“It’s priest. Have a little priest …”

Nacerá,
Ya verás el sol que calienta nacerá,
Ya verás
Una más,
Como todo un día de repente brillará
Ya verás

Sol na
Sol na
Sol na-nacerá

Luna que va y al día se viste
Cuerda que tira y no se cansa de tirar
Un corazón que nunca está triste
Viento que hace a la alegría respirar
Afro Medusa – Pasilda (Todd Terry’s In House Mix) [11.5 MB]

Hi. I am still alive. Phone (and thus internet/dsl) service has been spotty since last Thursday when Ivan came through for a visit. We are still without a phone at the office I work at. They have no idea how long it’s gonna take to get it fixed since there are so many problems throughout the county. I have relocated to a different office so that I can get some work (and internet playtime) done. Whoo.

Drove around on Saturday to see what kinda damage had been done in various parts of the county. It’s bad. High water marks all over the place. Mobile homes that were just pushed from their foundations and floated down river. Personal belongs littering the sides of the road. A lone laundry basket hanging about five feet up in a tree.

Past that things here are pretty much the same. “Sweeney Todd” is clicking along. We have sets, lights and such. Two more rehearsal this week and then we do the run up to opening night on October 1st. Hopefully in the next few days I can some photos posted of what’s shaking in that arena. I feel like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Whee!

Yow. What a night. “Ivan” dropped into the area about 2:00-ish yesterday afternoon. It started as varying degrees of rain … light, heavy, moderate, heavy, light. Then the winds kicked in early in the evening. A nice warm tropical breeze which would have been great if we didn’t have to worry what was coming with it. By 11:00 p.m. the creek across the road had risen quite a bit and there was a brisk stream of water running down the road. At midnight (and again at 1:00 a.m.) the phone rang with an automated message saying that we should evacuate to one of two shelters or at least get to some higher ground. That was scary. Being told to leave everything behind … not knowing if things would get that bad … if you would come back and find all your stuff destroyed. Being the stubborn folks that we are, the roomie and I decided that we should be ok since my house in near the top of the creek. Things looked pretty good this morning for us at least. The creek was higher but not out of its banks. Some folks on down the road were not as lucky. We hear that Clyde and Canton are back under water. I hate that. The Tinsley’s had just gotten settled after Frances flooded them out. Today a steady rain is still falling and they say it’s gonna last into tomorrow. Flooding is still a big potential. Power is out in various parts of the county, so my work day is being cut short. Whoo. So, ya’ll be good. I’m off to play in the water.

Whew! I had fun weekend … even if I was by myself the entire time. There are no links ’cause I’m lazy.

Friday Night:
Hung around the house and watched the European cut of “Dawn of the Dead.” Pretty interesting if not just a little too streamlined. Then sleep. Sweet, sweet sleep.

Saturday:
Drove down to Atlanta for the “Evening with Siouxsie.” I tripped over to the Apple Store at Lenox Square and drooled all over the products and cute nerds that work in the place. I cruised down Peachtree to the Tower Records where they had none of the dvds that I was looking for. But, they did have the cd of Diamanda Galas’ “Defixones, Will & Testament” (which I purchased, of course). After a nice drive down the rest of Peachtree, I made it into Little Five Points for dinner and the show. Dinner was good. The show was great. I don’t think I have ever seen that much black clothing gathered in one place before. Ah, goth culture! After finding a prime spot from which to watch Siouxsie work her magic, I got to talking to the couple next to me, She was beautiful. He was gorgeous. We talked for most of the pre-show which was about 2-1/2 hours because Siouxsie was mean and made us wait a bit for her. The show was not at all what I expected. The name “An Evening with Siouxsie” seemed to imply a structured retrospective of the Banshees and Creatures catalog. Not so. The show was a roller coaster. You never knew what was going to be performed next. Good stuff! For the encore she performed “Face to Face” from the “Batman 2” soundtrack and “Arabian Nights.” Pretty sweet! The cute couple invited me out for drinks, but I declined. Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Sunday:
I tripped to the Gift Mart downtown for a bit and then headed back to the mountains. Steve and I got together and started setting lights for “Sweeney Todd.” There gonna be about 180 lighting cues in the show. Jim’s gonna have fun.

And here are just some of the fellas I am currently infatuated with …

Tomorrow. Atlanta. An Evening with Siouxsie. Whoo!

Wet, wet, wet. Those are the buzz words of the day. It’s been raining for over 24 hours here in the mountains. Whee. Fortunately, as Frances head north, the rain has lessened quite a bit. The creek across from the house has stayed within it banks which make me very happy. The low place in the back yard has become a huge pond. This morning, birds were using it as a super huge bird bath. Grey and dreary are also buzz words as well. They describe the sky. They describe my mood. Sometimes I think they describe the state of my soul. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is cooking on the stove. It’s what’s keeping me focused right now.

Hi, Frances. Welcome to the mountains.

This is probably a case of the pot calling the kettle “black” … but, I really hate it when people can’t get their shit together. I was asked about a month ago to bid on some freelance work (posters, postcards, etc) for a local theater group. I said, “Great. Get me some info and I’ll send you a bid.” Well, yesterday they finally sent through the info. That’s all well and good except the first show they want promo material for opens October 7. So, by the time I bid, they potentially accept and I start work … that doesn’t leave much time. Grrrr. I may pass this one by. As much as I would like to fund my dirty dvd addiction, some things are just better not done for the money.

In other news, those fine folks at Criterion are finally going to be releasing my favorite film of all time on dvd … and it’s a reissue of their super kick-ass LaserDisc special edition. I wet myself every time I think about it. [Sighs. Wipes tear from eye.]

Wait … did I actually say I don’t want extra money?

It’s a holiday weekend! You know what that means. I’ll be sleeping in late on Monday. That and going to some junk shops for furniture for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Y’all have a good ‘un.

Yes, yes. This is my life now. I think that in the future I am going to refrain from directing shows when such a large is involved. It’s not that the cast isn’t talented. It’s not that they don’t do what I tell them to. It’s just hard to keep that many people focused and on task for a couple of hours each night. Rehearsals, to me at this point, really feel like barely controlled chaos. I go home and worry that things will never come together. I worry that we will run out of time. I worry that the show is gonna suck some major ass on opening night. Then I think about some of the shows that I have been in that have come together at the last minute. That leads me to believe that this one’s gonna be just fine. And, hey … if it does blow, it won’t be the first show in the history of theater that really sucks.

Ugh. A busy day for once. A busy day complete with a near miss on a panic attack. Whoo. It’s those little things that make life fun … right? Don’t forget that the “Dawn of the Dead” Ultimate Edition drops into stores next Tuesday … or in my case, arrives via amazon.com. “Dawn of the Dead” contains on of my favorite opening shots for a film. It kicks!