Where have I been?

Hello all you loyal blogger fans, I bet you're wondering where your favorite blogger went, well don't fret, I am still alive, and I am blogging, I have a few reasons for my required absence.

One reason, I haven't been blogging as usual is I don't really have Internet at my place anymore. The reason behind that is my roommate and I was were stealing Internet from our neighbours who I guess got wise to us since they suddenly closed their system down and secured it. It was very polite if you ask me, I mean it's not like we were hurting anybody, and we are poor starving artists just waiting for our big break, but I guess that didn't stop them.

Another reason I haven't been blogging is I've been insanely busy at the moment with stuff...Okay so here's what I've been up to.

1. "It's a Wonderful Life": This has taken priority over my life lately, I've been in rehearsals for it for almost a month now, each rehearsal requires practically the enitre cast which can be about 15 at any given moment. The play is wonderful to do, but I realized right away when rehearsals started it was going to be exhausting which it has been. At the moment, we are at the stage where people are getting off book, we are just about to incorporate a set, with lights and sound soon, then that's where I fear things will get hectic, yet I'm confident in my team and actors. This is definitely the most ambitious project I've ever directed, it feels like an event rather than a play sometimes even though I tried to make it into a more human story. I'm not sure how successful I've been, we open in about two weeks now so I guess it's hard to say at the moment, I guess it's difficult for any project to come out exactly the way you want it. I intend to devote an entire blog entry for "It's a Wonderful Life"

2. "Bullskit": I was part of Bullskit in November, which I sort of regret doing, I love doing it, but once it came to showtime, I was feeling burned out, so many things were going on, I was dividing my attention in four different directions, I was feeling ill and tired doing the show, and it didn't help that this month left on a somewhat bitter note, even though since then the wounds have been healed. We were all just a bunch of people who had a lot on our plate and came together at a time when other things were occupying our minds, it wasn't exactly a time for comedy.

3. "WORK": DAMN YOU BILLS, AND RENT AND INSURANCE AND EVERYTHING! WITHOUT YOU I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORK!. Not that I don't enjoy my job, I just wish I didn't have to go there a lot. I would like to go there on occasion, maybe if I was board and looking for something to do to fill my time, but that's not realistic. I actually do enjoy working at chapters for a day job, it's better than most of the day jobs I have had, yet if it becomes a career, shoot me.

4. "Good Morning: The Movie": Yes, the long talked about dream has finally come into fruition, it has been decided that the first play of mine that was produced for the stage will now be set in front of a camera. Come January, cameras will role on "Good Morning" the film, I cannot lie, I am quite excited about it. I haven't had much time to think about it so far, I've had what amounts to one meeting with a producer, and a few emails back and forth (Imagine my frustration when our Internet suddenly stopped working thanks to our law abiding neighbours). It's quite exciting, since my first endeavor behind the camera, I've often wondered if I could actually direct a film. I'm still not sure and it'll be interesting to find out.

So that's about it, I don't remember the last time I was busy, I wish it wasn't so close to Christmas, it's quite a stressful and busy, but miraculous time, I'm sure I'll appreciate it when I'm old and grey. I won't lie, there is a part of me that can't wait when things die down a bit, and I can once again curl up to a book on my couch, and maybe go see a movie, oh that would be wonderful, untill then I'll try updating my blog as much as possible, enjoy your lives whatever you may be doing, don't forget to stop sometimes and smell the roses.

The Great Zim

I don't think anyone can touch him, he is the epitome of a rock and roll poet, he's also a personal hero of mine so I guess I'm biased, but I mean come on, Bob Dylan is in a class by himself.

Whenever I feel tired or uninspired, Bob Dylan somehow comes into my life, all I have to do is put in "Blonde on Blonde", or "Blood on the Tracks", or "Highway 61 Revisited", and I'm reinvigorated, somehow all those weird wonderful songs, so cryptic yet so heartfelt came from one mind.

Dylan has lived a life of contradictions, he started out as a folk protester, then defied his followers by turning to electric music. After a motorcycle accident, he went into solitude to come out with a mellower tone. He made his most naked and emotional album with "Blood on the Tracks", then he turned christian. By the late nineties, his voice was more grizzled than ever and made a series of modern masterpieces. I've seen him three times in less than seven years on his "never ending tour".

About two months ago, I was going through my endless cd collection and came upon "Blood on the Tracks" which I actually thought was lost and gone, I hadn't heard it in over two years. I put it in my dusty old cd player and laid on my bed while it played, it took me back to a place I longed forgot, it didn't open old wounds like it used to but fond memories. It's probably my favorite Dylan album because in it, I can hear him wailing in pain over a broken relationship, and it was just as I felt, but now as I listen to it, it's more peaceful.

Bob Dylan is still an excellent songsmith, I never get tired of his words, or his voice, he's there when I need him, he's a comfort, a companion, he can be anything I want him to be since he stays so mysterious. All we need is that voice, those words, and that music.