The Perils of Planning: Part III

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS DAY IS DONE, AND COMPLETE!

In case you missed it, here is a summary of my previous entries on this event...

Planning? UGH.
PR? BLEH.

Well, everything turned out great...here is the rundown:

THURSDAY
I got to Gatherings, the banquet center where the event was hosted at 1:30- the place was digusting. It smelled bad, was hot and there was debris everywhere...the place looked like a storm had plowed through the Bellaire strip center! In an hour, my co-chair and I had managed to get tablecloths on four tables...and that was about it. Come 4:00 pm, the place looked ready for an Elementary School open house, and I had to leave to pick up Geralyn Lucas. I left my co-chairs with my life and reputation in their capable hands, typed "George Bush airport" into Google Maps, and set off with a friend and a large time margin for error.

Traffic was easy; the airport was difficult. We got there thirty minutes early, and chose to rest at the cell phone lot with all of the cab and limo drivers. Finally, we got sick of waiting, and chose to circle the airport for forty-five minutes. Finally, Geralyn arrived, and we set off for home at 6:15 (with an arrival time set for 7:00 pm). Luckily, the traffic gods were good to us, and we made it in time.

Needless to say, the placed looked stunning. And although a measly twenty people braved the beautiful weather to show up, they were a great crowd who cheered for our amazing speaker. Weaving tales of humor, inspiration and love, Geralyn Lucas brought the house down, destined for a return visit next year. The silent auction portion of the night, although measley and poorly implemented, was also a success, raising $900! We all went home with love in our hearts and pastries in our stomachs, ready for the sure-to-be successful day two.


FRIDAY
With an attendance estimated near 500, the day began with a unique performance by The Pink Ribbons Project, the only nationally touring dance troupe dedicated to raising breast cancer funds and awareness. Following the performance, the lunch event began, featuring performances by Bellaire's own eMOTION hip-hop and modern dance group and the Bellaire Jazz Combo. Those distractions, combined with food catered by Chic-fil-a, Dunkin' Donuts, Auntie Pasto's and Arandas Bakery made the event a resounding success, bringing our two day total to...

$1213.64!! An unprecedented amount of money for an event that was literally being planned up until the day before it was scheduled to take place.

And with that, BCAD 2007, an event six months in the making, draws to a close. What was once a stressful cloud haunting my future is now an amazing memory of what teenagers can accomplish if they really put their mind to a goal...and I did it all without CTU, Jack Bauer, or even a missile! All in a day's work for this agent.

The Perils of Planning: Part II

Previously, on The Perils of Planning...
-No Venue for Ellen Cohen!
-Pep Rally vs. Fundraiser!
-Sign up sheets missing!
-Sally stuck in a well!
(Sorry...got a little carried away....)

And now, TPoP: II

October 17, 2007- One day until BCAD 2007

So, unable to defeat the behemoth of school spirit facing us, the Breast Cancer Awareness Day troup chose to move ourseleves to another venue...and with only the library to choose from...we chose the library.

The Bellaire library is set up to achieve the maximum level of feng shui- lots of aisles, computers out of the way of students' chi flows. Unfortunately, the library is not equipped to host 200 students, 12 eager teachers, four friendly librarians, two roving reporters and one golden councilwoman!!!

Also- with our guest of honor needing to be back in NYC as soon as she is done speaking, fligths need to be changed and re-arranged. Fact- Houston needs to have a redeye flight to New York.

# of tickets I have sold- approx 22
# needed for profit- 60
# needed for full house- 150
# of blood pressure- 847589760

Well, the event is tomorrow- preapre for a full analysis as soon as details come in.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Perils of Planning: Part I

October 16, 2007- Two days until BCAD 2007

I recently read a book by Chuck Klosterman, in which he logged his attempt to watch nothing but VH1 Classic for 24 hours. Of course, I would never attempt to do something as crazy as that (there's only so much Jefferson Starship I can take!), but nonetheless, I still like the idea of blogging on one 24 hour period during a time of crisis...this is probably why I love shows like 24. So, for the next week, I will be blogging on one thing: my issues in planning Breast Cancer Awareness Day 2007. It may not be as exciting as a day of rock videos, but hey, we can't all sit around all day watching TV.

To begin, here is a timeline of the two day event:
THURSDAY
12:30- school is out
12:30-3:00- decorating venue for silent auction and speaker
3:00- pick up speaker (Geralyn Lucas) from airport...probably in bad weather and traffic.
7:00- event begins
8:00- speaker speaks
8:30- 10:00- Silent Auction

FRIDAY
11:00-11:30- Pink Ribbons Project dance troupe performs
11:30-12:30- Breast Cancer Luncheon
2:45- Ellen Cohen speaks

And that is it, organized with NO ROOM FOR ERROR...got it? OK...let the great experiement begin!!! (Spoken by Tobias Funke of Arrested Development)

WEDNESDAY:
I begin taking reservations to see the Pink Ribbons and Ellen Cohen in the morning with a sign-up sheet conveniently located in the Main Office. Unfortunately, by third period the sheet is gone...and with it apparently my patience. I discover that to have a paper posted in the main office, one must first have it approved by an administrator. I go to my favorite administrator's office, where I run into a counselor. I explain to her what happened, and she informs me of a pep rally in the room next door to where Ellen Cohen is speaking.

"But don't worry," she assures me, "It is a breast cancer-themed pep rally!"

Without a home for my speaker and against facing the enemy that is school spirit, I realize...this is what life under pressure is all about!

And then I realize...I am Jack Bauer! I live hour to hour, minute to minute, with a mission under fire. One major difference- I'm not exactly sure how well I could handle torture.

Now where is my Chloe when I need her?

TO BE CONTINUED...

If I were to win a prize...

Wow...this honor is completely...this is such a...wow. I am blown away. Never would Ithink in a million years that I would be honored with a McArthur Genius Grant AND a Nobel Prize in the very same year! Who would have thought that me, a small-town PE coach from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales, would be the man who would cure SARS and AIDS in the very same year? Two of the deadliest acronyms ever created (besides G8 of course), wiped off the face of the earth in one swoop. Of course, I couldn't have done it without my students, who unfortunately had to be sacrificed for the greater good of civilization. And of course, without my faith in God 2.0 (© 2020 Microsoft inc, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson), none of this could have even gotten started. Of course, a thank you to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Recording Artists and Dancers and Animals and Verans of Foreign Wars (AMPASRADAVFW), the Grammoscky award was simply icing on the cake- my work as Director and Choreographer of the smash-hit TV movie Sophie's Choice 2: Sophie vs. Predator was an eye-opening experience to the plight of the Millionaire population of Upstate New York. Without this experience, I never would have started the Bill and Melinda Gates Fund for Bill and Melinda Gates, which has raised over 20 Pokemon cards [The currency of 2020] in seven weeks! This whole thing...wow. I am speechless. Well, I do have a little something prepared, but I am being inducted into the TV Watcher's Hall of Fame tonight, so I will save the speech until then.

Oh no...the music always starts right when I get to thank my family! Thank you to everyone who I have ever talked to ever! This is is the greatest night of my life! Re-elect Bobby Brown in 2020! AWOOHOO!

Sam's got the Power

When we last left the CW’s devilishly fun “Reaper”, 21-year old underachiever and slave to the minimum wage Sam Oliver, discovered that his parents had sold his soul to the devil before his birth in exchange for his father’s health (for a more detailed account of the pilot and back story, click here for a brilliant synopsis). Last episode, Sam did battle with an arsonist escaped from Hell. This week, Sam deals with another pesky demon- But more on that later.

The episode opens with Sam waking up in bed, discovering that the Devil has sent him his newest soul-sucking device in a wooden box. Reluctant to take another job, Sam ignores the vessel and goes off to work. Unfortunately, Sam soon discovers that the box (and inherently the Devil) just cannot be ignored. Ironically, this sounds very similar to the classic Bible story of God chasing Jonah as he continues to shirk his duties. And although it seems unlikely that the devil would resort to a bible story for comedic inspiration, the idea certainly grabbed the attention of this blogger.

But I digress.

Sam gets a rude awakening when the Devil teleports him face to face to tell Sam to open the box. Basically, the devil gives him two options: He can either "quit", or "put one foot in front of the other and tough it out". However, with quitting meaning certain doom for himself and the people of his hometown, Sam eventually decides to open the vessel. Inside, Sam finds his next soul trap- a remote-controlled toy monster car running on dark energy and D batteries. After an electrical storm leaves the local hospital without power, Sam volunteers to bring them a backup generator from the hardware store. Once there, he discovers that lightning struck the wall of the building (twice), revealing the hospital's old name- Arthur Ferry Hospital. Apparently, Arthur Ferry was an energy trader who got caught stealing energy and selling it to different states. His punishment in the afterlife was to be struck by lightning for eternity- enough to drive anyone insane. Since escaping from hell, Ferry has been returning his punishment to the citizens of earth in the form of lightning showers and rolling blackouts, causing many accidental deaths on his way to revenge.

Armed with rubber wetsuits, Sam and his two coworker sidekicks meet the soul for battle at the top of a hydro power dam. However, when Sam starts channeling Dirty Harry and becomes too cocky, the spirit disappears, vowing to hunt down Sam and his friends himself.

Back at the hardware store, the spirit possesses Sam's brand new hybrid, forcing the three spirit hunters to barricade themselves in the powerless hardware store. Well, all the appliances and tools have come to life and are out for blood- but there is no air conditioning! After his friend gets hit with a possessed nail gun, Sam decides to confront Arthur Ferry and his electric personality (sorry for the pun).

Ferry, however, refuses to apologize and go quietly. Trading in his toy car for a lightning rod, Sam captures the soul by force and sends it back to the DMV (the direct portal to hell), where it belongs.

The episode, an obvious homage to Enron’s now infamous energy traders, finds the perfect way to turn a recently serious event into something to laugh about- imagine one of the people responsible for countless deaths in California being eternally struck by lightning…Now, doesn’t that bring a smile to your face?

With an infinite source of inspiration appearing almost daily, I have a feeling that these writers won’t have a tough job keeping the show current and humorous. However, building a comedy out of a show revolving around murderers might pose a problem for the writers in the future. And using news stories as inspiration is bound to offend somebody. But for now, we can all rest easier at night knowing that Sam Oliver is saving us all from escaped demons and the creatures of our qorst nightmares.

But why hasn’t he captured Ann Coulter yet?

One hell of a good time

Move over 7th Heaven- the devil has come to the CW!

Reaper, a one hour dramedy directed by Kevin Smith, the king of twisted humor (Dogma), centers on the life of 21 year-old Sam (Bret Harrison from FOX's Grounded for Life and The Loop), a young slacker void of amibition just trying to gather enough courage to ask out his coworker, Andi (Missy Peregrym, star of Stick It and the short-lived but long-loved Life as We Know it) and collect his paycheck. Formulaic, right? Wrong. Sam's daily routine takes a slightly different turn when he discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born in return for his father's life. With the punishment for going AWOL on the devil being the death of him or his mother, Sam has no choice but to obey the dark prince's order- become a reaper (or, as the devil puts it, a "bounty hunter") of souls escaped from hell. Aided by "Sock" (Last seen on the cancelled Invasion), Sam's fellow slacker at the hardware store where they work, Sam begins his life of servitude tracking down an arsonist who has returned from perdition to re-destroy the buildings he originally burnt down in the 1950's. Sam and Sock apprehend the escaped soul with the help of the ironically named "Dirt Devil" soul vacuum, thus beginning what will hopefully be a long series of wins for the duo.

The show combines elements of twisted humor, drama and action into an hour long dark comedy that could only have been brought to us by director Smith. While the show is anything but original (Ghostbusters and Dead Like Me, anyone?), this new twist on a tried and true idea has staying power, especially on a fledgling network previously dominated by Tyra Banks. The truth is, we are all like Sam- eagerly anticipating that day where something amazing will happen, and we will finally have the courage to tell off our bosses and profess our everlasting love to people who are just friends. Each week, Sam becomes more and more self-confident, and more aware that working with the devil has its perks- not only can he move things with his mind and use household appliances to capture bad guys, but he also finally wins the salesperson prize- a giant ham- and the self-confidence that comes with it.

My complaints about the show are few and far between- The character of Sock (Sam's ally) seems to have been written for Jack Black, only the writers could not afford Jack Black. the character ends up being ignored by Sam throughout many parts of the show, until the end when Sock redeems himself and helps save Sam(ala Jack Black in Orange County).

The show is not something that would be filed under "Religious Viewing". However, with the airwaves overpopulated with shows like Lost and Grey's Anatomy that force viewers to come back weekly or be forever confused, Reaperis the kind of show that can be watched whenever- kind of like Monk, the show is a guaranteed good time that ties itself up at the end of every episode.

With a dark sense of humor and the potential for hundreds of interesting characters and encounters, Reaper is the kind of show that will be blogged about for a long time.

And who knows? Maybe one episode the devil will finally ask Sam to get rid of E.R.?

Once in a Blue State

Yesterday, I had the great honor and pleasure of getting to sit in on the Texas Democratic Party's luncheon, featuring special guest speaker Mary Beth Cahill. Before her speech, I pulled her to the side, and asked her some questions about Democrats in '08. Being a staunch liberal (forever and always), I was naturally curious to see what kind of tricks my party has rolled up their sleeves for '08. Suprisingly, my questions were not met with enthusaism.

According to Cahill, Democrats won't have to do much to keep up with the Republicans. Speaking on the record, she said that the biggest strength of Democrats today is that they are not Republicans. Now, normally I would agree with this statement, as I buy into the belief that the conservative "movement" has not made much of a move since before I was born. However, this year I will be more cautious come November 2008. After their massive defeat in 2006, the Republicans changed their tune entirely, taking a relatively radical stance on issues like Iraq and Universal Healthcare. Rather than seek out support from Bush, they have attempted to distance themselves as much as possible from our Lame Duck In Chief. And this has created a problem for Team Blue. With people calling Mike Huckabee "The nicest candidate around", and with candidates like Libertarian Ron Paul and D.A. Branch becoming candidates that America's rebellious (and previously Democrat) youth can support, the Democrats seem to be reactive far too passively.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe illustrates an African society so set in it's old ways, that it completely misses the grass-roots takeover by the white crusaders that happens seemingly overnight. Without someone pointing out the fact that the Republicans generally seem to win a lot, it seems that the Democrats are forgetting their own track record. We may have won the battle for 2006, but in a 51-49 margin. This is not what I would call a "win".

My opinions of the Democratic Presidential candidates aside (that would make for a sperate blog), come 2008, we had better be prepared for the Battle of the Nice.

Becuase come 2008, whoever is elected will change the course of history. And not in a "remember how accident-prone President Ford Was?" kind of way...in a "Remember when we used to be able to have abortions?" kind of way.

And that is my rant for Spetember 25.