O'Bama!

It's a bit long, but who cares. I might be related to the next President!

Vote Early, Vote Often

The above quote is one of my dad's favorite lines. I always assumed it was attributed to Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago from 1955 until his death in 1976, and father of our current mayor. Turns out, however, that the more likely source is an earlier mayor, one that we don't really hear much about these days: William Hale Thompson.

Thompson served as mayor from 1915 to 1923, and again from 1927 to 1931. His second stint came about in large part thanks to the support of Al Capone. In a classic example of Republican irony, his campaign centered around a promise to clean up the crime in Chicago. Thompson was mayor during the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

In a twist I find comparable to our current Presidential election, Thompson's popularity was at an all-time low during his bid for re-election in 1931, and he resorted to mocking the foreign-sounding name of his Democratic opponent, Anton Cermak. Unhappy with its reputation as a center of organized crime, the city elected Cermak as the first in an as-yet-unbroken streak of Democratic mayors.

I found the following quote in Wikipedia. After Thompson's loss, the Chicago Tribune had this to say about him:

For Chicago Thompson has meant filth, corruption, obscenity, idiocy and bankruptcy.... He has given the city an international reputation for moronic buffoonery, barbaric crime, triumphant hoodlumism, unchecked graft, and a dejected citizenship. He nearly ruined the property and completely destroyed the pride of the city. He made Chicago a byword for the collapse of American civilization. In his attempt to continue this he excelled himself as a liar and defamer of character.

Now take out "Chicago" and replace it with "America," and take out "Thompson" and replace it with "Bush." See how easily it fits.

Mandy and I voted yesterday. I am on pins and needles waiting to see how it turns out. Are any of you planning on heading down to Grant Park on election night?

Four Years! (and a day)

Yesterday was Mandy's and my fourth anniversary! I intended to post something, but never got the chance. Today is a bit more mellow, so I'm getting to it now.

Huzzah!

McNosferatu

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Part of me feels bad for picking on an old man. But most of me thinks a guy who acts like this shouldn't be president. Also, I think it's hilarious.]

The Gentleman Rogues!

How's this for a big bucket of Awesome Sauce? Next Saturday, October 18th, my good friend Dan Telfer will host an evening of dork-related shenanigans called Atomic Nerdery. The show starts at midnight at the Playground Theater at 3209 North Halsted, right by Belmont. The evening will feature stand-up, sketch comedy, live music, puppets, and the debut of the Gentleman Rogues, a new stage combat/comedy duo featuring myself and Ryan Zarecki.

In truth, Ryan and I whipped up this thing just for Atomic Nerdery, but so far we're having so much fun that we thought we'd give ourselves a cool name just in case we were inclined to continue it elsewhere.

Admission is five bucks. There will be a second show on Saturday, November 8th, but who plans that far in advance? If you're interested, you can get more info at the Atomic Nerdery MySpace page.

My Christmas List

Christmas is three months away. What? I hear you asking. Atheists do Christmas? Sure! Why not? It's the end of the year, everyone has vacation time to use, and what's wrong with spending a little time being nice to people? Especially when there is a chance those people will give you presents?

Speaking of presents, here are some toys I want from Santa this year. You will find that they are very practical and reasonably priced. Sort of.

1. Ibanez S7320 7-String Electric Guitar

Ain't she a beauty? I need it so I can keep doing silly crap like this. That seventh string is what will help me really find that sound I want for my fake band, Clown Stigmata. We (which is to say, I) are going for sort of a Ministry vibe, but with that deep crunchy sound that bands like Killswitch Engage and Meshuggah have found. I have a really good guitar now, a Fender Stratocaster, but it has a couple of problems. First, Strats are not really made for this kind of music. Straight-up rock-'n'-roll or punk, sure, but not so much for heavy metal. And it only has six stings. Second, the guitar is not actually mine. My good friend Dan Telfer loaned it to me a few years ago and has been kind enough to let me hold on to it and play it ever since. But, like America's debt to China, if he ever wants it back I'm kinda stuck. So you guys can help me out with that.

The guitar is my one frivolous Christmas request. Everything else is stuff I need for work, like this:

2. Rogue Steel Cup Hilt Rapier

Ooh, and Ahh! I do own a rapier already, with a sixteenth-century German style swept hilt. It's very pretty, but I have issues with it. First of all, somebody painted the damn thing, which is annoying. And it needs a new blade, because the one it has now is ridiculously heavy and has "Made In China" stamped on it. I really don't know how well it would hold up in performances. But the rapier in this image, made by Neil Massey, has a nice classic look that would go great in almost any period piece. Give me a black leather grip and a diamond Schlager blade and I'm set. And Mr. Massey makes great stuff. You just know it's gonna hold up.

Now, if I have a rapier, I'm gonna need a dagger. So, next up on my list is this:

3. Rogue Steel Main Gauche

Girthy, ain't it? And it is often paired with the cup hilt rapier, so there ya go.

Of course, I would be more than happy to go the more traditional route and take one of these:


4. Rogue Steel Ring Dagger













And then there's always the chance I'll get a crack at the Scottish Play again, so I'm definitely gonna need one of these:

5. Rogue Steel Hand and a Half Broadsword

Oh. Hell. Yeah.

So, I'll let you all discuss this list amongst yourselves. I love to be surprised!

After Dark Awards

Gay Chicago Magazine's After Dark Awards were just announced, and there were a few winners I'm very excited about and want to point out here:

The original run of the show I'm opening this weekend, Lifeline Theatre's The Mark of Zorro, won two awards — one for fight director Geoff Coates (who also directed and choreographed Bloody Bess) and one for Outstanding Production. So, we've got a lot to live up to.

Trap Door Theatre's Emma, for which I provided the fight direction, won for Outstanding Ensemble. And my friend Blake's company, The Building Stage, won several technical awards for Noir.

Congrats to everybody!