The new Car Pool looks really cool.
Also. Doctor Who 2011 airs April 17th 9pm (EST) on BBC America. The Christmas special is obviously around Christmas though. Neil Gaiman's writing an episode. Mark Sheppard's starring in 2 episodes. Should be good. Don't know about Torchwood?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
a couple quick things
1. Did a podcast test with Lindsey and Nicole. The outcome: it is possible to record using Skype and calling a landline or cellphone at the same time. It does cut in and out sometimes, which is going to be a hurdle.
2. I'm happy to hear that there will be one final episode of Robin Ince's Utter Shambles before the series is over--a special Halloween one. I so love the podcast as an art form. I'm going to start watching or at least listening to Robert Lewellyn's Car Pool again. I have a lot of catching up to do.
3. I accidentally kicked a rat today and it squeaked just like the toy ones.
2. I'm happy to hear that there will be one final episode of Robin Ince's Utter Shambles before the series is over--a special Halloween one. I so love the podcast as an art form. I'm going to start watching or at least listening to Robert Lewellyn's Car Pool again. I have a lot of catching up to do.
3. I accidentally kicked a rat today and it squeaked just like the toy ones.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Utter Shambles season recap/review
Alas, it appears season 3 of Robin Ince and Josie Long's podcast has come to an end. I thought it was a bit slow to start this season but it really picked up and became fascinating and hilarious. I hope they do more. Some highlights...
Ed Byrne was on Robin Ince and Josie Long's Utter Shambles week 2, which is brilliant because Ed Byrne is always great. Here is a photo of the three of them with Robin looking particularly gloomy.
Episode 5 was pretty great because they talk about Douglas Adams and Doctor Who and Douglas Adams writing Doctor Who.
I also really like Episode 7 because Jon Ronson's 12-year-old son gets to partake in the conversation and he sounds really intelligent, but it's also nice because when they reference people who lived in the 30's, they stop to explain who these people are to the son, which is helpful for me knowing what's going on as well. Plus they talk about which celebrity would they keep a secret for, which is a great game. Can I steal it? Also Jon Ronson (Men Who Stare At Goats) talks about this interesting article and documentary he did about false memories. I'm not talking about blocking memories but actually remembering things that didn't happen. Also, Jon Ronson was on Car Pool and talks about how Men Who Stare At Goats is based on a true story that happened to him. Now I want to see the movie. Did you know the military tried to splice the DNA of goats and spiders?
And my new favorite thing from Josie (with Robin doing some of the voices).
Ed Byrne was on Robin Ince and Josie Long's Utter Shambles week 2, which is brilliant because Ed Byrne is always great. Here is a photo of the three of them with Robin looking particularly gloomy.Episode 5 was pretty great because they talk about Douglas Adams and Doctor Who and Douglas Adams writing Doctor Who.
I also really like Episode 7 because Jon Ronson's 12-year-old son gets to partake in the conversation and he sounds really intelligent, but it's also nice because when they reference people who lived in the 30's, they stop to explain who these people are to the son, which is helpful for me knowing what's going on as well. Plus they talk about which celebrity would they keep a secret for, which is a great game. Can I steal it? Also Jon Ronson (Men Who Stare At Goats) talks about this interesting article and documentary he did about false memories. I'm not talking about blocking memories but actually remembering things that didn't happen. Also, Jon Ronson was on Car Pool and talks about how Men Who Stare At Goats is based on a true story that happened to him. Now I want to see the movie. Did you know the military tried to splice the DNA of goats and spiders?
And my new favorite thing from Josie (with Robin doing some of the voices).
Here is the Alan Moore clip I was telling you about last time I talked about this podcast:
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Danny Kaye
About a year ago, I blogged about a play I wanted to go to called Danny and Sylvia, the story about the early years of Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine. I waited too long and the play was gone, and I regretted not going. The play was back again this year and I made a point of it not to miss out on it this year. Today I went to see it with a friend from church. It was completely worth it.
First off, I was supposed to meet my friend at 4pm and she didn't have a cell phone with her, so when my train got delayed by half an hour, I couldn't contact her. I was on the train pulling out my hair, which was fine because everyone else around me was gritting their teeth and making faces too. Thankfully I had a book with me to help distract me. So one second I'd be snarling at the invisible conductor telling us it's all because of a stupid football game and the next minute trying to stifle laughing at Robin Ince's Bad Book Club. But more on that when I do my book review of it. Luckily, we were able to meet up and were not late for the show.
We had front row seats in a very intimate theatre, St. Luke's, so we were just a couple feet away from the actors. Except the point where we were inches from Brian Childers when he got off the stage and sat in the lap of the lady two seats to my right. It was part of a number where we as the audience were playing the role of the audience at a night club Danny was performing at. He is singing and flirting with this old lady (the average age of the audience was like 85) and he turns to her husband and pushes him aside and says "Get out of here." It was hilarious.
Basically the show is the history of how Danny and Sylvia met and their relationship as a couple and in business, with the emphasis on the business. It was really interesting because I watched this documentary (seebottom of post) the other day and it has this very glamorous depiction of Danny's life and his marriage. But the play shows how much they argued, how uncomfortable Danny was with Sylvia running his whole career, and how he wasn't even sure he was in love. When she decided they were going to get married, he ran away and hid in a hotel room for three days before calling and telling her he couldn't live without her. He was extremely hesitant about the whole thing though. He also did the London Palladium without her, which really made her mad and almost broke up the relationship, but he wanted to prove that he could do something on his own and that some of the credit for his success was his own. I am assuming the creators the play did their research. I don't know how much was fictionalized.
The play was a combination of songs written for the play--it wasn't just a guy pretending to be Danny Kaye and sing all his songs, it was an actual story--and classic Danny Kaye songs. For one song, he even encouraged the audience to sing along because people knew it, and they sang along. The play begins with The Maladjusted Jester, my favorite song! And then he quickly recaps the pellet with the poison. He does an impressive Tchaikovsky, Ballin' the Jack, and ends with an amazing rendition of Minnie the Moocher.
Brian Childers plays Danny Kaye. Overall, he was pretty good. His voice doesn't sound like Danny's to no fault of his own, but occassionally it sounds exactly right. And he definitely definitely nailed the accent. Oh and that classic Danny Kaye laugh! The hair was a really obvious wig which distracted me, but maybe it's because I was so close to the stage. There was some dancing, but he had to wear suitcoats the whole time and he was sweating enough as it was, so it's probably good they didn't have him do too much. His singing was great--not exactly like Danny Kaye, but close.
Kimberly Faye Greenberg plays Sylvia Fine. Aparently she was in the TV show Buffy, but we don't know as who. I don't know what Sylvia was like, but the acting and singing was good. And she definitely comes across as headstrong and brilliant.
Funny thing I learned:
Danny Kaye (Kaminsky) worked briefly for Sylvia's father and drilled holes in the wall with the dentist drill and her father always talked about that mess to people, so when they first met at an audition, she recognized his name.
Oh, and if you want to watch a Danny Kaye film, take your pick. They're all here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Huilifoj
First off, I was supposed to meet my friend at 4pm and she didn't have a cell phone with her, so when my train got delayed by half an hour, I couldn't contact her. I was on the train pulling out my hair, which was fine because everyone else around me was gritting their teeth and making faces too. Thankfully I had a book with me to help distract me. So one second I'd be snarling at the invisible conductor telling us it's all because of a stupid football game and the next minute trying to stifle laughing at Robin Ince's Bad Book Club. But more on that when I do my book review of it. Luckily, we were able to meet up and were not late for the show.
We had front row seats in a very intimate theatre, St. Luke's, so we were just a couple feet away from the actors. Except the point where we were inches from Brian Childers when he got off the stage and sat in the lap of the lady two seats to my right. It was part of a number where we as the audience were playing the role of the audience at a night club Danny was performing at. He is singing and flirting with this old lady (the average age of the audience was like 85) and he turns to her husband and pushes him aside and says "Get out of here." It was hilarious.
Basically the show is the history of how Danny and Sylvia met and their relationship as a couple and in business, with the emphasis on the business. It was really interesting because I watched this documentary (seebottom of post) the other day and it has this very glamorous depiction of Danny's life and his marriage. But the play shows how much they argued, how uncomfortable Danny was with Sylvia running his whole career, and how he wasn't even sure he was in love. When she decided they were going to get married, he ran away and hid in a hotel room for three days before calling and telling her he couldn't live without her. He was extremely hesitant about the whole thing though. He also did the London Palladium without her, which really made her mad and almost broke up the relationship, but he wanted to prove that he could do something on his own and that some of the credit for his success was his own. I am assuming the creators the play did their research. I don't know how much was fictionalized.
The play was a combination of songs written for the play--it wasn't just a guy pretending to be Danny Kaye and sing all his songs, it was an actual story--and classic Danny Kaye songs. For one song, he even encouraged the audience to sing along because people knew it, and they sang along. The play begins with The Maladjusted Jester, my favorite song! And then he quickly recaps the pellet with the poison. He does an impressive Tchaikovsky, Ballin' the Jack, and ends with an amazing rendition of Minnie the Moocher.
Brian Childers plays Danny Kaye. Overall, he was pretty good. His voice doesn't sound like Danny's to no fault of his own, but occassionally it sounds exactly right. And he definitely definitely nailed the accent. Oh and that classic Danny Kaye laugh! The hair was a really obvious wig which distracted me, but maybe it's because I was so close to the stage. There was some dancing, but he had to wear suitcoats the whole time and he was sweating enough as it was, so it's probably good they didn't have him do too much. His singing was great--not exactly like Danny Kaye, but close.
Kimberly Faye Greenberg plays Sylvia Fine. Aparently she was in the TV show Buffy, but we don't know as who. I don't know what Sylvia was like, but the acting and singing was good. And she definitely comes across as headstrong and brilliant.
Funny thing I learned:
Danny Kaye (Kaminsky) worked briefly for Sylvia's father and drilled holes in the wall with the dentist drill and her father always talked about that mess to people, so when they first met at an audition, she recognized his name.
Oh, and if you want to watch a Danny Kaye film, take your pick. They're all here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Huilifoj
Monday, October 18, 2010
Today and forward
Look what I made today.
And here's a short story.
I am going to California in November. I've never been to California before. Adventure!
I'm seeing Danny Kaye this weekend. Okay, so Danny Kaye's dead. But I am seeing Brian Childers.
Speaking of plays, I just got this thing in the mail for 45% off Elling on Broadway, which is coming to NY in November starring Brendan Fraser. Waitaminute. I'm not on anybody's mailing list. Who knows that I like Elling? Is somebody up to something? Anyway, go rent the movie.
In November, I am also seeing Kate Nash and going to a social media for authors class. On the same day.
Just things to look forward to.
And here's a short story.
I am going to California in November. I've never been to California before. Adventure!
I'm seeing Danny Kaye this weekend. Okay, so Danny Kaye's dead. But I am seeing Brian Childers.
Speaking of plays, I just got this thing in the mail for 45% off Elling on Broadway, which is coming to NY in November starring Brendan Fraser. Waitaminute. I'm not on anybody's mailing list. Who knows that I like Elling? Is somebody up to something? Anyway, go rent the movie.
In November, I am also seeing Kate Nash and going to a social media for authors class. On the same day.
Just things to look forward to.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Going Places
Me
lissa's CD has arrived in the mail!
Going Places is Melissa Clampffer's debut album. She has that deadly combination of being an awesome songwriter, awesome singer, and awesome pianist. Definitely check her CD out.
You can buy it on DigStation now,
and very soon on CDBaby and iTunes, I believe. And if you don't trust me, just listen to "Please Come Home" on her MySpace page. Then you will want the whole album.
Oh, did I mention that I did the album art? I did the front cover, the back cover, the CD itself, and the thank you page.
Melissa also has a new website that's just getting off the ground at http://www.melissaclampffer.com/.
I'm excited to go to her CD launch in Philly. She's super talented, and I just love these songs!
I have also created a Facebook Fan Page for her, so check that out for some fun stuff.
I also made this promo vid:
lissa's CD has arrived in the mail!Going Places is Melissa Clampffer's debut album. She has that deadly combination of being an awesome songwriter, awesome singer, and awesome pianist. Definitely check her CD out.
You can buy it on DigStation now,
and very soon on CDBaby and iTunes, I believe. And if you don't trust me, just listen to "Please Come Home" on her MySpace page. Then you will want the whole album.
Oh, did I mention that I did the album art? I did the front cover, the back cover, the CD itself, and the thank you page.
Melissa also has a new website that's just getting off the ground at http://www.melissaclampffer.com/.
I'm excited to go to her CD launch in Philly. She's super talented, and I just love these songs!
I have also created a Facebook Fan Page for her, so check that out for some fun stuff.
I also made this promo vid:
Book Launch in a Bar
Last night, we had a book launch for one of our authors Keith. It was in a bar on the lower East side of Manhattan. Loads of people came. They had Beatles playing on the radio and A Hard Day's Night playing on the screens. It's a Beatle themed book, obviously. They sold out of all their books. All in all an A+ success.Keith's sister Lori took some photos: (left) Keith signing copies of his book. (below) Mike (on the right) one of my co-workers and the editor of this book enjoying himself at the party.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Podcast Episode 3 Part 1
Episode 3 part 1 of The We're NOT John Stamos Podcast is up now. This is not using the new animation software yet. I did get some free music from Lindsey though.
If for some reason you're not getting sound on the embedded video below, here is a direct link:
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Small things
I'm excited to be going to Philly at the end of November to attend Melissa's CD launch concert. More about that when I get the CD in the mail.
Currently: Animating episode 3 of the podcast and editing my novel from last year's NaNoWriMo.
Book launch party on Tuesday. Looking forward to it.
There seems to be a real life Burbank with a Baedeker going on over here. As you see, the fan page seems to be by Josh Joplin, but some posts are by Mr. Henry. Can I have my idea back? EXAMPLE POST:
Josh Joplin i can't do the self checkout lines anymore! i refuse to check my self out! -- Mr. Henry
August 5 at 2:40am · Comment · Like · View Feedback (10)Hide Feedback (10)
Jon Van Order, Lidia Hasenauer and 2 others like this..
Josh Joplin What are talking about? You don't even shop for yourself. you have poor mrs. himmelman pick up all your "essentials" - which by the way adds up to a weeks worth of groceries.
August 5 at 3:08pm · .
Edward Hodgins Mr. Henry does have a point though, in the past didn't stores pay cashiers to scan and bag groceries? Now we are expected to scan and bag on our own? Where is that money going? I have not noticed any price drops. Another thing...does the laundry detergent go in with the ice cream or the bags of cereal?
August 5 at 4:52pm · .
Tim Pendergast I perfer to use the self checkout. I'm better at it than of most of the cashiers and I can actually put more than one item in a bag.
August 5 at 6:43pm · .
Victoria Lange Cameron It totally depends on how long the cashier lines are.....
August 5 at 7:47pm · .
Josh Joplin Once again, Josh you have it all wrong: Mrs. Himmelman does only get me the new essentials: eggs, milk, sugar, coffee, bagels, a few chops, tuna, some deli meats soda and seltzer, fruit, vegetables, orange juice, and few other odds and ends... and i've already told you this but 80 is the new 60! --Mr. Henry
August 6 at 9:34am · .
Lidia Hasenauer Does Mrs. Himmelman deliver on the west coast?
August 6 at 10:00pm · .
Currently: Animating episode 3 of the podcast and editing my novel from last year's NaNoWriMo.
Book launch party on Tuesday. Looking forward to it.
There seems to be a real life Burbank with a Baedeker going on over here. As you see, the fan page seems to be by Josh Joplin, but some posts are by Mr. Henry. Can I have my idea back? EXAMPLE POST:
Josh Joplin i can't do the self checkout lines anymore! i refuse to check my self out! -- Mr. Henry
August 5 at 2:40am · Comment · Like · View Feedback (10)Hide Feedback (10)
Jon Van Order, Lidia Hasenauer and 2 others like this..
Josh Joplin What are talking about? You don't even shop for yourself. you have poor mrs. himmelman pick up all your "essentials" - which by the way adds up to a weeks worth of groceries.
August 5 at 3:08pm · .
Edward Hodgins Mr. Henry does have a point though, in the past didn't stores pay cashiers to scan and bag groceries? Now we are expected to scan and bag on our own? Where is that money going? I have not noticed any price drops. Another thing...does the laundry detergent go in with the ice cream or the bags of cereal?
August 5 at 4:52pm · .
Tim Pendergast I perfer to use the self checkout. I'm better at it than of most of the cashiers and I can actually put more than one item in a bag.
August 5 at 6:43pm · .
Victoria Lange Cameron It totally depends on how long the cashier lines are.....
August 5 at 7:47pm · .
Josh Joplin Once again, Josh you have it all wrong: Mrs. Himmelman does only get me the new essentials: eggs, milk, sugar, coffee, bagels, a few chops, tuna, some deli meats soda and seltzer, fruit, vegetables, orange juice, and few other odds and ends... and i've already told you this but 80 is the new 60! --Mr. Henry
August 6 at 9:34am · .
Lidia Hasenauer Does Mrs. Himmelman deliver on the west coast?
August 6 at 10:00pm · .
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Birdland
Last night was Cast Party at Birdland, which is a Broadway-themed open mic night. This happens every Monday night, but last night was the only night they'd be promoting a book that I'm the publicist for. The guy who wrote the foreword, who coincedentally is also one of my authors, gave out some books to people who answered trivia questions correctly. Also, the performances were amazing! Everything from hits like Singin' in the Rain and Georgia on my Mind to lesser known comedic numbers. One guy even played the violin and piano at the same time--outstanding. And then there was one woman who I can't even describe properly, so I took some video for you (below). She played the piano well. But the only lyrics to the song she wrote were "Calamity Jane" over and over for ten minutes before the host had to cut her off. It was the strangest thing and I couldn't help but laugh myself to tears. But almost every single person who performed is a star--either on Broadway or Off-Broadway or even Australian TV. Including the actor who currently plays Lurch in the Addams Family on Broadway. Such amazing talent. Everyone had a really great time.Here's some photos.
More videos on Facebook
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Idiot Abroad - now playing
We're two weeks into An Idiot Abroad. It is at least as funny as I would hope it would be, and I did have high expectations. The best bit in episode one is Karl eating a toad and trying not to puke. India's a good episode too. It's all on YouTube.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
My YouTube Account
I now have 76 videos uploaded to my YouTube account. The most popular with 26 comments and 12,422 hits (?!) is Holloway Road. I'm not sure why, but it gets massive traffic.
I think I may start a separate account for the podcast once we start getting some guests on. I have one special guest already agreeing to do it, which I'm very excited about. And Lindsey and I think we've got this Skype thing figured out, though the quality's not perfect. And I'm starting to get a hang of the animation software, but I'm terrified they're going to charge me twice because instead of letting the 30-day-trial run out, I just went online and bought it and it said if you don't call to cancel your trial, they'll charge your card and you get to keep it. I can't seem to get into contact with customer service, so they'd better have canceled my trial. Anyway, tangent.
Also, just uploaded a new video to my YouTube account here:
I think I may start a separate account for the podcast once we start getting some guests on. I have one special guest already agreeing to do it, which I'm very excited about. And Lindsey and I think we've got this Skype thing figured out, though the quality's not perfect. And I'm starting to get a hang of the animation software, but I'm terrified they're going to charge me twice because instead of letting the 30-day-trial run out, I just went online and bought it and it said if you don't call to cancel your trial, they'll charge your card and you get to keep it. I can't seem to get into contact with customer service, so they'd better have canceled my trial. Anyway, tangent.
Also, just uploaded a new video to my YouTube account here:
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