Ok, so we opened Aladdin Jr. tonight. All in all, a very well done performance, full house, standing ovation, no dropped lines, yadda yadda yadda....
But there was one technical issue that deserves mention...
Roll the clock back to about 3pm today, I'm in my control booth, working on mics while one of my more eclectic musical mixes plays on my booth PC off of my flash drive.
We're rolling up onto showtime so I go ahead and setup my soundboard program for all my show effects.
Unbeknownst to me, the program decides to take the bold step of preloading some of those wacky new mp3's on my bright shiny flash drive.
Fast forward a couple of hours.
The show has been going beautifully, a couple of minor issues but nothing major. Our resident villain has just made his fateful wish and is being sucked into his tiny new home.
To highlight the final moment of this tempest of light, sound, and fog I had created a quite impressive "whoosh/crash/boom" effect.
The cue is called, and I hit play...
But I don't get "whoosh/crash/boom"...
I get music...
and what music do you ask?
....
......
.....
wait for it...
....
...My audience get an earful of those all too familiar opening drumbeats of "Looking For Group"'s, Richard the Warlock's cover of Rick Astley's classic, "Never Gonna Give you Up"
That's right folks, I Rick-Rolled a live theatre event.
*facepalm*
I'm REALLLLLLY not living this one down anytime soon....
But there was one technical issue that deserves mention...
Roll the clock back to about 3pm today, I'm in my control booth, working on mics while one of my more eclectic musical mixes plays on my booth PC off of my flash drive.
We're rolling up onto showtime so I go ahead and setup my soundboard program for all my show effects.
Unbeknownst to me, the program decides to take the bold step of preloading some of those wacky new mp3's on my bright shiny flash drive.
Fast forward a couple of hours.
The show has been going beautifully, a couple of minor issues but nothing major. Our resident villain has just made his fateful wish and is being sucked into his tiny new home.
To highlight the final moment of this tempest of light, sound, and fog I had created a quite impressive "whoosh/crash/boom" effect.
The cue is called, and I hit play...
But I don't get "whoosh/crash/boom"...
I get music...
and what music do you ask?
....
......
.....
wait for it...
....
...My audience get an earful of those all too familiar opening drumbeats of "Looking For Group"'s, Richard the Warlock's cover of Rick Astley's classic, "Never Gonna Give you Up"
That's right folks, I Rick-Rolled a live theatre event.
*facepalm*
I'm REALLLLLLY not living this one down anytime soon....
By request;
Behold Piillowpants in all his glory!
Yes, I have a priest named Piillowpants
No, surprisingly I don't get griefed as much as you'd expect.
Though, I did run into a gnome rogue named "Pillowbiter" once.
That was unpleasant, fucking gnomes.
Behold Piillowpants in all his glory!
Yes, I have a priest named Piillowpants
No, surprisingly I don't get griefed as much as you'd expect.
Though, I did run into a gnome rogue named "Pillowbiter" once.
That was unpleasant, fucking gnomes.
What happens on the CGTalk TF2 server when we get a little bored?
We stack.
Yes, it's wierd, no, I don't know why we do it.
We stack.
Yes, it's wierd, no, I don't know why we do it.
*Carried over from my old blog because, hey, it's a good story*
I was reading one of those oh-so-clever myspace surveys the other day and I came to the following question.
"Have you ever had a near death experience?"
With that, I thought upon an event I haven't thought about in years. And I realized it was a good story to tell.
With that I give you the story of how I almost died.
Summer of '99. I'm camping with my uncle and some friends on Lake Isabella in southern California. Nearby was the Kern River, sometimes known as the "Killer Kern" within rafting circles.
At the time, I fancied myself a proficient whitewater rafter.
To that end, myself and some of my paddler brethren decided that we should tame the vicious Kern with our combined awesomeness.
Paddles, PFDs, and raft in hand, we put into the lower Kern.
All was well, the late summer had resulted in a low fast river with plenty of hazards. All of which we conquered.
Then we came to the Royal Flush.
This rapid had some infamy in rafting circles. Most guides for the lower Kern list as a portage (i.e. skip it or risk horrifying death).
We had not read those guides.
To our credit, we pulled the raft over and hiked up to the rapid to check it out and plan our attack. After reviewing the raging torrent below us, we decided that this beast, which qualified somewhere between a V/VI class, was beyond us.
There was a small problem though.
The portage trail ended abruptly past a small bridge, onto a large square boulder in the middle of the rapid. On each side, a sheer cliff prevented us from completely bypassing it.
We portaged out to the boulder and developed our plan. We would strap all the equipment into the raft, make sure our PFDs were secured, toss the raft in and make a mad dive into it, holding on for dear life until we rode the rest out.
It seemed like a solid plan at the time.
Sadly, the current was much faster than it appeared. The moment the raft touched the water, it was gone in a flash. Only our Tillman was able to get himself into it before it was long gone.
So there we are, four of us standing on this rock, our raft long gone. We looked at each other, realizing with horror what had to be done. I had some experience riding rapids with just a life jacket, but nothing past a class IV.
This was a much MUCH more dangerous situation by far.
So we plotted out route though the rocks, swirls, and drops and resolved ourselves to the task ahead. First guy went in, nailed the route, and we watched him drift downriver. Second guy had the same success.
I went third, and of course as I went in, my river shoes slipped on the rock, falling into the water at completely the wrong angle. As the current grabbed me, it immediately pitched me over a rock into the strongest reversal I'd ever seen, sucking me straight to the bottom while spinning me endlessly.
This wasn't my first time in this situation so while unexpected, I wasn't yet panicking. As I spun, I slowly got a feel for which way it was spinning me and tried to push my way out of the axis. Just as I felt its grip on me weaken, I was spun back head over heels into the reversal again.
There were two reversals perpendicular to each other.
At this point panic had set in.
I had been underwater for what seemed like an eternity. Realistically it had probably been about 40 seconds because oxygen depervation was starting to set in. As I started to think "so, this is how I die..." I felt my foot catch a rock.
With my last ounce of strength. I planted both feet on it and pushed with everything I had left. I felt myself suddenly break free of the swirling current and the flow carried me through the rest of the rapid.
I floated to the surface, my body completely spent. As my adrenaline subsided, I felt myself slowly start to black out as I heard my name shouted from the shore.
I looked up to see the rest of my rafting crew human-chained from the shore, trying to catch me as I floated down river. the guy on the end of the chain was actually the man behind me on the rock. I had been under so long he had actually jumped in and passed me in the rapid.
I have since researched that river and that rapid in particular and found that I'm not alone. The Royal Flush has claimed many a life in it's time and had many more close calls.
At least I'm in good, adventurous (yet vasty unprepared) company.
Note: that is the rock in question in the picture, and that bridge was built after our little adventure.
I was reading one of those oh-so-clever myspace surveys the other day and I came to the following question.
"Have you ever had a near death experience?"
With that, I thought upon an event I haven't thought about in years. And I realized it was a good story to tell.
With that I give you the story of how I almost died.
Summer of '99. I'm camping with my uncle and some friends on Lake Isabella in southern California. Nearby was the Kern River, sometimes known as the "Killer Kern" within rafting circles.
At the time, I fancied myself a proficient whitewater rafter.
To that end, myself and some of my paddler brethren decided that we should tame the vicious Kern with our combined awesomeness.
Paddles, PFDs, and raft in hand, we put into the lower Kern.
All was well, the late summer had resulted in a low fast river with plenty of hazards. All of which we conquered.
Then we came to the Royal Flush.
This rapid had some infamy in rafting circles. Most guides for the lower Kern list as a portage (i.e. skip it or risk horrifying death).
We had not read those guides.
To our credit, we pulled the raft over and hiked up to the rapid to check it out and plan our attack. After reviewing the raging torrent below us, we decided that this beast, which qualified somewhere between a V/VI class, was beyond us.
There was a small problem though.
The portage trail ended abruptly past a small bridge, onto a large square boulder in the middle of the rapid. On each side, a sheer cliff prevented us from completely bypassing it.
We portaged out to the boulder and developed our plan. We would strap all the equipment into the raft, make sure our PFDs were secured, toss the raft in and make a mad dive into it, holding on for dear life until we rode the rest out.
It seemed like a solid plan at the time.
Sadly, the current was much faster than it appeared. The moment the raft touched the water, it was gone in a flash. Only our Tillman was able to get himself into it before it was long gone.
So there we are, four of us standing on this rock, our raft long gone. We looked at each other, realizing with horror what had to be done. I had some experience riding rapids with just a life jacket, but nothing past a class IV.
This was a much MUCH more dangerous situation by far.
So we plotted out route though the rocks, swirls, and drops and resolved ourselves to the task ahead. First guy went in, nailed the route, and we watched him drift downriver. Second guy had the same success.
I went third, and of course as I went in, my river shoes slipped on the rock, falling into the water at completely the wrong angle. As the current grabbed me, it immediately pitched me over a rock into the strongest reversal I'd ever seen, sucking me straight to the bottom while spinning me endlessly.
This wasn't my first time in this situation so while unexpected, I wasn't yet panicking. As I spun, I slowly got a feel for which way it was spinning me and tried to push my way out of the axis. Just as I felt its grip on me weaken, I was spun back head over heels into the reversal again.
There were two reversals perpendicular to each other.
At this point panic had set in.
I had been underwater for what seemed like an eternity. Realistically it had probably been about 40 seconds because oxygen depervation was starting to set in. As I started to think "so, this is how I die..." I felt my foot catch a rock.
With my last ounce of strength. I planted both feet on it and pushed with everything I had left. I felt myself suddenly break free of the swirling current and the flow carried me through the rest of the rapid.
I floated to the surface, my body completely spent. As my adrenaline subsided, I felt myself slowly start to black out as I heard my name shouted from the shore.
I looked up to see the rest of my rafting crew human-chained from the shore, trying to catch me as I floated down river. the guy on the end of the chain was actually the man behind me on the rock. I had been under so long he had actually jumped in and passed me in the rapid.
I have since researched that river and that rapid in particular and found that I'm not alone. The Royal Flush has claimed many a life in it's time and had many more close calls.
At least I'm in good, adventurous (yet vasty unprepared) company.
Note: that is the rock in question in the picture, and that bridge was built after our little adventure.
To whomever took it upon themself to reactivate my account in this horrifying economy, thank you!
Tagged... damn you Becca...
1. I'm almost famous at my local bar for singing Irish tunes during St. Patty's day.
2. I regularly work out scenarios for zombie invasions
3. I daydream more than any other person I know
4. I'm more passionate about my daydreams than any other person I know
5. I was born in Burbank after 10 hours of labor (sorry mom
). almost 9 lbs and the quietest kid in the hospital.
6. I feel like crying every time I blow out a power supply on my comp.
7. Speaking of crying, I get teary watching Band of Brothers
8. I have an unnatural obsession with "Airwolf"
9. Dear family friends refer to my sister and I as "the cute one and the smart one"
10. I don't date much because I'm too practical to date someone unless I see a decent prospect of marrage
11. I tend to talk too, or not at all. People think I'm manic depressive.
12. I have the best stories of anyone I know
13 I'm very VERY method as an actor
14. Chuck Norris was in my theater a couple of months ago. (Chuck, you're looking a little worse for the wear)
15. Whenever I'm in a store I can't help but think about how to effectively rob it.
16. Riddick is my hero
17. I think my car carries a gypsy curse
18. Thanks to years of camp, I have mastered the 5 minute shower
19. I play violent video games and own guns but ::GASP:: I've never killed anyone..... fuck you Jack Thompson
20. I can drink liquor 'till the world end without a hangover. But beer will make me useless the next day.
Tagging... ... well, I'll think of someone later
1. I'm almost famous at my local bar for singing Irish tunes during St. Patty's day.
2. I regularly work out scenarios for zombie invasions
3. I daydream more than any other person I know
4. I'm more passionate about my daydreams than any other person I know
5. I was born in Burbank after 10 hours of labor (sorry mom
). almost 9 lbs and the quietest kid in the hospital.6. I feel like crying every time I blow out a power supply on my comp.
7. Speaking of crying, I get teary watching Band of Brothers
8. I have an unnatural obsession with "Airwolf"
9. Dear family friends refer to my sister and I as "the cute one and the smart one"
10. I don't date much because I'm too practical to date someone unless I see a decent prospect of marrage
11. I tend to talk too, or not at all. People think I'm manic depressive.
12. I have the best stories of anyone I know
13 I'm very VERY method as an actor
14. Chuck Norris was in my theater a couple of months ago. (Chuck, you're looking a little worse for the wear)
15. Whenever I'm in a store I can't help but think about how to effectively rob it.
16. Riddick is my hero
17. I think my car carries a gypsy curse
18. Thanks to years of camp, I have mastered the 5 minute shower
19. I play violent video games and own guns but ::GASP:: I've never killed anyone..... fuck you Jack Thompson
20. I can drink liquor 'till the world end without a hangover. But beer will make me useless the next day.
Tagging... ... well, I'll think of someone later
Fact: Rapid chain teleportation is like having all of your matter instantaniously squeezed through a hole the size of a photon uphill both ways simultaneously ending up in a cement mixer filled with broken glass and salt.
LOL
LOL
Ok, updates for all...
last few months have been "interesting"
I've been:
Moving, um, thrice
Without DSL on and off
Paying rent on two leases, then one, then two again
etc... etc....
Slowly starting to get worked out, so HOPEFULLY things will be back to normal soon
=Cal
last few months have been "interesting"
I've been:
Moving, um, thrice
Without DSL on and off
Paying rent on two leases, then one, then two again
etc... etc....
Slowly starting to get worked out, so HOPEFULLY things will be back to normal soon
=Cal
::beats head against desk::
I guess things never slow down,
Every time I think I've cleared my plate, something comes along and dumps a bunch more. I just want to have it cleared, just for a little while. I just want to have checks in all my boxes for a day.
I need a vacation
::sigh::
=Cal
customer service = having broken glass doused with tabasco, shoved in your eyes
::EDIT::
"Customer service is like trying to find hay in a needle stack, then tossing the whole lot and your worthless meatsack in a cement mixer" ~Ken O'Neill
I love my co-workers sometimes
I guess things never slow down,
Every time I think I've cleared my plate, something comes along and dumps a bunch more. I just want to have it cleared, just for a little while. I just want to have checks in all my boxes for a day.
I need a vacation
::sigh::
=Cal
customer service = having broken glass doused with tabasco, shoved in your eyes
::EDIT::
"Customer service is like trying to find hay in a needle stack, then tossing the whole lot and your worthless meatsack in a cement mixer" ~Ken O'Neill
I love my co-workers sometimes
