accepted the position of TD for the Student Drama Association. Which basically means that I will be scenic designing the Winter Shorts workshop production(s) and also supervising that tech process. Just as with The Messenger I'm glad to have at least some of the Summer to spend working on stuff in advance. It does make life a bit easier.

Precluding any earthshaking events I will be here all through the Summer, which will be pretty darn cool, IMNSHO.

Well, stuff to still accomplish today so that's it for this update. With fortune (and some self reminding) hopefully it will not be nearly as long till my next update.