show idea

i have a show idea.
it involves the people of the austin improv community that i have grown quite fond of while visiting over the winter break. well, i'm back in chicago now but the idea is festering a bit.
the concept is to put all the names of people involved in austin improv into a hat. draw one out and do a show about them with their name as the title. interview them on film, during the show. do sketches and videos all about them. then put them on stage to watch the show that they've seen very little of.
i think everyone has an interesting story to tell. those that think their lives are the most boring are usually the most enthralling, especially when portrayed by a troupe of stellar actors and improvisers.
the show happens once, maybe twice. then a new name is drawn at the end of the show and in two months that person's show debuts.
i think it would be a lot of fun and the concept is good enough to garner some press attention. plus, we could throw in the occasional famous person, even if they are of b-list local celebrity. imagine a show all about Leslie and his rise to fame in austin. that would go over in spades whatever the hell that means.
could be sweet.

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i actually have another idea that doesn't relate to improv but show business in general. it's actually such a good idea that i can't talk about it here until it's in place. if it fell into the wrong hands (in this case, hands more capable than mine) someone could steal the idea and make real money off of it before i can make very little money off of it. anyway, email me for more information if the mood strikes you.

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off to northern michigan university tomorrow for a show and workshop. we love it there and since this is our third trip back, we can only assume that they like us, too. spozed to snow all up through wisconsin tomorrow for the drive. that sucks. plus, we're not leaving early enough to catch the austin audition show for american idol which airs tomorrow. someone be a doll and tivo it for us...

see you on the road,
b

and here it is, right on cue

A christmas update-like letter from our World Trade Center friend.
_____________________
"My friend,
I thought you might want to hear what we have been up to. I think you'll like what we have done with the legend of my little man. Did we ever send you a book (Bear Heart of a Hero)? We are still at it . We hope you are safe and your carreer is going well (what does Maritime mean?). We are writing a new book "Bear's Navy" (the military designation for our unit).

The Bear Search & Rescue Foundation www.bearsearchandrescue.org established by the law firm of Proskauer Rose in the name of America's most decorated rescue dog played a key role in the rescue operations in Louisiana.
Our actions are ultimately responsible for 11,000 people being alive in Louisiana today. You may also enjoy knowing that the Foundations last major course in New York Harbor for twenty six agencies June 4-6 was "Responding to the Five Hundred Year Flood".
The Foundation deployed 27 teams in Louisiana (that it had funded or trained the last four years) they averaged 220 rescues per team and hundreds of animals. The special boat teams we led for the 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne (with 45 boats supplied by the Foundation) contributed 3rd Brigades rescue of just under 6000 people with boats and boat crews provided by Bear Search & Rescue Foundation.
We came with overwhelming force (30 Boats, and acquired more) we served the best large unit in the Army (82nd Airborne), we supplied boat crews, GPS, waders, depth sounders and communications for HQ 3rd Brigade (not to mention late night pizza). As a unit we made just over 6000 rescues and transports. The Foundation deployed 22 other teams outside the ones that assisted the Army. They made almost 5000 rescues. We funded most of these units the last four years. If we had saved just one person it would have all been worth it. We rescued everything that lived.......Bear lives in the heart of every soldier and rescue person who goes out from his personal safety and lives, and sometimes dies by the motto of all who serve "so that others may live".
In all 11,000 people and hundreds of animals are alive today because of the actions of the Foundation assisting both the Airborne and all the teams. We also started the policy of rescuing anything that lived. You'll love the attached story and the second attachment with its simple country lawyer quality that got around the whole FEMA system that minimizes rescue. I gave orders that anything that lived be rescued!
What we did in Louisiana made all we did at the WTC like a pebble on the beach, but it set the stage for greater good.
When I called Gov Blanco’s of Louisiana’s office to deploy teams, I gave my name, rank, the units, it all meant nothing to her, then out of desperation I said "do you remember Bear from the World Trade Center" and she said "I read the book, I know who you are........how many units and when can they be here?"
I knew that Bear would become a legend, I wanted to turn that legend into a legacy to keep people (and now animals) alive. Bear lives!

Scott Shields
732 713 6***"
______________________

well, now that it's been brought to my attention, he does sound like he's full of shit.
but golley, that's a lot of numbers.

b

illegal ban

driving on the highway yesterday i saw the amber alert signs here in austin display that there was an "arson/burn ban"
how dare they ban arson? what are all those arsonists going to do now that they have driven our highway system and seen this municipal warning? now that it's illegal, they might want to consider something else, like racketeering or truancy. although i'm sure they've managed to somehow make those illegal too.

just a little hilarious observational humor for you.
you're welcome.

b

vindication: so it would seem

So, for all you faithful blogateers, this story will sound somewhat familiar. it's something that has been kind of popping up randomly over the life of my blog. for you newbies, you gotta do a little bit of reading to get caught up.

Bear, 9-11 Rescue Dog
http://www.beardedlamb.com/2004/08/get-your-finger-out-of-my-open-wounds.html

Scott Shields Retort, B Backpeddles
http://www.beardedlamb.com/2004/09/apology.html


Caught up? Good. Here is the newest development in this weird, ongoing soap opera.

I got an email yesterday from a guy who is apparently a firefighter in New York City. I say apparently only because this whole thing has taught me to not trust people over email. I know, "DUH." But it's easy to just believe what you read. Anyway, here's the email:

"Bearded Lamb,
You hit the nail right on the head with this jerk. I enjoyed reading your Blog and I have quoted from it in a letter to some of Shield's supporters.
This clown is completely full of shit. What he doesn't mention anywhere is that he was arrested and removed from the WTC site at least three times. He never searched for anybody, even if he did he certainly never found anyone. Neither him or his dog have any training in search and rescue. He is presently under investigation by the NYPD for impersonation. He was asked to leave NYC Parks years ago, and continued to wear the uniform.
His only motivation to running a non profit is to pay his personal expenses. He has no other income besides social security.
I'm glad I'm not he only guy to see through his line of shit.

Phil
FDNY L-15"

-
first of all, this guy sounds really sweet. he seems to have the same sensitive nerves i have about 9-11 and if it's true he's on ladder 15, which i do believe he is, you can be sure it's a touchy subject.
it makes me feel good to have called shields' BS, if Phil is for real. i just can't stand to see someone profiting off the misfortune of others, others that are for the most part innocent citizens killed in a religious and economic revenge strike.
but i'm no expert. i'm no official guy in any capacity. i'm not so sure he should use quotes from my blog to support his argument which is obviously half retarded humor, half self-indulgent musings about how great improv is, with maybe 1/8 of political bitching. i can't see how using me as a source would help your argument unless your looking to prove that i take pictures of myself a lot. there's plenty of proof for that here. but i'm off topic.
i don't know what to say about this recent development except that it's amazing that this story has unfolded over the span of a year and a half. it's amazing that people google ' "scott shields" 9-11' and end up reading my stupid blog. and it's amazing that an attack from an outside force has served to pit us against ourselves. it's sad and all too realistic that 9-11 has divided the country into two factions, the idiots and the rest of us.
every philosophical, religious, and tragic train of thought always leads me to laughing. any word association of consequences reduces down to everyone laughing. for me that's where we feel better and feel together again. so on that note i would just like to remind everyone that Bear, a rescue dog, was named Hero Dog of the Year from the International Cat Association.

I don't care who you are, where your from, or who you voted for. That is fuckin funny.

i fully expect to hear from some other total stranger on this issue in a few months via random email. maybe scott shields' mother will write to describe how she cried the night she googled "scott scheilds' mother, cried."
that would also be very funny.

b
ps - i think i'm going to email phil. i'll keep you updated.

never too much

i can't improv enough. other improvisers i know, even people who i know are very good and quite interested in improv, can only do so much before they get tired of it or antsy or just want "a night off." this has never been me.
it occurred to me earlier as i was mentally preparing to guest star in another group's show tonight that i could play bippity bippity bop every night for a month and not even think twice about how odd it was. i could circle up and do silly things for no reason every day of my life. i can't get enough of it. which leads me to the fatalistic thought, what if i do get sick of it?
what if i can't stomach stressing out over how many audience members there are? what if i don't care how the audience sees me? what if i don't need to make people feel something from their entertainment? what if i'm no longer turned on by the rush of a great show? what if i run out of ideas for poster designs? oh, god. what if i run out of format ideas? my guess is that if these things are true, i will be dead. maybe not even in the physical sense. maybe that portion of my life will just pass on and i'll forget all about the great times i've had doing good art with even better people. or maybe it will be a physical death.
someone posed the question, "why do you do improv?" and after several hours of contemplation i replied that i would die if i didn't. and i mean that in the most serious way. if later in life, i can say yes to any of those questions, i will know that part of me has died and that it's only a matter of time before the rest follows. i have an unceasing hope that it never will, and that i will do this until there is nothing in the world but dust. nothing of what we now know. just drifting cosmic dust.


also, i have a boner.

goodnight,
b

rose bowl

well, i've finally had the chance to expunge on the greatness that was last week's roswe bowl win for the horns. coupled with perhaps one of my top five all time improv shows, it made for one helluva night.
i with compadre miked. showed the game live at the hideout without any audio and did the commentary ourselves for an audience of mostly non-football knowing comedy fans. we also had able-bodied commercial dubbers providing the sound for tv breaks. it was glorious. the show went off narry a hitch and the game was easily one of the best football games of all time.
i had people coming up to me saying they hate football, but that it was one of the best things they'd ever seen. and it felt great from my end, too. i feel as though i was actually a part of something historical. rather than just watching it in a smoky bar with no audio or in the living room with a few people i called the game with 60 or so people laughing their asses off. it was really great.
the drama of the game could not have been scripted any better. actually, it was scripted exactly how it would be in hollywood except that it was REAL. the heroes were down with a seemingly impossible task in fornt of them. they had to score two touchdowns with i think under four minutes left. and they did it. on 4th and 5 inside the ten yard line.
having two things i love so much (improv and UT football) converge all on stage and having UT come out on top was one of the greatest moments of my life. i know that's probably sad to some people. but winning knitting tournaments are the best moments of other people's lives, so at least i'm in some kind of realistic realm here.

oh, and to see the Sportscenter d-bags from ESPN eat all their words from the past month talking about how USC was the greatest team of all time, matching them up against old national champions from the past 50 years; ahhhh, that was beautiful. they overlooked one team when comparing them to the all-time greats, the '05 Longhorns, biuatches.

consider 'em hooked.
b