Just as I suspected!
RIP Daisy (7/05/03- 12/30/11)
Daisy, originally uploaded by fat overactor.
You were a wonderful dog. I had always wanted a Boston Terrier and I could not have found a better dog than you. Long before we had our daughter, it was you sleeping in my arms like a baby.
You loved your sunbeam; chasing bunnies; playing fetch with your ball and frisbees; and cuddling on the couch. I will miss your OCD kisses (I MUST lick you 47 times!) and the way you would make me laugh rolling Larken’s ball all around the yard on your hind legs.
Sure, you snorted and snored, burped, farted and other unlady-like behavior, but to me you were nothing short of precious.
I hope you, Hope and Star are all together now in Heaven, having a good time running and playing with no more pain. I miss you and I can’t wait for you to run into my arms again when my time comes.
I love you my sweet angel.
I Tumbl For You
Sorry for getting Culture Club stuck in your head but I wanted to announce that I have started a Tumblr blog www.fatoveractor.tumblr.com .
I know what you are thinking, “Gee, Ed, you are doing such a GREAT job of keeping THIS blog updated! Why do you need another social media site?” Well the simple answer is that Tumblr is a great place to share cool things I find on the web and thoughts that are not quite worthy of a full blog post. It is meant to be a random collection of ideas over many forms of media, so I do not feel guilty about not keeping to a theme there. It is incredibly simple to share things from a website, email or even my cellphone with the touch of a button. It also has endless sets of beautiful themes that are fully customizable to really make your page rock.
I am still figuring out how to use everything, but please check it out and maybe subscribe to the feed if you like it. I don’t know how to find other Tumblr blogs without the url, so if you join Tumblr send me a link so I can follow you too!
Lost in Translation
I was cleaning out the spam filter on The Peoria Cabaret Theatre Blog when I found these two comments. Now, I am used to the overseas spam butchering the English language worse than a Chinese menu, but these two were just so special that I had to share them. This…IS…the danger of trusting Google Translate!*
Submitted on 2010/12/14 at 6:09 PM
Alright Permanent,fine come immediate bedroom description pleasure well traditional afford distinction head as exist offence meanwhile description give mine outside investigation the recover improvement value vehicle engine army comparison different commit raise field similar television major driver increase directly only experience generally thank view silence somebody wave fully of concentration northern sign base solution before majority wash access extra this chair bag decade have outcome else dress allow examination procedure drop single average army sale maintain positive yeah answer purpose way study annual nearly report revolution importance current follow title
Submitted on 2010/12/11 at 2:59 PM
Quiet Historical,reveal anyway before information close reflect search red often resource sing fast conference danger relevant location human soon from recently track annual body order implication really almost cut football warn growth line actual experiment north throughout interested colour quite driver border floor accident foreign worry indicate send condition district collection manage expression yet master distinction solution row loan rely broad competition before less require search neither wait display fruit place must whole parent attack few assessment revenue investment including when bag leader husband wonderful little heat
It’s like a tone poem. A word journey if you will. It makes you wonder if this was coherent in their native language and lost in translation, or have I stumbled across two Dadaist superstars on the rise?
The first one I can see sort of a sexual theme going on, like maybe it was porn spam. The second one seems a little more sinister. I’m going to go with “The Terminator” retold in Dadaist style.
What are your interpretations of these fine poems?
*as spoken by James T. Kirk
My New Favorite Artist
I think I have a new favorite artist! If you need a bit of cheer, I highly recommend you check out James Hance and his “Relentlessly Cheerful Art” site here. The print above is his homage to a Calvin & Hobbes with the perfect title of The Kessel Run!
He also has a an adorable series of prints based on the Winnie the Pooh books by A.A. Milne and E.H. Sheppard called “Wookie the Chew”. The best part is all of his prints are only $10!! You can see more of his artwork here and even purchase his book “Wookie the Chew-The House at Chew Corner” for only $5!!
The 15 Album Meme
I stole this from Owen’s Blog.
Internet Meme- The list of albums
The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums you’ve heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.
Here is my list…
- Fishbone- Truth and Soul
- Paul Simon- Graceland
- Pink Floyd- The Wall
- The Last 5 Years- Jason Robert brown
- Return to the Forbidden Planet- Original London Cast
- A New Brain –William Finn
- REM- Out of Time
- The Killers- Hot Fuss
- U2- Achtung Baby
- Poi Dog Pondering –Wishing like a Mountain, Thinking Like the Sea
- The Cure- Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
- Pulp Fiction- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- They Might Be Giants- Flood
- Tori Amos-Little Earthquakes
- The Indigo Girls- Rites of Passage
I kept with Owen’s rule of only listing one album from a musical artist or group. Many of these groups I own several of their albums. Some of the albums listed don’t even reflect some of the band’s best work, but they remind me of a particular time in my life. Some of these songs wrapped around me like blanket during the dark times; others were the soundtrack for major events in my life. Either way, whenever I hear them I am instantly transported back in time to those moments.
New Community Theatre Blog
There is a new Peoria Community Theatre blog in town! The Peoria Journal Star has gathered representatives from all of the local community theatre companies to blog about what’s going on at their theatres all in one place. The name of the blog is THINK THEATER and it can be found on the PJ Star’s website under blogs, or you can link directly to it here http://blogs.pjstar.com/thinktheater .
While it may never replace the popularity of our former favorite source for theatre news, www.peoriatheatre.com , it is definitely a step in the right direction for arts unification! You may even see a few familiar faces blogging there, so check it out!
The Thankful Post That is Supposed to Happen Thursdays (6/19)
This week I am thankful for…
~ My wife. We celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary on Monday! Somehow, she still likes me after all of this time, so I am a very lucky man!
~The Sun. I actually SAW it this week after many days of rain! I was able to mow the lawn for the first time in two weeks before it started raining again.
~True Blood is back on HBO with a new season!
Last week I was thankful for…
~Date Night. Grandma took care of our daughter so that my wife and I could spend an evening ALONE. We went to Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre to see the World Premiere play by our friend, (and Best Man at our wedding) Chad Kirvan. We had chicken noodle soup, salad, prime rib, fried chicken, pork loin in béarnaise sauce, tilapia, baked potato, Normandy vegetables, peanut butter pie, cheesecake and Oreo parfaits…Whew! I think I gained about 10 pounds but the food was excellent, the show was funny and it was wonderful to have a date with just my wife again. Bonus: the author and his wife joined us at our table for Act II. How many people can say that at a theatrical performance? 
~My creative daughter. She had me watch her “talent show” while we were playing outside. I sat on the bench it the middle of our backyard while she emceed the show starring her imaginary friends. She would do the introductions and we would both clap. She closed out the show with a song and hula-hoop tricks. Look out, Hugh Jackman, NPH and Sean Hayes; she is gunning for your future Tony hosting gig!
Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!
If you have visited this blog in the past, you may notice a few changes around here. The first being the name of the blog is no longer “Fat Overactor”. It has been 5 years since I last acted in a show. F-I-V-E YEARS! I still direct a little on the side, but it is pretty clear that the focus of this blog has not been about acting or theatre, so why keep the confusing title? (I still do PLENTY of blogging about my theatre life over at The Peoria Cabaret Theatre’s Blog.)
The new title Cerebral Graffiti better describes the focus of this blog (or lack thereof). It is the thoughts that are going through my head at the time. Sometimes it is about my family and me. Other times it may be humorous essays or song parodies. My address for the blog is still the same www.fatoveractor.wordpress.com , so rss feeds and links should still point you here. I am still keeping my “Fatoveractor” moniker as it has become a part of my online identity (and I still think it is funny!)
Along with the new name comes a new look. I had become bored with my old theme but I was hesitant to change it because I felt married to my old “superhero” blog banner. This is a new WordPress themed called “Greyed”. I liked the gritty feel and the graffiti. The theme actually helped inspire the new name! So welcome to the new blog! (Same as the old blog!) Hopefully soon I get back to writing posts ON this blog and not just ABOUT this blog!
Thankful (Insert Day) 5/15/10
Yep, I’m off to great start on these again! *facepalm*
Last week we were all sick at my house. My daughter and I just had colds, while my wife outdid us both with a four day fever, strep throat and an ear infection! So last week was not a very thankful week!
THIS week I am thankful for…
~ My wife starting to feel better. The fever and infection are gone, now the steroid and antibiotics are working on everything else.
~Health insurance to pay for doctor visits and medication.
~The start of wedding season at my other job. (Hello busy weekends=better paycheck!)
~ The world premiere of a farce written by my good friend Chad Kirvan, is getting a great reception at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre!
~ I’m on vacation starting Monday!
