Star Wars, Candidates, and Shot Down Satellites

It's my birthday; I can cry if I want to... getting older isn't what it used to be. I saw Princess Leia live this week and seeing her age just brings home my own aging. But I was really happy to see Carrie Fisher's one woman autobiographical play, "Wishful Drinking", at the Berkeley Rep. Definitely worth seeing if you like her work or if you are a fan of either of her parents. I personally think both her acting and her writing are stellar.

This week, for those of you who haven't heard, the Navy "successfully" shot down a U.S. spy satellite that was plummeting toward the earth... that's what they say. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but there is evidence out there that the government has been working on this and that related to the ol' 80's Star Wars program for a while now, so although I'm not sure what they used to shoot the thing down, it is interesting in that context. And yeah, I'm glad they used the Navy supposedly for something useful to protect innocent people from getting bits of satellite debris dropped on their heads.

Finally, one of the best things I received in email this week was a link to the Star Wars Guide to the Candidates. Most are out of the race now, but it's hilarious! Enjoy.

Philanthropy & SFBayStyle

I have a lot to post on this blog, but it may be a few days... I'm working on getting a couple of collaborative sites rolling. I've mentioned SFBayStyle.com before - it's really growing now. We're adding writers and events. We have a whole lot of nonprofit philanthropic events we'll be covering in the next few months. And we're working the eco angle as well, so environmentalists, stay tuned for that.

I've moved my art, music, fashion and philanthropic posts that are unrelated to tech over to SFBayStyle because it seemed to be a better fit, so Sairy.com will continue to house the old posts, but it's now really going to focus on what the tagline says - tech, politics (candidates & policy), philanthropy (nonprofits & causes) and culture that relates to those things... the original plan for this blog. That way since many people are only interested in one vs. the other & not both, they won't have to weed through whichever doesn't interest them in order to find what does.

I'll post later this week or next about the other launch I'm working on...

Rosebud Revisited - Peter Finch & Thunderbird Theatre Production in SF

What do H. G. Wells, Orson Welles, Huey Lewis and Tom Stoppard have in common? "Aaah! Rosebud," a new play by KFOG News Director, Peter Finch, directed by Dylan Russell and produced by the Thunderbird Theatre Company. A comedy of Evil Dead proportions, featuring an "evil sled" (often referred to as a "she-devil" by multiple characters in the play), the play takes us "Back in Time" to retell the story of Citizen Kane, where a collection of crafty champion curlers fight a killer cabal.

The theme of the play twists the tale on why Kane's final word was "Rosebud", taking it in a comedic direction vs. a serious one. Finch, a veteran actor for the Thunderbird Theatre Company, wrote the play with the theatre company and several of their regular actors in mind according to the Chronicle article. He acts splendidly in the two roles he plays. My husband, brought up in Michigan, was cracking up at his Canadian curler accent as Mack.

We signed up for the play to see our friend, Maria Ross as Esther, belting an off-key musical number and taking on some not so pretty new personality traits. (I could tell you, but I don't like spoilers.) She didn't disappoint; nor did any of the other actors including Max Bernstein, who, proving the world is always indeed a small place, was a former co-worker of mine at NDA. (I didn't know he was in the play before perusing the cast list in the program.) Other actors include (in alphabetical order) Faith Aeryn, Shay Casey, Dirk Echols, Emma Fassler, Matt Gunnison, Jason Harding, Rob Herrmann, Z'ev Jenerik, and Nathan Tucker. I was always annoyed when they told us in playwriting classes the rule was to never write more than 8 actors into a play (due to the cost of production); kudos to Finch for ignoring that.

There are some really silly moments in "Aaah! Rosebud". My favorites included the "Washington Lobbyist" cardboard cut-out's place in Xanadu, some great newspaper headlines, and a lot of jabs at the musical, "Cats". And the song adds a feel-good element to the ending. The only problem I had with the plot was when the curlers (ok, so one brief spoiler required for this) are standing over a pristine sheet of ice that is being soiled by a bloody corpse and their first action is to be sad over their friend's death rather than appalled by the soiling of their frictionless practice surface. I'm kidding, of course, but as a figure skater, I had to make one joke about it.

The play takes many fun twists and turns, breaks the fourth wall on occasion in a Ferris Bueller-esque way, and follows baguette-length tangents toward dramatic and comedic ends. (Trust me, this will mean more when you see the play, which I highly recommend if you're at all a fan of the stage or comedy.) An easy hop into SOMA for a fun night, don't forget to stop by Basil for dinner beforehand.

At intermission the night we attended, the company gave away raffle prizes as well as some prizes for a random drawing for getting on their mailing list. My husband won the drawing for 3rd prize and I won first prize which included a photo with the character of my choice. I chose Mack, played by Peter Finch. (See the blurry photo of a Polaroid below.) All in all, it was a good time.


"Aaah! Rosebud" is running August 23rd through September 8th at the New Langton Arts theatre at 1246 Folsom Street and September 21st-22nd at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts at 2640 College Ave. in Berkeley. Don't forget to support the San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club.

British Farce Spoofed for Googlers

Lauren Weinstein has produced a song, "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major Googler" which is cute. It doesn't capture the entire essence of Google, of course, but it's amusing nonetheless. If you don't already get the theme, it's Gilbert & Sullivan's "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from The Pirates of Penzance. (If you're not familiar with G&S or that musical, it's a farce - the character introducing himself, proud of his role in the British Navy.) He dedicated it to all Google employees. I went to read the lyrics first, but it's much more fun to listen to the mp3.

I still remember when Google was just Larry and Sergey and a few other friends at Stanford, so I'll admit that the thought of people working there who have never even seen either of them is odd to me, but I'm sure it's the case these days. I don't know if it's actually true that they ask prospective employees to build working disk drives from lego sets as the song notes (pun intended), but if so, that would be Larry's influence. He had a printer he'd built out of legos when we were undergrads at UofM. And he was talking about the book scanner then. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of that project. I know Google's getting more criticism these days as it grows larger, but I still think they are doing well sticking to their core mission considering their size. Enjoy the song.

Script Frenzy - NaNoWriMo for Screenwriters & Playwrights

I can't believe I had to hear about this from a newspaper clipping sent via snailmail from my mother instead of via broadband or word of mouth. Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, aka November), the man who coined my nickname, 'Sairy', when we were in high school together, has now launched Script Frenzy, a month-long scriptwriting 'contest' where writers hash out scripts for full length screenplays or stage plays. Looks like fun.

I was one of the first people to participate in NaNoWriMo but I bailed because of my carpal tunnel syndrome... it was pretty fierce at the time. But back in college, I recall writing a one-act play in 2 weeks while studying British Film & Theatre over the summer in London, so I figure if I could do that then, certainly I could do it again now. I've written a hand full of other plays and screenplays and directed/co-produced one of them, but that was all in college and they weren't particularly good. I probably write over 2000 words a day professionally now not to mention email, so if their requirement is 20,000 words in a month, no sweat. (Famous last words.) For point of reference, this post is 375 words. The 4 posts I've written today add up to 2400 words. Dialogue is easy. Just talk to yourself for several hours and voila!

Looking at the Script Frenzy site, they have tips for script writing, an insightful blog, a forum for participants, and of course a call for action. One of my favorite parts is the donation package incentives. As someone who's worked with a lot of nonprofits, these perks are some of the most amusing I've seen. For $5000, their team will make a 5 minute movie about you and enact it with anything from finger puppets to A-List actors. And these guys are smart - it would probably be damn good and definitely it would be funny. In any case, they need money to keep the contest going and to launch it again in future years. They also support young writers in a variety of ways.

They operate NaNoWriMo and Script Frenzy both through their nonprofit, The Office of Letters and Light.

SF Opera Fete & SF Bay Style

I'm not publicizing this too much yet because it's still a work in progress (no top bar design, no metrics, no feeds as of yet) but a few friends and I are putting together a new web site - SF Bay Style - sfbaystyle.com - that will encompass all aspects of stylish living in the Bay Area. This means we'll write about topics like eco fashion, stylish events, fabulous interiors and luxury hotels but we'll also cover stylish but inexpensive places to dine, where to get great deals on clothes locally, how to put together great looks without much time, and anything else that the market defines. We're trying to have fun with it and we're still learning and deciding how to frame i, so we're open to ideas and feedback.

I've put up a few posts on the site that are republished from here and SVMoms just to get the flavor going, but the first post that's new is one I wrote about Tuesday's San Francisco Opera Designer Fete - a fashion show put together annually by the San Francisco Opera Guild. I also included a couple of fun photos from the event. Let me know what you think.

Arthur Miller Theatre Finally Opening Thursday

Arthur Miller is one of those names that always comes up when American Playwrights are discussed. He first wrote plays at my alma mater, the University of Michigan. I don't know if any were ever produced there when he was a student, but I certainly have fond memories of my playwriting classes and the play I wrote/directed/co-produced. Miller was lucky to live a long life and knew a theatre was being built at UofM in his name but was unable to see its completion.

According to a Detroit Free Press article, the Walgreen Drama Center, a building named after its primary donor, Charles Walgreen Jr, (former UofM grad in pharmacy school, founder of Walgreens) houses the Arthur Miller Theatre and the first production will be performed this Thursday. It is, fittingly, "Playing for Time" by Arthur Miller. Sadly, Mr. Walgreen also passed away during the construction, but he made it to 100 years old! (Kinda makes me want to shop at Walgreens more, although I'm already a frequent customer.)

I spent half of my time at UofM on North Campus where engineering classes were held, and half my time on Central Campus where drama, literature and general courses were held. It seems odd to me that the arts and engineering are now all in one place. So much has changed since I was there - campus looks so different now. I'm actually sad they will be replacing the Frieze Building with a dormitory, although I'm sure it's a smart move. I have fond memories of many classes in the Frieze Building - Russian and Writing for TV being two that come to mind.

I'm glad to see that Michigan is making a stronger commitment to the arts. They always had good programs, but I felt they haven't been known for their arts as much as for business, engineering, sports and other areas. Maybe the time has come for the alma mater of Lawrence Kasdan, Judith Guest and James Earl Jones to take its place as a wellspring of great performing artists. (Not that I'm biased.)

Ballet San Jose Trades in Pointe for Blue Suede Shoes

Back after rave reviews for previous performances of this piece, the Ballet San Jose is currently performing "Blue Suede Shoes", a dance ensemble paying homage to Elvis and others during that era. Two weekends ago, the ballet hosted their annual gala, this year entitled the Blue Suede Shoes Gala, and it was one of the best parties I've attended in a long time and featured a few of the dancers from this week's performance. It closes on Sunday (I'll be at that one), so get your tickets while you can. Due to the new ownership of the Elvis brand and permission issues, this ballet may never be performed again. Last call!

Newest BalletSJ Board Member Enthusiastic About Organization and Nahat Nomination

I've blogged before about the Ballet San Jose. Tuesday night, I was elected to their Operating Board. ('Operating Board' is another way of sayiing 'Board of Trustees'.) Having wanted to be more involved in a performing arts organization for a long time, I was approached by a friend who also serves on the board to check it out and see if I might be interested. One thing led to another, and now I'm on board.

It's a wonderful group of people, led by John Fry, CEO OF Fry's Electronics. (So if you're an arts lover and you need electronics in the Bay Area, go to Fry's - some of the money will inevitably end up in a dancer's pocket.)

Rather than toot my own horn, you can read my friend, Sherri's post. It just reitterates my bio really but she also says some nice things. Thanks Sherri!

So now that I'm hooked, I'll be going to the remainder of the performances this year. If you want to learn more about them, check out the web site and drop me a line. The artistic director, Dennis Nahat, is incredibly talented. And he was just nominated for an Izzie award (he's a past recipient). That's the SF Bay Area dance equivalent of the Oscars (that unfortunately doesn't have a web site that's easy to find) for his production of Romeo and Juliet last year. Congratulations Dennis!

The next performance of the ballet is a Valentine Potpourri, including a four part mix of classic and modern dance. And here's the thing about this ballet vs. others in the area - San Francisco will always have an incredible ballet company that does exquisite traditional and inspiring performances. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Berkeley performing arts communities bring in groups like the Alvin Ailey dancers and Mikhail Barishnikov's White Oak Dance Project. These are amazing to see, but they are quite different from Ballet San Jose. I don't consider any of these troupes competitors - they each provoke their own emotional response through their art.

BSJ excels in a unique spot that I haven't quite figured-out how to best describe it yet, but it's an original blend of artistry, storytelling, and risk-taking choreographically. The audience tends to be more casual and it's a beautiful theatre, so you get this feeling like you have a private dance recital in your own home and the artistic director made it just for you. (At the Nutcracker, I wanted to snuggle up next to the fireplace they had on the stage.) Of course not all the dancers aren't as polished as some in other dance companies, but this organization is only twenty years old. And it has been restarted in a few different incarnations in order to come to its current position in the Bay Area community. That's part of its beauty coming from someone who's entrepreneurial-minded.

Anyway, words can only scratch the surface in describing performing arts, so you'll just have to come see for yourself.

Anti-Semitic Terrorist Skinhead Musical Getting Rave Reviews

Only in East L.A. could someone pull this off... "The Beastly Bombing (or a Terrible Tale of Terrorists Tamed by Tangles of True Love)" is a new musical, given high marks by a New York Times reviewer this past week, supposedly takes the farce operetta to a new level.

The Steve Allen Theatre, part of the Center for Inuiry-West, founded by Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov, took on the project, which started running the production in late September. Written by Roger Neill and Julien Nitzberg, it's reportedly Mel Brooks meets Gilbert & Sullivan. The Huffington Post loved it, with Michael Simmons writing "Laughter is close to love and heroin in the painkilling department." And several celebs have been spotted at the show, including Liev Shreiber, Diane Von Furstenberg and Paul Reiser on the night mentioned in the NY Times.

Here I thought that "Evil Dead, The Musical" was as looney as it was going to get, this one has songs entitled "Song of the Sensitive White Supremacist" and "I Hate Jews". Running for the next four months, the show has already achieved cult status and they are in negotiations with production companies in New York for a run there.

Springtime, Sleeping Lions & the Earworms Phenomenon

I've had a lot of show tunes stuck in my head this past week - not sure why - but the coup de grace was "Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers. So I decided to do a search and see what other people have said about this phenomenon (not the show tunes per se but songs in general.) Here's the scoop:

They're called 'earworms' and they happen to women and musicians most. (No wonder - I'm both...) WebMD reports that 98% of people have had this happen to them at one time or another. James J. Kellaris, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati did a study in 2003 of 559 students and on their list of most common earworms were songs like "YMCA", "Who Let the Dogs Out" and my personal favorite, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" that played repeatedly on hold music for this hotel I was to stay in once and I recall being stuck listening to that song for hours. No wonder I was traumatized by that trip.

Just yesterday, someone on Fazed mentioned getting "We Belong" stuck in his/her head after having not heard it in years. That happens to me all the time - I always wonder where my brain digs this stuff up. No one seemed to respond with any intelligent scientific info on that though.

For those cases where we find ourselves "tortured" by one annoying song that just won't get out of our heads, Alison McCook wrote in '03 that "people most frequently plagued by this phenomenon are those with slightly neurotic tendencies, and people who enjoy and listen to music often."

For those people, rumor has it that chewing on cinnamon sticks will help make the song begone. I'll see if that works. All I know is that by the time I'd finished drafting this post, "Springtime For Hitler" had been replaced by "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". (Trivia tidbit: I looked up the lyrics and all of those "haweemowah" type sounds in the song are mostly Zulu for phrases like "the lion's in peace" and "the lion sleeps." Kinda boring for how exotic they sound...)

As for tonight, my guess is "Auld Lang Syne" will get stuck in my head fairly soon. Happy New Year!

Ballet San Jose - Giselle, the Nutcracker & Blue Suede Shoes

The Ballet San Jose, revamped in 2000, is beginning its new season tonight with "Giselle", a well-known ballet. I can't make it, unfortunately, but wanted to pass along the info to performing arts lovers in the Bay Area.

They are also hosting a Nutcracker Black Tie Ball on December 14 at the San Jose Museum of Art, with a performance to follow at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. I plan to be there. It should be a lot of fun.

In the spring, their major annual fundraiser, this year the Blue Suede Shoes Gala, based on their "Blue Suede Shoes" ballet, a "classic rock in a one-act ballet danced to 36 master recordings of Elvis Presley's greatest hits", will be held at the Fairmont.

Twyla Tharp & Bob Dylan On the Stage

I read in the New Yorker that Twyla Tharp recently choreographed a new compilation of dance programs to Bob Dylan's music in a similar fashion to what she did for Billy Joel's music with "Movin' Out," called a musical but IMHO false advertising.

I'm a Billy Joel fan and a performing arts lover, and I went to see "Movin' Out" expecting something closer to "Mamma Mia", the musical made up of Abba songs. I was disappointed to find the complete lack of dialogue and even greater lack of plot. "Movin' Out" would've been fine performed as a modern dance program but I reject that it could be called a musical. With my expectations set improperly, I kept waiting for dialogue and story. Had I known it was all dance, I would've come into it with a much different attitude (and I probably wouldn't have paid as much for seats.) I enjoyed it, but not in the way I would've enjoyed a real musical.

Now, Tharp is doing the same thing - supposedly Dylan approached her for this - called "The Times They Are A-Changin" and it's reportedly more like Cirque du Soleil than anything else. I'd go see it, but I'm not paying Broadway prices again for something that should be performed on a dance stage.

Evil Dead - The Musical?

It's Friday the 13th, and just when you think you've seen it all, someone takes the 80's cult classic campy horror films, "Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead II", and turns them into a musical in New York City. Yes, that's right. A musical. Not quite a Broadway musical (on 50th street, between 8th & 9th Avenues) but one of the co-directors is a Tony winner.

Evil Dead, The Musical, does right in not taking itself seriously. The quotes on the web site reading things like "disarmingly funny" and "live-ish performances". Ahh, brings back fond memories of high school. Song names are pretty good too - "All the men in my life keep getting killed by Candarian demons" and "What the f*#k was that" were my two favorites listed.

The ticketing site, listing performances through December 9th, has the following disclaimer: "The first two rows of the orchestra are the 'Splatter Zone.' Patrons in the 'Splatter Zone' should be prepared to have a bloody good time…and dress accordingly." Sounds like fun.

Woody Allen Never Ceases to Amuse

The New Yorker is one of my favorite magazines and most definitely it's one of a kind. Each time I open it, I'm surprised by something new and the October 2nd edition was no exception. We had just renewed our lapsed subscription so I had forgotten how much I enjoy the short fiction presented and that week's held a priceless piece by Woody Allen, entitled "Pinchuck's Law".

Not knowing exactly what to expect, I dove into the piece like a hungry wolf as it had been years since I'd actually read anything by Allen, although I'd certainly viewed his films. In a story that begins like a classic murder mystery, he took me down twists and turns of comedic surprise and creative excellence. It was just what I needed after an unusually difficult week to have some unpredictable laughs and soak in a true master's way with words. I highly recommend taking the time to read it.

Double Inbox Implosion

"Damn, damn, coal burning, dithering, ding, ding, ding." That's how I feel, anyway. (My favorite quote from "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", the musical.)

In some cosmic twist of fate, I lost both my cell phone text messages and my e-mail inbox in the past 48 hours. My confidence in Pine has been shaken, and I feel naked and empty, nightshirt notwithstanding. Good thing I practice safe backups. Still though, not being able to recover the data in its original form leaves me shaking like some kind of addict.

Sinatra in New York

Not often does a national dance troupe pay homage to Old Blue Eyes - let alone a ballet company - but this fall, the American Ballet Theater (ABT) is performing a work entitled "Sinatra Suite" by renowned choreographer, Twyla Tharp, who has worked with Barishnikov, David Byrne and other greats. (I love her work.)

The ABT Opening Night Gala at the New York City Center is on October 18, also featuring Balanchine's "Symphonie Concertante".

Bad Writing Jobs in Film and TV Land

What is it about TV episode guides that dictates they must be poorly written and loaded with typos? Don't these people use grammar checkers? Don't they know grammar? Aren't they getting paid to write these little summaries for their networks? (Just pick any show and read its episode guide online - you'll see what I mean.)

And what about movie video summaries - "Jane and Martha went on a car ride that changed their lives forever." I'd be willing to bet 9/10 films have their blurbs including that little phrase. Get real. Get creative. Film is art, not revelation.

Let's not forget that most TV still is complete crap. My hopes were lifted when I was first introduced to "The West Wing" and learned there are gifted writers in television. But now with RealityTV taking over everything and Aaron Sorkin's latest fling not quite as hot as his last (IMHO, his legacy), I have to wonder what's next? Each new season, 1-2 shows come out with some writing respectable enough to merit watching them, but it's rare that one really blows me away.

Meanwhile over in Hollywood, there are sequels to movies like "Sixteen Candles" in the works. With all of the starving, wannabe screenwriters out there, they can't come up with better material than that?

Luckily there is still life in the big apple. Tom Stoppard, one of my favorite playwrights of all time, finally has his three-play, nine hour epic, "Coast of Utopia", staged at Lincoln Center, starring Ethan Hawke.

Artists Ball Online Auction Open

The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, located South of Market in San Francisco, is a unique arts space for both visual and performing arts. I used to go to their events (modern dance, film, photography) regularly when I lived a few blocks away in the city, but now it's more of an occasional thing. For the next month, anyone can support their organization through their online auction.

The auction includes some interesting art - modern and some classic photography, participation in a modern dance practice, a wacky shirt, a paper and paint model of a Kate Spade shoe and shoebox, and ink drawings. The biennial Artists Ball Six: Stanlee's Brain, featuring San Francisco event producer Stanlee Gatti, will be held on October 13. Anything that doesn't sell online by October 11 will go into silent auction the night of the ball.