One of a series of two posters I'm working on for Booty Vortex. I wanted to try to capture some of the high-energy dance fest of their shows, along with a little of the retro disco vibe.

( Boogie down! )

I've been posting samples of my design work over at my facebook page for Rosenthol Design, but I know not everyone is on facebook, and it's easy to miss posts over there.  So I'm curious -- would you want to see some of my design work posted here, too?  Or is that overkill?

Just re-read Pamela Dean's Tam Lin for the umpteenth time. I dearly love that book, and I find something new every time I read it. It's been a few years, I think, so I was surprised to find how many more of the Shakespearean references I caught, having done some of the shows myself now. And I've seen a movie of The Revenger's Tragedy, which I hated, but which did make that bit of the book much easier to follow, and of course there's The Lady's Not for Burning; they reference that a few times, but don't go into much detail, so having seen the T@F production and knowing the whole story added a lot more depth to some of the places where it was mentioned. Sadly, the Annotated Tam Lin, where someone lovingly went through and noted all of the references in the book, is no longer active online, but thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, you can still see it here.

So now I'm at loose ends for something marvelous to read.  What's your favorite re-read?  What do you find more in every time you go back to it, or just enjoy picking up for comfort?

I just bought a wireless router, so that my boyfriend can play networked games on his Nintendo DS and I can get better quality on streaming Netflix on my iPhone.  I already have a wired router in place for our cable modem in the living room, and I had hoped to daisy chain this one on in my bedroom, since I'm not sure the signal would be strong enough from the living room.  Turns out that you can't just plug it in with the default settings and have that work, though, and I don't know enough about networking to make sense of the solutions I'm finding online.  Anyone out there willing to help walk me through it?  Thanks!

I made this yesterday on asparagus, but it was so good we were dipping everything into it and practically licking the plates.  It would be fabulous as a marinade for fish, and I'm thinking of using some as salad dressing on baby spinach for dinner tonight, if I can bring myself to leave the house to get the spinach.

Lime-Soy Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 lime)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or less if you're me)
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
5 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk together the lime juice, cayenne, soy sauce, and salt. Add the oil slowly, whisking.

I went to see Savion Glover tonight. He's an amazing tap dancer -- watching his feet move so fast that a cloud of dust rose from the stage, I could easily believe that it was actually smoke, and that he would end up engulfed in a pillar of flame created by a pair of magic shoes.

But what struck me most about his performance in the end was the specificity, which is something I've been thinking about a lot for a while now. Savion knows exactly what sound every fraction of every inch on his shoe will make, how those sounds will differ on every section of the stage, and how to use those sounds softly or loudly and fast or slow to create amazing patterns and soundscapes that somehow end up expressing something. It's not just a matter of a shuffle or a toe dig; he has an entirely vocabulary that is miles beyond what most dancers can do, and he uses it intentionally.

It's the same in design. Some people might choose to use a sans serif font, and just go with Arial or Helvetica, where I might choose Univers 47 Condensed Light at 10/12 leading tracked out to 10.

It's there in writing; a rose might be red, or it could be a deep velvety crimson. A person can say something, or they can cry it, whisper it haltingly, mutter it… I'm not a writer, but you get what I mean.

I've been struggling over the past few years to really grok specificity in acting. I think I've made some progress on gesture -- I'm trying to move away from just waving my hands about, as we often do in normal conversation, and more toward specific choices, for example, a reaching motion that comes from the shoulder and uses the space around me, and that gets held until a specific beat in the scene. The harder part for me to pin down is in intention -- making emotions specific, figuring out precise relationships, knowing what I want from the other characters… there's a lot to work on there.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that there is specificity to be found in everything -- in painting, in cooking, in clothing, in speech. So! Where do you find it in your life? I challenge you to think about some of your choices over the next day or two and share with me some stories of where specificity matters to you, and if you feel making more specific choices makes a difference.

My show is now only 10 days away! We had a full-cast rehearsal last night, and I was really blown away by some of the pieces. There's some really funny stuff, and some incredibly moving pieces, and I'm honored to get to be a part of this amazing piece.

The Vagina Monologues
Thursday, February 3 - Saturday, February 5
The First Parish Church, Harvard Square
1446 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA

Only 3 performances -- buy your tickets now and save over the at-the-door price!

Thursday, Feb 3 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 4 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 5 at 8pm

Also, we're looking for house volunteers. The call time is between 6:30-6:45 for a 7:00 outer and 7:30 inner door opening. Of course, you get to see the show for free the night that you volunteer. And there's no intermission, so it's all pre-show stuff.

Email our house manager, Teddy, at armchairhistorian@gmail.com if you're interested.

I've been meaning to write up a real post, but the Slutcracker is eating my brain right now. But I am very pleased to announce that I have been cast in the Cambridge production of The Vagina Monologues, preforming February 3-5 at The First Parish Church, Harvard Square. Thanks to ladrescher for letting me know about the auditions, and for also getting cast so I get to play with her again. Yay! This is my first time doing a show with anyone but T@F and PMRP since doing Shakespeare in Hollywood in 2006 with Arlington Friends of the Drama -- there aren't too many groups that perform close enough that I can work with them on shabbos, so my audition options are limited. But it's always a nice ego boost to get cast by people who *don't* already know and love me :)

zigguratlabs is back and better than ever! We *will* be hosting parties at Arisia this year. And you can be a part of it! Check out the Call for Research.

I like a bargain as well as the next person, but I've learned over the years that there are some things that it's worth paying more for.

* A good iron - one that will really take out wrinkles, and not accidentally make more. I hated ironing until I got a fold-down ironing board and a good Braun iron.

* A real razor - I used to use the plastic disposables and I cut myself all the time. My sister gave me a Gillette Sensor years ago and I've rarely cut myself since. I like the Gillette Venus now, but YMMV.

* Really comfortable shoes - it's hard to be happy when your feet hurt. I have 3 pairs of Dansko clogs, and they're worth every penny I spend on them.

What's on your list?