Ugh! I am sooo stuffed. I just got back from the Alamo Drafthouse who having a Lord of the Rings marathon complete with all seven hobbit eating times. What a feast!

I have a serious question though. Is that supposed to be seven hobbit meals in ONE DAY and then you don't eat for a week? I can't imagine eating seven meals EVERY DAY like that!

The food was just delicious too. Here was the meal plan:

First Breakfast
Fresh Hens eggs, nice crispy bacon, grilled mushrooms and orange slice

Second Breakfast
Strawberries and Cream

Elevensies
Pan Seared Sausage and tomatoes with cheeses, cabbage and pickles

Luncheon
Braised Spareribs with mashed potatoes, roast carrots

Afternoon Tea
Baby greens with garlic blackberry vinaigrette, cheese herb galette, served with tea cookies

Dinner
Stewed Coney (rabbit) with taters, carrot, and leek, fresh garden herbs with crusty bread

Supper
Swirl of tomato and spinach soups wild mushroom crouton, apple pie

The only downside was that it was supposed to be Extended Edition throughout. Instead, only the first two movies were extended edition. Apparently, the Return of the King film version is not yet out and the DVD version "didn't fit". What ever that means?

There was also an raffle that I actually won prizes in. One was a CD Cardz. Some sort of trading card type thingies that also work in your CD player with pictures and stuff. Boh?

The other was the Grand Prize. Some lady's dog chewed up one of her copies of Fellowship. So she took the pieces and turned it into art with a mirror surrounded by the pages in mozaics. Pretty cool. I also had one of our Lord of the Rings music CDs raffled as well.

All in all a very FULL FILLING day.

Intriguing. I was watching The Name of the Rose, and I came up with an interesting thought.

In it, an Inquisitor comes and tortures a man to confess that a woman he was feeding was a witch, or something like that. He, a "Man of God" stands around and watches... almost delights, in the torture of another human being. It's extremely sadistic.

That got me thinking of a podcast I listened to once about people who take delight in a fetish--rope bondage. Then took my mind to some of the other fetishes and sadism that I've seen in people over the years.

An irony occurred to me.

Many people I know condemn the Catholic church for ungodly crimes. They accuse these people for being the hypocrits that they are. But what I realized is that those same people are the people today who condemn Christianity for persecuting people.

I'm still working this out in my head. So bare with me.

My supposition is that the Church was guilty. Not necessarily for ungodly behavior, but for letting these sadists assume important roles. For turning away from Godly behavior to allow deviants to run the Inquisition. That's what they were guilty of.

Some of those same deviants have found new "jobs" where they can delight in the work. Sorta like "You'll Be A Dentist" from Little Shop of Horrors. But I guess I was thinking that the error is to blame the Church rather than screwed up individuals who have usurped power.

The same could be said for the conservative Christian church of today. They hypocritcally persecute other faiths and condemn them to hell instead of letting God judge them. And in so doing, the Christian faith is weakened and other narrow-minded people step in to pounce on this weakness.

Okay, maybe this is just a 2 a.m. rambling, but I thought it interesting.

My computer has had a few problems recently. I'm just happy I have my own computer support tech to fix my computer when it has problems. Andrew is an absolutely amazing computer repair person. He's taken care of my computer for years now. He just gets better and better at it.

He even started CompuBards Computer Repair to take care of other folks computers too. I think his actual business OEM Computers has been in business for eight or nine years now, and hailed as one of the best computer repair places by the Austin Chronicle.

So if you're in the Austin area and need your computer repaired or want someone to setup a network in your home, give Andrew a call at 567-3194.

Renaissance Austin Theatre Company in association with Vortex Repertory Company proudly presents Sarah Kane's "Phaedra's Love", a contemporary, dark and sometimes humorous retelling of the Greek myth, co-directed by Lorella Loftus and Todd J Porter.

WHEN: FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS at 11pm,
August 27 through September 24, 2005.

WHERE: The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78722.
1/2 mile East of I-35, between Chestnut and Maple.
Bus route #20, Free Parking, Wheelchair accessible.

TICKETS: 512-478-LAVA (5282)
YOU PICK YOUR PRICE $25, $20, $15, $10, $5
Limited Seating. Advance purchase recommended.

By incorporating film as part of the play's action, Renaissance creates a new angle on the ancient story of a stepmother's illicit passion for her indifferent stepson. Kane's Royal Family comes unraveled as it tries to untangle the threads of its relationships. As the various members battle with their anxieties and dysfunctions, too much is revealed, thus inciting the wrath of their adoring public.

Featuring Lorella Loftus as Phaedra, and Todd J Porter as Hippolytus, the cast includes Erin Meyer as Strophe, Michael DeMinico as Theseus, William Rene as the Priest, and Cindy DiCosimo as the Doctor. Film actors include John Lansch, Shawn P. May, Paula Gilbert, Gina Houston, Chris Sykes, Carl Gonzales, Cynthia A. Burton, Brandi Hughes and Ruby Glaberman.

Designed by Todd J Porter and Lorella Loftus. Videography by Kenneth B. Gall, with help from Rebecca Adler, and editing by April Melody. "Phaedra's Love" is presented as a late night add-on to the Vortex Repertory Company Barebones Festival of New Plays.

Warning: This play contains material of a violent and sexual nature.
www.vortexrep.org;
www.celticcenter.org/renaissanceaustin_current.php

For more information, or to schedule interviews, please contact Lorella Loftus at (512) 771-6174.

This weekend I started to release my Celtic music Premium Section of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. I had a stupid name, when the one name that stuck from last week's request for feedback came to me--SONG HENGE! That name came from the brilliant writer and comedian C. Wayne Owens aka Seymoure. Thanks!

And this week in the magazine I unveiled SONG HENGE to my readers. So far so good. I'm still hoping to get some feedback from subscribers, but nada yet.


After I released the site, I haven't felt much like doing things. So Monday afternoon, Kristen and I went out in a canoe on Lake Austin where I promptly dumped us both into the lake... on purpose... yeah, no really. It was totally Not an accident. Really... *wistfully looks away*

That evening, we headed out to Spider House, watched Firefly, and Kristen and I played "The Ballad of Jayne" since Cedric is in Washington and can't play "The Ballad of Joss".

It was fun though I must say I really am not used to playing music without Andrew. I get stage fright all over again. It's weird. I really need to start playing a regular solo gig to kill that friggin stage fright.


Yesterday, I met up with David Clauss, the main leader of the band Celtic Stone. The meeting went well, and it looks like I will probably help him release his band's CDs online in the next couple o'months, starting with a compilation that they released in 1990. I also plan to start featuring some of their music in a new segment of the Renaissance Festival Podcast, a sorta Renaissance Festival Flashback. Sounds like he's gonna try and get me other music from past bands though it'll be tough to actually feature them since it's usually best to get permission... hmm...

Well, it can be periodic. And it'll be great to get some of Celtic Stone's music out there in any case. Their CD Digital Traditions is once again available for sale.


Kristen heads home this Friday so today I took her to Innerspace Caverns and then to see the bats come out from Congress bridge. Austin has the largest Urban population of bats in the world. It was cool to see.

I just got off the phone with David Clauss the leader of the former Celtic music group Celtic Stone. My hope is to re-release their music on CD through my record label, Mage Records.

This is a pretty exciting. I've met so many fans of this band. They were extremely popular in the 80s at Renaissance Festivals. I'm also hoping I'll get a chance to add them to the Renaissance Festival Podcast.

Cross your fingers.

Oh, hey! If you're familiar with the group, what CD is the first one you would like to see reissued.

Their CD Digital Traditions is once again available for sale.

One of the pleasures of working at home is homemade espresso. Yeah.

If you've ever spent the time in an Italian home, you've probably seen one of the Villaware espresso makers. Unfortunately, you take it home. You buy some Lavazza ground espresso, cook it on the stove, pour your cup of espresso, then spit it out. It tastes terrible. So you repeat the process to the same dissatisfying results.

What's up with the poor tasting espresso?

Well, they say it takes many, many cups of espresso to be cooked before it starts tasting really dang good. From what I understand, the oils from the beans build up in the espresso maker at time, which adds to the overall taste. That's why you don't wash it with soap and water every time you make espresso.

Well I'm finally there. My homemade espresso is just delicious. If it weren't for the fact that too much caffeine makes me deadly jittery, I'd have another cup right now. Maybe later.