Who said it?

So, I'm at symphony the other night. Nobody really wanted to be there, but we were all being good little children and attending our extracurricular activity so as to not incur the wrath of an angry band director the next day. So -- we played. And played and played and played. With about 20 minutes left in rehearsal, we were about all played out, but diligently kept at it. As we sat there during a quick instructional note from our director, we were treated to a small lecture about qualifcations and good director-ing. The symphony's wind director (Mr. Howard) mentioned that the symphony's string director (Mr. Hartman) was like a mentor to him. Mr. Hartman laughed and immediately shot back with "Yeah, if you add the letters T-O-R to the front of it." He laughed, but we just sat there. Suddenly, little lightbulbs slowly flickered to life above peoples' heads. You could practically hear peoples' brains go "T and then O and then R plus mentor. . . T-O-R-mentor. . . tormenter!" After everybody understood the joke enough to decide that it was simply not funny, everybody in the symphony just groaned. Audible groans, like when sheep run into fences. Someone spoke up, "Mr. Hartman, I expected better from you!", to which Mr. Hartman replied "Look, it wasn't good, but at least it was quick!"

This was the moment for Truman (trumpet) and Bekah (clarinet) to shine and bask in the glory of comedic genius. "Look, it wasn't good, but at least it was quick!" spurred the instant reponse THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID! , echoing throughout the auditorium.

We all knew it was coming, Hartman had set himself up about as perfectly as possible, it was just a matter of waiting for someone to drop the bomb. Everybody just burst out laughing and the entire wind section was crippled for a good 3 minutes. Priceless, truly priceless. . .

ESP Game

Here's an hour long video that I recommend because it is QUITE interesting. Maybe not watch the whole thing because it's so long, but watch through the ESP game.



Now. . . go play the ESP Game.

When the picture pops up, just start typing words that have to do with the picture, as long as they aren't "Taboo Words." When your guess matches your partner's guess, you get points. The goal is to get as many points as possible. SO ADDICTIVE! Plus, the whole point of this game, is that the words you agree on are used to label the pictures on Flicker.com and Google images to make searching for images more accurate. SO FUN! go play now. . .

The Oscars: An Insider's Viewpoint

As you may or may not know, I have a "special business relationship" with Don LaFontaine. Ever since I got in contact with him, I've been receiving newsletters from him, all of which are quite the good read, but not exactly blog material. His most recent one, however, was very interesting and I thought y'all might enjoy it. He was an anouncer at the Oscars the other night and wrote about his experience. I've copied his newsletter into this post, enjoy!

First - to all of you who sent me those very complimentary notes after the show - thank you. I hope you understand that I can't send you all individual notes, but perhaps this will do...

Okay - here's the story of the Oscars:

We had all-day rehearsals (from 8AM to 11PM) on Thursday and Saturday, and Oscar day started at 9AM, to clean up a few elements and to do a complete run- through of the show from 11 to about 2:00.

Biggest pre-show highlight: Tom Cruise arriving to rehearse on Saturday, carrying his exquisite baby daughter, Suri. She is a very well-behaved child, who never made a sound throughout the entire process, and seemed perfectly at ease with all the attention she and Dad were getting. Tom was, as usual, gracious and accommodating - taking time to talk to everybody and smiling all the while. A genuinely nice man.

The rehearsal process was tedious. A lot of stop and go while camera positions and set changes were worked out. Plus, there were long pauses while waiting for the arrival of the presenters. Yes - all but a very few of the stars actually came in on Saturday to walk through their presentation sequence. And all of them were gracious and patient - at least as far as I could see.

Saturday night we had a complete dress rehearsal, using stand-in actors in place of the presenters and recipients. It took about four and a half hours to run the show. In bed by 1AM - and up again at 6 to make it back to the Kodak on Show Day.

Another complete rehearsal - this one as close to time as we could make it - from 11AM to about 2. Then a short break to clean up, get made up and dress for the show.

Gina Tuttle and I were situated at an elevated desk in the wings, just off Stage Right (Audience left) behind the round Oscar Trophy Case. Our script girl, Tina was to our left, ready to handle any changes and to give us our pages of "Walk-ups" - single sheets which contain a brief statement to be read as the winners approach the stage. Every nominee is covered, of course - because we don't know who's going to get the Oscar until they open the envelope.

At 5:30 Pacific time, we went on the air - and it was basically a well-controlled train wreck from there on. To our immediate left was a long red-carpeted aisle, that led out to the backstage space that held the Green Room, a beautifully appointed holding area where the presenters waited to go on. The aisle was illuminated by banks of light for camera, and packed with photographers, friends and family of presenters and nominees, the Oscar girls (the beauties who handed the statuettes to the winners) Densy, the main talent coordinator, and various other stage hands and production people. The noise level was considerable. This was the atmosphere in which Gina and I worked.

When it came time to announce, we opened our microphone and waited for a cue from either the Director, Louis Horwitz, or his assistant, Jim Tanker. While we were announcing, we could hear the constant babble of instructions from the Director's in our headsets, calling for camera changes, set adjustments, etc. It took a great deal of concentration to work with that going on in our ears.

Meanwhile, the parade past our desk was constant. Virtually every performer, presenter and winner walked by at one time or another. During the evening we became a hang-out spot for folks like, Will Farrell, Jack Black and John C, Reilly - John Travolta and Queen Latifah, (Gina held her purse) Reese Witherspoon (Adorable), Leo DiCaprio and VP Al Gore (A very nice man who complimented me on my GEICO spot) George Clooney (who tried to kiss Gina while she was announcing. Much to her credit, she made it without a bobble) The glorious Nicole Kidman and the damn-near as beautiful Hugh Jackman, Tom Hanks and Helen Mirren (another purse to hold)... You get the idea. Near the end of the show, I looked up and saw Steven Spielberg. Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and recent winner Martin Scorsese all standing not two feet away, and all grinning like school kids.

At one point in the program, Ellen Degeneres and I were scheduled to do a little comedy bit on camera. It was to follow the special Oscar presentation to to Ennio Morricone. That segment seemed to go on forever, with Mr. Morricone droning something is Italian, and Clint Eastwood translating. The atmosphere was solemn, almost funereal, and Ellen thought that it was would be inappropriate to do a comedy bit after it (I felt that's just what the show needed at the time!) But she decided to bag the bit, and got up and left, literally ten seconds before we were to go on. That explains the silent cut to commercial after the Morricone presentation. It was a shame. I would have loved to do it. And my family, gathered around the television at home were looking forward to it.

But that's show biz.

The broadcast was, at least in the estimation of those who worked on it, and who knew how incredibly complex it is, a real winner. Everybody was very pleased with how smoothly it went, considering.

Gina and I were invited to the Governors Ball on top of the Renaissance Hotel after the show, but I knew the lines for credentials and the multiple encounters with Security to get there was going to be a nightmare, so I passed. After all - I had already seen virtually every celebrity walk past me not three feet away, and one of them Anika Noni Rose from Dreamgirls (She's the one who hit that incredibly high note at the end of their production number) was actually living in my house (She's like another daughter to me) - so I just packed up and went home, had a drink and passed out - until 5AM when I had to get up and drive to a post production house in Hollywood to add some narration to a 90 minute version of the show that is released to multiple countries, and which was edited during the night.

And that's how it went at the Oscars. It was exhausting, exhilarating, and unforgettable. I don't know if I will be invited back next year, but you'd better believe that I will be there with bells on if I am.

Don LaFontaine

SMACK!

I saw this little clip on a compilation of stupid people videos and it had me in hysterics! I totally expect to get hit in the face with remote control cars when I ride my bike.

Another adventure I plan on having at MIT. . . and one I don't

Ever see a video on the internet and think "That'd be so much fun! But, sadly, I don't have teh technology or the resources to do it. I guess I'll just watch other people do it, *sigh*"

Well, after seeing the following video, I began to think that, but then realized that MIT has to have at least one robotic arm, and how hard could it be to get a racing harness? I'm doing this ladies and gents.



However, the following is something I will never do. This is what happens when people make their own technology and think it'd be a GRAND OLD TIME! Never. Never ever would I do this.



So that's what, 0 to 80 in a quarter second? In my humble opinion, she died. Others disagree, but I have a hard time picturing her brain NOT being crushed into the back of her skull and turning into a gelatenous pool of goo. Plus, even if she did live, can we imagine what would have happened if one of the bungee cords had snapped? Ow.

Star Wars Nerd!!!

There's a difference between geeks and nerds. The main one that comes to mind is that geeks have friends that aren't geeks or nerds, whereas nerds only have friends that are nerds.

You know you're a nerd if your car looks like:

Look Ma! A Beaver!

This just in from Reuters:

Beaver returns to New York City after 200 years

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A beaver has been spotted in New York City for the first time in more than 200 years, marking the return of an animal once vital to the city's economy and then nearly hunted to extinction.

Biologists with the Wildlife Conservation Society in recent days have photographed a North American beaver they named "Jose" in the Bronx River, a once-filthy waterway that runs through the Bronx Zoo and has since been cleaned up.

"There has not been a sighting of a beaver lodge or a beaver in New York City for over 200 years. It sounds fantastic, but one of the messages that comes out of this is if you give wildlife a chance it will come back," said John Calvelli, a spokesman for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo.

The Bronx was once synonymous with urban decay and by the 1970s the Bronx River was used as a dumping ground that was virtually choked off with refuse.

But residents and the city government began to clean it up, an effort aided by $14.6 million (7.4 million pounds) in federal funding secured since 2000 by U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano of the Bronx.

Biologists named the beaver Jose in Serrano's honour, Calvelli said on Friday.
Beaver pelts drove the economy of the former New Amsterdam, when New York City was a Dutch trading post full of trappers. The animal appears on the city seal, which in turn appears on the city flag.

Records show the Dutch purchased 7,246 beaver pelts in 1626 and that by 1671 the renamed New York of British rule traded more than 80,000 pelts a year, Calvelli said.

By 1800, beavers were no longer seen east of the Mississippi River and they were nearly extinct by 1930. Today the species has recovered so much that it has returned to its traditional range, Calvelli said.

All City Music Sample

Tomorrow is the All City Concert at North Salem High School at 7:00 pm. It's definitely worth a visit! Even though you'll have to sit through the orchestra and choir, the band will make it all worth it! Want a little sample of what we're closing the concert with?! Here it is:

LISTEN!

How amazingly cool is that?!?!?! It's so fast, I love it! Anyway, that's what we're playing and you should come listen. It's called "Danse Diabolique." See you tomorrow!

I import my gum, don't you?

Here's a nice, heartwarming story for you!

The summer between 7th grade and 8th grade I travelled to Italy for a school-sponsored trip. We were there for eleven days, and although the Colosseum, Capri, and Venice were all great, there was one thing that made it absolutely amazing. The bubble gum.

I found a delicious brand of bubblegum in Italy the first day and chewed it over and over again for the entire trip. It was soft, pink, and blew the biggest bubbles ever! I went back to the USA expecting to just go to the store and start buying this brand of gum, but alas, they didn't sell it in the US.

I have been without my treasured gum since 2002. This year, a friend of mine has an Italian exchange student. We were chatting and I happened to mention this gum, but I couldn't remember the brand name. But she says "Oh I know exactly what type of gum you're talking about! Big Babol!" And I practically screamed "THAT'S IT!!!"

"I'll just call my parents and have them mail you some!"
"I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!"

That was 2 weeks ago. Guess what I got yesterday!!!!!!



There it is in all of its bubbly glory! Big Babol bubble gum! The best bubble gum in the world, literally. Here are some more shots of it:

Back Side


Front of a 3 pack


Back of a 3 pack

They sent four 3 packs, which is 50 pieces of gum! I was so happy, you have no idea. I finally have my gum back, w00t! Thank you so much Sara! I'm going to go chew gum now. . . .

Bwahahahahaha!!!

Need this comic explained? Go here