Precious D's Pearls for Swine

WONKA!

2008-08-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

Willy Wonka opens this weekend at the Permian Playhouse and in three weeks, The Adventures of Fred Brown ans His Amazing Pandimensional Multi-Ship.

Little Shop of Horors

2007-08-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

I'll be playing the Dentist and various other parts in Little Shop of Horrors at the Permian Playhouse.

We got our ears pierced!

2006-11-20T14:07:00.000-06:00

Back when I was in junior high or high school, I wanted to get my ear pierced. I even had some clip-ons I used to wear. The idea seemed to bother my dad so I didn't do it. He never said I couldn't. He just didn't seem to like it. I figured that since he'd always been so supportive of everything else I wanted to do that I could skip this one thing if it was going to bother him. It wasn't important enough to me to be worth upsetting him. So, for about 25 years I've put off getting my ear pierced.

Then a few weeks ago Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes died.

As you can see, Ed had an earring. So, out of nowhere Dad says to Mom, "I think I'll get my ear pierced in honor of Ed Bradley." He'd never expressed any interest in such a thing before. Of course I said if he's doing it I am too. When my brother Danny heard he decided he was going to get both of his ears done. So yesterday, the day after Dad's 66th birthday, we all went to the mall and got out ears pierced. We would have gone on Dad's birthday, but we waited so Danny could go with us.

Danny went first.

We had Danny's kids with us. His two-year-old son Noah freaked out when he saw his daddy get in the chair. He cried and kept saying, "No. No, Daddy." Then he started gesturing to his baby sister Anna and saying her name. We figured he must have remembered Anna crying when she got her ears pierced and was trying to warn Danny of the danger. He calmed down after he saw it didn't hurt.

Then I went.

And finally Dad.

By this time Noah had not only calmed down but had decided it was pretty funny that grandpa was getting his ear pierced.

And here we are together. Click on the picture for a larger view.

For starters we all just got simple studs. After I've healed and can take the stud out, I'll get a big silly gold pirate loop with a parrot hanging in it and of course a Superman earring, if I can find one.

Straight Outta Lynwood

2006-09-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

"Weird Al" Yankovic's new album is out. Get it now! NOW!

TORQUEMADA: The Game.

2006-09-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

All pay heed! Now enters his holiness, Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.
Torquemada - do not implore him for compassion.
Torquemada - do not beg him for forgiveness.
Torquemada - do not ask him for mercy.
Let's face it - you can't Torquemada anything!

Here's another game of mine. This one I created along with my brother Delano. It's called Torquemada and was inspired by the realization that...

Mel Brooks

and Marlon Brando

have both played the role of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada, in History Of the World Part 1 and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery respectively

The game can be played by two or more people. It works like this. One player names two actors who have played the same part. The other player or players then have to name the part. Of course the first player must already know the answer. Don't just name two random actors.

In some cases, David Niven and Pierce Brosnan for example, the two actors may have more than one part in common. (Hint: one is a spy and the other is a betting man.)

Obviously many roles have been played by more than two actors. If you know more than two you might give out more names as hints if the other players are having trouble.

Here are a few more examples. If you know the answers, post them in the comments section.

Tim Curry & Charlton Heston (two roles. One role has also been played by Vincent Price)
Mel Brooks & Lord Lawrence Olivier
Jack Palance & George Hamilton
George Hamilton & Anthony Hopkins
Tom Baker & Michael Caine
Willem Dafoe & John Hurt & Will Ferrell

So there's the game, enjoy.

Torquemada: The Game is copyright 2006 by Dominic Lopez and Delano Lopez

Can it be a year already?

2006-09-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. My how time flies.

The Stage Game

2006-09-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

Here I am officially documenting the creation of my new game so that when it spreads across the globe there will be a record that I was the one who created it. The Stage Game was created by me, Dominic Lopez, in August of 2006 during a production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe of the Great Southwest in Odessa Texas.

The game is played by actors who are performing in a stage production. I suppose that some of the points could be scored by actors in a television or movie production as well.

IMPORTANT! Playing the game must not interfere with the production. The play comes first. Therefore, it is best to try to work your points into the rehearsal process. Drastically altering your blocking on opening night in order to score points is not allowed!

THE GAME

It's very simple. Actors score points by doing certain things. The most points wins. Lead characters may be given a negative handicap if they seem to have an unfair advantage. Characters who don't enter until after intermission do NOT get a positive handicap as getting to relax during the first half is a bonus in itself.

Disputes are settled by the stage manager unless I am in the production. As the creator I get to be the final arbiter.

Points are scored as follows:
Taking center stage = 1pt.
Taking center stage when it is not your line = 2pts.
Entering first = 1pt.
Exiting last = 1pt.
Making another actor take your prop or costume piece = 1pt.

To "take" center stage you must stop at center for a reasonable amount of time. Merely passing over the center while crossing does not count.

Entering first and exiting last means either alone at the beginning or end of a scene or with two or more others at any point during a scene.

Making someone take your prop or costume piece only counts if it is not in the script. For example, if you enter and the butler says, "May I take your coat?" you don't get any points for handing it to him. Here's another example. In our production of Much Ado About Nothing, Leanato hands me a letter after he is done reading it. 1pt. Towards the end of the play he says to Dogberry, "Here's for your pains." and hands him a coin purse. 0pts. Dogberry then turns and gives the purse to Verges. 1pt.

So there's the game. Enjoy. Play fair and don't screw up the show.

Much Ado About Nothing

2006-09-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of pictures of me in my costume for Much Ado About Nothing. The show is doing well. Folks really seem to like it.

About to kick Claudio's ass.

Pumpjacks in My Neighborhood #2

2006-08-30T14:21:00.000-05:00

Today's pumpjack is also located on Redondo St.

And on another note, my cafepress stores are finally taking off a bit. Why don't you jump on the bandwagon and buy something? You know you want to. Everyone is doing it. It'll make you popular.

Visit these Cafepress stores now.
The International Vampire Hunters' Guild
Zombie Hunter
Krypton Uber Alles
The Third Base Comedy Project
The Cybernetic Socialist Party
The Captain Jack Show

Pumpjacks in My Neighborhood

2006-08-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today we start a new feature to give my non Texan friends an idea of what it's like living in Odessa Texas, Pumpjacks in My Neighborhood. Nothing says West Texas like a big damn pumpjack by the side of the road. For those who don't know, a pumpjack is what they use to pump oil out of the ground after they've drilled for it with the taller "oil well" structure that you may be familiar with from movies and television. When working it resembles a giant steel bobbing bird

Today's pumpjack is located on Redondo Street near my house.

Floor Mats

2006-08-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Got Superman floor mats for my car today from Mom and Dad. Horray for Superman floor mats. Ok, it may not seem very exciting to you, but I'm pretty darn happy about it.

Astrology is Bigotry

2006-08-22T17:26:00.000-05:00

In my daily quest to confront bullshit, I ran across this lovely article by Bob Steiner. Now, anyone with the sense Bob gave a doorknob knows that astrology is a load of dingo's kidneys, but I'd never heard it put quite this way before. It is undeniable though that astrology is indeed bigotry.

Astrological Clip Art provided by Astrology.ca

The Amazing Randi

2006-08-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

Every week on his website the Amazing Randi comments on the latest bullshit from the paranormal, new age, and general crackpot community. I made it into Randi's column this week, not as a crackpot, but for an e-mail I sent about last week's commentary

It's here It's under the part labeled "Maitreya Again"

Zombie Hunter

2006-08-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

For some reason my Zombie Hunter Cafepress store seems to be doing relatively well. Why don't you buy some Zombie Hunter gear too?

PINK FIVE

2006-07-26T13:38:00.000-05:00

The best Star Wars films in the past 7 years are not the flaming crapburgers churned out by Lucasfilms. No, if you want quality Star Wars, click on over to Atomfilms.com and check out the saga of X-Wing pilot Pink Five.

And then watch the sequels Pink Five Strikes Back and The Return of Pink FIve Vol. 1.

You won't be sorry.

NEWS FLASH! Lucas Finally Pulls Head Out Of Ass!

2006-07-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

Is he finally listening to fans? Can he not stand the thought of bootleggers making money that could be his? Or has George Lucas' head indeed come lose from his ass where it has been firmly lodged since sometime around 1999?

Whatever the reason, the original non-suck versions of the original non-suck Star Wars trilogy are finally being released on DVD. Mind you, they are in 2 disc sets with the suck versions, but what are you gonna do? They are only available for a limited time, 'cause he's still a bastard that way.

Unbelievably, Lucas also wants to sell you a t-shirt commemorating what a fucking idiot he is.

Some random stuff

2006-07-19T17:14:00.000-05:00

Caught the premier of the New Sci-Fi channel show Eureka. I liked it and recommend it.

Saw Underworld: Evolution and BloodRayne on DVD. Did not like and do not recommend them. See The International Vampire Hunters' Guild for more detailed reviews.

Saw Pirates Two. Liked it, but thought it was a bit long. I don't think it will give too much away to say that I wasn't expecting a cliffhanger.

Anyone else on this Tribe thing? Do we need another online community. Still, it seems slightly less juvenile than MySpace.

Now it's really official

2006-07-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

I had to change a flippin' flat tire yesterday. I guess I really am a driver now.

It's official

2006-06-19T17:59:00.000-05:00

My real license came in the mail today. Horray and Huzza!

Because it's not a proper blog...

2006-06-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

until there's a picture of the cat.

Reunion

2006-06-14T17:06:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was my 20 year High School reunion. Here's a few pictures.

This is a bad picture of Kim Walden. She looked much better than this. But the only other picture I took had too much flash.

Me and Juli Longino

Lynn Stice

Some chicks I used to know.

More later.

Driving

2006-06-10T17:46:00.000-05:00

I didn't mean to sound ungrateful to my driving instructors. I couldn't have got my license without the help of my father and my brother Danny. Thanks guys.

Damn well about time.

2006-06-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

At long last, I am a licensed driver. Here's my temporary license. Passed the test with an 88. It would have been higher if my "instructors" had bothered mentioning that I should signal while parallel parking.

I'm not stupid. I erased the number and address before posting it on the net.

Coolest thing yet.

2006-05-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

The only thing cooler than "Weird Al" Yankovic's masterpiece Hardware Store is the fan video of the song done in legos. See it HERE.

Kinky For Governor

2006-05-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

I met Kinky Freidman today. I had met him years ago at a book signing in New York, but this time he was at the Globe Theater here in Odessa and he's running for governor.

If you'd like to learn more about who Kinky is and why he's running for governor, check out his website. http://www.kinkyfriedman.com

And here's Kinky talking to my mother.

Ok, now THIS is funny!

2006-04-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

Star Wars in 30 seconds and re-enacted by bunnies.

A long time ago...

2006-04-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

Once, long ago, I would have thought this was pretty damn funny. But now, thanks to those frelling prequels, I'm so damn sick of Star Wars that I don't care if I never see another lightsaber again.

How sad is that?

Fuck Star Wars! I'm watching Doctor Who instead. Unlike Star Wars, he wasn't ruined when he returned from a 15 year hiatus.

The 60's finally got here.

2006-04-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

When my family first moved to Odessa in the mid 70's my parents noticed that the 60's had not got here yet. "Great!" they said. "We'll get to do the 60's all over again." And then they waited,
and waited,
and waited.

Finally on April 8, 2006 the 60's arrived in Odessa, Texas. This past Saturday my parents and I participated in the first organized political march ever in the history of Odessa. The march was in support of immigration rights and in protest of House Bill 4437.

Julius Caesar

2006-03-07T15:00:00.000-06:00

I'll be playing Casca and possibly some other things in the up coming production of Julius Caesar at the Globe.

More Skull Girl

2006-02-28T16:09:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer!
In the interest of full disclosure, I want to state right up front that I did not really draw the following Skull Girl sketches. I essentially carbon copied them out of Wizard #172 and then altered them to suit my purposes. The point of these sketches was to help me develop Skull Girl's costume not to show off my limited drawing skills.

Sketch #1 was originally a concept sketch for Ultimate Scarlet Witch by Joe Mad.

Sketch #2 was a Spider-Woman picture. The original artist wasn't credited in Wizard, so I don't know who it was. If you do please let me know.

Comics you'll never get to see - the Sentry?

2006-02-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

This character was actually created by Bill, but I did the costume sketches, so I'm including him here. Bill originally wanted to call him The Watchman, but I thought there might be, if not legal problems, at least artistic ones. So we renamed him the Sentry or maybe it was the Sentinal. Of course, now Marvel has a character named The Sentry, so there goes that.

He was to have both a "Golden/Silver Age" version and a "Modern Age" version. Here they are. Guess which is which.

The Sentry was a little bit Batman and a little bit Guardian, but he wasn't going to be the star of the book. The star was a young would-be hero called Wonder Boy or Boy Wonder. I don't remember which. Anyway, he basicly wanted to be The Sentry's new sidkick. The Sentry wanted nothing to do with a sidekick because his last one had gone-nuts-and-tried-to-kill-everyone.

What the hell is going on?

2006-02-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

This Skull Girl post keeps disappearing. Here it is again. Let's see what happens.

The picture from the newspaper also went AWOL. So, here it is again, It's Hope and Me in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Comics you'll never get to see - Mr. Fright, The Haunted Man

2006-02-19T19:29:00.000-06:00

Bill once gave me a script called Mr. Fright, The Haunted Man. On the cover was a sketch by Tom Floyd of a guy who looked a lot like Ragman. After reading the script I said two things.

1) This guy looks like Ragman.

2) I don't think this story is about a guy called Mr. Fright. I think it's about a guy called The Paladin.

So, Bill let me rewrite it as the Paladin. I'll tell you about him another time. But then we were left with this cool name and no character. Bill and I never could agree on who Mr. Fright should be if he wasn't going to be the guy in the original script. What follows then is my idea of what Mr. Fright looks like. Bill still thinks he looks like Ragman.

And in case you don't know, this is what Ragman looks like.

As you can see, though I didn't want Mr. Fright to resemble Ragman too much, I still wanted a frayed look.

I'm not buying this.

2006-02-16T17:39:00.000-06:00

Saw this IQ test on a friend's site, so I took it. I refuse to believe my Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional. Seriously, I'm not good with the math. I count on my fingers.

Your IQ Is 110

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional

Your General Knowledge is Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Comics you'll never get to see.

2006-02-16T16:31:00.000-06:00

Due to the unreliability of people in general and artist in particular, the comics I've written will most likely never see the light of day. So, I'm introducing a new feature, COMICS YOU'LL NEVER GET TO SEE. It's a little glimpse of what might have been.

Meet Neuton John. He's a little bit Captain Atom and a little bit Mister Neutron without the military ties of the former or the silly voice of the latter. Neutron John, AKA John Newton, was meant to be the powerhouse of the comic book universe my friend Bill and I were creating.

The story would have been called The Return of Neutron John. Years ago terrorists/super villains/whatever detonated a nuclear device in a large US city. John absorbed the blast with his body, thus averting disaster, but went missing immediately afterwards. Most people assumed that John had died, but really he was only in a coma. The government had been watching and studying his body in a secret facility since the incident. Then one day, John woke up.

That's where the story would have begun. I never got much of it written. I was waiting for something to happen with the stuff I'd already written before I put a lot of work into Neutron John.

Captain Atom + Mr. Neutron = Neutron John

Behold, the young geek.

2006-02-16T15:51:00.000-06:00

I ran across this old newspaper picture of me from July 30, 1987. The local PBS station was having a fundraiser to try to get Dr. Who on the air. We succeded. I won a t-shirt in the look alike contest, mostly cause I had the curliest hair and the longest scarf.

Do you know this girl?

2006-02-14T17:40:00.000-06:00

Are you this girl? Just wondering whatever happened to you.

Scotty

2006-02-13T16:18:00.000-06:00

Months ago I posted a really crappy photo of a photo of my old freind Raymond and me with James Doohan a.k.a. Star Trek's Scotty. I now have a proper scanner, so here's a better copy of the picture. I'm the one on the right.

And here is the autograph I got that day.

You can see more of my autograph collection HERE. Some of the links and pics are screwed up, but now that I have a new scanner, I hope to fix that soon.

Another sad day for geekdom

2006-02-13T15:58:00.000-06:00

Phil Brown, the actor who played uncle Owen in the original Star Wars died on Thursday at the age of 89.

Remember when Star Wars didn't suck?

Click here for the full story.

Nowhere Man

2006-01-21T16:14:00.000-06:00

I won a Nowere Man complete series DVD set from the M80 online team. Horray for me! Seriously, if you haven't seen this show go rent in now.

Say hello

2006-01-11T23:20:00.000-06:00

I'd like to get an idea of who actually reads this. So if you know me or even if you don't, post a quick comment to say hello.

Thanks.

Rehearsing two shows

2006-01-04T22:54:00.000-06:00

I'll be playing Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the Prince/Prologue in Romeo and Juliet both at the Globe Theater.

Once again without an artist.

2005-12-23T16:21:00.000-06:00

I told some of you that I'd found a new artist to draw my comic, The Adventures of Fred Brown and His Amazing Pandimensional Multi-Ship. Well, guess what. She's quit. She has what are, to her, very good reasons, however she had assured me that this wouldn't happen, that she was different from the other artists I'd worked with. Everyone who knows her had told me this was a good idea, that she was great, and that I could rely on her. This is what I get for trusting people.

Time and time again I've learned the lesson not to work with other people and I keep forgetting. Hopefully I'll remember this time.

So, my friends I regret that you will probably never get to read the the wonder, the splendor, and the glory that is The Adventures of Fred Brown and His Amazing Pandimensional Multi-Ship. The thing is Fred depends heavily on his friends.

I'll be getting back to work on Infinity Jane now. Jane has no friends. She works alone.

Merry fucking Christmas.

Pirates and Emperors

2005-12-23T11:21:00.000-06:00

Check out this great little Schoolhouse Rock style video, Pirates and Emperors.

The Worst Christmas Ever.

2005-12-16T17:51:00.000-06:00

In December of 2004, with the help of several friends, I packed a U-Haul truck with twelve years of accumulated books, comics, toys, CD’s, DVD’s, dirty clothes, three video game consoles with games, a computer, a TV, and a partridge in a pear tree. I was moving back to Texas from New York. Since I like to come home for Christmas, December seemed like the best time to do it.

It was to be the Worst Christmas Ever.

Since I don’t have a license, my brother Delano, was doing the driving. His wife Rachel came along for the ride.

About half way through our journey we stopped for the night in Memphis, Tennesee. Never stop for the night in Memphis, Tennessee. When we awoke the next morning the truck was gone, stolen. The motel staff were not very helpful other than to tell us that the same thing had happened next door a few weeks ago. The police were not much use either.

In desperation and despair we rented a car to make the rest of the journey. We didn’t get very far. Icy roads added an extra day to our already horrible trip. The bad weather also created huge travel hassles for my sister, Lita, who was flying in from Chicago. She ended up making the last leg of the trip from Dallas to Odessa by car with us.

When we finally reached Odessa the whole family was treated to a bout of the stomach flu. Everyone was puking or crapping.

But that’s not all. After Christmas was over there was one last fetid cherry to top off the holiday crap pie. As Dad was driving Delano and Rachel to the airport they were hit by another car. Delano and Rachel just walked the last hundred yards or so to the airport. No one was seriously hurt, but the car (which was borrowed) was totaled and Dad had back and rib pain for months.

Yes, it was truly the Worst Christmas Ever. But I learned something important- The Worst Christmas Ever is still Christmas.

God bless us, everyone.

P.S. About a month later the U-Haul truck was recovered. Much of my stuff was still in it. How I got it back is another story full of it’s own extreme suckiness.

Snow in Texas

2005-12-16T15:35:00.000-06:00

Here. folks, Is what snow looks like in Texas. Sad, isn't it? It snowed last night and by noon it was all gone.

Fantastic Four Review

2005-12-14T18:29:00.000-06:00

I just poster my review of the Fantastic Four movie over at Fanboy Vs. Zombie.

testing rss feed

2005-12-12T17:24:00.000-06:00

Just a little message to test something.

1- Show is going well
2- Burning CD's not going well.
3- Finally got ClearWire. Works well.

More Nowhere Man

2005-12-07T17:08:00.000-06:00

There's a media player online now with clips from the show- here. I'm telling you, if you haven't seen Nowere Man, you've at least got to rent it when it comes out. If you enjoy shows like John Doe, the Pretender, The Prisoner, or Alias, I think you'd like Nowhere Man.

A Wonderful Life

2005-12-06T15:31:00.000-06:00

A Wonderful Life opens at the Globe Theater on Friday. I'm playing three parts, Did I mention that already? I'm Tom Bailey, Ernie Bishop, and Mr. Martini.

It's darn well about time!

2005-11-23T15:13:00.000-06:00

Nowhere Man, one of the best TV shows ever is about to come out on DVD. I frickin' loved this show, so of course it got canceled after one season. It's a lot like The Prisoner, which is the single greatest television show ever. Years later there was another great show called John Doe, which I like to pretend was a sequel to Nowhere Man. Naturally John Doe was also canceled after one season.

Here's a brief description of the series.

Unknown forces conspire to erase photographer Thomas Veil's (Bruce Greenwood, I, Robot) identity and without warning, every aspect of his life is unraveled during the course of one evening – his wife acts as if he's a stranger, his credit cards are suddenly invalid, his keys no longer fit the door to his home and in one way or another, his family and friends are silenced. Completely alone, Veil sets out on a desperate cross-country quest for an answer while eluding his powerful and unknown enemy. His only clue to the possible motivation behind the harrowing ordeal is the disappearance of one of his photographs, “Hidden Agenda,” which depicts the execution of natives in a war-torn Third World country.

Join the Nowhere Man Online Team here and you could win a copy of the DVD.

Oh My!

2005-10-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

'Star Trek' Actor George Takei Comes Out

LOS ANGELES -
George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community

More...

I'm in a show!

2005-10-25T15:54:00.000-05:00

I''ll be playing three or more parts in the musical version of It's a Wonderful Life at the Globe of the Great Southwest. Rehersals start tonight. More details later.

And don't forget I'm in The War of the Worlds on Halloween night. It's being broadcast live on FM 103.3 KISSFM.

Al's new book.

2005-10-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

Al Frankin has a new book coming out, The Truth (With Jokes.) It should be pretty good. I got to meet him at a signing for Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them Them. He laughed at my joke, so you know I'm a fan.

Front page, baby!

2005-10-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

I was on the front page of the local paper today. I was auditioning for The War of the Worlds. It's going to be done on the radio for Halloween. Don't know if I'm in yet. Man, I need a haircut.

More Ft. Davis pics

2005-09-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

This is the house my father was born and grew up in. It's adobe and stone. ADOBE!

Here's another view.

And another.

You can probably tell that no one lives there anymore. Aparently ownership is divided among many siblings and cousins including my father.

Arrrrr!!!!! Me Hearties

2005-09-18T15:28:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Read all about it here.

Weekly Photo Challenge

2005-09-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

Over at Xanga.com, Ive been participating in the Weekly Photo Challenge.

This week's Photo Challenge is Before and After. Here is my entry.

BEFORE

AFTER

Personnaly, I prefer blogger to Xanga, but a friend has a blog there so I ended up with one while trying to post a comment on his blog.

Get Fuzzy!

2005-09-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

I thought the two or three 3BCP fans out there might enjoy this. If it's too small to read, click here.

September 11- enough already

2005-09-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

I was there, ok. Eight blocks to the east. I answered the phones at work for hours afterwards, trying to help worried callers with whatever information I had. I breathed in the dust, smelled the stench for months. You know what? I'm sick of hearing about it. Enough already. Bad things happen to people all over the world, both by natural and man-made causes. No one else whines about it as much as we do. Suck it up.

And how much longer do we have to hear God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch? I don't apreciate the song stealing the spotlight from Take Me Out to the Ballgame. They always say, "To honor America, so-and-so will now sing God Bless America." Isn't that why we sing the Star Spangled Banner before the game? How much honoring does America need, and what do they even mean by that? We're a bunch of Americans (mostly, there could be some tourists at the game) in America engaged in the American passtime. So we're basicly honoring ourselves, right? What's that about?

Enough already. I remember. I'll never forget. I don't need to be reminded evertime I go to the ballpark. They still mention Pear Harbor on the news every year, so I guess there will be some kind of annual memorial for a long time to come, but take it down a notch, will you?

Fort Davis Pt. 2

2005-09-06T22:39:00.000-05:00

For Labor Day weekend my parents and I planned to visit my father's home town of Fort Davis, Texas. We were also planned to hit the Marfa Lights Festival in nearby Marfa and The Big Bend Balloon Bash (hot air balloons) in the similarly nearby Alpine.

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

First the motel screwed up our reservations. Apparently the area is a popular getaway for Labor Day and the Marfa thing is a big deal to some, so places fill up. My mother is in a wheel chair until we can get her knee replacement surgery. So, she needs a handicap accessible room and most hotels/motels only have a few. Mom had reserved such a room weeks ago at the Fort Davis Motor Inn and RV Campground for Saturday and Sunday nights. When we get there these idiots tell us that the reservation was for Friday night and since we weren't there they gave the room to someone else. They weren't very apologetic and totally unhelpful, making no effort to find us another room somewhere else. So, SCREW YOU FORT DAVIS MOTOR INN AND RV CAMPGROUND!

Several months ago we had read an article in the Odessa American about a new restaurant/bar in Fort Davis called the Sherlock Holmes Outpost. So we decided to have lunch there and go back home.

Look, Watson, a clue! The outpost must be this way.

Mom couldn't resist telling the waitress, Hannah, how crappy the Motor Inn had been. Hannah told us that the same people who own the Outpost also owned a new hotel in town, The Harvard Hotel, and she'd call them and see if they had anything. They did and Hannah set the whole thing up. The room was about twice what we were going to spend at the Motor Inn, but we figured, better to have one night in a nice place than two nights in a crappy place, or no nights at all, so we took it.

The Harvard Hotel was very nice, but the bed was too high for mom to get into so she ended up sleeping in the roll-away bed while Dad and I took the double. Both of them snored so much that it was hard for me to get to sleep.

In the morning we were supposed to head over to the Balloon Bash in time for the 8am launch. The 'rents were slow getting started and since we were only staying the one night now, we had to pack everything up. So, by the time we got there the balloons had already launched. The only balloon left was a tethered one that was giving rides. Since we still had to get to the festival, I decided it wasn't worth waiting in the long line for an obviously very short balloon ride.

The Marfa Lights Festival turned out to be lame and we got rained on. I'm told that the festival has been better in the past. For those of you who don't know, the Marfa Lights are fairly famous "ghost lights" that have been witnessed for at least 100 years. There are lost of theories, both scientific and crackpot, but supposedly no one knows what causes them. Since we couldn't stay the extra night, I didn't get the chance to see them. Thus I can not yet give my opinion on the cause. I suspect that it was once a natural phenomena that is now augmented by the city council.

Add to all that my father's crap driving and my mother's crabieness and it was a real shit vacation.

I got some cool pictures though. I'll post more later.

Hurricane in brief.

2005-09-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

Let me briefly say that I won't be saying much if anything else about the hurricane on this blog. It's not that I don't care or that I don't have thoughts and feelings about it. I do. It's just that it seems like everyone else on the internet is talking about it. Whatever I have to say is already being said by hundreds, possibly thousands of others, Michael Moore, for example. So I'm going to stick with stuff that no one else is saying. I will only say this...

BUSH SUCKS AND HURRICANES BLOW!

Fort Davis

2005-09-04T20:23:00.000-05:00

This weekend we took a trip to my Father's home town, Fort Davis, Texas. As usual, nothing went smothly- messed up hotel reservation, dead car battery, and rain. I took a bunch of pictures, which I'll post later. For now I'll just give you a few from a nifty little place called The Sherlock Holmes Outpost.

My Uncle Benny

2005-08-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve been out of town for a few days. We had to go to a funeral. My father’s adopted brother Benny Lopez was murdered in Albuquerque, NM at around 6 am, Thursday, August 18. He was apparently shot by a mentally ill man named John Hyde who was off his medication. Hyde went on to kill two motorcycle shop workers and two policemen over the course of the day. Hyde is now in custody. He has been positively linked to all five murders through the weapon, a rare handgun. Details of events and motive (if any) are still sketchy. But there seems to be no doubt that Hyde is the man responsible. Of course formalities must be observed. The whole thing is a huge story in Albuquerque.

Just to make sure there is no confusion, one of MY brothers is also named Ben. He is fine.

Benny’s mother died when he was young. His father traveled a lot so he left Benny in the care of his aunt, Annie. She was married at the time to my grandfather, Joe Lopez. They adopted him and that’s how he came to be Dad’s brother. They continued to regard each other as brothers even after Grandfather and Annie got divorced. We only learned this week that Benny’s birth name was Lopez as well.

Though Benny had no full blood siblings, through various remarriages, adoptions, and foster arrangements, he came to have twenty people he regarded as siblings. They all loved him very much. He was highly regarded by friends and coworkers.

Cpl. Adrian Morales, of Delta Company, 4th Recon Battalion, removes the flag from Ben Lopez's casket.

Uncle Benny worked for the NM Department of Transportation. He was considered to have died on the job since that’s where he was when he got shot. The whole Albuquerque division was given the day off for the funeral and the State Secretary of Transportation was there. Benny was a Vietnam vet, so he was buried in the national cemetery in Santa Fe with full military honors. The procession was quite long.

I'm sorry to say I din't not know Benny well. I only remember meeting him once when Grandfather was dying. I'm told I met him several times when I was a child, but I don't remember.

Sore Thumbs

2005-08-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

I just discovered the above webcomic, Sore Thumbs. I highly recomend it.

Another, yes another new blog

2005-08-12T00:03:00.000-05:00

My friend Bill and I have started a blog. It's the geekiest thing ever. It's called Fanboy Vs. Zombie. What we do is argue about which is better...wait for it... wait for it... seriously it's major league geek...which is better, DC or Marvel Comics. Told you it was geeky. If any of you think you have big enough geek stones to chime in, we encourage your two cents. I made a logo and everything.

Awards pt. 2

2005-08-11T23:22:00.000-05:00

Back from the awards now. Godspell got one award. Gabriel Juarez won for Best Supporting Male Actor in a Musical. I got a certificate for outstanding work with the Stagehands. Not exactly sure why, but thanks anyway.

Awards

2005-08-11T16:54:00.000-05:00

The Permian Playhouse is having their annual awards ceremony tonight. My brother Danny and I are both nominated. This will probably be the last time I set foot in the place. I'll let you know how it went later.

SPAM!!!!!

2005-08-09T20:13:00.000-05:00

Someone just left frelling spam as a comment on my blog. Oh, they tried to make it look like a real message, but they didn't try hard enough. I can't believe this. Is nowhere safe? Is this common? Man, I am pissed.

Microgames/Minigames

2005-08-08T13:39:00.000-05:00

I used to love these things back in the Eighties. I hardly ever played them, but I sure did love buying them. Micro/Mini/Pocket Games were small war/strategy games that came in a plastic bag, plastic case, or cardboard box and usually sold for between $2 and $5. Several companies published micro or mini games beginning with Metagaming Concepts and including TSR, Taskforce Games, FASA, Steve Jackson Games, and Mayfair Games.

The Maverick's Microgame Museum is an excellent site devoted to the subject.

You can actually download some minigames at Dwarfstar Games.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster

2005-08-06T17:46:00.000-05:00

Pardon me for stealing Steve Jackson's Illuminated site of the week, but you have just got to read this.

LINK.

TORNADO! or beware the exclamation point.

2005-08-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Now I love Bruce Campbell. I really do. I am a member of the Bruce Cambell Fan Club, seriously. I have a card and everything. If you haven't seen him in Bubba Ho Tep, then I recomend you go out and rent it right now. I even met him once. He was very nice and laughed at my joke. However, I just finished watching Bruce's latest TV movie, USA's Tornado! It's the sort of movie that makes you wonder if Bruce has ever turned down a job. As David Spade would put it- I liked it better the first time I saw it when it was called Twister. They should have just called it Diet Twister.

After Tornado! USA is showing Dante's Peak. I mention this because I am also a memeber of the Pierce Brosnan fan club, though I have not yet met him.

The Future Is Now

2005-08-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

"Nanotechnology has been harnessed to kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. " Click the link above to read the BBC story. Man, science is cool!

My other blog

2005-08-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

By the way, if you haven't done so yet, please check out my other blog, The International Vampire Hunter's Guild.

I'VE GOT A FEVER...

2005-08-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

...and the only perscription is MORE JACKRABBIT!!!!!

2005-08-02T17:18:00.000-05:00

Here it is folks, the world famous Odessa Texas Giant Jackrabbit. It's moved arround town a bit over the years. Currently it sits in front of the main post office.

A few years ago New York had a "cow parade" wherein different goups painted and decorated fiberglass cows which were then displayed around town. They got the idea from some town in Europe. Well, now they're doing a similar thing in Odessa, but instead of cows they are using... you guessed it, jackrabbits. I'll try to take some pictures of those if I get the chance.

Here is one of the historic markers next to the jackrabbit. I believe it contains educational facts about real jackrabbits.

And here is the other one which is about the world's first championship jackrabbit roping.

2005-07-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

And now a tour around the neighborhood.

Many people ask me what Odessa is like or what it's near. I tell them it's a stinking desert and it's not near anything. Here's some pictures so you can see for yourself.

This is our house.

This is the big cactus in front of our house. It is surrounded by several smaller cacti.

People think because we live in a big house that we must be rich. So, they used to steal out mail. We got a cousin to build this nifty mailbox for us and now it's not a problem.

This is what a Mesquete bush looks like before you burn it to flavor your barbeque. These things are all over our land.

2005-07-25T17:29:00.000-05:00

But all is not bleak in the world, for I have a new SUPERMAN MESSENGER BAG!

2005-07-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Well, folks, it's official. The Playhouse has decided to pull the plug on the show. I want everyone to know that this was not my decision. Bill, Stephanie, and I were willing to do the work nessecary to put up a new show by next week, but the Playhouse thought it wasn't worth the effort. I'd like to thank everyone who came to the show and the folks who worked hard to put it on in the first place, except for Christopher. He can go f*** himself.

The remaining members of the Third Base Comedy Project may try to give it a go again sometime in a different venue.

And now for something completely different. Click on this link to get me some points.

Serenity: The Official Movie Website

This is for the new movie Serenity which is a continuation of the most excelent show Firefly.

2005-07-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

By the way, the idiot pictured below has shaved his head. You'll need to know that if you're going to kick him in the balls. Apparently he couldn't wait till after the two performances he had left to do it. And I guess that it didn't occur to him that since there was already a guy in the show with a shaved head he might look a little silly. But there you go, some people don't think through the impact of their actions.

IF YOU SEE THIS MAN, KICK HIM IN THE BALLS.

2005-07-23T23:10:00.000-05:00

This is Christopher Borgman. Chris was in the my show Niagara Falls!, but he decided suddenly that he HAD to move to New York this week. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, proper actors don't drop out of a show in the middle of a run no matter what the reason. It's just not cricket. Besides, I lived in New York for twelve years. I can assure you, there are already plenty of douchebags in New York. They don't need another one.

By the way. My mother is NOT dead. Nor is my father. Our good friend Victor Lopez has recently lost both his parents, his mother just in the past week. Many people mistakenly believe that Victor is a member of our family. Although he may be like family, he is not actually the offspring of Gerald and Patricia Lopez. It seems that some people are under the imperssion that it is they who have been ill and have passed on. Gerald and Patricia are fine. Our prayrs are with Victor in his time of grief.

2005-07-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

A potentially disastrous development for my show. More later.

2005-07-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

It's a sad sad day in geekdom as James "Scotty" Dohan beems up for the last time.

I met him once years ago. A real gentleman.

I don't have a working scanner right now, so this picture looks like crap. It's a photo of a photo, but I assure you it's me and my friend Raymond with James Dohan. And the next photo is his autograph.

2005-07-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

Was up til 5 am reading the new Harry Potter. Good stuff. So far not as much of a downer as the last one, though I understand someone major dies by the end.

2005-07-17T20:26:00.000-05:00

Last night's show went on, but still a small audience.

Saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today. It was good, but I do not agree with those who think it's better than the previous adaptation.

2005-07-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

We had to cancel tonight's show due to lack of interest. Hopefully tomorrow will go better.

Meanwhile at the Ector Theater, things are looking grim.

2005-07-15T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here's some pictures from Godspell.

2005-07-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've changed the template for my blog so that my thousands of readers can now add comments. Have at it.

2005-07-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Well, the show is off to a slow start. The audiences have been small, but enthusiastic. We did have four old ladies leave at intermisson last saturday. We can only speculate that they were offended by the laguage. If we're lucky they will write an irate letter to the editor.

Here's a review of the show from the Odessa American. http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw070805g.htm
and here is a general article about the show. http://www.oaoa.com/lifestyle/life070105a.htm

2005-06-22T17:03:00.000-05:00

Hello folks. Ok, so I haven't updated the blog since last year. I've been a little busy.

In case you didn't know I've moved back to Texas. I'm going to be here for a couple of years while I try to finish up some writing projects. Which is good news and bad news for you Infinity Jane fans. Good news cause I'm working on a propper book. Bad news 'cause you may not get those little samples on the blog like you used to.

Back in Jan I directed Godspell at the Permian Playhouse. It was a good show but hardly anyone came to see it. My brother Danny was great as Jesus.

Now I'm rehersing for a sketch comedy show that I wrote which will run at the Playhouse in July and August. It's some of my Third Base Comedy Project material from New York. The Show is called Niagara Falls! Get 3B gear here.

2004-11-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

November 21 through 27 is National Games Week. Get some friends together and play. More details are HERE.

2004-11-07T12:14:00.000-06:00

Dare you believe it? Read this if you can.

Time for a revolution, perhaps.

2004-11-05T14:05:00.000-06:00

Sick of it all? Consider this option- http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/

2004-11-03T18:27:00.000-06:00

We're all doomed.

2004-10-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

I'm actually glad the Red Sox have broken their so-called curse. From now on when they suck they won't have the curse to blame it on. It will just be because they suck.

2004-09-14T09:43:00.000-05:00

Everyone get on line and sign up at http://savebetamax.org if you want to stop the copyright industry from trying to screw you again. The movie and music industry are trying to undermine the Betamax decision. That was the Supreme Court decision that confirmed the legality of VCRs. Everytime there is a new technology involving copying and distributing art the copyright industry freaks out and tries to outlaw it. Then of course they end up making a fortune with it once they figure it out. Now they are at it again with the INDUCE Act.

Here's some words from our old friend Mr Rogers testifying in the original case back in the 80's.

Testimony from Mr. Rogers from the Betamax case:
"I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the 'Neighborhood' off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the 'Neighborhood' because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been 'You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.' Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important."

2004-07-01T18:13:00.000-05:00

SATURDAY JULY 3rd IS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. HORRAY!!!
http://www.freecomicbookday.com

2004-06-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

Jane’s uncle Finbar was a spelunker, which is a very fun thing to say. Try it now. “Finbar the spelunker.” Finbar had once given Jane one of his old spelunking helmets, the kind with a light on the front. Jane packed it into her overnight bag along with her blue nightgown (the one with daisies on it,) her toothbrush, and her aluminum baseball bat. Jane also took a very old sleeping bag with pictures on it from a TV show she had never seen. She liked the pictures anyway and had made up her own names and stories about them.

At the Somebody’s house there was macaroni and cheese for dinner. They only had cheap store brand soda, so Jane had the root beer. Root beer is hard to mess up. During dinner Mr. and Ms. Somebody tried to maintain a happy chatty mood, but their eyes were filled with despair and hope. Little Susie hardly ate a thing. She looked pale, drained, and tired. Jane had three helpings of macaroni and cheese.

After dinner they watched a video, something insipid about princesses, and then it was time for bed. Jane changed into her nightgown, put on her helmet, and crawled into her sleeping bag with her bat. They had offered her the bed, but Jane thought things should be set up as close to normal as possible. Ms. Somebody turned out the light and Jane pretended to go to sleep.

After several hours of waiting Jane herd a sound, a sickly, slurpy, suckling sound.

2004-03-31T19:21:00.000-06:00

Little Susie Somebody had nightmares. Sometimes there were monsters. Sometimes there was falling. Sometimes there was nothing but a feeling of unspeakable dread. Always there was a scream, her own scream as she jerked awake. There were sweaty sheets and clammy hands. Eventually there were doctors and medicines, but nothing helped. Little Susie Somebody was Tormented.

Susie’s parents had tried everything to no avail. When every other option failed they fell back on instinct. Instinct told them that Juanita Maria Francesca O’Riley might be able to help. They had no more sense than most parents, but they had just enough sense to know that Juanita was known as Infinity Jane. And somehow they knew that nightmares were just the sort of thing Jane was best equipped to deal with.

***

Jane was in her backyard listening to the big tree. Trees speak very slowly. Jane had asked the tree how it was feeling and had been listening to the answer on and off for about a week now. Mother called out from the house.

“Juanita! Susie’s mother is on the phone.”

“Is it monsters?” asked Jane.

"What? Not monster- mother. She wants to know if you’d like to spend the night tonight.”

“Must be nightmares.” Said Jane.

“What?”

“Tell her yes.” yelled Jane.

2004-02-26T14:51:00.000-06:00

John Edward's wife was on the Staten Island Ferry yesterday kissing hands and shaking babies. Screw her, I'm voting for Nader again. LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY, say I.

FALLING CHIPS, BABY!!