over the weekend we took the kids bowling for their first time ever and it my was my return to the lanes in more years than i can count.

i’d tell you the gutter guards and ball ramp were consolation to having my son outscore me in the first game but posting the score from our second game along with the first gives me away…

i can put my savings in a mattress and watch inflation turn it in to milk money.

i can put my money in the market and watch corrupt corporate heads transform my entire investment to pennies.

or i can blow it all up my nose and at least have the possible makings of an oprah’s book club best seller…

are you $*ck!#& kidding me?!?

“i must say, i’m a little envious. if i were slightly younger and not employed here, i think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.

it must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger.”

-george walker bush, from reuters

i’m certain with all the recent changes to u.s. military recruiting policies we can make room for him to take this romantic journey…

i’m now three trips behind updating the new zealand gallery…

i had something else to say there but got overwhelmed thinking about how lucky i’ve been the past few weeks.

as a parent of small children i spend a lot of time at the playground. during this time i have come to the conclusion that lord of the flies represents an optimistic outcome of children being left alone on a island unsupervised.

it seems worth repeating since near as i can tell there is a test.

…but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the united states.

-article vi, u.s. constitution

an alternative review to the show we saw last week (from the local free paper)

the sleazy, dark underbelly of the prohibition era in 1926, chicago was evident from the opening number al that jazz.

from the edgy set, dim lighting, jazz music and a magnificent slinky company led by a bawdy and fabulous velma kelly (kerry o’sullivan) and glamorous, cutie roxie hart (carrie green), chicago hit the stage with a blast.

these two broads have been slammed up in cook county jail for murder and their story screamed violence, corruption, sex and greed – oh and not forgetting their innocence.

the score is mostly hard-hitting and uncompromising. there were no gentle little songs of love and woe here.

only one song stood out from the push and heist of the rest.

mr cellophane, sung by amos hart (garrod orsborn), roxie’s husband, was a poignant song staged with a woebegone amos shuffling in clown clodhopper shoes beside a solitary dancer swaying softly beside him.

orsborn’s rendition of this lovely song had exactly the right measure of pathos and melancholy.

the musical numbers came thick and fast in this show with memorable showstoppers throughout including cell block tango, we both reached for the gun, and when you’re good to mama.

as mama morton, the prison matron, jessie matthews was a tour de force. her mama was big, brassy and glorious – that’s some voice this mama’s got, huge, and warm.

mark glastonbury as billy flynn the unscrupulous lawyer, smooth-talking, snazzily dressed, defense counsel was great. he never missed a beat or a new angle.

the large chorus had worked hard and their support of their lead performers was tight and slick. they were an animated and energetic ensemble ably supported by a small team of dancers.

o’sullivan’s velma was an uncompromising gutsy performance which combined just the right amount of wisdo and kick-arse broad.

as roxie, green had all the star quality required for this sharp, shrewd little dame. all platinum blonde hair, wide-eyed and questioning little moue-mouth, green played her to the hilt in a superb performance.

director-producer kate spencer has mounted a show with that not only packs a solid punch, it delivers with every cue and every note.

with a dazzling array of costumes, innovative set design and a zappy live band on stage chicago did it all with verve and jazz.

until you hear sarah lacy’s response, you’ve got to feel somewhat sorry for her getting mobbed up on during her sxsw keynote interview with mark zuckerberg (note: the mutiny kicks up around the 51 minute mark, with some more humor near the 55 minute mark. otherwise i wouldn’t recommend wasting any time listening to much more of the interview unless you’re stuck working at a bank or something).

i also heard a lot of praise for the obama campaign in their efforts to use social networking sites to reach out and engage their supporters.

what both these stories had in common was twitter. technology capable of festering a mob or putting someone in the white house with a last name other than clinton or bush has my interest.

the simplest recipe to make me laugh.

every joke needs one exaggeration. every joke needs one thing to be way out of w-a-y out of proportion.

-george carlin

this past weekend is best described as a three day trifecta: saturday, heritage day in downtown wanganui with lots of activities for the kids; sunday, waitonga and tawhai falls walks in tongariro national park; monday, hike / climb / scramble to the 2,287 meter high summit of mt ngauruhoe.

the way most new zealand driver’s lean in towards the passenger seat when whipping around a left hand turn would break morality laws in a number of u.s. states…

wanganui is a small town, around 40k people. its also mostly void of anyone in their twenties. the most popular universities are elsewhere and the others are off enjoying their big o.e. (overseas experience).

so its remarkable that there is an active theater company here. its even more remarkable this same theater company would choose to tackle the musical chicago.

because i did enjoy the production overall, i’ll let my review stand at this, the cast speaking in the queen’s english was only a minor oddity compared with others and i hope if there is a theater critic in wanganui they were related to someone on stage or have never been outside this fine city.