My favorite Flickr photo today:

Wow, it’s been a good day for lame-ass news. I mean, really.

Tom DeLay is angry that NBC thinks he is a horrible person.

Moms are getting strippers for their sons.

A police officer is going to jail for making lewd gestures with a banana toy.

And my winner (so far): A Massachusetts teacher took some photos of her principal and colleagues in towels. Her contract wasn’t extended. Now she’s suing for discrimination. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And seriously, who wants a “racy elementary school teachers” calendar?

Some peeps at the DSI shindig.

I’ve spent the day alone, with the exception of a short morning visit from Bryan, Kim, and Corey, which roused me from the bed a few minutes before I was really ready to get out of bed.

More thoughts on recent Star Wars excursions can now be found in Scott’s blog. Watching Episode I was much better when I was with funny people at a decent hour of the day (the last time I saw it with improvisers, it was opening night at 4 AM).

I’ve spent some time bagging and boarding comics and watching Sports Night. Everyone always says how wonderful that show is, and I’m just not in love with it. It’s sort of enjoyable. But, it’s not really all that funny. Fun to watch in its Sorkin-ness, but not even in the same galaxy as The West Wing. I think I had my first awesome laugh-out-loud moment in Episode 8.

That was pretty adorable.

Also, spent some time last night digging on some Green Lantern– about two years’ worth of the lame-o Kyle run before Rebirth. It was not very good… thank heavens DC finally ditched that noise and brought back the real Green Lantern. Also rocked over a year’s worth of Fantastic Four and nine months of Marvel Knights 4. So I’ve had a pretty enjoyable super-hero fix, in addition to my Star Wars geekery.

Lest you think I have not seen the light of day since cleaning up after the DSI fundraiser, I feel compelled also to say I did purchase and assemble a spreader and fertilize the lawn.

A modest contingent from DSI finished the third Star Wars film this evening, and there was much laughing from us while the rest of the audience was somewhat respectful. Most of our laughing had to do with the word “no,” which Lucas does not seem to be able to coax from an actor convincingly.

I think that I have an invention that would help the Jedi. The frequency with which they drop their lightsabers has led me to invent a wristband. You know those thin straps that loop through the edge of your camera so you can hold it on your wrist? It’s like that.

Some of you may think that’s foolish, since Jedi don’t have their lightsabers in hand at all times– sometimes they holster them. Putting aside the fact that the frequency with which they are attacked merits actually holding them at all times, I have a solution for this dilemma. You know how when two Jedi meet, they always talk for a second, then flash the saber and look kind of menacing for a second, then attack? I think that while they’re talking, they could both just agree to take another second and get the loop around their wrists.

The DSI fundraiser was a huge success. I’m consistently thrilled with the generosity of our community; however, that generosity is often underscored by poor decision making. See, immediately after we finished the cleanup, we started watching all 6 Star Wars films, and not in the order they were released. BAH.

The only upside: consistent reminders that episode I is the longest movie ever about a trade blockade.

LAAAAAAME.

DSI THEATER FUNDRAISER DETAILS

Dirty South
Improv is an improvisational comedy theater and production
company founded by Chapel Hill-native Zach Ward during Spring 2001.
Since that time the
theater has grown steadily, hosting the annual Dirty South Improv Festival
which brings over 300 improvisers from around the country to Chapel
Hill once per year, providing community
service with the theater’s annual 24-hour Improv Marathon, an event
which has raised money and community awareness for the Women’s Center
of Chapel Hill,
The Inter-Faith Council, and WCOM 103.5
Community-powered radio.

In 2003 DSI began offering
classes at the DSI Training Center in Carrboro and presenting shows at
locations throughout
Chapel Hill. Shows are currently running on Tuesday nights at the Skylight
Exchange on Rosemary Street. With your help, DSI Theater hopes to expand
into its own theater space at 128 E Franklin Street Chapel Hill. This
addition to the local arts community will provide a new live entertainment
option for both the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community and the University
campus.

We are looking for donations
to help make the upfit and build-out of the theater space a real possibility.
Example list of itemized costs:

• Drop Ceiling Reinforcement, Acoustical Fire-grade Tiles - $900
• Fixed Theater Seats (80) - $29.99 per seat, $2400
• Stage: Building Supplies, Wood,
  Curtains - $675

• Replacement Bulbs (30) - $5.97
  per unit, $180

• Sheet Rock (10) and Semi-gloss
  Paint (10) - $380

Those are only a fraction of
things the theater will actually need to come up to Building and Fire code
for the Town of Chapel Hill, and those few things already total over $4500.
That’s why we’re asking all comedy lovers and friends of live performance
to consider sponsoring Dirty South Improv in this endeavor to bring a theater
back into the Franklin Centre at 128 E Franklin Street.

SPONSORSHIP
All levels of sponsorship will include the donor name or name of the donating
business on the Donor Plaque inside the Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater,
to be located at 128 E Franklin Street. Levels of sponsorship are listed below.
All company donors will have their logo displayed at the event.

Audience Level (1-99$)
Includes 4 tickets for any DSI show (not including special events)

Improviser Level (100-249$)
Includes 4 tickets to 24Live! (24-Hour Improv Marathon, Sept 2005)

Director Level (250-499$)
Includes 2 tickets to the Grand Opening Weekend (September 2005)

Producer Level (500-999$)

Includes 2 season passes to DSI shows, including Grand Opening Weekend

Executive Producer
Level (1000$ plus)
Includes a choice of company or group improv workshop or group improv
night, where your whole group sees the show for free, and choice of
tickets! Company name and logo will be prominently displayed at the event and
included in the DSI newsletter. Link to company website will be posted
on the DSI website and in the newsletter.

 

Donate
using this Paypal button
on the fundraiser page

Please
contact DSI Theater with any questions.

Thank
you,

Zach
Ward - Executive Producer
Ross White - Artistic Director

…and the entire Dirty South Community… these people

Today’s flickr wallpapr, picture taken by salamandrina:

Joy sends along this page of comic book costume commentary. Particularly insightful remarks about Black Condor.

My tongue got all swole up and I felt like poop for a couple of days, so who knows what’s been going on?

No real news, otherwise, so I will once again direct your attention to the fact that you could be bringing LIVE THEATER to Franklin St. How? Well, the DSI fundraiser. Did you miss the details on that? You may have scrolled past them… or you may have entered some other way. So, check it.

Plus, more auction info. You can bid on an item even if you’re not attending, up until noon on Saturday.