What did I do this weekend? Well, I whipped it out of course... my iaito that is. Why what did you think I was talkin' about? Perv.

New York Budokai, my iaido dojo, was invited to perform a demonstration at the Asian American Heritage Festival out in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. It had been a while since our group had even participated in a demo and as an intermediate member, this one would be my first. I have never been a performer and I could say I was a little nervous, but when I got out there I felt relatively calm (of course, it probably helped that I wasn't wearing my glasses and couldn't see a damn thing). That's not to say I didn't screw up a little bit. I took a wrong step in one of my forms and I missed a block doing irohauchi.

"Really? Irohauchi? You don't say..." Irohauchi is a partner form where you basically beat on each other with a pair of sticks called bokken. The form is choreographed and ideally, you and your partner are so syncopated that you don't lay a finger on each other. I lost my rhythm, as ADD people often do, and Deborah Sensei caught me on the arm. Thankfully, she was holding back.

Outside of that I did pretty well and, hey... I had fun.

UPDATE: Beth did such a wonderful job taking pictures and videos from the demonstration that decided to post them on their own site. Check them out here.

Posted by Thom at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This past weekend, our good friends Jenn Colella and Jeny Foote were married. Jeny and Beth were best friends growing up in Sacramento and, while their lives have taken them in different directions, some friendships just never quite fade. And so Beth was honored when, along with the other "theatre kids," she got to dust off her pipes and take part in the ceremony.

An intimate gathering that brought together people from all over and all walks of life, it was a beautiful and thoughtful ceremony. And while their union is yet to be recognized by the government, their love is not only recognized but celebrated by their friends and family (awww...). Congratulations, Jenn and Jeny!

Posted by Thom at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love video games. Always have. Always will. And with the exception of a few years in high school when I thought I was too cool for them (I'm not), I have always owned one of the generational game consoles. For a long time, I was a strict Nintendo loyalist. But, despite their graphical improvements with that bouncing plumber, I began to get bored. This time around I wanted to try something different, so I ask for and got an Xbox 360.

With an excellent game library and relatively decent physical and interface design (especially for being a Microsoft product) I have been very happy with my Xbox. That is, until last night...

In a hurry to get their next generation console to market a full year ahead of Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft rushed through their engineering process and shoved a flawed piece of hardware out the door and onto market. As a result, many early Xbox 360 owners have been plagued by a catastrophic system failure, designated by three flashing lights known as the "red ring of death." Last night, after a nearly a year and a half of relative peace and joy, that red eyed specter paid me a visit. Sigh...

This problem is so pervasive, that Microsoft agreed to extend the hardware warranty by 2 years, and I directly benefit as a result. With little debate or argument, Microsoft customer service agree to repair/replace my console free-of-charge, including the shipping. Of course, it might have helped that I was calling them at 1AM and they wanted to go home. I'm pissed, but at least Microsoft is taking responsibility.

This marks my third (and hopefully final) major electronics failure this year. I'll keep you up-to-date as developments unfold (since I'm sure you're dying to know). In the meantime, I guess I'll start using our Wii.

Posted by Thom at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After 6+ years of hard work, headaches, self-doubt and sacrifice (mostly on my part) Beth successfully defend her doctoral thesis today.

When Beth had just started to consider going back to school seven years ago, she knew it would take a lot of time and effort. And even with that realistic perspective, she almost ran out of steam before accomplishing her goal. By the time her coarse [sic] work officially ended and she began her internship with the Manhattan VA, Beth was well ahead of the curve but burning herself out in compiling her research and processing the data. Working nights and weekends on her dissertation — all the while working full-time — she managed to get her thesis done and copies of its 100+ pages to her review board this month. That same review board (after a severe paddling) granted her passage into the realm of doctor-hood today. Beth Manning, Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (that's a PhD, baby). Congratulations, Beth!

Posted by Thom at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I recently stumbled across a little web gem that I thought was worth sharing. Stuff White People Like is blog written for white people, about white people and all the while making fun of white people... and really, if we don't make fun of ourselves, who will? The best part of the site is its running list of whitey favorites that include such truisms as Oscar parties, organic food and Barack Obama. If we where to use this site as a measure, I myself am about 80-85% white. Try it for yourself.

Posted by Thom at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

While I haven't had much to write about lately, I have taken the time to give the old blog a little spruce up. It doesn't look like too drastic a change but, I thought a little modernizing was in order. I cal it the "lozenge look." Enjoy.

Posted by Thom at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Even if it's tear-your-hair-out, fill-your-ears-in-with-cement bad, theatre can be expensive proposition in New York. When garbage like Mamma Mia! feels inexplicable justified in charging its patrons $230 a pop for orchestra seats, you can imagine how a truly sublime theatre experience might hit your wallet. Needless to say, Beth and I tend to save up our entertainment dollars for what we can only hope are worthy shows.

So, when we found out that Patrick Stewart (yes, that Patrick Stewart) was staring in Macbeth we decided it was time to empty out the change jar again. I saw Mr. Stewart over 10 years ago in a brilliant staging of Shakespeare's Tempest that may still be my favorite theatre experience of all time. I have always loved Macbeth as a written play, but every staging I have ever seen has been a disaster (Macbeth in revolutionary Cuba? — I don't think so).

This version of Macbeth puts the play in a white-tiled post-industrial basement that, when lit by the harsh monochromatic lighting, is every bit reminiscent of a morgue. Stark, sterile and yet somehow still dirty, the space makes for an appropriate atmosphere for one of Shakespeare's bloodiest plays. Mr. Stewart, of course, was superb. It is absolutely amazing to hear Shakespearean dialog delivered in a fluid, conversational manner that still retains its gravity. None of his time on stage is wasted — even standing on the sidelines distractedly contemplating a beer bottle, his posture and body language holds meaning for Macbeth. And it can be said that most of the cast had every right to share the stage with him. [Spoiler alert!] When Macduff, played by Michael Feast learns of his families' massacre at the hands of Macbeth, he so convincingly displays his shock and grief that the audience can't help but pity him. The only real disappointment of the show was Lady Macbeth as performed by the understudy. Lady Macbeth as role should never been taken lightly and few actresses are up to performing this nuanced and flawed character. I was really looking forward to seeing a strong Lady Macbeth and, while the understudy made an admirable attempt, the best I can say is she knew her lines (but not the part). It was still amazing bit of theatre.

Posted by Thom at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)