"I think that's how Chicago got started..."

"...A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'
--Richard Jeni

Did I mention a long-time friend of mine is getting married this April? Yes, Tom and Kristy will be chaining the proverbial ball -- er, I mean, tying the proverbial knot -- at long last. They've now settled in Chicago, a quaint village on the shores of Lake Michigan somewhere between NYC and LALA Land, the only two American cities that matter.

This being my first trip to said municipality in my adult life, I decided to make a mini-vacation out of it. I'll be flying in on Thursday so I'll have all of Friday (Good Friday, as it turns out) to do whatever I want. I've already bought tickets to see Wicked, and got excellent seats this time -- no squinting from the upper balcony like Toronto. I'll be staying in a hotel downtown. I'm flying back Sunday in time for Easter dinner with the family, and obviously there's a wedding and reception Saturday, so Friday is really my only time to do stuff. I'm looking forward to it.

I've already gotten ideas for my Friday adventures from talking to people and consulting my AAA TourBook, but if anyone else has suggestions on things to see or places to eat, feel free to comment.

the hunt for autumn

I don't know why, but I love this article: Autumn and the Plot Against Me. In a sort of "six degrees" way, this guy finds the location shown in the Autumn desktop wallpaper that comes with Windows.

have a slogan!

haveaslogan.com

And yes, the pairs are random, so don't be offended. Here are a few I got:

"Date Rape: You're in good hands."
"Constipation: Where's the beef?"
"Erectile Dysfunction: Life's too short."
"Crack: Maybe she's born with it."
"Paris Hilton: The best part of waking up."
"Incest: Fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance."

And lastly... this is horrible, but I swear this is what I got...

"Anorexia: Bet ya can't eat just one."

can we put this myth to rest already?

For any who might be confused, it is not true that the new Presidental dollar coins omit the phrase "In God We Trust"; it has simply been relocated to the edge of the coin, along with "E Pluribus Unum" and the year of issue.

What next, are we going to claim that anti-chronologists are "removing time from America"?

bryan bran brand breakfast bran

I've created a new subdomain of my website: bran.bryanbird.com. For the time being, I'm calling it Bryan Bran™ brand Breakfast Bran. It began as a mangling of my first name, during a conversation with Justin in which I was explaining the "Bryan --> Brian --> Brain" effect (and my name has been published as "Brain" on more than one occasion). Either by choice or chance, we further devolved it to "Bran." This, of course, immediately brought to mind images of a cartoon sun serving up two scoops of raisins.

So, I've created bran.bryanbird.com but haven't figured out what to put there yet. I considered making another blog with a purple and gold color scheme and posting something random each day. Nothing of any particular relevance or consequence; just your daily dose of bran.

Got any better ideas?

1099-shaft

How could I write a summary of last week without mentioning taxes?

This is probably the earliest I've ever filed my income tax forms, mainly because I received my W-2 unusually early this year. It's nice knowing that, when April rolls around, I won't have to fret.

Once again, I was pounded by all my freelance graphic design and music income. I owed a ridiculous amount of federal taxes. TaxCut helped me figure out, based on what I earned this year, how much I should have withheld from each paycheck at my full-time job, and even filled out a new W-4 for me. All I had to do was print it out, sign it, and give it to our accountant at work. So next year I should actually be getting a refund, barring any unexpected large projects.

Freelancing sucks. It's nice having that little bit of extra income, but you can't count on it being regular and it takes a lot of your free time.

Or maybe it's just being honest that sucks.

lately

My last post was a week-and-a-half ago, and with good reason: a week ago was my last night off before four days of Camelot rehearsals, and last night was my time to both relax and catch up on household stuff. There's still a pile of laundry to be put away, yet here I sit typing, under the guise that I'll do it later tonight.

Camelot opens this Friday, so naturally I'm coming into a full week of rehearsals, including today's sitz probe where the cast sings with the orchestra for the first time. I think we have a pretty solid show, so it should be good. Here are the details:

Fri, Feb 16; 8:00
Sat, Feb 17; 8:00
Sun, Feb 18; 2:00

Thu, Feb 22; 8:00
Fri, Feb 23; 8:00
Sat, Feb 24; 8:00

Fri, Mar 2; 8:00
Sat, Mar 3; 8:00
Sun, Mar 4; 2:00

Fri, Mar 9; 8:00
Sat, Mar 10; 8:00

(Psst... also a free preview night on Thursday the 15th...)

You can see the cast list here. The theater is at 36119 Center Ridge Rd in North Ridgeville, near the corner of Routes 113 and 83, in front of an aesthetically ironic water tower.

Surprisingly, this has been one of the less stressful musicals I've played for, as far as time goes. I'm not sure why. And that's even with being a music director rather than just an accompanist. I think I've fared pretty well, save for being a nervous wreck before music rehearsals, but I'd like to be in some shows before I MD again. I want to work with a good music director and really pay attention, to see how they do it. My teaching only goes so far, and I'm not as familiar with how to fine-tune the singers when it comes to things like pitch, blend, and diction. I can recognize when they need fixing, but don't know how to get them to do it. I commend the Camelot cast for bringing their own experience to the table when I didn't quite know the proper tricks or techniques to accomplish such things.

Speaking of being in a show, I'm planning to audition for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Elyria Summer Theatre. Yes, they're doing it again, even though it's only been five years. Same director, too. I had a lot of fun playing for that show before, and think it would be fun to be part of the cast as well. Of course, I likely won't have a shot at Joseph unless I can lose the gut before auditions come around, since he's shirtless for quite some time. We shall see. I will say with confidence that I can sing the part, though.

What else, what else... Last Sunday, a few friends and I went to the Home & Garden Show, which was mildly disappointing. With the unceasing bitter wind lately, it was good to see some flowers and greenery, but there's just way too much "DIY trade show" gimmickry for my taste. I warned Becki, "Don't make eye contact with any of the carnies or you'll go home with five crates of OxiClean." I much preferred last year's Dutch theme, which was full of daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths -- coincidentally my three favorite flowers. The moment we walked in last year, it smelled like jelly beans (which is what I think hyacinths smell like, perhaps because I associate them with Easter).

Afterward, I stayed at Stu & Laurie's for the Commercial-a-thon, otherwise known as the Super Bowl. Big time disappointment there. Many of the "commercials" were just CBS advertising their own shows, and the rest weren't particularly amusing. Nonetheless, it was a good excuse to enjoy a shrimp ring, cheese fondue, quesadillas, and Toll House pie.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go disappear into the Camelot vortex again.