2010 Magic City Art Connection

Got a surprise extra while in Birmingham, Alabama this past weekend. Before hitting the Irish music jam session at Sypsey Tavern, I joined up with my buddy Raymond, his wife Paris, and a new friend, Hannah to check out Magic City Art Connection. This is a free art fest similar to Huntsville, Alabama's Panoply Arts Festival, which I attended this time last year and met the Geico Gecko. Creativity and good vibes were everywhere on a pleasant and sunny Saturday afternoon.

First stop was to see Molly Hand and Alabama Academy of Irish Dance perform. Impressive job by some young dancers and cool to see the whole group in their outfits. At the end of their show, they brought anyone interested up on stage for a quick lesson. For some reason, I had no guts this time around. Not to worry. Raymond proudly, kilt and all, took the stage and did quite well.

As you can imagine there was a lot of art covering various mediums. Textured oil paintings to metal sculpture to even tin can airplanes were around for all to enjoy. Here are a handful of notables:

• MJ Villanueva had some very clever textured oil paintings on stretched canvas in a Contemporary style. From owls to fish, to even Picasso influenced guitars this is someone to consider if you're into anything Mod.
• Bart Webb Studios 2010 Abstract Series had some very interesting Industrial/Steampunk metal sculptures with gears, gauges, and tiki-esque wall lamp that looked like something out of Robot Wars.
• Bill Boyett had an interesting style of smooth meets rough/natural carved wood items with a pleasing warmth. The boxes especially were uniquely shaped and textured to make the grain really pop. Think artsy petrified wood and you're close to this style.
  

And what else is great about festivals? Yep, the food. Our group went for the smoked sausages with green peppers and onions. Joke all you want (don't worry, we did too), but sausages were most tasty as was the lemonade. Naturally there was funnel cake, chicken on a stick, Greek offerings, hot dogs, and the usual festival food fair if the above wasn't your thing. Oh, the wonderful smells as you got near the food court. Wow!

With full stomachs and more than a few laughs, we bid Magic City Art Connection adieu. Time for shenanigans, pool, and more at Sypsey Tavern. While waiting for the instrumentalists to arrive we were treated to...more sausage! Free smoked and Conecuh was thrown on the grill for all to enjoy. It was just a random and really fun treat. Also, I'd never heard of Conecuh sausage, which is unique to Evergreen, Alabama. Good stuff, and on the spicy side. Of course, we all had to wait a bit before sampling, since eating at the art festival not long before.

The Irish musicians for the night included one of the members of Jasper Cole, Bagpiper Ryan Morrison, and a bevy of others. Very layed back and fun atmosphere. Perfect for catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones too. Or getting your clock cleaned by your cohorts during a VERY memorable and titillating game of pool. ;)

Some local Jazz musicians followed the Irish folks for a jam session that included Joplin style vocals, wailing sax, and one of the best covers of Come Together I've ever heard. Throw in some Hammond B3/Leslie tones and you had one hell of a good groove session. Great job folks!

Good times? Definitely! Will I be back to Birmingham soon? Definitely! Will my jokes get any better? Definitely not! ;)

Big thanks to everybody for food, drink, and hospitality, and see you again soon.

For more information, check out these good folks:

• Magic City Art Connection (http://www.magiccityart.com/)
• MJ Villanueva, Contemporary Mixed-Media Artist (http://www.newvillageartworks.com/)
• Bart Webb Studios (http://www.bartwebbstudios.com/)
• Bill Boyett Fine Woodworks (boyettw@bellsouth.com)
• Sypsey Tavern (http://www.sipseytavern.com/)
• Conecuh Sausage (http://www.conecuhsausage.com/default.aspx)

Beware of Death Bunnies

Tonight in World of Warcraft was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. My lvl 26 Draenei Priest is standing near the transporter to Darnassas when this little white bunny comes up and challenges for a duel. Turns out to be a masked lvl 54 Death Knight. Since I don't like duels and this was seemingly a slaughter (aka MINE) I declined. You see, when somebody that high challenges somebody way low to duel, it's usually shameless ego or they want honor points for gear. Mostly the former.

"Are you serious? Just right click the icon at the top of the screen and you can get out of the spell," I said. Peter Cottendeath apparently wasn't aware of this and thought a duel was the only way out of his fuzzy predicament. To be fair, it took me a while to figure that out after getting wammyed with transformation spells on several occasions.

Once back to normal, we had a good laugh and talked for a bit. Think I made a friend too. Really was glad to help and not have to duel. Besides, as I told him, it would END me! I'm a Priest with cloth armor for heaven sakes! ;)

Putting Your Life Online

As the days go by, it's more and more common for our lives to flash across the many digital billboards in cyberspace. Whether it be the average "day in the life" or the truly exceptional cross planet jaunt, the blogasphere has you covered.

Don't worry, while there is great wisdom in carefully selecting what and how much you advertise to your digital global neighbors, this isn't a diatribe. Far from it. It's a free form observation of almost two years in the public online scene by a self described "nobody with a blog".

Joining Facebook and Blogging were both scary things for me. Yes, be glad you're sitting down for the revelation that seems to highly contradict my very, ahem, "energetic" nature. Putting more of myself, personal life, info, pictures, movies, etc out to the world at large was a very exposing thing. While I've since gotten used to the notion and barely give it a second thought, the first couple weeks made my skin crawl. Was I doing the right thing? Was too much personal stuff going out? Can any of this be used against me later? All those questions flashed through my grey matter. It was then that I came up with some limits born out of good sense.

While I have griped once in a great while, the majority of what I post, both on the blog, and other mediums is positive. Whether a well wish to a friend or "atta boy" to a company with a great product or service, people can't fault you for saying good things, especially in ways that help them "save face", i.e., the Japanese method. Seeing my random words from random times in Google searches much later cemented this idea. Plus, as the old Southern saying goes, "You get more with honey than you do with vinegar." People and companies remember.

As far as articles for other sites and photos, I try to keep them comical and fun. Same for my personal travels and random experiences. This is entertainment, i.e., a voluntary service after all. Not EVERYTHING I ever do, say, think, feel, or ponder, will wind up here. It would be a combo of too much information, boring, or just plain uncomforatable to others looking for an entertaining escape. Plus, we ALL have skeletons, and while privacy is dwindling, some things, I just don't need to know about others, mainly so I can rest peacefully at night. Anyone reading this will likely concur. Besides, would you REALLY want to know everything about what goes on in your next door neighbors home? No. Translation: Censure, pacing, and hilights are my friends. :)

Since my face is on video and pictures, it's easier to identify me. Or stalk. Or whatever, especially if someone has a beef or an odd fascination. This is risk, even though it's more common and now socially accepted. Since only celebs dealt with this sort of thing years ago, it's a new experience for the everyman/everywoman like you and I. I'm still getting used to this one. Feels kinda itchy, you know?

Occasionally you will have trolls or people who won't hesitate to brutally tell you what they think of you. Why they single you out to unleash their pent up hostilities and insecurities is a mystery, but if you put your life out on the interweb for others to see, this is par for the course. I used to have a YouTube account and closed it because, for whatever reason, folks didn't like my videos. That's fine, I listened to what folks said learned from it. Still stung too.

Conversely, and more often the case here, a lot of very nice people have come out of the woodwork to say some exceptionally nice things about my life and blog. Even my own parents who read regularly. As you guess, to hear the good things really brighten your day and really keep you going. It also tells you that the countless hours of passion you've poured into a particular artform/self expression, have been totally worth it. It also makes you stagger at the countless hours of therapy they'll need after reading your opus. ;)

Like any situation in life, good and bad goes hand in hand. Sometimes there's a whole belt pouch with more of one or the other, waiting to spring out. Putting your life, photos, writings, etc online for the world to see has been a scary, yet over all rewarding experience. Granted, it's a learning thing, but the opportunities doing so has provided, have enriched my life. It's also let me reconnect with dear old friends, classmates, and meet even more interesting people. It's also made me more active and forced me to learn more about tourism, the hospitality industry, and the off shoots of the amusement industry. Learning and growth are very good things.

Well, now you have my perspective from a few mile markers in the public journey. Hopefully, this helps you in some way. :)

Tribble and Tweet Anatomy

Saw these fascinating links on Twitter the past couple days and had to repost. These finds are courtesy of tech gurus Veronica Belmont and Cali Lewis. Enjoy!

Veronica Good morning! Here's what the inside of a Tribble looks like, in case you were wondering: http://bit.ly/a3A8Ht

CaliLewis I love this - http://bit.ly/cbOSA3 What the backend of a tweet looks like.

Blogging Buffet & Nerdly News April 2010

And now the randomness that is my life...now in bite-sized, nugget style chunklets.

• I've been back in Huntsville, Alabama a couple weeks now. In some ways, it feels the same, others, very different. Overall, kinda limbo-ish. Regardless, I'm VERY thankful for a stable roof over my head.
• Got out to a Lee High (Huntsville) Alumni dinner not long ago. Sure, I was the youngest one there, but talking about the old high school with other grads from various years was a real treat. Special thanks to Lisa Fiske Schrimsher for organizing the meet and warm hospitality. Interested in the next dinner? Check out the Facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1509275062&ref=profile#!/group.php?gid=91286417789.
• Job hunt continues with friends checking on leads. Been out walking and talking quite a bit and may have one possibility. We'll see.
• Reconnected with an old dinner group from a few years ago this past weekend. Great to see those folks still going strong and meet some interesting new people as well.
• I'm working out more regularly and keeping up with the walking begat by CityWalk and Downtown Disney. Hiked a trail around Point Mallard water park in Decatur, Alabama this past Sunday with a friend who is an accomplished runner. After 2 hours and about 6 miles, this newbie's legs were Jello...and Heather was laughing at the wimp next to her. The Ruby Tuesday salad bar was deemed the fitting and healthy way to finish up the time. Humorously, I was craving ice cream and buffalo wings during the breezy, sunny, perfect day. Go figure, right?
• Slowly getting better at typing on iPod Touch and considering an iPhone as a Blackberry replacement in the future. Blackberry will be 2 in October and has served me VERY well. I've just really taken to Touch convenience and the way I operate the blog has changed. Plus, I'm interested in iPhone's GPS capabilities and updated cameras, both front and back. And to the Coaster Crew and Disney folks there in Orlando with smug Cheshire Cat grins, yeah yeah, you told me so. ;)
• Stopped by the US Space and Rocket Center not too long ago to see what was new. They're gearing up for the big Star Wars exhibit coming in June. I think this will be a big draw over the summer and be good for the local economy, especially since a similar exhibit at The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum years ago was jam packed.
• Speaking of Star Wars, a high school buddy of mine recently joined the 501st Storm Troopers and suggested I check out a couple events in May. Oh no...not at all. Chris, great to get back in touch and delighted to come out. So, can I get a pic with Greedo and R2? That would be cool...huh huh uh...
• On the Warcraft front, progress continues with the new Draenai Priest. Definitely more efficient and focused development...and the LAST time I start a new character! Seriously! While the newness is awesome, the spin up time is a grind. Draenai Priest and Forsaken Warlock will be the mains from here on.
• The good folks at Imagicopter have a new and promising online magazine in development. If you follow their book tours and accomplished authors, Imagyro will be a welcome read. You might even find a random wacko park enthusiast in there somewhere. ;)
• Do I miss Florida? Absolutely! (especially since all the new Vinylmations just came out). Cosmically speaking, however, I'm exactly where I need to be and doing what is necessary to grow. I get little reminders daily that Orlando is still very much a possibility for living and working and this quest is far from over. What happens in the interim or how long that will be is anyone's guess. Right now, I'm just going with the flow, refining my techniques, reducing my excess, and growing as much as possible, hopefully into a better and more capable person. I can say with gentle grin and content heart, I am close. That's a damn good feeling too. :)

2010 Clash of the Titans Review

Recently I saw my first of the new gen 3D movies and a remake of a
childhood fave, Clash of the Titans. Upon originally hearing of this
update, my first thoughts were "Uh oh. Please don't let them taint
this movie the way the 80's He-Man cartoon was mocked for being
effiminate and how Rainbow Brite has mysteriously become a sex symbol
in her later years and further pushed the sales of leg warmers to a
whole new audience." Thankfully, this movie did not mock nor taint my
childhood. It, in fact, stood on it's own as an enjoyable retelling
of a classic tale...even with some thin spots.

We'll start with Perseus. Unlike the curly haired Harry Hamlin of the
days of yor, our updated hero has more of a Russle Crow in Gladiator
meets Transporter Jason Statham look. He also has a chip on his
shoulder because Hades decided to randomly fireball his adopted
family, drowning them in their own fishing boat. We'll call this "How
Perseus got his story back."

This time around, our hero winds up in Argos, instead of Joppa,
hanging out with Burgess Meredith and getting hooked up with
invisibility helm, shield, and magic sword (sword comes later in a
forest scene along with Pegasus). Perseus is brought to a very cheeky
royal gathering, that mocks the Gods and plays out the whole
"Andromeda must be sacrificed to the Kracken" set-up. This time Hades
is demanding justice for said cheekyness verses a goddess demanding
justice for her shamed son, Calibos. Oh, and now it's widely known
that Perseus is a demi-god.

Speaking of Calibos, since Perseus is the sneaky offspring of Zeus
(played by Liam Neeson aka Qui Gon Jinn) and a duped queen, the
enraged king becomes the monster. How does he get this way? Oh, a
lightening strike while tossing his murdered wife's and bastard son's
casket off a seaside cliff. It seems cursing the playful God's will
not only turn you ugly via supernatural electro bolt, but it will
also make you insanely agile and strong. Like Mr. Hyde in League of
Extrodinary Gentlemen agile and strong. Seriously, Cal 2.0 can dish
some mythic beat-down, even after his hand gets cut off. And no,
since it's a different person, there's no jealous love thing for
Andromeda like in the 80's film.

Speaking of love interests, instead of a watchful mechanical owl
keeping Perseus' back, there's a lovely and ageless demi goddess
instead. You'd THINK he'd be after the Andromeda hook-up, right?
Well, they left that in the trunk with the mechanical owl in Argos.
Also a great nod to the original Clash of the Titans that gave us a
laugh in the theatre.

We'll break for a moment to discuss the visuals and 3D. Both were
inspired and impressive. It was like watching the "in your face"
Mickey's Philharmagic with sweeping Lord of the Rings style locales.
Using things like real volcanic craters, etc, was a good way to set
up scenes that went to places in the underworld. One got a good sense
of size, scale, and awe at places like Mount Olympus and the seaside
city of Argos. Nicely done and loved the opening scenes with the
constellations especially.

Just like before, Perseus must seek the Stygian Witches to figure out
how to take down the Kraken (On a side note I'm REALLY fighting
impulses for an Ask A Ninja reference here. You know the one.)
Instead of a cave, the witches have new hand shaped digs at the top
of a creepy mountain. As my dad pointed out, it reminded one of "The
Awakening" statue near The Mall, in Washington DC. The updated
witches are bulbous, creepy, still blind, need a good dentist, and
ALARMINGLY fast and agile. Sorry old witches, but if I can out run
you, you have no power, nor does that crystal paper weight you call
The Eye. Yes, the new Eye is a big eyeball with optic nerve, ripped
out of who know's what. Altogether now: ewwwww.

Remember the giant scorpion scene where Calibos stabs the bag with
Medusa's severed head and the blood creates the monsters? Ok scratch that. When mutant king loses his hand, the dripping blood brings the scorps out of the dessert while he takes off. After some nausiating bug busting, we discover the scorpions are controlled by Ginn, aka bark-skinned Genies who are the arbor day answer to Chewbacca in this movie. We also discover that giant scorpions make some of the coolest riding mounts ever. Seriously, where can I get one of these beauties in World of Warcraft? Also, there's a very subtle ode to the giant Steampunk mech spider from Wild Wild West. Nice touch.

Now it's off to bribe The Ferryman on The River Styx to get to
Medusa's lair. (Yeah, we'll skip the band jokes too here.) I like
what they did with the new Ferryman. Imagine a very tall, lanky
skeletal figure mixed with a dead twisted tree, fused to a cross
between an Venetian gondola and a dingy from Pirate's of the
Caribbean's Flying Dutchman. Oh, and it's pulled by some very wet,
grey dead people. This isn't some hooded skeleton prop folks. This
will turn you white! If this ever came out as a detailed collector
piece, I'd buy it. Very cool concept and detail.

Time for the Medusa scene. She's still snakey, still wicked fast with
a bow, still strong enough to break stone with her tail, and still
turns guys to stone. But now, she's...pretty? Yes. And with a
slightly sexy and unnerving laugh that echos throughout her huge,
flame chasmed temple. Yes, she's pretty, until she pulls a Large
Marge when someone looks at her. Then, not so much. Even so, you feel sorry for her in a way, despite her impending fate via a modified reflective shield made from scorpion shell.

Remember Pegasus? Well, to make him (or is it her?) more edgy and
strong, Peg is now The Black Stallion...with wings. This is one
update that didn't really seem to make a difference but if you wanna
change colors on the horse, so be it. It flies. It whinnies. 'Nuff
said.

And now, the grand poobah, the Kracken, or the "Oh my God it's the
size of several city blocks, makes Godzilla look like a puppy, and
we're just plain screeeeeeeeewed!" monster. Truly, the size and scale of this beastie was cleverly coupled with the shear power and fear factor of recent weather disaster movies. It left one filled with dread and that there's nowhere to hide. Even the random hippie/zealot/Hades cultist who scalded his hand to inspire people, soiled his armor at the sight of this thing. In Southern terms, it's a big'un and a far cry from a merman with 4 arms and a long tail in the original.

To sum up, I liked this 2010 Clash of the Titans and think some of
the updates were very good. The original will always be a favorite
because I grew up with it, but the update is a worthy tale that
stands on it's own. It's also pretty impressive in 3D. Check it out
and see for yourself.

An Irish Night in Birmingham

Last weekend on the way back to Huntsville, Alabama, I had a chance to stay with some dear friends in Birmingham. As part of the "Hey! How've you been!" we went out for a night at Still Water Pub. It was there I saw not only more good souls from my friends' wedding, but old high school mates. Met some great new friends too.

I'd heard Jasper Coal mentioned quite a few times over the past couple years, but never seen a show. Needless to say, these guys put out some spirited Irish music that made you want to toast, dance, drink and get rowdy. Are they talented? Definitely! They really enjoy what they do, and that carries over so well during the show. So much so, the curious from the next room would walk in and stay for a song. Then they'd realize they were in a room full of crazy Irish and Scots, kilts, Guiness and all. Hearty times and fine music indeed.

It gets better.

During the evening The Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band played some stirring and inspired marches. This band consisted of bagpipers (just a couple this night), a snare drummer, and a bass drummer (a Cleopatra-haired, enthusiastic gal named Boom Boom who is just plain cool across the board). I'm told there are several bagpipers accompanying Ryan Morrison, a very accomplished master in the state of Alabama. Like, Jasper Cole, these folks kept it fun and lively. They also put out a very moving rendition of Amazing Grace.

Oh wait, there's more.

During all this revelry, Molly Hand, of the Alabama Academy of Irish Dance, jumped up for some impromptu accompanying dance. Think River Dance and it's that style. Molly not only danced as entertainment at my friend's wedding a couple years ago, but she is a teacher at the Academy and master in her own right.

Toward the end of the night I bumped into a high school buddy of mine, local Birmingham musician Derek Nolin. Derek just recently formed an 80's cover band that sounds promising for those of us in the Keytar set. With Derek's theatre and music background, this should be a fun show. Congrats to him and will check out the show soon.

As you can see, this night was an Irish Hat Trick of just good old fun and entertainment. It was also a big treat. If you enjoy anything Celtic, Irish, Scottish, Ren Faire, or the like, check out all these good folks.

Big thanks to Jasper Coal, Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band, Molly Hand, and Still Water Pub for a great job and excellent hospitality!

Here's where to get your Irish eyes a smilin':
Jasper Coal - http://www.jaspercole.com/
Ian Sturrock Memorial Pipe Band - http://ismpb.com/
Alabama Academy of Irish Dance - http://www.aaiddance.com/home.htm