Besides working at the Portland Spirit, I have finally sent off the drawings for Arabian Nights. Here’s a sample.

Nouranihar cart
The idea is that we have a two part cart that can be wheeled on and off as one unit, but can also split and expand. The pieces for Scene 1of Nouranihar slip in between the pieces for Scene 2, using tracks much the same way we did for the mockup of Abu Al Hassan.

I think the first two layers of Scene 1 would not need to be in tracks, because they would not have Scene 2 pieces directly behind them. (See elevation drawing for idea on how the individual scenic elements would be constructed.)

[I'm not going to post that drawing]

I’ve been working for the Portland Spirit every day this week. Some days, I’ve had two shifts. It’s the busy season. Fortunately, our garden is doing well so Rob and I don’t have to shop for groceries. We can just run outside to pick some vegetables. Here you see a variety of heirloom tomatoes, a green bell pepper, and a sunburst squash.

My story, Rampion, is up at the First Line, if you’d care to take a listen.

For reasons I didn’t have time to investigate, my bike started making a tic, tic, tic sound on the way to work today. So I would up having to take the bus down. It was an easy ride, but I was fairly stressed by the time I arrived because I was late. Fortunately, the cruise was very easy.

Rob is working tomorrow, but I’ve got the day off. I had requested it because we planned on having a garden party, but then he got this gig. Ah well, I could use the time to catch up on things, like, oh, bicycle maintenance.

Rob has an audio gig for the next couple of days and between that and my shifts on the boat we’re only seeing each other on the way to bed.

Speaking of which…

I tried to email the recording of Rampion to The First Line today, but the file was too big to send via email so I uploaded it to our website. Which means that if anyone wants to listen to the uncompressed version you can. I’m assuming that TFL will crunch it some to make it easier to download, since at 9MB it’s fairly hefty.

I’ll let you know when it’s up on their website.

Meanwhile, Rob and I went to Tektronix today for the first time in ages. It was great to get out and do some of the things we used to do when we were courting.

I’m tired.

Nick Jr.’s LazyTown One-Hour Special, ‘LazyTown’s New Superhero,’ Energizes Kids: Ranks Number-One in Its Time Period Among All Broadcast and Cable Television With All Kid Demos Hopefully this means that the rumors about starting again in January are true.

Rob and I finally went into the studio today to record Rampion for the First Line. It’s the first day in ages that we’ve both had the time and energy to set aside for it. Initially, I had thought I might do a multi-voice recording with sound effects, but I realized that the first line of dialogue was a little more than halfway through. I thought it would be jarring to suddenly have another actor appear, so it’s all just me.

I’ll post the link to the website when it’s up.

The San Fransisco Area Bay Puppet Guild is under investigation by Homeland Security. This is the guild where Jim Henson met Frank Oz.

After 20 years of safeguarding the Guild’s finances, retiring treasurer Pam Brown handed over the fiscal reins to new treasurer Valerie Nelson recently. The Guild’s bank account at West America Bank was to be transferred to a West America Bank branch close to the new treasurer in Yountville. But times have changed since Pam first took charge of the money, and transferring the account to a new branch brought the Guild under the watchful eye of Homeland Security. As of this writing, the Guild’s finances are still frozen in spite of having provided the bank with a copy of Guild bylaws, a roster of our officers and a copy of our minutes. Negotiating past deadlines and threats of account termination, Valerie has struggled to meet government demands for information.

My friend Jodi is on tour with the Lazy Town live show. Apparently Nick Jr. is running a promotional contest so you can get the show in your town. Naturally, Jodi wants to come to Portland. To enter, one must have children between the ages of one and eight. Strangely, Rob and I don’t qualify. I’m not endorsing the contest, but if you want to help Jodi come to Portland, then feel free to enter.

I told him I would ask people. So I am.

Let’s see. I finished up the last of the front elevations for Arabian Nights set today. Worked on the boat and did a tiny bit of gardening.

It also looks like I’ve picked up two gigs for 2007. Nothing like planning ahead, eh? One is a directing gig in Canada and the other is a design gig in Portland. Ah, lovely.

We did the six bridge pedal today. Actually, it was the bridge pedal, stop and walk and then stop again. On some of the bridges the crowds were so thick that it was not possible to stay on the bicycle, we had to get off and walk. But the views were fantastic. Apparently somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 people participated. Next year, assuming we’re here, we’ll do the ten bridge version and avoid the crowds.

I’ve just been working the last couple of days. Nothing really exciting to report.

Tomorrow, Rob and I are going on the Providence Bridge Pedal. Wish us luck.

Rob and I went to Laurelhurst Park for an open air screening of Casablanca. We packed a picnic dinner and listened to our friend Mick Doherty and his group the Cascadia String Quartet, as they played before the movie.

Lovely evening.