OCTOBEST

Why is October the best month of the year? A better question would be, why don't we have October year round?

1.) Weather
Who doesn't like the fall? Everything is greener. The temperature is at that middle point between devastating 100 degree days and days when your hands feel like they are going to fall off. Yard work is actually enjoyable. Naked people run about in packs.

2.) Haunted Houses
Inching through a collage of my favorite horror films with my head on a swivel, waiting for some masked demon to force some adolescent scream from my lungs sounds like the perfect evening. The producers spend an entire year planning, designing, building these mazes of terror. The competition is fierce, making prices affordable and forcing the producers to push the boundaries. And the chance to see a grown man lose his water and cry is way out of a warehouse full of makeup and torches, is something everyone should experience.

3.) Oktoberfest
Germany knows how to throw down. What a blessing it is to escape our recycled lifestyle and drink down a part of German culture. Music from many genres. Food you don't normally see, such as Hendl, Schweinebraten, Würstl, and Knodel. The best in arts and crafts. And a reason to drink as much beer as you can fit down your throat.

4.) Horror
Some cable stations play movie after movie, series after series, trying to keep you up all night to become the greatest serial killer that ever lived. So study up you entrepreneurs! Tales from the Crypt, Carnival, Nightmare on Elm St., Friday the 13th, Halloween, a whole arsenal of cheesy 80's monsters flicks, and an ocean of brand new Computer Animated films like The Human Centipede, Minotaur, Sharktopus, and Alone in the Dark. Get out your pen and pad.

5.)Halloween
Nothing beats scaring kids. And its so easy. After you scare the kids and feed them sugar, there are costume parties to attend. What a way to finish off the best month on the calender.

Atypical Bonding

Last number I heard, 7 out of 10 marriages end in divorce. That doesn't sound much like a successful institution. I can't help but blame the ceremony for a portion of the failure. As a majority, I don't think enough thought is put into the union of two people.

A couple I ran into met one another at a restaurant were they both waited tables. They each discovered their potential in the industry and became cooks. Good cooks. The two of them moved around from kitchen to kitchen, sometimes together, sometimes apart. Their relationship had gone on four years before they got the nerve to tie the knot.


The decision as to what kind of ceremony would best suit their needs took quite some time to figure out. Religion was fairly important to their families. Their friend base was massive. But they knew a traditional wedding wouldn't cut it.

Instead, they rented a vacation home just outside of the city, hired a top-notch chef, invited close family and best friends, and ate their way into marriage. They split the meal up in fourths. The chef was given two recipes from the each of them, with very specific preparing instructions. In essence, each course was a symbol for how they felt for each other. Before the wedding, they spent months finding the right dish for each other. Anything less than perfection would be disastrous.

But it was perfect. Oaths were recited to one another as each course was given. Family and friends had a unique experience, glazed with romance. Fine wines were shared. A little slow dancing(the groom hired jazz quartet from a place the couple used to work for). At the end of the night, everyone was convinced of true love.

The couple now have started their own five star restaurant. Soon they will hand it over to the staff and just supervise. Once the college funds are solid, they plan on starting a family.

Shouldn't weddings be symbolic? Shouldn't the ceremony be tailored to the couple and their unique relationship? I've always been told if you want a great finish, you need an even better start.

Shutter in...more..more...more...

"I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action."
- Tennessee Williams, Streetcar Named Desire.








About 2 out of 10 people know what a Lighting Designer is. The rest assume an LD is someone who decorates homes or dresses up Times Square with all the glimmering ads. Usually when someone says they are an LD, they mean they create the light that is used in Theater, Concerts, Ballets, Operas, TV, Film, and even Corporate Trade Shows and Public Speeches.

Aside from the glory of artistic expression, contributing to storytelling, and collaboration, there are several sad things about the profession. As follows...

A.) The curve of progress.
My cousin is an awesome salesman. He is making deals left and right, bringing in more income to his company, and doing some serious networking. In just three months, he will get a 15% raise. In another three months, a promotion. In less than a year, he might go from making $35k a year to $80k or even $100k. And the skills he is acquiring for the market place are priceless.
This doesn't happen in Lighting Design. Not just the money, but the skills and experience don't come nearly as fast as a salesman's or most other professions. The average time a LD spends molding his career so that he can be just a Lighting Designer is 10 years. During that transitional period, its not uncommon for aspiring designers to wait tables, join stagehand crews, or assist other designers. Some smaller projects for beginning designers pay as little as $300 and could require up to 4 weeks of work. Although, if you get picked up on a hot Broadway show that tours, you could get a check in the mail that would put a kid through college, more than once.

B.) Video
Oh that sweet hi-def resolution. Those blinding, crystal clear projectors. I curse thee and your technological brilliance.
Video has stolen a lot the thunder from lighting. For years, shows counted on lighting to provide texture, dimension, and artistic imagery. Now with the popularity of LEDs, plasma screens, and projections, you can bring forth any image desired. Entire crews are hired to install, program, and execute video for all the major tours and even some Opera and Theater. And forget about the Corporate Events. They are so hooked on video, that they wouldn't mind using projectors for face light, which cuts a lighting budget down to nothing.
Video has even stolen the concepts and technology from lighting to incorporate with projection, offering moving head projectors with beam shaping capabilities, color manipulation, and effects. You can now project an image from surface to surface with one projector. So you need a brick wall, but you only have a white upright surface? Take a digital picture of a brick wall, send it to a projector, and point the thing where you want it via remote.
Its a scary thing for the lighting world.

C.) Saturation of the Market
It is irresponsible of a university to tell a undergraduate or graduate student studying Lighting Design that they will have a prosperous career in the industry. The data shows otherwise. From the last 10 years of the NBA, I can think of 100+ athletes that I could easily be considered stars. In the Lighting Design world, their might be 20 notable, award winning designers in the last 10 years. There is a stampede of designers in the market and another stampede nearly finishing their degrees. I don't know what the hell they are going to do.

So in a way I like these circumstances. True artists will emerge and the ones just looking to make an appearance, or a paycheck, will die off. Innovation will be a requirement for success. All grumpy attitudes will not be accepted. Punctuality, respect, and strong communication skills will be a must. And in the end, the audience will see a better show.

Since the beginning of civilized man, we have been entertaining ourselves. Crafting every action to achieve the desired formula for storytelling. And stories will not die. I look forward to seeing how the future is brought out of the dark and into the light.

Job Ball

Clearly now are the fundamental differences between NCCA Football and the NFL. Its not about the teams, the fans, or the organizations. Its the career of each and every employee, or player if you prefer.

About two decades ago, a kid had to watch his favorite NFL team lose 4 Super Bowls. That is a disaster for a young flag-football QB, and no old timer's inspirational quote is going to convince him otherwise. He left NFL at the end of that 4th loss to focus on other means of entertainment.
NCCA Football was always a huge conversation with his family and friends, so eventually he was forced into following the biggest school in his state. As grown man, he goes through college ball withdraws in the off season.

Coming back to the NFL was provoked by a couple of his favorite players that got drafted out of the college to play in the pros, even before they graduated. But once they were drafted, their intensity changed shape. They went from killing themselves for the entire game, to striking in bursts.

So like the rest of the workforce, a player fights through college to get an "in" in the industry of his choosing, and won't leave school till that happens. Once he's in, he does only what it takes to keep his job and his health, so he can leave work and enjoy his income. If he makes the highlights, he will get praise. If not, no sweat - he'll get 'em next time.

I'm watching every Sunday for the random fireworks as the weekend workers make just enough magic happen, while the fans are the creators of any unity that exists in the sport. The city begs for that W. I Watched the Jets vs. Cowboys and regardless of how ironic the idea of the New York Jets playing on 9/11 was, I saw a city light up and scream their faces off for the W.

Very jealous, I was.

LEAVA!!! LAS VEGAS!!!

Not sure if I could live in Vegas. After living on ships for three years, I know what its like to live in someone else's vacation. It feels like time stops, while everyone else is out progressing or failing. Of course there is the job security. No matter what happens in the world, there are going to be those that want a little painless R&R. Most of them want it spelled out for them, as well. Vegas is perfect for that. Find a hotel with a casino. Find a buffet. See a show. Get a $5 bucket of beers. Try your luck.

All the local stagehands say that Vegas has no "life". That's probably because that's not what the spectators want. They want the familiar emphasized. The people that consider Vegas to be the ideal vacation destination, don't want to experience something completely foreign.

Its no doubt that the live entertainment industry shows off its curves here, but its not as if they are showing all originals. Yeah, Cirque has congested the venues, but besides Cirque you have the same shows you see in Broadway or on tour. And over and over again for years. Much like the cruise ships, the entertainment is static, while the spectators shuffle. So there's no reason put a lot of spit on the ball. Just get it up and let it ride.
The whole place is like an assembly line of the familiar. If you have the money, it can be as easy and as predictable as you'd like.

"I wish I could leave Vegas and go stay with you guys in Texas. You have all the wild hogs you can kill. Get me a freezer and eat like a king, forever." - local Vegas stagehand.

Seems like the Las Vegas locals are pretty desperate for a little excitement.