My Thoughts Are My Own

...the whoreporation...

2006-08-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

We are human beings. We are being assimilated. Existence as we know it is over. They are adding our biological and technological distinctiveness to their own. Our culture is adapting to service them. Resistance ... is futile.

Or is it.

...all good things...

2006-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

After many months of planning and preparation, rehearsals, crazy times, stressful times, fun times, Suburban Motel has come to an end. It passed by so quickly and ended so abruptly. But it went amazingly. Congrats to the cast and crew. It was a blast, and man, was it good. I sat thru nine hours of George F. Walker, watching my peers show off how good they were. I saw things come out of everyone on that stage that I had never seen from any of them. Everyone proved themselves, especially after they overcame the small time-frame we had to get it ready. Adrian tells no lie when he says that directing has a satisfaction like none other. When the lights closed on those shows (particularly the ones I played a part in), I wanted to wheep. But that's not manly so I didn't. I said earlier I sat through nine hours of theatre, that was wrong. I was entertained for nine hours, forgetting how much time had past.

Thank you Sam. Thank you Derek. Thank you Melissa. Thank you Furr. Thank you Janelle. Thank you Marietta. Thank you MacQuarrie. Thank you Alex. Thank you Harmony. Thank you Peter. Thank you Coolsy. Thank you Foffinator. Thank you Claire. Thank you Lindsday. Thank you Giz. Thank you Drew. Thank you Kim. Thank you Dusan. Thank you Dewy. Thank you Brendan. Thank you Jess. Thank you Dez. Thank you Gayle. Thank you Tara. Thank you Steve. And to you Adrian -- Thanks man. You're the best.

Suburban Motel may be over but I will never forget it. I worked with two great casts on two great shows in a series of six great shows. I had fun. I learned more than I ever thought I would.

Thank you. All of you.

...Eeeenteresteeeeng...

2006-01-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Check this out. This is the coolest thing I've ever seen, which shows the true excitement of my life none of you ever get to see. Hours of mindless fun, if of course it works on your computer.

...I direct your attention to an Automatic Thought...

2006-01-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

I made an ass of myself today, unintentionally. This happens often, although today I really felt like an ass. My buddy Foff sent me a link to his latest blog, which I had already seen on his MSN name. I had opened his site and meant to read it, then got distracted. When he sent me the link, I said to him, "Read it. Liked it." I hadn't read it. I was lying. But I had intended to read it. I made a few dumb jokes, then realized after reading it that his latest blog wasn't something that I should have liked reading. And it wasn't something that I should have been joking about either. I seemed callous and uncaring. That is not me. I'm sorry Foff buddy. And I got your back, no matter what you need.

Foff and Will's family have asked for your prayers. Some of you don't pray. If you don't then please provide positive energy and thoughts in exchange.

Please read Foff's blog.

PS -- When I said I liked it, it was kinda true. It was very well written. The Foffinator is capable of extreme cleverness.

... ...

2006-01-12T22:41:00.000-08:00

How we deal with life when everything is perfect and working according to plan does not show who we really are. It's how we deal with life when the shit hits the fan that defines us.

We all make mistakes. The only way to truly fix them is to learn from them.

Wise words. From a lush.

...I wish...

2005-12-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

That there was more Christmas porn. I'm not sure how much of it there is out there, but if there's a demand, maybe one day I'll supply this demand. My first film will show something about society as well, the dirty sleazy underbelly of society, showing the life of a hooker who's dealing with a Christmas rush, trying to stay warm in there short skirt and low cut shirt. I will call it Prosty the Dirty Snow Whore. And it will win not only pornography awards, but also Oscars and Emmy's and MTV Movie Awards because of it's deep social commentary. Finally.

Something for everyone.

...they say...

2005-11-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

...you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Take it from me.

It's true.

...I may not be in school, but...

2005-10-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

...I can still have an opinion about some of the things that go on there, especially if they affect me in some way. So I hear that the rule that you can't be in an outside show if you're in a university show was a rumor. That's great. Awesome. And I hear that my buddy has a different acting prof right now for his 4th year class because the prof who he's supposed to have is down at the coast workshopping a play she wrote with four others. Good for her. Don't get me wrong I love this instructor, I love all of the theatre profs at TRU. They've been great to me. I completely support her in her endeavors and I hope that they have fun workshopping a play. You go, girl.

What I DO NOT support is that this prof has been allowed to leave her job for a week or two, or more (how long she's gone for I do not know), while three members of Saucy Fops: The Musical? WERE NOT allowed to miss the first two weeks of school while we did the Vancouver run. One of them was allowed to, but with much hassle. Need I remind you that these students only need to worry about themselves and their studies (one individual) while an instructor has responsibility over 30 or 40 students (many individuals). This double standard outrages me.

As I said, I'm not a student any more. And as I said, I love those teachers and support them. But it's not okay with me if those students have rules put on them that the instructors are allowed to bypass. If they could have done the Vancouver run, then this whole issue I have would not exist.

...this may be old news but...

2005-10-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

...some things can not just be let go of. Does everyone remember how the premier of this province, Mr. Gordon Campbell, was arrested in Hawaii for drunk driving? I do. And while everyone says that we should let go of the past and look towards the future, I disagree by saying the past is where the facts are. This man is the political leader of B.C. As we all know, drinking and driving is ILLEGAL. Sure, people make mistakes, but they should not be making these kind of mistakes when they are LEADERS. I don't care what you did before you were in office, but it's time to grow up. And if memory serves, he was let off the hook. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, if he was busted for drinking and driving, there'd be a jail sentence involved. Come on, drinking and driving kills people. If this man can't obey the law, how can he run our province? What other crimes can these people get away with? If you're rich and the leader of a province, territory or nation, does that mean that you can get away with murder? Child molestation? Insider trading? They already get away with theft every day. Man, I can't wait until I'm one of the upper class and I can get away with anything I want. And if I'm popular enough, the mass public will forget about it in a couple years, and if it's brought up again, others will say, "Oh that's old news. It's in the past." What a bullshit fucking world.

...you're not going to believe this but...

2005-10-07T01:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I am tall and lanky, a scrawny dude. 6 months ago I was blessed with the knowledge that I have reached the weight of 180 lbs. Today, I was blessed again to hear that I, creator of the Stu Dance, have reached the big two oh oh el bee es. That's right, 200 lbs. Be proud, but be scared. Cause this tubby lank is hungry and may come for you!

...all of us, fools...

2005-09-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Many of us saw the Star Wars series in theatres or on our TV's, but in each case, money was most likely spent by someone. And for what? To see a Republic based on principles such as justice and freedom twist itself into an evil Empire based on corruption, consumption, and power, as well as the conquering of other people's land and resources.

We are a bunch of idiots to have spent money to see this.

We see it for free here in our own lives as we watch the United States and it's buddies "liberate" the world, killing people under a banner of freedom and justice while it slowly takes over the world.

Thankfully, in Star Wars, a rebellion came forth that was able to destroy the evil Empire.

...ponder this...

2005-09-12T00:41:00.000-07:00

It took us 125 years to use the first trillion barrels of oil.

We'll use the next trillion in 30.

So why should you care?

And can you believe that most of one of North America's largest and most popular cities is now underwater? Natural disaster can strike at any time whenever it pleases. Maybe Nature is trying to tell humanity to grow the fuck up.

...Vancouver...

2005-09-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Saucy Fops opened "Saucy Fops: The Musical?" last night for our Vancouver run, and all and all it was a pretty good show. Our Stage Manager and one of our actors were brand new and did pretty well considering they had two days to learn the show. I was happy that I wasn't worried about anything during the performance, it felt like a regular run. Well done Rob and Andrea. Although we do miss you Brandon and Jess. And Gisella. And Bronwyn. Man, we keep losing people along the way and picking up new ones. Oh well. Everyone holds their own pretty well.

...it only gets better...

2005-09-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

Not only was Saucy Fops titled the Patron's Pick at the Toronto Fringe with "...articulate", and Top of the Top 10 in the Critics Pick in Sasktoon with the "Saucy Fops: The Musical?", but today the were awarded the Best Comedy award in Victoria, selected by the votes of those who attended the shows at the Fringe (just so you know, none of us voted, so all 8 of us couldn't vote for ourselves). In the morning we head off to Vancouver, after selling out two shows in Victoria.

...fops update...

2005-09-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

For any of you who may be interested in how the Saucy Fops are doing in Victoria on the Fringe, here's an update. We haven't had a house of less than 40 our entire run here in town. Tonight (Friday September 2) we had 103 people in the audience. That's 3 more than our venue normally can seat. We had to turn away 20 people who were in line, as well as any others who may have come to see it but saw it was busy and decided to go elsewhere. We've already surpassed our total house count from our Saskatoon run, and we have one more show to go. Wicked. We've also been getting some good reviews. Three reviews came out on Wednesday, all of which rate on a scale of 5 stars. First we read the Times Colonist, which gave us 3 1/2 stars. No great, but not bad either. Then we read the Monday Magazine that gave us 4 stars. Then the topper was the Penninsula Times that gave us 5 stars. So all in all, Saucy Fops: The Musical? is rocking it up here in Victoria. Thanks Cayman and Terri for the awesome experience. And when we're done here there's still Vancouver. Gonna be pretty depressed when it's all done and finished. For any of you interest in coming down to Van to check us out, go to www.saucyfops.com for our dates.

...later...

2005-07-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Although my blog entries are few and far between, this will be my last entry for a while. Tomorrow at 5:30am I hit the road with the Saucy Fops for the fringe tour, and it should be just awesome. Thanks to all the theatre folk that helped make this a wicked and memorable summer, and thanks to those other folks who also had a hand in it.

...what a system...

2005-07-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

So my buddy Rob goes into the Liquor Store today. What does he choose to purchase? A bottle of South African Merlot and a case of Pilsner. Classy until the end Mr. Flandersssss. So he goes up to the cashier to pay for his selection, and the guy asks the baby face for some ID. Quite reasonable, I thought. We get IDed all the time. Well, I'm waiting outside with Rob's bike, and out he comes, empty handed, asking me to buy his booze for him cause they won't take his ID. No problem. Flandersssss is a good buddy, and I can afford it. So I go up to the counter, haul out my ID, and the bloody cashier won't accept it. See, Rob's license expired, and they wouldn't accept it, although he's 4 years past the age limit. And he has many other pieces of ID to back it up, with photos. But nooooooo because it's expired it's no good. And neither is mine because now I'm booting for a 23 year old with ID that should be good, expired or no.

Capitalism at it's finest. Once the ID expires, you need to fork over some cash to be able to have a legal license. Without that cash, you can't do shit as a legal adult, it seems. Rob is a student, and doesn't own a car and never drives, and also can't afford the $70 or so to renew it. Now, he's in the same boat as an 18 year old. Just remember, the government only wants your money, and will create laws to make sure they can get your money. They don't care about you or me or your mom or your fucking dog. They care about money. I see this everywhere, and frankly, it disgusts me to live in a society so bent on money. This isn't a democracy, it's a greedy, capitalist, pigheaded, selfish, exploiting hole that only dooms itself for destruction. It's only to help those in power, while the rest of us, and the world and all the creatures that's in't, suffer, and sometimes even die.

...farewell...

2005-07-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to ask my Grandma Jean Willis, who died July 12, 2004 at 11:40 am, to rest in peace.

...disgust...

2005-07-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

I'm on the bus the other day. It stops at a stop, as buses do, and an elderly gentleman with a load of groceries comes on the bus. And as will happen with old people he trips and falls over. Thankfully, the bus driver helped him out. So he should, but still good on him.

But bad on the fucking punks at the back who see it, scream, "DID YOU SEE THAT?" and all joyously laugh their asses off. Cause you know that kind of thing is pretty funny. An old guy with groceries falls over, probably breaks his hip, and is seriously injured. Life is a comedy where people get knocked over or hit by a bus or trip at the right time, isn't it, just like "Not Another Teen Movie" or any other spoof.

Well it's not.

...hhhooooohhh.......hhhaaaaahhh....

2005-06-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

I saw the new Star Wars (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith). It's time for a geek out moment. I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I grew up with the movies since before my first memory. It's something that is very important to me. I hated Episode One and Episode Two. Although, I feel Episode One was much better than two. But I digest. I know I was supposed to say digress just there, but I made a typo and instead of just deleting it, I decided to write this little blurb instead. But eye digress. I went into Revenge of the Sith praying not to be disappointed. And I wasn't.

(If you haven't seen the movie and don't want it ruined, don't continue)

I saw it twice. The first time I was disappointed, I think because I so wanted not to be. This was for two reasons, significant things being rushed over, the cute little droid noises (except R2-D2, cause he has a license to be cute), the little amount of time that we saw Darth Vader in his suit, and the fact that George Lucas seemed to care more about making money and showing off his CG rather than adding on to the great story with some even greater movies. With the talent and technology that we have, and the money George Lucas has, we should be able to have new Star Wars that are even more epic than the originals. I went home with these feelings after the movie.

Then I started to think of the series as a whole, and suddenly realized the amount of meaning that it brought to the entire original trilogy. The next night, I went to watch it again, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT. Although, the cute droid noises were there (but not as bad as I first thought), moments were rushed over, Lucas still looked like he wanted money more than a great story, and Darth Vader didn't spend much time in his suit (which didn't matter, because Darth Vader didn't need the suit to be badass). But I thought that it was the best to come out since Return of the Jedi. And in this one, Hayden Christiansen did a much better job.

So one of my final thoughts for tonite is, anything that's wrong with the Star Wars series with all of the new work that is been done on it is the fault of Lucas who couldn't direct a donkey out of an open field.

And for my final thought, I will rate the Star Wars movies in order of my favorites, from best to least favorite (like any of you care, but I don't care that you don't! ha ha!):

The Empire Strikes Back;
The Return of the Jedi;
The Revenge of the Sith;
A New Hope;
The Phantom Menace; and last and certainly least,
The Attack of the Clones (which sounds like a cheesy B-Horror Flick)

...a word from Douglas...

2005-05-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will insantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

...I thought this was a finely tuned machine...

2005-05-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

I used to work at Home Depot. But school this last winter was going to be way too hectic, which was a good excuse for someone who doesn't like to work. So I quit, but in their "Eligible for Rehire" category, they put me in the YES column, which was very nice. Then I returned to the Home Depot two weeks ago to reapply for my job. For two weeks, I never heard from them. And I have Caller ID. They never called.

Then Friday, a supervisor from Home Depot called me. I wasn't around, and they left the message, "Stu, this is Home Depot. We were wondering if you could cover a shift for us from 9am-6pm." I couldn't. I had prior engagements, but it's good rapport to call them and let them know you can't do it if indeed you can't. So I did. I explained the situation to them. They understood. The supervisor pauses in the conversation a moment. She says to me, "Has anyone called you yet?"

I say, "No, this is the first call I got."

The supervisor then says, "Oh! Well do you know that you work on Sunday?"

I say "No! I didn't. What time?"

"3:30 to 8:30," she informs me.

"Well I can't work that! I have rehearsal at 7pm," I reply. She tells me to come in on Saturday to get this all straightened out.

I couldn't believe it! They rehired me, which was great, but neglected to tell me. They put me back on the schedule, and I had no idea. If they hadn't needed me to take a shift, or if I had decided not to bother calling them, I would have never shown up for work. They would have been short workers, and probably would have looked like idiots.

Oh well. Everyone at work now knows it, and you do too. Home Depot is run by idiots.

...freaking politics...

2005-05-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today on my way to rehearsal for the Tempest, I saw something unexpected. The other side of the highway that I usually J-walk across to get to the university was overrun with semi's, vans, trucks, and many other sorts of vehicles, all boasting signs that advertised the BC Liberals. I saw an interesting image. This didn't seem to be a regular parade. Traffic wasn't stopped, there were no cops at intersections blocking traffic. Instead, regular commuters were interspersed in this slow moving election sign. Typical of the Liberals I thought. Big trucks that represent their grand promises, moving at a snail's pace. And I found it funny they chose logging trucks and semi's hauling huge machinery to post their signs on. To me it read that all they want is to make money and exploit. It was probably immature of me, but I took great delight in fingering the 'parade' as they drove past me on my way to an artistic venture, one that they would probably cut from this province to 'save' money, when really all their trying to do is horde it. And another word, fuck you Gordon Campbell.

...learn from other's mistakes...

2005-05-12T03:14:00.000-07:00

Before getting angry at a situation, make sure that you have all your facts straight. Situations could be skewered and/or blown way out of proportion. Good intentions can be read as bad intentions. What was once meant to mean, "I hope you're day is good" could become "Go die and fuck yourself" as it passes through a filter we call the grapevine. Make sure you know what's going on, and don't be so quick to take one person's word as gospel without at least some verification. It's not worth the stress or the energy unless it's warranted. Life is too short.

...impressive.........most impressive

2005-05-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As one who read the books, I was excited and thrilled to watch it, and busted a gut enjoying it. But it was a fine example of how Hollywood can take a good idea and twist it to its own grand designs. Added scenes, happier ending, and the punchlines to great jokes that were omitted to fit a two hour time frame. But that's fine with me, it's a fact of reality. My favorite part was putting in bits from the original BBC movie that most people wouldn't notice. If you'd like to know I'll tell you:

The song that plays when the Hitchhiker's Guide is flying through space near the beginning.
The silver robot on Vogsphere was the original Marvin the Depressed Robot.
The holographic recording that appears on Magrathea was the original Arthur Dent.

I betcha a zillion space credits that there were more, but that's all I saw....this time. I'd recommend it to all ya'lls. For those who have read the books and are purists and can't handle when Hollywood hacks up a good book, don't see it. You'll only make yourself angry.

...lucky there's a family guy...

2005-05-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Last night was a night of nights for me. For two years I have enjoyed the hilarity of Family Guy. The three original seasons on DVD never failed to entertain me, until I heard that Season Four was on its way. I must say that the wait was worth it. Like most TV shows that are genius, the Season Premier only made a good thing better. Although I will admit, there was something about the new episode that was somewhat different from the old Family Guy that we remember and love. But that's fine, cause overall, I thought it was A O K.

...all good things must have a beginning...

2005-05-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

Well, here goes something. I have read many a blog in my time, but never actually posted any of my own. But I am quite fascinated by the idea, which is why I thought I'd start one up. Everyone else is having so much fun letting people get into their heads, it's my turn now too, although once you get in, you quite often get lost. Enjoy the ramblings, or don't, it's really your choice.