you learn something new every day

Apparently, according to the U.S. Flag Code, you're supposed to put your hand over your heart when standing at attention for the National Anthem. I read about it in this snopes article.

I was taught -- by teachers? parents? TV? I don't remember, it was so long ago -- that you were to stand quietly and respectfully with your hands at your side. Putting them in front or behind you was "hiding" something, so they were to be flat at your side. If you're wearing a hat, you remove it and place it close to your left shoulder so that your hand is over your heart. If you're in certain types of uniform, you salute.

Other than for people wearing hats, I've never heard of putting the hand over the heart for the National Anthem. Quite the contrary, I distinctly remember the business about having the hands flat at one's side rather than in back. But there it is, right in the Flag Code.

Why was I taught wrong by so many different people? And by the looks of the crowds at sporting events, I'm not the only one unaware of this rule. Or maybe they just don't care. I would have cared, had I known.

Now, for the Pledge of Allegiance, yes, we were taught in elementary school to put the right hand over the heart, but today was the first I'd heard of doing it for the National Anthem. All these years, veterans attending baseball games have probably been bad-mouthing me behind my back, and I had no idea!

maverick-o'-lantern

I thought I was crazy for attempting last year's jack-o'-lantern with the Wicked logo. But if that was crazy, I should be downright committed to a mental hospital this year.

At left is my latest creation: the Maverick-o'-lantern (click for a larger image). Maverick, as you might recall from earlier blog posts, was Cedar Point's new roller coaster for 2007, and happens to be my #2 favorite ride, behind Millennium Force. In a spark of insanity, I decided to carve the Maverick logo into a pumpkin. My dad referred to me as "the pumpkin surgeon" for this. Perhaps "mad doctor" would be more accurate.

First I downloaded a Maverick wallpaper from Cedar Point's website, brought it into Photoshop, and selected the letters and horse figure. I added an oval behind the horse in order to keep it in silhouette. The arc going through its neck is a rope, but I couldn't figure out how to make a carving look like rope, so I came up with a better idea: a silhouette of the coaster track! Somewhere else on Cedar Point's site I found just the right photo of the ride, showing a train going over the lift hill. You'll note I moved the train back down the hill a bit to make it more recognizable and the image less cluttered. Unfortunately I wasn't quite detailed enough in my carving to show both seats in the cars in stadium-style arrangement. Ah well.

After converting my Photoshop selection to a work path, I brought the path into Illustrator so I could scale it up to the size I needed, then printed it out. Since I had already sketched the coaster track on paper, it was easier to just re-draw it on the large printout than try to draw the paths in Illustrator. I then taped the paper to the pumpkin and used an awl to poke holes, tracing the lines.

And now the obvious question: How long did this take? The awl-poking alone took half an hour. It took 45 minutes to carve just the horse/track picture, then an additional hour for the letters. This was all done with a simple cheapo pumpkin carving knife from the grocery store.

I remembered the technique I learned from the Wicked carving: Cut at an angle into the piece you're removing. Once it's out of the way, go back at the other angle to remove some of the inside thickness of the pumpkin. It helps to think of the skin of the pumpkin as a 2-D surface that creates the image, while the openings allow light to pass, and sometimes that requires shaving some of the walls in order to get more illumination and contrast.

I also do a lot of tweaking in the same manner so that the picture is clear when viewed from the intended, straight-on angle. I had to do a lot of finagling with the "K" to make it look right. And just from a logistical standpoint, the uppermost section of track was too heavy to support itself and was resting on the horse's head, so I had to carefully shave some pumpkin off the back of that piece so it would float, in addition to angling the wall behind the horse's head downward to allow even more light through (and thus create the illusion of more space).

Was it worth 2 hours? Meh, I suppose. Do I have too much time on my hands? Absolutely not! I certainly had more important things I could/should have been doing. But in spite of that, I'm willing to give up some time once a year to carve a nice pumpkin. Unfortunately, this year's design raises the bar, so I'm a little scared of what I might come up with for next year...

optical mojo deposit

Today was my annual eye exam, and once again my eyes have not changed. They're perfectly healthy and my 2004 prescription is still giving me 20/20 vision. That means no new eyeglass lenses necessary. *ching!*

I briefly discussed with my ophthalmologist what my options are for surgery-related vision correction. Despite my astigmatism, I'm within the range for LASIK, and the healthy condition of my eyes makes me a good candidate. Another option would be intraocular lenses. Both procedures present their own pros, cons, and risks. LASIK would probably be the better option, but it costs more than I can reasonably justify spending.

Glasses don't bother me too much, and I generally wear contacts when I'm out in public, but both options can be annoying. With contacts, I can wear normal sunglasses, but I still need to own a clip-on pair for when I don't have them in. If I'm tired or don't get enough sleep, contacts can be uncomfortable, especially early in the morning. Carrying around a little bottle of eyedrops can be a nuisance. I'd love to be able to just plop down into bed and fall asleep without having to take my contacts out, clean them, and put them away. I'd love to be able to read the alarm clock when I wake up in the morning. I'd love to be able to go an entire day without wearing glasses, rather than having to decide whether I want to wear my contacts to work or wherever I'm going tonight, since I can't do both; they generally get uncomfortable after 10 hours or more.

But since my eyes seem to be happy with glasses and contacts (going on 3 years stable now), my doctor said she'd tend to stick with what's working, and for now I tend to agree.

McAnecdote

Here's a paraphrasing of my dad's recent experience at McDonald's:

Worker 1: The apple pies are still baking, so it'll be a few minutes.
Dad: That's fine, I'll go put cream and sugar in my coffee.
Worker 1: We do that for you now. How much do you want?
Dad: Uh, X cream and Y sugar.
{ssssip}
Dad: This coffee is room temperature.
Worker 1: Oops, that was on the top burner and we forgot to turn it on. I have some hot coffee over by the drive thru; I can just get you a new cup.
Dad: Well I already have the cream and sugar the way I want; could you just pop this in the microwave?
Worker 2: {microwaves coffee} How's that?
Dad: It's actually---
Manager: No no no no no we can't microwave coffee! I can just get you a new cup.
Dad: That's OK; I already mixed this one the way I like it. Can't you just put this in a little bit longer?
Manager: We've had lawsuits over coffee burning people; we have to make it at a certain temperature. I'll just get you a new cup.
Dad: Don't worry about it. I'll just take what I have.
{waits for pie}
Worker 1: Pies are ready. Be careful; they're hot.
Dad: Oh, were they in the microwave or something? [/smirk]

Oh, and the hot pie? Yeah, it burned his tongue. (In fact, I've had my share of tongue-burningly-hot McDonald's pies that I had to wait for them to cool down to be edible.) But the lukewarm coffee was safe, so thank God for that. I guess the difference is that it's hard to spill a McDonald's pie all over your lap.

I will say though, in spite of McDonald's alleged restrictions on coffee temperature, the last time I got a coffee there I had to wait TWENTY minutes for it to be drinkable. That's no exaggeration; I looked at my watch. Sorry, I don't buy the "but people don't want cold coffee!!" argument. When I order coffee, I want to drink it, you know, like soon. That's why I bought it. I don't want it half an hour from now when I'm already done eating breakfast.

only two more chances...

...to see Pump Boys and Dinettes at Olde Towne Hall Theatre, tonight (Friday) and tomorrow. It really is a good show, fun for both us and the audience. If you do plan to attend, I'd recommend calling to reserve a ticket, since I understand the last two shows have already sold fairly well.

Eventually I'll scan my headshot and put it up here, but for now you can check out the other cast photos.

halloween survey

Trick or Treat?:
Uh, treat I guess?

Candy Corn or Candy Apples?:
Ooh, candy apples are good but candy corn is a lot more convenient, and you can eat a whole bag without even realizing it. Not that I'm condoning it. That reminds me, I haven't bought any candy corn yet this year.

Lanterns or Lit-Pumpkins?:
Jack-o'-lanterns, ya think?

HALLOWEEN QUESTIONS:

Do you like to dress up for Halloween?:
NO! Even though I love candy corn, apple cider, jack-o'-lanterns, the cool crisp air, and the fall colors, I hate dressing up for Halloween. I suck at coming up with good costume ideas and find them annoying. I also find all the pseudo-scary 'monsters' and fake blood and crap annoying too, but more on that later...

Where were you last year for Halloween?:
On the porch helping my mom hand out candy.

Where are you going to be this year?
Probably the same.

Favorite costume you have ever worn?:
When I was a kid, I had this jester costume I liked, although I didn't like putting on makeup. I also had a cool Snoopy costume my mom made when I was in 6th grade.

How do you spend your Halloween?:
It's pretty uneventful. I don't usually hand out candy unless my parents need help. Usually one of my friends will have a Halloween party on the preceeding Friday, so I'll do that, although again I hate dressing up (kinda funny since I have no problem with costumes in theatre).

Are you going trick or treating this year?:
Waaaay too old for that, and I don't have kids or nieces/nephews.

Did or do you pull Halloween pranks?:
Nope.

Do you believe in ghosts?
Absolutely not, although I believe the human mind/subconscious is more tricky than people give it credit for, so instead they talk about "ghosts" and "auras" and whatnot.

Are you superstitious?
Nope.

Do you like caramel popcorn?
Yay! Especially Cracker Jacks.

Have you ever gone in the country to look for pumpkins?
Most of the non-grocery-store places near here that sell pumpkins are on farms, so I guess if that counts as "country," yeah.

Have you ever been on a hayride?
Yes!

Do you decorate your home for Halloween?:
My mom does, yes. If I had my own place, I probably would.

Have you ever been to a haunted house?:
Ugh, yes. Continuing from what I said earlier about monsters and gore, I just don't get into the whole fake-scary thing. It's not that I don't like being "scared"; quite the contrary, I just find these places annoying. Actually, you can just read what I wrote last year on the subject. :)

Have you ever been to a graveyard on Halloween?:
Don't think so. Why, what would you expect to happen that couldn't happen any other time?

Have you ever attended a Halloween party?:
Guess I've already answered this one.

Have you ever been to an amusement park's Halloween event?:
Three: Cedar Point's HalloWeekends, Kennywood's Phantom Fright Nights, and Knoebels' Phoenix Phall Phunfest. I thought the latter two were better because the smaller parks lend themselves to extensive Halloween theming, whereas Cedar Point's just seems tacked on.

Do you watch scary movies on Halloween?:
Hmm, should I address the scary movie issue now, or wait for a later question? :) It's actually a pretty similar answer as the one about the haunted houses.

Have you ever had your candy stolen from you?:
No.

Did you ever steal any ones candy?
Never.

Has anyone ever gotten hurt due to your prank?:
Not really into pranking. Usually I'm the victim. :)

Have you ever dressed as a witch/warlock?:
No.

Are your parents into Halloween?:
As far as carving pumpkins and handing out candy, yeah. I think they were more into it when I was a kid than I was.

What do you believe is the most common Halloween costume?:
Depends on the age and sex, but it looks like pirates and princesses are still popular. If they're teenagers, simply going dressed as a teenager seems to suffice, or putting on some $2 mask from Wal*Mart.

Who took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks?
Lizzy Borden, apparently. I didn't know the rhyme until I read someone else's answer though.

Do you have a tradition for Halloween day?
I used to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but I've sort of lost interest in that.

Do you know someone who was born on Halloween?:
No, but my brother was born the day after.

HAVE YOU EVER:
Passed out candy?: Yes.
Bobbed for apples?: Yes, back before I thought about how disgusting it is to share the water barrel with 50 other kids.
Gone to a pumpkin patch?: Oh yeah.
Hosted a Halloween Party? No.
Made pumpkin pie?: The only thing pumpkin pies are good for is smelling, and I can get that from a candle.
Raked leaves?: Yes! Mmmmmmm {snnnniff!!}
Watched the Travel Channel with the Halloween specials?: The, uh... what? I guess not.

HAVE YOU SEEN:
[If GT is reading this, just stop reading right now, lest you freak out at how few of these I've seen. I'm just not into this genre at all. You've been warned. Hey, maybe that could be the premise for a horror flick!]
- Amityville Horror? No
- Last House On The Left?: No
- House Of Wax?: No
- Tales From The Crypt?: No
- The Exorcist?: No
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre?: I saw parts of that awful remake.
- Pumpkin head?: No
- The Sixth Sense?: Yes, but I'd hardly classify it as spooky.
- The Others?: No
- All or any of the Nightmares On Elm Street?: No
- Practical Magic?: No
- Any or all of The Simpson's Halloween episodes?: YES! ALL!
- The Munsters?: Seen a few episodes.
- The Addams Family?: Ditto.
- The Lost Boys?: No
- Contact?: You mean the one where Jodie Foster travels to Vega? Yes, but again, spooky?
- Hocus Pocus?: Haha, actually I think I have. Don't remember much other than it starred Bette Midler.
- Tev's Adding: Wow, I haven't even heard of some of these movies.
- The Worst Little Witch?: No
- Poltergeist?: No
- hills have eyes 1 or 2?: No

OK, I have seen Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Blair Witch Project, all of which I'd rank as scarier than Contact.

Now I just need a good jack-o'-lantern idea for this year. I thought about doing the picture part of the Wicked logo (with the two witches), but I haven't quite figured out the physics of it just yet.

free rice

Build your vocabulary and feed starving people with FreeRice.com. For every word you get right, they use money from advertisers to donate 10 grains of rice to the world's poor.

serve yourself

Here's a little sampling of what you'll hear at Pump Boys and Dinettes, albeit a poor recording of it. This is one of my solos, "Serve Yourself," where I instruct the ladies that L.M. don't roll that way, mm-kay?

Now remember, it's not "white blues"; it's "blue-eyed soul." :)

Serve Yourself

coaster count

My coaster count is now 45!

This past weekend, four of us visited two small amusement parks in Pennsylvania: Kennywood, near Pittsburgh, and Knoebels, near... um... some mountains. This added nine roller coasters to my count, including some old fashioned wooden ones. I can't say I particularly enjoyed all of them, but I tried to be open minded about it. Knoebels has some great old fashioned wooden coasters, if you enjoy feeling like you're in a paint shaker (only less secure). I don't really like having to fiercely grab onto the ride the entire time to avoid throwing myself into the person next to me. Or the side of the car. It wasn't exactly painful, like Mean Streak; it was just annoying, and not what I'd call "thrilling." Apparently I'm in the minority with this view, though.

In any case, Kennywood did manage to squeeze two into my top 10, although I'm not sure 10 out of 45 is all that impressive. This list is based on my gut feeling about the ride experience itself, rather than the circumstantial, emotional qualities (e.g. I enjoy Blue Streak's short line, I hate Dragster's downtime).

1. Millennium Force - Cedar Point
2. Maverick - Cedar Point
3. Raptor - Cedar Point
4. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point
5. Dominator - Geauga Lake -- It's like a mix of Raptor and Mantis, but incredibly smooth. This is being relocated to Kings Dominion.
6. Flight of Fear - Kings Island
7. Vortex - Kings Island
8. The Beast - Kings Island -- Extra points for the experience after dark.
9. Racer - Kennywood -- A very, very smooth wooden coaster.
10. Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood -- Extra points for use of the surrounding terrain, aside from being a good flight in general.

I'll be adding to my count this December if/when I visit Knott's Berry Farm, and next year if/when I make it to Canada's Wonderland (both Cedar Fair parks, which means free admission with my season pass).

pump boys and dinettes

My show opens this weekend, and it'll be a good one. As I said before, I'm both playing the part of L.M. and serving as music director. Other cast members include Pat Kostalnick, Rick Evans, Tim and Diana Tyler, Susan DiDino, and Kim Mihalik.

It runs for three weekends:

              Fri, Oct 12 ; Sat, Oct 13
              Fri, Oct 19 ; Sat, Oct 20 ; Sun, Oct 21
Thu, Oct 25 ; Fri, Oct 26 ; Sat, Oct 27

All shows are at 8:00 p.m., except the one Sunday matinee at 3:00. Tickets are $12 (seniors $10), and you can call the box office at 440-327-2909. Just leave a message and someone will return the call to confirm the reservation.

In addition, this coming Thursday is "preview night," so you can see the final rehearsal for free, which gives us a chance to play off an audience. And there will be playing off, believe me.

It'll be nice having my weekday evenings free again... albeit briefly, before I launch into rehearsals for Thoroughly Modern Millie at Magnificat High School, for which I'm playing in November. But new Bryan Bird 3.0 doesn't mind, because he's being paid very well for this gig, which, combined with Pump Boys, more than makes up for having to back out of the Clague Playhouse Christmas show.

I might write about Bryan 3.0 later, but part of the upgrade isn't necessarily bloggable information... only because I don't like to talk about certain work/career-related issues here, for safety's sake. :)

darn yankees

From today's Chronicle-Telegram:

The city is looking for its first World Series championship since 1948 and, as always, the Yankees stand in the way.

The Indians were 0-6 against the Yankees during the regular season and lost to them last time they faced each other in the playoffs -- the 1998 American League Championship Series.

Strangely, I remember where I was when that happened. I was a freshman in college, doing laundry. Back then, I would sit in the laundry room, reading or doing homework -- that is, until I realized no one in Darrow Hall was going to steal my clothes from the dryer, nor were any of my clothes particularly valuable or stylish. I distinctly recall sitting there on the gaudy orange folding table and listening to the game on my boombox, and I remember what a pointless game it was.

This plummet, coming after 1997's hotly contested World Series run with the Marlins, pretty well soured me on the Indians for a few years. It's probably hard to call me a "fair weather fan," since such a term requires being a bigger fan than I ever was to begin with, but I did get caught up in the post-Municipal Stadium Tribe fever back in the '90s.

I feel it happening again this season, so I went out and bought a 'division champs' t-shirt for the first time in 10 years. Cleveland sports fans are riding a bit of a high right now, what with the Indians clinching home field advantage for the playoffs and the Browns' recent win over the Ravens, bringing their season to an even 2-2 record.

Some might warn not to get too comfortable or optimistic, but frankly, in the realm of Cleveland sports fandom, there's no such thing as "pessimism"; it just is what it is. You take what you can get, and if you're a Browns fan, that usually involves some cheap watery beer thrown in for good measure.

Hence, I won't say I'm "pessimistic" about the upcoming tango with the Yankees, but I'll certainly buckle up and hang on for the ride. Enjoy the rest of your day in Cleveland, America's rock 'n' roller coast.

So there. I wrote a blog post about sports. I have a hard time believing it myself.