I got this e-mail forward from a member of my family today. Included is the text of the e-mail and my response to it:

Dallas ATC:  “Tower to Saudi Air 911—You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R.”

Saudi Air: “Thank you Dallas ATC.  Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel’s runway 9R—Allah be Praised !!”

Dallas ATC: “Tower to Iran Air 711—You are cleared to land, Westbound on runway 9R.”

Iran Air: “Thank you Dallas ATC.  We are cleared to land on infidel’s runway 9R.- -Allah is Great !!”

The vocal score for Urinetown offers surprises, even from the very toughest amongst us. It demands great vocal agility from a former* Baritone, now assigned for the most part to Tenor 1. This means I sing, as written, anything from a low Ab to a high B. No kidding. Unfortunately most of the range sits on the high end. But that’s okay. It’ll still be a great show.

* Former and future, after the show, of course.

Here’s our company’s website: http://www.UrinetownDenver.org

After four years of sitting in the garage, I’ve decided to put my 1995 Chevy Caprice 9C1 back into limited use, mostly for weekend driving and stuff like that. There are a few repairs I need to tackle, including recharging the A/C 134a refrigerant and finding a replacement bolt for the right front brake caliper (I had nightmares about not being able to stop—now I know why)! But most importantly I recently took care of a non-functioning fuel pump. Turns out the wires had fried but now I have a new pump, too. Included is a picture of the wiring that supplied power to the old fuel pump. Yes, I replaced that part. 🙂

As I prepare to put my own company’s media online, DRM and copyright keeps popping up in my head. I had the thought the other day, “what’s to keep tweenies from buying a show then posting it on YouTube for all the world to see for free?” That of course is just one poor example. But DRM is a huge issue. It’s not about large corporations being greedy but for me it’s about small corporations who plan to make their entire income online being kept afloat at all. I guess time will tell. But of particular interest, besides the interoperability comment (with which I wholeheartedly agree), is the bit on YouTube and copyrighted music. It would make the world a so much better place if noncommercial home videos could use copyrighted music for fun without fear of Big Music reprisal, their being given the option to veto the vid of course. But it doesn’t make commercial music licensing any much easier for me, which as of right now I anticipate to be the bane of my existance. That or I just avoid all nonorignal music anyway.

I’m in Urinetown the Musical this fall. A Denver company is producing the show from November 3rd to December 3rd at the Denver Water Reclamation Building and I’m playing the part of Mr. McQueen. Rehearsals begin Saturday the 23rd.

What is your vade mecum? Or have you more than one? A purse or wallet? A cell phone? An organizer? Howabout something unusual?

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2006/09/09.html

It’s the eve before I depart NYC. I’ve filmed for a month. I should know what I have, but I won’t truly know until I watch all of it. I took the last few days off and enjoyed what the city has to offer, namely Broadway. Saw Avenue Q, Forbidden Broadway: SVU, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and tonight Mamma Mia in as many days (my wallet is still smoking). I mostly saw the last one tonight because a friend of mine from UNC was starring as Sky on Broadway. 21 bucks for a standing room ticket wasn’t too bad. He’s been doing the show since October. If I had to do a show like that for that long I’d probably shoot myself. But it’s steady work and probably good pay and probably kinda fun, so nevermind.