The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Sports & Leisure => Topic started by: side_show on October 08, 2005, 04:23:35 am
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Well, I just had an interesting day.
A point to make things clear before I begin my story: I work at a children's theatre as my "day job" and I'm currently also on contract with another theatre directing a very adult-themed show as my "other job"
So when it comes to the "other job," after the total failure of both the production manager and the prop person for the show I'm directing to find me a hand gun for the play I'm directing, (which I've been asking for since August) I rat them out, probably get one of them fired, and spend the entire afternoon in gun shops...
I have been waiting for a gun, asking for it, finally demanding it, since August when our rehearsals began. - it is now a week until the show opens. Since no one had taken any action on this request (aka: doing the work they are fuck*ng paid to do), I sent a very angry email two dayts ago to the two people running the theatre festival. The response is to call me in a panic, come to my office, and then they also pass the buck, throw up their hands, and basically told me I was screwed without making any attempt to resolve the issue - aparently they had "looked into it," but getting a decomissioned revolver is - according to them - against the rules. Naturally, I want to know what these rules are, but no one seems to actually have these rules - infact since the "rules" they refer to seem to change everytime I ask about them, I demand to see a copy of these rules in print. They never materialize.
Now, the gun is basically the central prop of the entire play - the play is all about violence, power, etc. and when the gun appears it's a major deal - probably the most important moment in the play. A cap gun will not do, and I noted this both verbally and in repeated notes to the production staff. With all that, they let me know that they had arranged to borrow a pellet gun for the show from a hunting shop called S.I.R.
So I call S.I.R. and make an appointment with the guy who has the pellet gun, knowing full well that it's not what I need. Since I have time between when I see the guy at S.I.R. and the end of my work day at the childrens theatre (read the other, more professional theatre - my "day" job) I decide to visit the production manager of the children's theatre. Since the theatre is for the wee ones, there is a "no gun policy," but since no one in the other theatre company had bothered to look into the legality of using a gun on stage, I thought I'd consult with the guy who runs the entire production side of the kid's theatre since he knows basically everything there is to know about theatre. Within 10 minutes he presented me with the clear concise information I needed, showed me the union rules on gun use in theatre. Basically I was right in looking for a decomissioned hand gun (a real gun with a barrel stopped up with lead so it is impossible to fire) - it is the standard, and according to him it's what every high end theatre uses in their productions.
Then I headed home to wait for the time of my apointment with the pellet gun guy, feeling even more like I'm about to waste a lot of time. I get home, and I sit there for a minute, and I suddenly think - "wait a minute - the people who told me they couldn't find a gun were clearly idiots, and are probably lying to avoid doing actual work."
I pick up the yellow pages, flip to "guns" and call the first business listed "Earl's Gun and Tackle" I ask if they have a decomissioned hand gun - "yes, we do." I ask if they would mind lending it to me for a play I'm directing. "Sure no problem." I tell them I'm heading straight down. Within 20 minutes of calling the shop I am holding exactly what I wanted in my hands, and the shop owner is telling me he will let me borrow it for free. It is a real gun. It is exactly what I had been asking for for over two months with no result. The first place listed in the yellow pages had exactly what I needed. After such easy and quick success, I wonder if anyone actually did any real work in regard to this whole issue. I walk out of the store holding what, for all intents and purposes is a real gun to anyone who should see me holding it. Now, I know that people get a little dazzled when they hear that I'm in show business, but I have to admit, I found it a little disturbing that I was handed something which I could rob a bank with by a shop owner who didn't even bother to take down my name.
So I have the gun I wanted, but I figure out of courtesy that I should go to the SIR and look at the pellet gun. I end up in some creepy back office with two guys who clearly think I'm a total moron because I have breasts and a pu$$y. They are cleary quite surprised when I present them with the decomissioned revolver as an example of what I'm looking for. They sheepishly present me with their pitiful pellet gun, and though I know it's totally useless to me, I agree to try it out in rehearsals. Again they offer to let me borrow their pellet gun without taking any information down. I thank them for their trouble. As I go to leave, one of the guys comes hurrying behind me: "You know you shouldn't be walking around with guns in your purse." I turn to him and say "Oh, don't worry, I'll be a good girl." and leave. I actually said "I'll be a good girl" out loud. I was by far the most ridiculous thing I've ever said to another person out loud in public - also as a side note, it wasn't a purse - it was a brief case, but you know, I'm just a girl and all, I need something to carry my compact in...
So there I sat at home, 3 hours after deciding to solve the problem myself, with one gun and one pellet gun and a copy of the rules I need to follow all spread out on my coffee table.
I ask you, what's more disturbing: 1)the fact that two salaried people couldn't do in over two months what took me three hours in my off time to do or 2) the fact that two strangers allowed me to walk out of their stores with a) a pellet gun that resembles a hand gun with the staff continually stressing "you could rob a bank with that!" and b) a real gun, that only close examination would reveal to be inopperable?
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Hell, you should just come down here south of the border. I think in some states you're legally required to carry a gun.
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I've only been skimming the board of late, but I could have gotten you a handgun within 24 hours (shipping to Canadia being what it is). You'd have to fill the barrel with lead yourself, though.
So maybe it all worked out for the best.
And I thought guns were like, ridiculously easy to get in Canadia, based on the fact that Canada has more guns per capita than the U.S.
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you tell the best stories. you should like, write or direct or something...
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Aaargh. Yeah, if your theater productions are anything like our high-school ones (and I hope they're not), "I wasn't able to find (common object)" is just code for "I couldn't be arsed to acquire (common object) and am hoping you will get frustrated and do it for me." (Especially wonderful when directed from an adult theater director to a high-school student who is expected to buy props, but that's another rant in and of itself.)
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I wish to play devils advocate if I may.
Side Show, you were able to locate the exact perfect prop you were seeking in 3 hours whereas the people assigned to this task were given two months and failed. I'll throw out the fact that finding this gun isn't the only thing they had to do, and i'll not dispute the assertion that your co-workers are incompetent. However, it is entirely possible that you got lucky. Maybe Earl's Gun and Tackle or whatever was the only place in town that had what you were seeking. Lucky you discovered this with your first phone call. Maybe your coworker used another yellow pages or they searched online and Earl's Gun and Fine Smoked Meats wasn't listed in any of their searches. Another thing to consider, and this isn't an excuse by any means, but maybe your coworkers aren't as well spoken as yourself. You make your points (in print at least) in a clear and concise manner. Maybe George (i'm tired of writing coworker) actually called Earl's Firearms and Video, but didn't present himself well and Earl just didn't want to give his gun over to him. But when you called, well he liked you so he gave you the gun. You're scenario, backed up by V is way more likely, but just maybe...
Also, I would like to defend my gender a little against your male bashing. Now your assertion that these two guys you encountered are sexist dogs is the most likely one. Your most compelling piece of evidence, they work in a gun shop. Not typically your bastion of forward thinking people. But it is possible that they treated you as they did not because you are woman necessarily, but because you are from the theatre looking to obtain a fake gun. Your not a hunter or in law enforcement, or such as that so they treated you like someone that probably doesn't know much about firearms for that reason and not because you are a woman. Or maybe I should say not only because you are a woman. You obviously have a strong distaste for firearms as became evident here (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=43105#43105) . Not that thee two goobers would know that, but...
I guess what I am trying to say is that I really enjoy your screeds. I encourage you to do that more often.
~Paul
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Paul, I realize you are playing the devil's advocate here, not attacking me, so first off, I am not insulted or anything - my little ego is just fine. I love a good debate though, so, in rebuttal:
I'll throw out the fact that finding this gun isn't the only thing they had to do...
Yes, true - she has several other things to do - for me, which she also can't be bothered to do, including finding two coat trees - another simple job, because I put her - Anna - in touch with three different people who had coat trees of the type we needed. Anna did not follow through on any of these contacts either. I then asked one of the actors in my play to contact one of the contacts who is a friend of hers, and viola, I have two coat trees ready for pick up on Tuesday. Again, I am not being paid to do this at all, nor is the actor (the cast and I are all working as volunteers for the cause, the production staff is all being paid due to Union rules). For the list of props provided to her at the beginning of the production in August, she has yet to provide a single one of the items.
Maybe Earl's Gun and Tackle or whatever was the only place in town that had what you were seeking. Lucky you discovered this with your first phone call. Maybe your coworker used another yellow pages or they searched online and Earl's Gun and Fine Smoked Meats wasn't listed in any of their searches ...
Earl's wasn't the only option - Anna was presented with a list of contacts from me (because my father was instrumental in building the only acredited gun club/school in the city), I provided her with a list of people who could have provided her with the weapon I needed. Since blocked barrel guns are used in most gun safty classes here, I had one guy on the list who had about 30 of these guns, and warned her that he would be leaving town in early October - that she needed to act immediatly. But let me stress that she never answered her phone, or attended the production meetings, so all this was left either on her voice mail, or in meeting notes sent to her after the fact. Oh, did I mention she is contractually required to attend these meetings? Also after the posting of my last message, the artistic director of the theatre called me to let me know that she had also directed Anna to the main supplier of prop guns to the local film industry. As I was talking to the artistic director, the movie gun guy called me on the other line (I had left him a message that morning, but had been told he was now out of town on a film shoot until two days before my show's opening). He was calling me from on the set of the film he's working on, letting me know that he had both attempted to call and email Anna in September (since he is a friend of the lead actor in my play, he new full on what we needed by association to him, not by any contact with Anna). He said he too has exactly what we need, will lend for free, and that in both his messages he sent to Anna he had stated this, but recieved no response. He saie it was really too bad that she didn't bother to call him back, since he was offereing a week of theatrical gun use training for free to us. He is even coming in to meet me during our technical rehearsals with some other prop guns should ours not work out. - Also Anna has no internet access - since she never answers any of my phone calls I ended up asking the theatre for her email address, and was told that while they had an address, since she has no net access, that they've found emailing her pointless. - Also, there is only one type of yellow pages in Winnipeg. Manitoba Telicom Services (MTS) provides the only LAN phone service to all of my provence, and hence puts out the only white and yellow pages in the city.
So basically several options were out there, several were even thrown in Anna's path - essentially, her failure to act is the only reason this didn't get done. Period.
...when you called, well he liked you so he gave you the gun....
Yes, the guy liked me. We actually joked quite a bit over the phone. And yes, I am very articulate. I knew exactly what I was going to say before I called: "I am looking for something out of the ordinary. I need a decomissioned hand gun, preferably stopped up with lead. Just to defend gun sellers a little bit - I'm certainly not opposed to hunting or giraffeing (both of which were clearly Earl's business). It was a lovely mom-and-pop type operation on the city's edge, right by a stinking rendering plant. I actually had quite a nice laugh with him and his wife, both grey haired and good humoured people behing a counter, along with a customer who is clearly a regular. When it came to the shop owner, of the gun, he kept saying "I don't care if you keep it! It's just a fancy paper weight!" In fact, their shop is probably one of the coolest bait and tackle shops I've been to, and since I need a new rod, and really want to go ice giraffeing this year, I'm likely going to throw some cheddar their way quite soon. Also, to prove my point about how easy it is to find a block barrelled handgun if you're actually looking, the regular customer guy said he also has two at home that he could lend me too.
Anyway, Earl, his wife, and the regular customer guy all asked for promo cards for the festival, and are excited by the idea of their "paper weight" being used in a play.
Side note to Jough: Yeah, I could have bought a gun and stopped it up with lead, but a) this is a small theatre company - I have $50 Cnd for the entire prop budget. b) I was supposed to have the gun in my hand for Thursday's rehearsal and was promised it would materialize, but then it was Friday and nothing had happend, and this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving long-weekend, so the only day I could solve this (where small businesses like the ones I visited are open) was Friday. If I had found an real gun that someone was willing to donate, I would have needed to find someone who could stop it up with lead, and also in Canada you need a licence to transport guns, so my dad (who has the license) would have had to of taken the day off work to deal with it himself - until the gun was officially decomissioned it would have to be in the posession of someone with this licence. Hence huge financial losses either way.
I would like to defend my gender a little against your male bashing.....
Just to clairify - I didn't go into the whole visit to the hunting shop story in detail, because it's much longer and more sorded than what I made it out to be in the previous post - so perhaps I didn't make clear why the men there were basing their attitudes on "the fact I have breasts and a pu$$y." I wasn't male bashing, (or didn't meant to). I was just criticising two guys who clearly treated me in a rude, and what I felt was obviously sexist manner - they made comments as noted and actions that pointed directly toward a bias against my gender. Also, one of the guys was in fact on my dad's shooting team, and though he knows that I am an adult, not living with my parents, he referred to me as "little girl" at one point, which was off the scale insulting for me. They knew I was there for a prop for me feminist theatre festival. They knew that, and perhaps this is why I felt the treatment was intentional and sexist.
If I point out the sexist behaviour of two guys, I do not mean to imply that all men are sexist, just as if I point out the racist actions of two white people, I don't suggest that all white people are racist. That's an erroneous conculsion to jump to. If you look at my story again, I didn't generalize, I never said "all men" or "all men in gun shops..." - I really like men. I'm in love with one, and infact since I was such a tom boy growing up, most of my friends are guys... God, I'm a loser, that's such a cliche - "I have gay friends you know!" - "most of my friends are black!" etc. What I'm trying to say it that I have respect for men, and I'm especially aware of calling out sexisim when not appropriate, since I hate when "bad" feminists do it all the time. My play actually looks quite deeply at manhood - with one character who takes on all the sterotypes of "being a man" - but is infact a boy, and another who lives a "childish" life, but is the real "man."
Anyway, I think that most of the time, when things don't work out in your favor, it's because "that's life," not because of the skin, genitals, socioeconomic strata, or whatever, that you were born to. Certainly there are situations where you are judged, as in my trip to the gun place, but usually life is hard, and when I look at all the people I know, I recognise that none of them have it "easy." Life is very complex. It's not dick/cunt, black/white, and I tend to be very critical of those who assume it's that simple, and really, I think that is my problem with the gun shop guys.
When it came to meeting with gun experts in a back room, I found this intimidating, and framed the begining of our converstation in a friendly tone, and started with an introduction that let them know that I was looking to them for their expertise. When arrangements were made to meet with them, they knew I was directing a show for FemFest - a festival of women playwrights. They were aware that I was coming in, as a feminist, and as a theatre person. So yes, they were likely up in arms, knowing full well they were about to meet with someone with very different pollitical views than their own. But shouldn't this also mean that they should be a little more sensative? I don't know. I made a concerted effort to present myself as open and friendly - and apart from my last sarcastic quip about "being a good girl" I didn't give them even a twinge of antagonism. As the one guy came out and shook my hand, as we walked into their office I said something like "I don't know a lot about guns, so your opinion is important, and I apreciate your expertise" - you know, something professional, that acknowledged this man and the trouble he was going to. Rather than continuing on on this polite and helpful manner, he snorted and shook his head. Now I've seen one of these men once before at my dad's gun club, and I've seen him interact with my dad and other guys at the shooting range, and he treated dad and his buddies with respect and cajolery - then when introduced to my mom and I, he talked to me like a retarded monkey - he didn't know me from a hole in the wall the first time I met him, and clearly made some assumptions about me that were false - i.e. that I should be spoken to like an eight year old. Since he didn't remember me at this second meeting ( I reminded him later on), and treated me in the same disrespectful manner. I have to assume that this is his M.O. around women - he was rude to me the first time I met him, and rude to my mother. Upon a second meeting, where he didn't remember me from last time, he was again condescending. Both the guys at this meeting came to me with an attitude lacking in kindness toward me - everyone knows when someone's judged them, has made assumptions, and I knew my place when it came to them. It's pretty hard to illustrate their treatment of me by siting the actual converstaion we had - it was all about tone - very condescending, cutting me off, long pauses of silence, closed off body language, lack of eye contact... The strongest signals were all non-verbal, but when someone sits in a chair leaning away from you with their arms crossed... God, I don't know, I had a clear sense that these men hated me, and that as soon as I was gone, that they would be talking shit about me. You just know sometimes.
...Is possible that they treated you as they did not because you are woman necessarily, but because you are from the theatre looking to obtain a fake gun. Your not a hunter...
You know, I thought this at first too, but since the introductions started out on such a sour note, I at first thought they felt like I was all coming up on their territory, not knowing anything about their business - unaware that I had been in their store dozens of times, had purchase giraffeing stuff and gift certs for dad there, etc. This all said, to them I was a customer, the actual arrangement made over the phone was that I was coming to rent a gun, not borrow it. So I mentioned that I like the renovations they had done to the store. The one guy, who was more of an executive than the other guy who knew my dad, responded enthusiastically to that, and I started to talk about how I need a new giraffeing rod because the reel in my old one is broken... etc. He was so nice an cheery on this topic, that I thought the mood of the room had changed, but then, when they took out the first pellet gun they wanted to show me - which had a 12 inch long barrel, and I explained that it needed to be a hand gun and needed to be concealed on the actors body for the purposes of the scene, the both of them looked very pissed off. It was like I had said "fuck you." It was an all 'round tense situation.
Also, I think their major failure at SIR is a lack of forward thinking: there's got to be a huge market out there for lesbian hunting, giraffeing and firearms. I know lots of butchy dykes who would be totally, obsessivly into it. If only these men I met with were open to the possibilities, they'd enjoy an entirely knew marketing demographic! Just imagine: "Dickless Dyke Duck Hunting Season!" Dude, even I think that would be fun. I could take a break on shaving my legs, eat fresh pickeral for dinner... Two local romatic partners/performance artists do regular shows around the city called "Lesbian Park Rangers on Patrol" and even walk around handing out tickets for "infringements" like "conforming to gender stereotypes" - it's deeply amusing. So this could really, really happen. Maybe Earl's Gun and Tackle should take this one on! I'll let Earl know when I give him back his gun.
Now, it's off to eat Turkey! Happy Thanksgiving to the other Canuks on the board! Enjoy celebrating the destruction and pillaging of my people!
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I would've been more impressed by your story if it weren't a pasting of your blog post.
Or did you post it here first and then posted it to your blog after the fact?
Dang, Smells, we ain't need no stale rehashing of your blog, no matter how entertaining.
WTF?
(yes, my phrase of the day is "WTF")
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Dang, Smells, we ain't need no stale rehashing of your blog, no matter how entertaining.
wtf,
indeed.
on second thought, perhaps stfu would be more appropriate.
or, i could offer a FOAD at a good discount.
side_show, you write purty like. do you guys up in your ice-giraffeing area do the betting pools where someone sets a car on the lake and people pick the date they think it will fall through the ice in spring and the winner, uh, wins?
i miss that.
i bet there's snow already up there.
i had to wear a long sleeved shirt today, it was chilly.
happy canadian thanksgiving day!
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Don't worry Jough & Ark, I posted the post here and when my SO read it he suggested I put it on my blog. Since I've been way to busy to actually update my blog, I did a cut paste there. (I feel a lot of "failure to update blog guilt, even though I'm pretty sure no one reads it.) The proof of this is the time as noted on the blog versus the time as noted on the post, and also that the blog one is edited for spelling, but that the original, above, is not. So I am blog lazy, not message board lazy. I am cheating on my blog with you, not the other way 'round - you are the ones I am drawn to, the blog is what I am grudingly dedicated to. I still feel dirty though. Also, since I thought no one was reading my blog, so I just put it there for prosperity's sake.
And Thank you Ark - I tries real hard to write purty like.
And yes we had our first snow storm last week, which is actually a bit early - usually the first snow hits at around Halloween. We got about 10 cms of snow (a.k.a. 8 inches), but it's all melted away since the weather's been nice. My SO and I were suffering last week, since with a new house, your furnace must be inspected and approved before the gas can be turned on. It was down to about 12 degrees Celsius ( 53 degrees Fahrenheit), and it was so cold all I did was lie under a quilt and complain. They are turning on the furnace on Tuesday, so we should be alright.
When it comes to ice giraffeing, I've never heard of the car thing, but people build full-up cabins out on the lakes, with stoves, old couches, even TV's and VCR's in some of 'em. I've seen the shacks, but I've actually never been ice giraffeing, so this will be my first year. I'm very excited.
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Sideshow Mel?
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Uh, yes Paul... that's me... are you just figuring this out for the first time?
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Side Show? Smells, you'll always be the main attraction to us.
Man, I'm all about the schmaltzy posts today, no?
Well, I don't know if NO ONE reads your blog, because I clicked over there today, but I haven't updated jough.com in like forever either so I can hardly fault anyone for not updating more often.
Also, I don't mind so much if you post here first, as your one true posting, and then re-copy it to other places. The board just felt so... cheap... with thinking that you tossed us your leftovers and stale rehashed blog posts.
Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go listen to the new Fiona Apple album in the way that Jesus intended: horizontal, in bed, in the dark. Much swooning to follow.
TOMORROW: Cynicism!
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Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go listen to the new Fiona Apple album in the way that Jesus intended: horizontal, in bed, in the dark. Much swooning to follow.
TOMORROW: Cynicism!
Ah, yes, seeing her new music video reminded me that sometimes I have crushes on girls.
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When it comes to ice giraffeing, I've never heard of the car thing, but people build full-up cabins out on the lakes, with stoves, old couches, even TV's and VCR's in some of 'em. I've seen the shacks, but I've actually never been ice giraffeing, so this will be my first year. I'm very excited.
they're totally like little houses, some of them. i'm like, why are you burning a fire on a frozen lake, i'm going home.
ice giraffeing: it's not always cold but it's always boring.
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When it comes to ice giraffeing, I've never heard of the car thing, but people build full-up cabins out on the lakes, with stoves, old couches, even TV's and VCR's in some of 'em. I've seen the shacks, but I've actually never been ice giraffeing, so this will be my first year. I'm very excited.
they're totally like little houses, some of them. i'm like, why are you burning a fire on a frozen lake, i'm going home.
ice giraffeing: it's not always cold but it's always boring.
See, I think the same way, but then I think, okay, so you're sitting around and every once and a while a giraffe comes out of a hole in your living room floor? That's kind of cool.
giraffeing in the summer can also be boring, although there's not the "sitting on a lake around a fire" - disturbing-type quotient.
Also, I love fresh giraffe to the point where sitting around for several hours to get to eat one is of an equivelent time to benifit ratio.
Also, as with all giraffeing, I'm sure it's all about the company you keep, and also the beer.
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Uh, yes Paul... that's me... are you just figuring this out for the first time?
Me too. Clever.
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one of my problems is that i don't like giraffe, which is a brain food, which is a problem for me.
who is side show mel?
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Side Show Bob's replacement.
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Side Show Bob's replacement.
we have a cartoon posting to a message board about a cartoon?
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We're all cartoons. If you aren't, get the fuck off our board, fleshy.
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get the fuck off our board, fleshy.
What is wrong with being fleshy (asks the dude of gravity)?
No, I don't have anything useful to add to this thread, thanks for asking.
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Side Show Bob's replacement.
we have a cartoon posting to a message board about a cartoon?
Do you have any idea how crazy this post seems, especially since to me you are a scary giant upside down tooth?
Anyway, far more obscure than Side Show Mel is the Side Show Melanie episode where Krusty does a skit where Side Show Mel dresses up as a woman - Side Show Melanie - who Krusty is strongly attracted to. Gender ambiguity - the other white meat.
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I know this thread is ancient by internet standards but I found a theatre story that should make you feel better because at least you've never had to include a tesla coil in one of your shows.
http://www.slate.com/id/2129298/
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A very good friend of mine did a show in NYC with Jaime(sic), and afterwards they brought out the Tesla coil. Jamie picked me and thrust a fluorescent light tube into my hand. Then they fired up the terrifying death machine, and an arc of electricity shot out and lit up the tube in my hand. I did a few seconds of half-hearted Jedi moves for the amusement of those assembled and told him to turn it off because I was scared to death. Jamie took pity on me and did so.
Jamie, incidentally, is neither as short or troll-like as the article makes him sound.
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I saw Man . . . Or Astroman? open for TMBG once and at the end of their set they brought out a similar device. I don't know what they're called but it had a smooth ball on top and only shot out electricity like 2 feet.
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Man...Or Astroman? Also uses a Tesla Coil, so you're absolutely right. They also put TV's on their heads and light them on fire, but hey.. it's fun for the family.
Tesla was a deity among men.. bow down.
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Tesla Coils with adequate air defense usually meant VICTORY in Red Alert: Command and Conquer.
That's pretty much all I have on Tesla Coils.
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Man...Or Astroman? Also uses a Tesla Coil, so you're absolutely right. They also put TV's on their heads and light them on fire, but hey.. it's fun for the family.
Tesla was a deity among men.. bow down.
For my show the frontman came out in a flaming motorcycle helmet. After the fire died down I could see there were all kinds of hoses and whatnot attached to it as well.
I guess was just confused because when I hear "tesla coil" I picture towering implements of death surrouding soviet bases that are always a bitch to sneak Tanya past.
Shake it baby!
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Oh man... Tanya being all Big Sexy and just dominating everyone around her... massive airborne fleets, dozens strong, raining down on the enemy's SAM sites... having a two-hour battle drag for eight because your buddy always gets one guy away from the carnage and rebuilds...
SO GOOD
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Sometimes I still sit down for a Red Alert 2 minithon. The unit voiceovers are so much better than in the original (But they still get annoying after a couple of hours). Also, Eva is hot. I'm glad you get with her at the end instead of Tayna.
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For my show the frontman came out in a flaming motorcycle helmet. After the fire died down I could see there were all kinds of hoses and whatnot attached to it as well.
I guess was just confused because when I hear "tesla coil" I picture towering implements of death surrouding soviet bases that are always a bitch to sneak Tanya past.
Tesla Coils, like mammals, come in any number of sizes. But we're talking about a man who reportedly caused earthquakes, so I dunno if he was all that concerned about Tanya.
Am I ousted from the thread because I was a StarCraft guy and never played CC? I did play Duke Nukem if that makes up for it.
Mmm.. early crossover cable mulitplayer experience...
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My first PC came with the shareware version of Duke Nukem in the DOS directory of all places. I just recently found out they made a FPS version of this game which I can only assume is the corniest FPS ever.
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A very good friend of mine did a show in NYC with Jaime(sic), and afterwards they brought out the Tesla coil. Jamie picked me and thrust a fluorescent light tube into my hand. Then they fired up the terrifying death machine, and an arc of electricity shot out and lit up the tube in my hand. I did a few seconds of half-hearted Jedi moves for the amusement of those assembled and told him to turn it off because I was scared to death. Jamie took pity on me and did so.
Jamie, incidentally, is neither as short or troll-like as the article makes him sound.
Thanks for coming to my defense. I'm not a Keebler Elf lurking in an evil cookie tree, fondling a death weapon. I'm 6' in my sneakers, about 170 pounds, and usually rather sweet, and maybe yes, a bit of a dorky artist/engineer, but who else builds these things? Usually dorky engineers. So I stand tall and proud in Teslaland, being the winner of American drama's highest sound design awards.
I probably did truthfully say it could kill you. So could a hairdryer in a bathtub. There has been one Tesla death in the last 100 years, to a foolish demonstrator, but never a viewer.
But original poster, thanks for the heads-up. In the future I will more explicitly explain the risks. A ceiling fan will kill you, If you are stupid enough to stick your head in it. I suppose it would be hard to be killed by a small fern.
My coil, static and active, is available for viewing at http://www.weird.org/Physics/Physics.html
I've tweaked it since these old pictures. Now it shoots a good 7 feet.
And...Tesla's polyphase AC electric motor, which powers the modern world, has absolutely nothing to do with Tesla coils.
It's like saying Edison's phonograph relied on one of his light bulbs.
Enough. I've said enough to discredit this. It's just a pity when people take feeble pot-shots at one another in order to appear clever, and then don't take the time to learn basic facts about the topic being discussed.
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A ceiling fan will kill you, If you are stupid enough to stick your head in it. I suppose it would be hard to be killed by a small fern.
My coil, static and active, is available for viewing (http://www.weird.org/Physics/Physics.html)
I've tweaked it since these old pictures. Now it shoots a good 7 feet.
As cool as a guy who plays with lightning has to be, obviously you haven't bneen watching Mythbusters (http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/html/ming_dyansty_astronaut.html).
Edit: WELCOME, REAL-LIFE JAMIE THE SCIENCE FRIEND!
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A ceiling fan will kill you, If you are stupid enough to stick your head in it. I suppose it would be hard to be killed by a small fern.
My coil, static and active, is available for viewing (http://www.weird.org/Physics/Physics.html)
I've tweaked it since these old pictures. Now it shoots a good 7 feet.
As cool as a guy who plays with lightning has to be, obviously you haven't bneen watching Mythbusters (http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/html/ming_dyansty_astronaut.html).
Edit: WELCOME, REAL-LIFE JAIME THE SCIENCE FRIEND!
Yes, ceiling fans are low power, dull bladed things. My mention of them was a metaphor for the fact that the foolish interaction with many common objects creates risk. I wouldn't ever trim my nails in a garbage disposal.
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A ceiling fan will kill you, If you are stupid enough to stick your head in it. I suppose it would be hard to be killed by a small fern.
My coil, static and active, is available for viewing (http://www.weird.org/Physics/Physics.html)
I've tweaked it since these old pictures. Now it shoots a good 7 feet.
As cool as a guy who plays with lightning has to be, obviously you haven't bneen watching Mythbusters (http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/html/ming_dyansty_astronaut.html).
Edit: WELCOME, REAL-LIFE JAIME THE SCIENCE FRIEND!
Yes, ceiling fans are low power, dull bladed things. My mention of them was a metaphor for the fact that the foolish interaction with many common objects creates risk. I wouldn't ever trim my nails in a garbage disposal.
I've gotta quit doing that.
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Also, re: ceiling fans. While I'll grant that they are unlikely to decapitate you, I can testify from recent experience that they are capable of giving you a nasty bruise and lump.
About a month ago I was engaged in some hossplay with my daughters and I accidently stuck my hand into one. Ow. Ow. Ow. I still have a lump and slight residual soreness.
Also, welcome Jamie.
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Also, re: ceiling fans. While I'll grant that they are unlikely to decapitate you, I can testify from recent experience that they are capable of giving you a nasty bruise and lump.
About a month ago I was engaged in some hossplay with my daughters and I accidently stuck my hand into one. Ow. Ow. Ow. I still have a lump and slight residual soreness.
Also, welcome Jamie.
Just say "neigh" to hossplay, Aug.
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The actual guy from the article is posting in response to the link. I frickin' love the internet.
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...and so is the guy that brought Limmoto see the coil in the first place....
<evil laughter> :twisted:
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For my show the frontman came out in a flaming motorcycle helmet. After the fire died down I could see there were all kinds of hoses and whatnot attached to it as well.
I guess was just confused because when I hear "tesla coil" I picture towering implements of death surrouding soviet bases that are always a bitch to sneak Tanya past.
Shake it baby!
1) Go to www.ttr.com That guy built a giant "model 12" coil that shoots 50 feet.
2) I hosted/engineered a 3 day electroacoustic music festival recently in my theater in downtown NYC, and at the end of the third night a young Swiss composer warned the room that he was going to play something very loud, and being enthusiastic, I took my hands away from the mixer faders and he proceeded to karake chop the keys of his laptop and make the loudest, most unpleasent (but still cool!) sounds I have ever heard. Halfway through the song, I saw bright light coming out of one of the speakers, like there was a floodlight in the cabinet.
First time in 20 years I've actually lit a speaker on fire. Fun! Destructive surprises are cool. Just save them until the end of the show.
Fixed bbcode error @ 11PM EST
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I've gotta get one of these things.
~Paul
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My favorite line in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes is Meg White's first line, after sitting at a table with Jack for several long moments:
"So, Jack, are you gonna tell me about your Tesla coil?"
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My favorite line in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes is Meg White's first line, after sitting at a table with Jack for several long moments:
"So, Jack, are you gonna tell me about your Tesla coil?"
I kept thinking of that throughout this thread, but I found it marginally painful. The wooden acting and so forth. Also I guess my hatred for the pair of them.
Props to the Colbert by the way.
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I think that was the only line in that entire movie that I liked. And that was only because it had the words "Tesla coil" in it.
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My favorite line in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes is Meg White's first line, after sitting at a table with Jack for several long moments:
"So, Jack, are you gonna tell me about your Tesla coil?"
I kept thinking of that throughout this thread, but I found it marginally painful. The wooden acting and so forth. Also I guess my hatred for the pair of them.
Props to the Colbert by the way.
Hey, yes, I disliked those two in that movie. We show that movie to the teens in our film classes to inspire them to develop several short scenes on a theme. I kind of think it's inappropriate, but hey, WTF, right?
Also, as an update to the original topic of the thread, yesterday, to my amusement, the guy who is "the" gun guy for theatre and film in the city wrote a letter of complaint about me to the artistic director of the theatre company. He had called me around the time of the original post, letting me know that he has several prop guns he could also lend me, but that he could only meet me two days before the show opens. I explained that through much hard work, I had found a gun by myself that works perfectly for what I need - a small hand-gun, easily concealed on a woman's body, that makes an audible "click" and doesn't fire. He worried that the gun wasn't safe, I confirmed that the barrel had been stopped with lead, making the piece totally inoperable. He offered to come by and give the cast some training with gun saftey, I told him that was fine, but that by the time he came back to town it would be too late to make any changes to the show, again, because it would be two days away from the opening. He seemed pretty cool about it, but still wanted to stop by a technical rehearsal to make sure we weren't doing anything illegal. I said that was cool, but that he needed to remember we would be tied up with other things. He said he was used to film sets, where he had to wait hours at a time. I said "fine, drop on by if you can."
There were several issues that arose during rehearsals that needed my immediate and full attention after that. When he appeared, I had all but forgotten that he was coming, but there he was. I politely greeted him, and then showed him the gun, he agreed that it was impossible to hurt anyone with the piece I had found, then produced two are three obvious prop guns, that didn't make any "click" sound when fired without being loaded - not what I needed. I thanked him for bringing them in, but reminded him that like I had said on the phone, what I had found was perfect. I offered that he could speak to the cast about safety, but he said that there was no need with the gun we were using - that as long as we didn't hit anyone with the gun, there was no way anyone could be hurt. I thanked him and invited him to head out if he wanted to, but he said he's like to watch the rehearsal out of personal interest anyway. So he sat in the audience, and we continued to rehearse. He eventually slipped out. So somehow out of that exchange, which was polite on both ends, and seemed to exactly meet the parameters of what we had discussed on the phone earlier, he got very angry, wrote a lengthy letter of complaint, and said he never wanted to work for a small theatre company again.
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Also, as an update to the original topic of the thread, yesterday, to my amusement, the guy who is "the" gun guy for theatre and film in the city wrote a letter of complaint about me to the artistic director of the theatre company. He had called me around the time of the original post, letting me know that he has several prop guns he could also lend me, but that he could only meet me two days before the show opens. I explained that through much hard work, I had found a gun by myself that works perfectly for what I need - a small hand-gun, easily concealed on a woman's body, that makes an audible "click" and doesn't fire. He worried that the gun wasn't safe, I confirmed that the barrel had been stopped with lead, making the piece totally inoperable. He offered to come by and give the cast some training with gun saftey, I told him that was fine, but that by the time he came back to town it would be too late to make any changes to the show, again, because it would be two days away from the opening. He seemed pretty cool about it, but still wanted to stop by a technical rehearsal to make sure we weren't doing anything illegal. I said that was cool, but that he needed to remember we would be tied up with other things. He said he was used to film sets, where he had to wait hours at a time. I said "fine, drop on by if you can."
There were several issues that arose during rehearsals that needed my immediate and full attention after that. When he appeared, I had all but forgotten that he was coming, but there he was. I politely greeted him, and then showed him the gun, he agreed that it was impossible to hurt anyone with the piece I had found, then produced two are three obvious prop guns, that didn't make any "click" sound when fired without being loaded - not what I needed. I thanked him for bringing them in, but reminded him that like I had said on the phone, what I had found was perfect. I offered that he could speak to the cast about safety, but he said that there was no need with the gun we were using - that as long as we didn't hit anyone with the gun, there was no way anyone could be hurt. I thanked him and invited him to head out if he wanted to, but he said he's like to watch the rehearsal out of personal interest anyway. So he sat in the audience, and we continued to rehearse. He eventually slipped out. So somehow out of that exchange, which was polite on both ends, and seemed to exactly meet the parameters of what we had discussed on the phone earlier, he got very angry, wrote a lengthy letter of complaint, and said he never wanted to work for a small theatre company again.
What a weenie. He has no life.
Let your other theater friends know they don't have to deal with this silly man.
He would be laughed out of town in NYC.