Category: Personal

No Extroverts on Mars, Please

 

No Extroverts on Mars, Please.

“Bell said that usually extroverts are good on teams because their tendency to speak up and engage with others makes planning easier. She added that because extroverts are outgoing, they know more about their teammates — their strengths and weaknesses. That helps team coordination.

However, the unique properties of long-haul, confined missions add new elements to that usual dynamic.”

Basically, if you talk to much, in a small space, people are gonna wanna kill you. And since I’ve gotten yelled at for talking to people in an elevator, this may just be the end of my dreams of interstellar travel.

An Apple a Day

An Apple a Day
photo credit: Auksė Vabalaitė

On Final Exam day, one of the first students finished came up with their finished exam, handed it to me and then cheekily gave me an apple. It was cute. Then another student handed in their exam… and an apple. Then a third. Eventually, about 150 students all handed in their exams and an apple.

And when the exam was over (first session – there were two) they ave me a t-shirt. I’m wearing it in the picture. It’s the best exam question I’ve ever written (and the answer is on the back).

I do love what I do…

On Film Reviews

critic-RatatouilleOver the last few days, I’ve been migrating old film reviews from the site they were originally on (and where they still reside) onto this here blog. I’m in the process, over the course of the next few months or so, of trying to get all my online writing in one place and this seemed like a good place to start. But the point is that while I was doing this, I had the chance to revisit about 70 or so reviews from april 2007-april 2008. It was interesting. There were films which I really loved which even this short amount of history has proven ultimately forgettable while other films I didn’t care for have become fondly remembered.  Continue reading “On Film Reviews” →

Old Reviews

Movie ReviewsOld Reviews

For about a year, from April 2007 – April 2008 (okay, so exactly a year) I wrote movie reviews for a website called FirstShowing.net. They are still going strong and doing some good stuff, but since I’ve got my blog up and running, I figured I’d migrate those reviews over here. So for the next week or so, you may see that I’m posting reviews of movies which are 6-7 years old. Sorry. But If you’re interested in seeing what I thought of the films of that era, feel free to click the link. All of those reviews will be tagged with the FirstShowing tag so they’ll be easy to find and each will include a link at the bottom to the original review so you can see all of the original user comments. The comments on my review of There Will Be Blood are priceless!

40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair

40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair.

One of the first jobs I got when I moved to Los Angeles in November 1987 was working here, at The Groundlings. The first week I was in LA, I was walking along Melrose when I came across a sign proclaiming “Theatre.” Now, I’d been involved in theatre since I was 9 and after a successful run as the Teddy Bear in elementary school holiday play (thank you Mr. Kaiser, for making me audition) I joined the Rainbow Company Children’s Theatre. I grew up on and behind the stage so when I was feeling alone and scared in the big city of Los Angeles, I thought a theatre was the place to be. If nothing else, I figured I could paint sets, usher, do whatever. And I could meet people and begin my Los Angeles Adventure.

Continue reading “40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings | Vanity Fair” →

25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss

words words wordsI love this stuff!

25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss.

These are the kinds of words which make English such a fun language to play with. Interpretation is everything. This is also what makes communication difficult sometimes. I always tell my students that as long as I can understand what they are trying to say, then it doesn’t matter so much about the grammar and spelling… but then if they’re using words like these, I may have no idea what it is they’re trying to say. Continue reading “25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss” →

Margaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker

 

John GreenMargaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker.

I think the title doesn’t do justice to this piece but it’s a fascinating read nonetheless. And if you haven’t read The Fault in our Stars yet, click the title and do it before the film comes out. It’s well worth the hype.

And if you want to know what I think of his books, I’ve read and reviewed The Fault in our Stars here and Will Grayson, Will Grayson here. I’ve also read and enjoyed Paper Towns, but evidently I didn’t write a review of it. Bad critic!

Oh… and then there’s this – a John Green Interview on CBS.

The Audition

castingSo last week I get a call from a number I don’t recognize. The problem here in the LT with screening calls is that, well, you can’t. There is no answer-phone system easily discernible (which is to say I can’t access it. I think one exists but the instructions are in Lithuanian and besides, I get very few phone calls and the ones I get are usually students and since this was the last week of instruction and studying for finals was about to begin, my initial thought was that the call was from a panicked student wanting to know what chapters in the book were absolutely going to be on the exam because, well, job and no time to actually study. Continue reading “The Audition” →

DAVID • Think: What’s Next Kids?

David june 14DAVID • Think: What’s Next Kids?.

Here’s my latest piece for David Magazine. My thoughts on what a commencement speech should say and do.

For all of my students who are graduating, for anyone who is in school or university now and looking forward to the day when they can wear the cap and gown and for everyone who has already crossed that stage and shook hands while receiving their diploma, this is for you.

And for everyone else about to enjoy the summer, there’s other great articles in here for you, too!

Going once…

A couple of months back, I was approached by my friend Aiste about helping out at a charity auction. Aiste is a writer and filmmaker. She’s also one of those people who knows absolutely everyone and is involved with all sorts of great causes and events. Through her I’ve had a couple of interesting adventures here in Lithuania so when she asked if I’d like to play auctioneer I naturally said “sure!” The cause this time was the International Women’s Association of Vilnius’ annual Blossom of Hope charity event, this time being done up as a 20s themed gala with a silent auction, a live auction, dinner, and live entertainment in the form of singers and dancers. And somewhere along the line, I went from auctioneer to host and MC. The last couple of years they’d had a Lithuanian and a translator but this year, since a good number of guests would be from various embassies, the organizing committee figured a native speaker would be the way to go and I got drafted.  Continue reading “Going once…” →

The Most Inspiring Travel Video I Have Ever Seen. Hands Down.

The Most Inspiring Travel Video I Have Ever Seen. Hands Down.

Two things I learned from this video:

1) I need to travel more. There’s so much more of the world to see. And naturally doing it via motorcycle would be the best way to do it.

2) I really need a GoPro camera.

This summer for sure I’m gonna edit a bunch of my photos into a nice music video. I wish I had had the foresight to do the same kind of picture everywhere so it could seamlessly blend together but oh well, lesson learned and I can do it moving forward!

Why understanding grammar matters…

 

#Randbrackets, The Fun New Out-Of-Context Game

You want to know why education is important and why not understanding grammar is a bad thing? Here’s a great example for you. Look at those brackets in the above quote attributed to President Obama. Those mean something. Do you know what? They are not there for emphasis, they are not there to highlight the words within. Continue reading “Why understanding grammar matters…” →

15 Retronyms for When You’re Talking Old School | Mental Floss

15 Retronyms for When You’re Talking Old School | Mental Floss.

These are really interesting. I wonder how the relate, linguistically, with things like “Hamburger Meat” and “Tuna Fish” both of which have the addition of unnecessarily specifying to which group they belong.

It’s also an interesting conversation starter to think about which words are going to need Retronyms in the future. We already specify 3D vs 2D films, but I could see that becoming something we’d need to be even more specific about in the future. It might even become immersive vs. flat. What about books? Are we already moving into Retronym territory by having to specify print book instead of e-book?

In any case, I think it’s a fascinating look at the way we interact with the words around us.