Shit That Pissed Me Off – 5/16
Student is Suspended for Exercising His Constitutional Right to Sit During the Pledge of Allegiance
I respect anyone who can resist the peer pressure to stand during the pledge. This kid did that and the Supreme Court has ruled that he is within his right to do so.
The principal has decided the only recourse against this student is to violate the constitution by suspending him.
Lest someone say “Tim, you are an atheist so you obviously would be on this kid’s side” let me point out that this has nothing to do with religion. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t stand during the pledge. They have just as much of a right to make that decision as an atheist kid.
Stand up! The symbol is more important than what it represents!
And by “right,” I mean an actual legal right that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. If you want to sit during the pledge, that is your constitutional right.
You don’t get to suspend kids for refusing to stand during the pledge. When you do that, you are violating the very ideals the pledge is supposed to be there for.
The principal of a school ought to appreciate the irony.
Friend a Day – Perrin Klumpp
Photo by Peter Verrant
The first time I met Perrin was during the CONvergence room party at Minicon 33. He was friends with one of the many people we’d recruited to help with our party that weekend and he just showed up and started to pitch in. And he never stopped. I’m not even certain he slept.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Perrin since then. We’ve run a convention together, we’ve gone to movies together, we’ve even gone on vacation together. We share a lot of the same interests. In a world of geeks who aren’t interested in such things, he’s one of the few people I can talk to about sports.
Several years ago, I even got to mess up his public marriage proposal!
What made Perrin so noticeable that first weekend was the easy way he can talk to people. He’s naturally friendly and genuinely interested in what other people have to say. He knows how to make his conversation partner feel important.
Perrin was great at securing Guests in those early years of CONvergence because he of his ability to talk to people. The convention had no reputation but Perrin knew how to make it sound like something a potential Guest of Honor would be interested in attending.
I enjoy vacationing with Perrin and Jenni because there is no pressure for all of us to do the same thing. We will talk about what we want to do and if our plans match, that’s great. If not, we all go our separate ways and tell each other about our day at dinner. We all enjoy each other’s company but don’t feel bound to keep it.
Perrin is a friend who will always offer to help when you need assistance and never presume that the favor must be repaid. He helps people out because it is a good thing to do.
Like so many other people I met through CONvergence, Perrin has become one of those people whose presence in my life will always make me smile.
Comedy Blogging – Clash of Clans
We have a new obsession at my house.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the commercials for “Clash of Clans” but if you have and you want to know what the game all about, you should come over. We have clans clashing all over the place. If any of us can take a moment to put down our mobile device to talk to you, we’ll give you a guided tour.
Let me explain how the game works. Basically, you have a little town that looks a bit like a medieval SimCity. You can build and upgrade buildings and you can also train troops like archers, giants, Agents of SHIELD, rabid Chihuahuas, and Smart cars.
Your troops are used to attack other people’s medieval Sim Cities. If you are successful, you make off with their gold and elixir, the two important resources you need to build and upgrade your town. There is a third resource, gems, which I will describe in more detail later.
Buildings in your town have three functions. The first function is to produce and store resources. The second function is to produce more powerful and varied troops. The third function is to protect your town from other invading armies.
Nobody in this town lives anywhere. There are no houses or schools or stores or libraries. The quality of life for your little SimClan is pretty much tied up in producing more and better troops so you can steal more resources so you can build and upgrade more buildings so you can produce more and better troops. It is the digital equivalent of the circle of life but with fewer zebras.
Friend a Day – Molly Zupon
I first met Molly when she was a member of DeCantus. When we would perform a show together at the end of the day, Molly was the most likely to banter with The Dregs and get in a way that was – I guess – “Dreglike.”
Then we had an opening in the band and Molly felt like the perfect fit for us. I’m glad I’d seen that personality in her already because I found it a lot easier to envision how she would fit into the band.
When it comes to deadpan delivery, Molly is one of the best. She spends almost every show looking like she has been forced to be a member of the worst band ever. Then she’ll start doing a weird dance and smiling and it looks just a little bit creepy. Which is the point.
I love to hang out with Molly because she and I have developed an entertaining banter that is unique among all of my friends. I have no idea how or why I interact with Molly this way but it feels right.
She’s begun writing songs for the band now and I appreciate the voice she brings to our music. The Dregs are all about six disparate voices joining together and it feels good that Molly’s voice is getting more distinct. She’s got a really good turn of phrase for lyrics and is very open to suggestion (if any are required and they usually aren’t).
Musically, her contributions have been great. She a terrific violin player and keeps finding great ways to work her instrument into our songs. She’s also got a great, trained voice that makes me just a little bit envious.
Molly is open with her emotions, which is something I’ve tried to emulate a little because I’m not. When she talks about what is going on emotionally, it can often stop problem from getting worse.
I honestly can’t decide if I like her laugh or her horrified gasp more. I guess that’s why I spend equal time trying to elicit both.
I’m so glad Molly became a member of The Dregs because I really enjoy spending time with her.
Alphabetical Movie – A Man For All Seasons
A Man For All Seasons is, I think, one of the movies being parodied in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It is filled with English people doing historical English things that are super important if you are Royalty and completely unimportant if you are anyone else.
I enjoy English actors acting the shit out of stuff so watching Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw chomping on the saga of Thomas More entertains me to no end.
As someone who is non religious, the central conflict seems petty to me. Sure, I can respect Thomas More for standing on his principles. You have to stand for something.
What he was standing for, however, was the religious sovereignty of the Pope. My response, of course, is a great big “who cares?”
I understand that More had some deeply held beliefs and Henry VIII was crapping all over those beliefs by trying to get a divorce. I further understand that he must have thought he was carving out a really sweet plot of land in heaven by being the good defender of the Catholic faith.
It totally scored him a sainthood so good on him, I guess.
On the other hand, why did anyone care? He wasn’t making a nuisance of himself. He wasn’t speaking out against the crown. In fact, he was going out of his way to avoid speaking out against the crown. Yet Henry felt some sort of personal slight had been made and as a result, he called for a good old-fashioned trial by rigged jury.
Friend a Day – Bob Alberti
People surprise me all the time. Bob surprised me more than most.
When people try out for Vilification Tennis, they fall into three categories. The first category is people I know will be good. They may not be a good vilifier but they are good performers. The second category is people about whom I have no innate feel. They could be great, they could be lousy. I just don’t know. The third category is people who I know won’t do well. I’m almost always right about the third category.
At least I was until Bob came along.
Bob is so laid back, I just didn’t think he’d have what it took to succeed as a vilifier. I was wrong in all the best ways.
He’s a good writer, a good performer and he constantly surprises with his willingness to try new things.
I like Bob because he’s an idea guy. He doesn’t sit around and wait for the next show. He thinks about it and offers ideas. And he doesn’t just suggest things other people should do. He’s always willing to do those things himself.
He’s passionate about his politics and more than willing to argue with anyone about his opinions. That inner passion, though, is what I missed in some of those early encounters with Bob. It isn’t hidden but it is subtle.
When Bob says he’s going to do something, he will make it happen even if he doesn’t know how to do it. When he said he’d get streaming to work for Die Laughing, he made it happen.
He takes pictures, runs an art gallery and still has time to be a big participant in Fearless Comedy. Whenever a call goes out for performers, he’s one of the first to answer. Whenever a call goes out for some help, he’ll be one of the first people there.
I was wrong about Bob as a performer and I’m so glad that I was.
Bob has a lot of creative stuff going on. You can read about all of it on his website.
Friend a Day – Matt Allex
In the old days, we didn’t have amateur shows to try out new performers. I put them on stage at the festival and waited to see if they would succeed or fail. Most of the time, it took more than one show to figure out how well they would do.
That’s how Matt Allex joined the vilification tennis cast and unlike many of his fellow performers, he was impressive the first time he set foot on stage and he’s been impressive almost every time since.
What amazes me is knowing that Matt is terrified of stepping on stage and he does it anyway. The more an idea scares him, the more willing he seems to be. His ability to rise above his own fear and consistently be one of the best people on stage is an inspiration.
Matt has a remarkable intellect that, I fear, goes unrecognized behind all the dick and fat mom jokes. He is blunt with an opinion when the direct opinion is required. He is unflinching in his ability to laugh at himself.
He’s also one of the most emotional people you will meet. You want to find a guy who cries at the end of movies? Matt is your guy. Make fun of him all you want but how many people do you know who are that open with their emotions?
When I was in college, one of my professors talked to me about the “um” meter. Simply put, if you are speaking in public, pay attention to how many times you say “um.” Most people say it more than once a minute.
When Matt starts speaking, he hardly says “um” at all. He can engage in stream of consciousness talking for minutes at a time and he will remain interesting the whole time. It’s a skill that few people possess and because I always have the “um” meter running on myself, I always notice how frequently he beats me.
Matt will do whatever it takes to make something work. If he only gives 99% to something, he will view his participation as a failure.
I’m glad Matt walked on to the Vilification Tennis stage that day so many years ago. My life would be a great deal less interesting if he hadn’t.
Matt has a couple of podcasts you should follow. He’s co-host of Apropos of Nothing and Horrorshow Hot Dog. Check them out!
Geeks Without God Talks Games
Andrew Hackard is Molly’s cousin. He lives in Austin and sent in his five answers to our podcast many months ago. He visits town on business every now and again and we’ve tried to have him as a guest a few times.
This trip, we finally managed to get him down to the basement studios for a podcast.
Hack (as he is known to his friends and I’m now calling myself a friend) works for Steve Jackson Games as their Munchkin Czar so naturally we didn’t talk about Munckin.
Rather, we talked about other games including slew of new games I played at Omega Spring. I love talking about games almost as much as I love playing games. Maybe more because when I talk about games, I’m not losing.
Hack also got to ask us five questions this week and that is always a lot of fun.
If you’d like to listen: here’s where to go!
Putting it Together – Renaissance Experience
I’ve worked at the Minnesota Renaissance for nearly 30 years now. It has brought me considerable artistic success and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
Yet the lie I’ve told myself over the years is Renaissance Festival experience is not “real” experience. I think that I perpetuated that lie to myself because that lie had been out there long before I joined the cast. Renaissance Festival performing isn’t really acting, I thought, it is more like playing.
In a lot of ways, I think that I spent many years avoiding traditional theatre because I didn’t feel as if I’d earned it. Sure, I had a theatre degree and sure, I’d been in “legitimate” shows. But for many years, the Festival was all the theater there was for me.
When I got involved in the Fringe Festival, it was because a couple of vilifiers thought it might be fun to try doing our show outside the festival. OK, I thought. I could do something like that.
That was 2007. In the years since, I’ve gotten more involved in theatrical production beyond simply adapting a festival show to a different stage.
I’ve still felt like I was a pretender, though. When I talk about theatrical experience, I never say “I’ve got 30 years of Renaissance Festival experience.” I never say that I’ve won a lot of awards from my peers for my work or that I’ve been one of the many people who taught the next generation of performers.
They don’t feel like “real” credentials. It doesn’t feel like anyone would take them seriously.
Friend a Day – Patricia Wick
Photo by Peter Verrant
24 years ago today, I married my best friend. Because she is still my best friend, it only makes sense that she would be my subject for today’s blog.
Pat is one of the smartest people I know. When I’m trying to work through my opinion on something, I will always ask her opinion because if she doesn’t agree with me, I am probably wrong. She can beat me at just about any game except cribbage and when she tells me how she did it, I feel like an idiot because I didn’t try the same thing myself. If I try the same thing the next time we play, she’ll beat me some other way.
There is only one person in my home who can find something when it is lost and that’s her. It doesn’t matter if she’s never even seen that thing, when one of the other three people in the house ask her where it is, she’ll probably know. That she tolerates our ignorance never fails to impress me.
We talk about a lot of things and argue about very little. She laughs at my jokes, which in endearing and so very polite.
She supports all of the theater work I’ve been doing lately and that is invaluable. It takes me away from the family far more than I like and her patience is amazing. Without her patience, it would be hard for me to do any of what I do.
When I write something, she is always my first beta reader and not just because we live in the same house. If I’m writing comedy, I want to know if she’ll laugh. If I can get her to laugh out loud even once, I figure I’ve managed to write something at least a little bit amusing.
She’s also willing to be critical. She’ll tell me when something doesn’t work. She’ll tell me when a lyric sounds wrong. I may not always agree and I may not always make the change but she is never someone to rubber stamp my work and tell me it is perfect.
If you ask me what the secret to a long marriage might be, I’m afraid I don’t have great answers. For me, though, I know the secret is that I married someone I liked a lot. I never tire of spending time with her. A walk around the lake with her is the most pleasant way to spend an hour that I can imagine.
24 years is a long time but I know I’m married to the right person because it doesn’t feel like all that much time at all.
Happy Anniversary, Pat. I love you!
Thanks for being my best friend.
Grail Diary 