Bloggy-blogging

Live-blogging: Domino’s order via Pizza Tracker

The unerringly on-target actress Minda Grace Ware (catch her in the final weekend of “Shanghai Moon”) and I decided we wanted some Domino’s pizza for lunch. So we decided to use the world wide wubbernets to order our pizza. It turns out dominos.com has a handy Pizza Tracker (patent pending) so you can follow the progress of your order from the moment you order to the moment it arrives on your doorstep. It even tells you who is working on your pizza!

What fun!

But remember: Domino’s Pizza says “You got 30 minutes”. But do we, really? Read on!

What follows is our back-and-forth on Facebook as we watched the Pizza Tracker:

12:58pm – Minda’s status update: Minda and Corey’s pizza is almost on “BAKE”!! thanks Dominos!

1:00pm – Corey: Come on Criselda! Prep that pizza!

1:12pm – Corey: “Criselda put your order in the oven at 1:10 PM.”
15 minutes of prep! That is one well-prepared pizza!

1:13pm – Minda: it better have a golden crust i tell ya…with REAL GOLD!

1:15pm – Corey: WHAT THE–?
It went from bake to box to delivery in 4 minutes.
“Our delivery expert, John, left the store with your order at 1:14 PM”

1:19pm – Minda: undercooked, overprepped…sounds like my last date.

1:28pm – Corey: So… hungry…
30 minutes… almost up…

1:29pm – Minda: yeah…where the heck is “Our Delivery Expert, John”??? he’s eating our half pepperoni pizza, that’s where!!

1:31pm – Minda: is it free yet?

1:39pm – Corey: Hard to tell when they hang up on you.

1:40pm – Minda: amazing how quickly our Pizza Rush turned sour with Bad Customer Service, no?

1:41pm – Corey: Google maps says it should take 4 minutes. Factor in some time for traffic and… he’s still MIA.
I hope he’s enjoying our overprepped, undercooked pizza.

1:44pm – Corey: It’s here! We’re eating!
Praise be St. John of Domino!

2:01pm – Minda: i need a nap…pizza coma…

Corey makes like Gorey

Here’s some pictures taken from Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre with Poe and Gorey. Most of these are from the rehearsal earlier in the day before the performance Saturday night, October 18th. Accompanied by excerpts from The Listing Attic and The Fatal Lozenge by Edward Gorey.

Photos by Dani Ballew.

Here I am trying to keep my face from falling off while director Jeffrey Schoenberg gives us notes before we get started. (more…)

LA Times calls Drama After Dark a Weekend Pick

Today’s Los Angeles Times calls this Saturday’s “Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre with Poe and Gorey” as a Weekend Pick:

Actors from the Guild of St. George troupe should scare the pants off you with a dramatic presentation of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Edward Gorey on the moonlit grounds of the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, natch. “Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre With Poe and Gorey” will feature more than a dozen works by the spooky pair, including “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” and “The Evil Garden.” 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. 6-10 p.m. Sat. $25-$30. Recommended for ages 10 and up. (626) 405-2128, www.huntington.org.

It’s also listed in The Guide as a Best Bet:

Over a dozen chilling tales by Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gorey will be acted out on the grounds of the Huntington: “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Gashleycrumb Tinies,” “The Evil Garden” and more. The actors of the Guild of St. George promises to give you goosebumps. Not suitable for children younger than 10.

I’ll be there! Will you?

A rather odd couple

Here’s a little preview of what sort of oddities you’ll experience at Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre with Poe & Gorey: 

This is from Edward Gorey’s The Listing Attic, which is full of characters that range from murderous to lecherous to just plain peculiar. It is one of five Gorey stories we’ll be performing on October 18th at The Huntington starting at 6 PM. More details here.

Tickets are selling out fast, if they aren’t already, so call 626-405-2128 to make reservations. I hope you’ll be able to make it.

(Thanks to BookLust for the image scan.)

The Funkiest Proposition Ad Ever?

So, apparently there’s some political stuff going on?

Here in California, there’s going to be a proposition on the ballot to stop cruel treatment of farm animals. The Yes! on Prop 2 people have put together this animated music video to the tune of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. It’s kind of bizarre but probably the most fun way you could address this topic without grossing out everyone.

Anyone know who the “Stevie Wonder” voice is? I always wonder who does that stuff.

(Oh and check back for news of the latest improv show and also a cool Halloween-themed show!)

Friends Do Stuff

And now a YouTube video that isn’t from a movie you might’ve seen, and that has nothing to do with me. Well, except for me being happy to see my friends doing inspiring work.

This scene is the directorial debut of my friend Enci, a great actress who I got to work with on Voices From Chornobyl. This scene also shows off the humbling acting skills of my good friend and former fellow Foe Pa-ian Aaron Lyons. Cindy Marie Jenkins, another talented friend of mine who I’ve worked with in the past, edited this piece. The actress is Kiva Jump, who I don’t know but she certainly does great work.

Tonight’s Viewing: A Fish Called Wanda

I hadn’t watched this movie maybe in 10 years. It was great to see it again.

The whole sub-plot of Michael Palin’s stuttering character trying to bump off an old woman has a wonderfully reminiscent of classic Looney Tunes.

And of course, this scene between Palin and John Cleese:

Love it.

Tonight’s Viewing: 50 First Dates

Pop Quiz: What is to The Wedding Singer, as You’ve Got Mail is to Sleepless In Seattle?

Yes, that’s right, 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore! They’re together again creating more romantic comedy as you like it!

When this was originally released I couldn’t be bothered. It just cried out as a desperate attempt to mechanically reconstruct a previous success.

Flash forward four years. A friend insists I watch it. It’s a fun date movie, she says. She lends me her copy.

Flash forward several months later, during which time I still couldn’t be bothered.

I started to feel guilty I still have her copy, so I finally watched it.

After a serviceable opening establishing Adam Sandler’s character as a deceptive womanizer, things get pretty rough. Some really forced attempts at humor that pretty much fall hard and flat. Walrus vomit. Sexual androgyny. Rob Schneider. Hoo doggy, what fun.

Then Drew Barrymore’s character shows up and meets Adam Sandler’s character. And in tip-toes a song from The Wedding Singer soundtrack. What a coincidence!

Just as I’m starting to regret the invention of the DVD player, it finally gets to its premise, and things start to sort of settle in. And then a charming little movie comes out for a while. And hey, it’s Dan Aykroyd! Sadly underutilized, but still. Unfortunately there are lapses back to walrus and penguin tricks and Rob Schneider’s butt crack, but there’s just enough heart to carry through to the end. (Probably not with a second viewing, though.)

Disclaimer: Tolerance for the two leads is required, which I realize is tough for some. Your miles will vary wildly with this one. Like I said, it’s not a classic but it had its moments.

So, that’s my hearty recommendation! Happy Viewing!

Tonight’s Viewing: The Princess Bride

Another movie I haven’t watched since I was a wee lad. Perhaps the best scene:

Some really fun writing in there.

Wallace Shawn is so great as the “genius” Vizzini. I love his bemused “hm” after being told about iocane powder, and his giddy excitement just before taking the final drink when he thought he’d won. Great deliveries throughout.

Poor Robin Wright had to sit there blindfolded through this entire scene. I wonder if she ever fell asleep.

And I’m pretty sure Prince Humperdinck and Count Rugen had a secret gay love affair going on. Obviously the true motivation behind his plot. This is the scene that tipped me off:

Oh the sub-text!

Comic Shop Experience

The Australian band Tripod has tapped into a universal experience so eloquently that it must be shared.

(Thanks to Richard Starkings for sending this to me.)