6/1/26 – Kind of a weird experience when the unhinged Paul McCartney-themed improv set you had on a Friday night turns out to be just what you needed after a week full of good things and heavy things.
6/2/26 – And that’s a wrap on Kindergarten.
Now we’re in the era of our lives where we get ten weeks in the middle of every year of trying to figure out what to do with the kids.
6/6/26 – Kim’s Convenience was so good.
I loved the show so it seemed like an easy layup for me to enjoy the stage production it was based on, but wow...
It has a lot of the culture-clash humor of the TV series but also has an edge/depth that is harder to work into a 20 min sitcom format. Swung the audience from busting up to being moved by the moments without a missed beat.
6/6 – This place is fully committed to the aesthetic experience. The food itself is decently priced and pretty good, but the main draw of course is the Saharan night setup. Demand is high, so you’ll want to book this early.
Most menu items are kebab skewers and mezze, so they trend on the lighter side. Appetizers are good, but seems surprisingly nibbly for a place you have to book ahead of schedule. There are some exceptions, like the lamb shank. Saffron rice was excellent. Do take the side trip to the bathroom, which is also committed to the North African look & feel.
6/7 – Good news, a World Cup Friendly lives up to its name.
A few weeks ago, I quickly snatched up the cheapest tickets I could find, expecting to be in the cheap seats that trigger vertigo. I was pretty surprised to see our seat numbers pretty much had us sitting inside the goal.
Observations:
1) No disrespect to Jordan, but the skill gap between a newcomer like them against a mid-to-upper tier club like Colombia is even more visible in person.
2) Colombia has had some sweet jerseys over the years. Got to see a good representation of multiple years, alternates, and variations on the Cafeteros over the years.
3) The San Diego population leaned heavily towards Colombia as one would expect, but the Jordan supporters were pure class.
6/11 - Just dropping this here:
6/12 - Little big things that happened this week.
Getting all these kids through daycare is a huge and very welcome milestone, it’s also wild seeing all these kids transition over to a very different stage of life.
The early years were absolutely crazy with three kids in two years, but they were also so full of goodness.
I’ve lived the past few years with a deep awareness of how much I’m gonna miss this era someday, and I’m thankful I had that awareness.
This theatre is working smarter not harder
6/20 – When John Green could’ve given his protagonists any names and somehow they’re the exact names you gave your twins…
6/22 – I saw Toy Story 5 over the weekend.
It had a lot of good qualities to it. I thought they had a nuanced take on the whole kid-tech-toy thing. But the movie itself generated a lot of exasperation. ~I can’t believe they’re still going with these!~
I think the franchise could flip that exhaustion into a more welcome, “Ah, we were due for another one!” by taking notes from the best…
The Muppets.
With 60+ toys, we don’t need every one in every story. Know which ones can serve as anchors, pair the chaos toys with the order toys, and let ‘er rip. Use some of the others to play delightful bit parts.
Toy Story is facing the challenge of many of its original voice actors having passed on. Even Tim Allen does not sound the same. You know who else has had to navigate this? The Muppets. You’ll find a way forward.
Stop numbering the movies. Give each one a theme. Toy Story 6 sounds exhausting. Toy Story Takes Manhattan? Toy Story Gets Cast Away? Let’s go.
Give us an AUTEUR to perform as a human character in each one. A Tim Curry or Michael Caine equivalent for a new generation.
Lean into the music. From Randy Newman to Taylor Swift, Toy Story has some iconic use of songs. Give some bars to the toys… especially the ones that aren’t totally verbal.
6/27 – My wife is playing Declaration of Independence signer Joseph Hewes (NC) in a stage production of 1776 this week, so our 11th anniversary photos will look quite odd when put next to the other anniversaries.
Marriage remains ever the adventure!
6/28 – Improv has become such a big part of my life. A silly part of my life, but an important one in a lot of ways. Played one last set with Metal People last night the crew that got me back into it after decades away. Cheering for all your journeys!
7/1 – Pizza Night with Juniper
7/4 – Gonna be real hard to go back to normal swingsets after this
7/7 – Got to chat with my friend Nathan on the Braver New Worlds podcast. We talk storytelling and even tell some stories… imagine that! Listen HERE
7/8 – My friend Nathan created a conversation event in San Diego that gathers a couple times a month. Finally got to make it to one last week to hear my friend Sam speak.
They know how to put on an event. If you’re in San Diego, keep this on your radar.
7/15 – I lived in Argentina for half a year. This was also back in 2011 and so it seems like a very different place than it does now. But there was a lot I loved about the country, and met a lot of forward thinking people and others with eccentric points of view.
I lived a block over from a house that was the Australian embassy, formerly the Iraqi embassy, and formerly-formerly the residence of Albert Einstein. Argentina was a refuge for many who escaped the holocaust AND a hiding spot for many escaping prosecution for their involvement.
Most Porteños had a hardened, somewhat cynical sense of humor that wasn’t always my style. But the nature, food, and creative scene were amazing. Like most countries, Argentina contains multitudes. But of the 60-ish I’ve been to, Argentina is one of the five most complex.
The World Cup is a good opportunity to remember that people aren’t usually best represented by their governments. Like other international events, it raises the question: when you wear the shirt or embrace your nation of origin… is that a co-sign to all that comes with it?
Pretty much every country has skeletons in its closet. Or a whole bunch of trauma. You gotta be honest about that, painfully honest sometimes. But I think trying to detach the good because of the bad feels like conceding to it.