Change feels good

i woke up this morning feeling exceptionally wonderful- like i was about to go on a trip to Europe or had just won the Pulitzer Prize or something. i don't know why, exactly. i just feel great. Maybe i'm in the middle of a mood swing, and in reality i am in dire straits, psychologically speaking. But i don't think so. Part of it has to do with Barak Obama winning the election- no doubt. i didn't realize just how down these past eight years had gotten me until Tuesday night. It's like we all were stuck in a horrible situation and were pretending it wasn't so bad- like we were collectively the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail or something. And i mean after Arthur chopped off all his limbs and he said "it's just a flesh wound." That was us every time we watched the news and some new terrible decision had been made by the Decider. "Just a flesh wound". But those days are gone. When it was announced that our long national nightmare was over, i sat there on the couch at our friends Tim and Steph's house, and had the most complete catharsis of my life- it was just insane. All these pent up feelings of joy and sorrow and hope and fear came flying out, like all those vices that flew out of Pandora's box back in the days of myth. In a nano-second, i cried, laughed, gasped, cheered, wished my mother and father could have lived to see this day, jumped up and down, and cried some more. All in a nano-second. My soul felt better- feels better- is better.
Whoopee.
i've always kind of felt like there is a specific path i am supposed to follow- like there are things i am meant to do. i know, it's magical thinking. Whatever. i still feel that way. There have been times when i've known i was in the wrong place- like when my boss at the restaurant where i worked as a singing waiter told me that if i had to shovel shit, i should be the best shit shoveler there was. No, i thought- if my job is shoveling shit, then it's time to seek other employment- which i did. Sitting there listening to that bizarre advice was a moment when i knew i had strayed from my path. Something was wrong- the world was not working the way it was supposed to. That's how i've felt ever since the nightmare in Florida that gave us the current Pretender-in-Chief. Like something was amiss. Now, there have also been times when i've known, with absolute certainty, that i was where i was supposed to be, like the day i got married. There we were in Prague, the City of Magic, saying our vows while the ancient clocked chimed and thousands of passersby cheered and took snapshots. i was where i was supposed to be, doing exactly what i was supposed to be doing, and all was well with the world.
When the election was called for Obama, i knew that the world was back on track- and that somehow, i too was on the right path.
And things are starting to click in my life. Final paperwork is being signed in Prague right now for a production of Burning the Old Man set to go up in April at Vaclav Havel's old theatre, Divaldlo na Zabradli. The latest book i'm featured in, One on One- The Best Men's Monologue's for the 21st Century, hit the bookshelves this week, and i am very proud of that- especially since it also features such stellar writers as August Wilson and Spaulding Gray. Work on the tv project about Edgar Cayce that i'm working on with my buddy Myles Reed is coming together- whole new stand alone episode set to be sent out, and i am confident some wise producer will read it and say, "yes, with the way those glorious winds of change are blowing, now is the time to green light this baby!". Oh yes, it will happen.

In short, things just rock right now.

i'm even excited to rake the leaves out back.

So thanks, Mr. Obama, for helping put the world back in order.

Going Obama in Denver

I live in a battleground state - which makes it sound like I'm in No Man's Land, and that when I look out the window I should see nothing but trenches, barbed wire, and smoke rising from machine gun nests. "Well, Lieutenant McAllister, the GOP is 40 clicks past that blasted out farmhouse- your mission is to take five of your best men and retake the district. God be with you". Instead, I look up and down my street, and I see suburbia- quiet houses, leaves falling, people out walking their dogs- you know, the usual thing conjured in most of our minds when we hear of the ubiquitous "Main Street". It doesn't feel like a battleground- it feels like America.
On Sunday, Obama gave a speech downtown, and we decided to go. It was a great day. I got up a little before 8, made coffee for myself and Lisa, and then headed downtown. Lisa and some friends were meeting me later, so I had a nice half hour stroll on a gorgeous Autumn morning. As I neared the park where the speech was going to be, more and more people appeared, walking along, smiling, drinking coffee, wearing pins and stickers and tee shirts proclaiming their support for Obama-Biden. There was this electric excitement in the air- it reminded me of what it felt like in high school when you went to a concert- an electric sense of expectation and good fortune. Several helicopters hovered over downtown, buzzing in the distance. About ten blocks from the park, I began running into volunteers telling people where to go, how to get in, and so

on.

Some on them had info on state elections- amendments, state senators, etc. My anticipation was rising, and I just felt great- I felt magic, blessed- like the Blues Brothers, I was on a mission from God.

I was going to see the next President of the United States. Oh yes, I was.

There's an area in downtown Denver called the Golden Triangle, which includes the state Capital, the new Art Museum, the Main Library, and the Civic Park where the speech was going to take place. It's one of those great places full of parks, plaza's, and noteworthy architecture. I walked along past the giant Cow statues (yes, we have giant bovine statuary here in the Mile High City), through the plaza in front of the museum, and came upon the Great Line. It stretched out from the park, then turned, circled around the library, and headed back, like a great U of humanity. I began to realize that there were going to be a lot of people.
I walked past the crowd, to see where the line started and to take it all in. Near the gates stood a solitary figure, a McCain supporter with a big sign saying Obama was a socialist. I asked him if he believed that, and he told me that he was a veteran, that he was 60 years old, and that he had never been scared of any politician before- but that Obama frightened him. He pointed at my Obama shirt and said "that guy scares me. His domestic stuff is okay, but there's no way he can lead our troops over seas." He seemed nice enough- just of a vastly different opinion than mine. Next, I walked the line, around the library, along the edge of the park, and down Colfax- one of the main streets in that section of town.
I walked through the upper end of the park, through the throngs, and came across a group of protesters. Most of them wore togas, and one of them was dressed up like a big orange cat or bear or something. I asked of them what the togas were for, and was told it signified how "Obama thinks he's all like a Greek dude, standing in front of those columns!". I asked him if he meant the columns Obama stood in front of when he gave his acceptance speech during the DNC. "Yeah," he said, "he thinks he's like Jesus or something".

"Don't you think that's a stretch?" I asked. "Yeah, totally. He's not a messiah!". I began to suspect this guy and his pals were nuts.
I walked on, and literally ran into an old friend, which I took as a sign that I was where I was supposed to be. That's me and my old pal Dan in the photo with Obama waving- we're in the middle, about halfway up the crowd. It might be hard to make us out as there were over 100,000 people in the park that day. Lisa showed up, as did our friends the Andersons- and we basked in the glow of the event. The warm up acts were Governor Ritter, Senator Salazar, the Democratic nominee for Senator Udall- lots of really great people, and we listened to them happily- but everyone was waiting for the big event- Obama. And finally, he walked out. The crowd went nuts. It really is like a rock concert to see this guy speak. He walks on stage, and it's like when Bono walked out during the Unforgettable Fire tour, way back in the eighties. Somehow, Obama (and Bono) know how to connect to a crowd. It's that X factor that people either have, or don't. Clinton had it, too- that ability to communicate. I don't know why more people don't have- but they don't. I mean, look at President Dummy- every time old George speaks, I don't feel like I've been spoken to as much as I feel like I've been lied to yet again.

After the speech, we made our way towards home, stopping for a late breakfast and to talk about the speech. Lisa and I decided to vote early, which you can do here in Colorado- and yesterday, we did just that. The voting center was packed, but we only had to wait about half an hour. I brought my passport as my means of identification, because I didn't want to have any trouble voting, and a passport is the best means of I.D. Maybe I was being over cautious, but then again, maybe I wasn't. I worry because I think the GOP cheats, that they have for at least the past eight years and that they are going to cheat this time. I bet you dollars to doughnuts that the exit polls will show a much larger margin of victory for Obama than what the precincts counts will show- not due to the mythical "Bradley effect", but due to cheating on behalf of a washed up party that is more out of touch with the public than Richard III was in Act Five. I can see it now, some GOP operative somewhere on election night, or maybe many of them, writhing about in the agony of defeat, realising that this time they just couldn't cheat their way into the White House, screaming "Another ballot box, another ballot box, my kingdom for another ballot box."

It's the End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel Fine

I am surprised that there aren't more mentions of Ragnarok these days. Ragnarok, also known as the Twilight of the Gods, the End of All Things, and what's on the TV tonight. Maybe the similarity between current times and the Norse story of the end of the world is going to be the talking point for one of the political parties next week, after we are told yet again that the next Great Depression is almost here. While it is clear that times are a-changin', and that things aren't necessarily coming up roses at the moment, I find it hard to take all the gloom and doom from the current Masters of the Universe seriously. I've just heard it too much, too often, and from too many stuffed shirts whom I don't trust. (see Bush, George)

The right side of the political spectrum seems to be talking out of both sides of its mouth ad nauseum, like an uptight version of the Roman god Janus, if I may switch pantheons. And it's nothing new. Remember how after the attacks of 9/11, in between dire warnings of dirty bombs, anthrax, and Bin Laden, we were told to go shopping? Now we're being told about Washington Mutual crumbling, but not to worry, everything will work out if we can just get this bail out thing worked out.

Right.

I think I am doing Janus a dis-service by comparing those on the right to that venerable God of Doorways, beginnings, and endings. (and I'm not being soft on Janus just because I used him in my play Some Unfortunate Hour) No, let's lose the "J" and make a new god- Anus, American God of politics, known for talking out of both sides of his ass.

Okay, let's be fair. There are people on the left who do that as well. But it seems to me that the right has the lion's share of Anus-like folk. Just watch Fox News for a few minutes if you don't believe me.

All I'm saying, in a rambling, off kilter sort of way- is that I think the powers that be are full of crap, and I don't feel any comfort when I listen to them, with the exception of a few good folk, like Barney Frank and our next president, Barak Obama.

Okay. Rant over.

Just one more thing. My brilliant friend Jack Halpin texted me a great quote that I want to share with you all: Shooting wolves from a plane is to hunting what hiring a prostitute is to dating. Sadly true.

Now I am off to the races, to teach theatre to children, try to figure out how to sell my screenplay Elsewhere (an adaptation of my first play, Last Call), and then it's home to watch the debates, which for the moment are on again. But that's just what Anus is saying, so we'll see if it's comes to pass.

If you have any further insights to the American God Anus, please share them in the comment section of this blog.

God Bless America.

Friday wrap up

So, here it is the end of the week, and my God did a lot of things happen. First off, i got this nasty cold that's been going around out here in Colorado- call it the purple state flu or something like that. i've felt out of it, underwater, and just plain off- maybe it's just the fact that the economy has tanked in ways that didn't seem possible to most of us. i have read plenty about the Great Depression- Hoovervilles, the crash, and all that- but i never thought i'd be able to relate to it as well as i think we all can now. It boggles the mind, and nobody seems to be able to explain what's happened completely. If you can tell me what the hell is going on- other than that a bunch of greedy bastards have somehow screwed the pooch to the tune of a trillion dollar bail out- let me know. Let us all know.

Anyway.

i also made the huge mistake of watching the re-make of The Wicker Man the other night. Re-makes almost always stink. It's some sort of rule. i had this thought while watching it that McCain is sort of a re-make of Bush. Seriously- same basic plot, same basic characters- just sexed up a little. No thanks.

i enjoyed watching the polls move in favor of Obama. Oh yes i did.

i also got my confirmation of being registered to vote here in Colorado. This will be the first presidential election i've voted in during which i don't live in either California or New York- so it's kind of cool to think my vote could help turn a traditionally red state blue.

Also found a cool article by playwright Eve Ensler about Governor Strangelove.

Speaking of playwrights, this Monday in NYC, a scene from Burning the Old Man will be presented at the NYIT Awards. The scene is being presented by Boomerang Theatre Co., who are being presented with the Caffe Cino Fellowship Award. The presentation will feature the talents of one of my best friends, Vinnie Penna, so i am very happy. On top of that, Martin and Rochelle Denton will be recognised with the Stewardship award for all the amazing work they do with both nytheatre.com and NYTE. They are the main reason i am a playwright, and their value to the theatre is incalculable.
So, if you are in NYC and can make it, go to the show- on top of the awards and scenes, there will be the likes of Edward Albee, Blue Man Group, and many other giants of theatre.
Also this week, the president spoke twice, for a couple of minutes, about how things stink and not to worry and we may as well try to flap our arms as if they're wings in the belief that it'll make us fly. Maybe it was part of the cold, but i just couldn't focus on him when he spoke.
Speaking of the Purple State Cold- yes, that's now it's official name- my head is feeling warm and it's time to rest.