I started Blogged Arteries: The
Unrendered Files this summer, but I didn't really get prolific until the fall when things calmed down with
IDOM. I didn't get the chance to blog much about The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, so I'd like to take this time now to post my travelogue from that trip. This is going to be a really long entry, so you may want to take your bathroom break now and return with a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Friday, August 17, 2007
It's a little after 9pm, and I am sitting here at
SFO waiting for my flight to Scotland. Actually, to be more accurate, I am waiting for my flight to Toronto where I will then connect to London and then to Edinburgh. The next 20-plus hours are going to be tiring, but right now, I am so amped up. I have never been to Scotland before, so I’m bouncing off walls, and this is sans sugar. What I have going on right now is a natural high.
Borm neurons are wildly dancing, and those who have ever seen me on the dance floor, you can probably get an idea of how frenetic the inside of my head is.
It’s not just the neck up, mind you. My heart is thumping fast and a swarm of six-legged winged insects are buzzing around in my stomach. I think one may have defecated on my
fundus. My point is that I am both excited and a bit nervous. I’m heading to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland to film a documentary on Lynn Ruth Miller. This makes me nervous for two reasons: A) I know nothing about this festival, so filming a documentary about Lynn Ruth at this event will be challenging, and B) I will be spending a whole week following this
septuagenarian around Scotland! Boy oh boy, if our chemistry in the UK is anything like it was on the set of Urgent Care, then I’m going to be in big trouble! Seriously though, I’m really excited about this trip, but at the same time, I am a little nervous. But it’s definitely positive nervous energy, so I probably don’t have anything to worry about.
I swear, this has been a crazy summer. Who would have thought that this little thing called the 48 Hour Film Project could lead to all this madness? I swear, when I signed everyone up for this event, I knew that people would either give me high fives or kill me. I’m happy to say that I’m still alive and kicking. Without Urgent Care, there would be no Lynn Ruth Miller, and without Lynn Ruth, there would be no Scotland. Since I have another hour to wait before I board, I’m going to hop online and learn a little more about this Fringe Festival.
Oo-wee, I think one of those six-legged winged insects in my stomach just laid and egg. Nerves, I guess.
Saturday, August 18, 2007, 4:43am.Is it Saturday? I think it’s Saturday, but I’m not quite sure. According to the clock on my
MacBook Pro, it’s 4am in the morning. I’m really not sure what time it is though because I’m really not sure what time zone I’m in. True confessions: I am geographically illiterate. I don’t know where Toronto is. I know it’s in Canada, I’m just not sure which part. I am assuming it’s somewhere in the middle. Mr. Waller, my 7
th grade Geography teacher, must be rolling his eyes right now. I am such a failure to him, and I hope he never reads this blog. To my defense, though, Mr. Waller did focus more on Europe and Africa, and Canada got pushed to the side. That’s why I don’t know where Toronto is! In any case, I am going to stop with the nostalgia. If I am going to walk down memory lane, then I am going to avoid that bumpy path known as Junior High Blvd. Come to think of it, I’m going to avoid everything between 1984 and 1992.
I’m going off into strange tangents,
aren’t I? It must be fatigue. I’m happy to say that I
didn’t have a bad flight! In fact, they stuck me at the window seat in the emergency exit row with one passenger on the aisle and nobody in the middle! I was actually able to stretch out during my snooze. I
didn’t sleep well, mind you, but it was enough to stop my eye from shutting. I now I have a three hour lay over. I just scarfed down some really bad Canadian California rolls, and now I’m sitting here staring at all these Canadians walking back and forth. I know they are Canadian because every fourth word out of their mouths is “eh?”
Ok, maybe that’s stretching just a tad. I’m stuck here for a couple of hours, so I’m just going to sit back and attempt to relax. The excitement and nerves that I felt earlier are gone. Now I’m just tired. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep on the next flight.
Saturday, August 18, 2007, 5:29pm.
It took me 20-plus hours to get to London. There was a three hour delay because of engine problems. I would not have minded this delay had Air Canada told us before we entered the aircraft. Unfortunately, the announcement was made after everybody was seated. We sat on that plane for three hours. I felt like a dried up broccoli trapped in a vacuum sealed
tupperware bowl. I don't know about you, but I prefer not to share my oxygen. I guess there is a word for peeps like me: CLAUSTROPHOBIC. The good news is that there were a few empty seats on the flight, so I jumped into one of those vacant spots. Even with all that extra space, it was still a very long and tiring flight. I finally made it to London a little after midnight. I checked into my hotel near
Heathrow and crashed. Maybe it's a good thing that I have an over night stay in London because it will help me adjust to the
jet lag. At least tomorrow I can wake up ready for Edinburgh! Speaking of which, below is the findings of my Fringe research, courtesy of
Wikipedia:
The Edinburgh Fringe (officially the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, commonly just The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival. It takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August, at the same time as several other arts and cultural festivals: the collective names for all these events is the Edinburgh Festival. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is just one part of the Edinburgh Festival. In fact, there is no single Festival as such; the term is shorthand for all the discrete festivals which take place in Edinburgh from late July through to early September.
Alongside the official Edinburgh International Festival (started 1947) and the Festival Fringe (1947) other roughly concurrent festivals in Edinburgh include the Edinburgh International Film Festival (1947), the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (1979), Edinburgh International Book Festival (1983), the Edinburgh People's Festival (2002) and the Edinburgh Art Festival (2005). Plus there is the ever-popular (and audible to other festival-goers) Edinburgh Military Tattoo every evening on the Castle Esplanade during August.In addition to the summer festivals, Edinburgh plays host to a range of other festivals throughout the rest of the year. [1] It matters little to the festival-goer which events are part of which festival, except that each festival has a separate programme (and website) and sells tickets only for its own events.
The Fringe mostly attracts events from the performing arts, particularly drama and (the big growth area in recent years) comedy, although dance and music also figure significantly. Theatre events can range from the classics of ancient Greece, Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett, through to new works. However, there is no selection committee to approve the entries, so any type of event is possible: the Fringe is well-known as a showcase for experimental works which might not be admitted to a more formal festival. The organisers are the Festival Fringe Society: they publish the programme, sell tickets and offer advice to performers from the Fringe office on the Royal Mile.
Sunday, August 19, 2007I Finally Made It To Scotland! I have no idea what day or what time it is because I've been through so many time zones in the last 20-plus hours! For this reason, I am very happy to finally arrive. Once my plane landed, I took a cab into Edinburgh. I arrived at my flat some time in the late afternoon. My room reminds me a little bit of my dorm from my college days, but with some historic European flare. It is really small and dark, but that's perfectly fine with me, since I paid a whopping zero pounds for the lodging. For those who need the American conversion, that's zero US dollars. Lynn Ruth Miller provided me with the accommodations, so I will make no complaints. I'm just glad I have a roof over my head! In any case, I freshened up, packed up all my camera equipment, and headed into Edinburgh to meet up with Lynn Ruth at the Hilton Edinburgh
Grovesnor Chester's Bar for her two evening shows, "Absolute Comedy Chaos" at 7pm and then "
Ballooney Tunes" at 10pm.
My taxi ride from the airport into Edinburgh and then subsequently to the comedy club proved to be quite challenging. Even though English is spoken in this country, it still is Scottish English, and between the thick accent and the nuances in
vocabulary, I struggled to understand. Case in point: En route to Edinburgh, my taxi driver kept pointing to a woman on the street and saying "
mometas bron." I had no idea what that meant, so I politely smiled. However, he kept pointing to that woman and saying those words. I thought maybe "
mometas" was slang for prostitute and that the taxi driver wanted me to hook up so that he could score a commission for the referral. Heck, they do that all the time in
Las Vegas, I figured why not in Scotland. The taxi driver repeated this about four times, and I finally figured out what he was trying to say. Apparently, he was pointing to the meter, and not the lady on the street, and telling me that it was broken. I finally realized what the driver was talking about when he told me he wasn't going to charge me the portion of the ride that didn't get logged into the meter. It made perfect sense at that point, because there was no way that woman was a prostitute. She was wearing a turtle neck! What hooker wears a turtle neck? I'm glad that everyone in Scotland speaks English because I would be so lost if I had to attempt to communicate in a different language. Scottish English is challenging, don't get me wrong, but at least I could understand 70% of what's going on.
I made it to the
Grovesnor Hilton with enough time to down a Coca Cola Light before the show. I was greeted by the thunderous voice of Lord Buckley. This lanky Scot, clad in a tuxedo jacket and a safari hat, introduced himself as the world's oldest rapper. A young woman with a scarf wrapped around her head stood beside him. I responded, "hello Lord Buckley, I am
Borm." The young woman interjected, "Oh,
Borm, I'm Cameron! Lynn Ruth has told me all about you!" I smiled and replied, "Ah, yes, Cameron, the girl from Portland! Good to finally meet you." Lynn Ruth Miller had invited this 15 year old girl from Portland to assist with her show. It seemed odd to me, but I'm sure there is history between the two, so it probably made sense.
Cameron noted that Lynn Ruth had stepped out and that she would return shortly. We exchanged some pleasantries and then then she showed me around the venue. She also noted that Lord Buckley is one of the comedians on the roster. I later learned that "Lord Buckley" is actually one character from comedy writer's Bob
Sinfield's vast repertoire. As Cameron filled me in on how the performances have been going, Lynn Ruth entered the club. I walked up to her and she gave me a big kiss on my right cheek. This is a signature Lynn Ruth Miller salutation, and I'm quite used to it. Lynn Ruth said she was very happy that I made it to Edinburgh in one piece. She then introduced me to 80's Luke, the other comedian scheduled to perform at Chester's Bar. 80's Luke is a 30-something heavy set Scot with "hair by
Loreal and body by
KFC." (His words, not mine). I stepped back and took a look at this colourful cast of people standing before me. These characters looked like something out of some bizarre situation comedy. I had to take a picture. The young gentleman in red is the 20 year old
bartender from Malta. I pulled him into the picture to complete the family.
After our photo shoot, Lynn Ruth headed to her dressing room to prepare for her show. I swear, this woman is amazing. I have never met a 73 year old with so much energy. Lynn Ruth's
fliers say it all: "She jumped out of a cake in 2005. She rocked the house at the Bongo Club in 2006. Now Lynn Ruth Miller hosts a variety show featuring her craziest favourites from this festival. Spice of the Fringe." She took the stage at 7:15pm, right after Lord Buckley's opening monologue. Unfortunately, there were only two people in the audience for the 7pm show. This is a very small venue, and it's far from Edinburgh City Centre, so bringing in the crowd had been challenging. Tonight was no different for Lynn Ruth, Lord Buckley, 80's Luke, and the other comedians performing at Chester's Bar. However, what I love about Lynn Ruth Miller is that she is a trooper. Though there were only two spectators in the audience, she plugged along. She gave them joke after joke after joke. Unfortunately, her brand of humour was a little too much for the two young Scots, and so they got up and left in the middle of her geriatric rant. OUCH! This didn't phase Lynn Ruth at all. In fact, she kept things in perspective and prepped herself up for the 8pm show. In my opinion, the young couple probably left because Lord Buckley's opening monologue tired them out.
"Absolute Comedy Chaos" is a show case of comedians throughout the night. This club is not an elite venue by any means, but it's a great place for upstarts to try out their act. I had no intention of filming tonight's show because my goal for the evening was to scope out the place as preparation for tomorrow night's filming. I really liked this place. It's quite cozy. I also quickly figured out that, though Lynn Ruth Miller may be one of several performers, I considered her the headliner, simply because of who she is. This woman commands stage presence.
In any case, after that dismal first show, a group of 20-something males showed up for the 8pm show. An audience! I was so excited! I sat back and watched the show. Lord Buckley once again opened the show and introduced the line up. This time around, Lynn Ruth and 80's Luke was joined by local comedian Terry
Milligan, Helen
O'Troy, the young comedienne from London, and a corpulent Scot with big curly blond hair whom I cannot seem to remember his name. I thoroughly enjoyed Terry's and Helen's performances, but I'll have to be honest and say that I did not understand a thing the third guy was saying. What saved him was his sight gags. In any case, all these performers impressed me. They may not be seasoned veterans, but they made me laugh, and that's what counts! I whipped out both my video camera and my Nikon D70 and snapped away.
Absolutely Comedy Chaos ended at 10pm and
Ballooney Tunes started up shortly afterwards. This is Lynn Ruth Miller at her cabaret best. This is the one woman show about Queenie, the senile stripper and her collection of outrageous parodies that are guaranteed to put your underwear at risk! A body of balloons goes pop and every funny bone is exposed. Comedy at its naked and bawdy best. Most of the audience from the 8pm show stuck around for
Ballooney Tunes. Lynn Ruth belted out every song, and the audience cheered her every move. I kept asking myself, "where does she get all this energy?" When she hit her final note and took her final bow, she leaned into me and said, "I hope you're not too jet-lagged 'cause we're going to The Bongo Club now!" Once again, WHERE DOES SHE GET ALL THIS ENERGY??
I am at the Bongo Club right now. This place rocks. It's cabaret. It's rock & roll. It's bohemian fun. I am upstairs in the green room waiting for Lynn Ruth to finish changing. This septuagenarian just got up on stage and stripped down to her sexy lingerie in front of a cheering audience. She shook her surprisingly limber hips to the tune of Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," and the audience ate it up. I was stunned and amazed.
I saw some other great acts that night. The two that stood out were Paprika
Balkanicus, a band that blends Balkan, Eastern European and Gypsy music with Classical and Jazz influences as well as originals, and "The Suit Case
Royale, a band of three multi artists creating Junkyard Theatre in Melbourne that is toured locally and internationally." (description taken from The Suit Case
Royale official website). Their music was so infectious that I found myself humming their songs the rest of the night. I got to meet both bands after the show.
Monday, August 20, 2007
It is 4:24pm on a Monday in Edinburgh. I am sitting at the Starbucks off of George Street drinking my "Innocent Pure Fruit Smoothie." They don't have the venti green tea lemonade here, so I had to settle for an alternative beverage. I chose this smoothie because I liked the label. Also, they say that you are what you eat and drink, so I figured this "Innocent" drink was most appropriate for a person like me.
I am here at this Scottish Starbucks taking a break from all this documentary filming. I swear, Lynn Ruth Miller is all over the map. I'm getting awesome footage, but if I don't pull over and rest, I may just burn myself out. Edinburgh is a "walking" city, and everyone knows that I am not a walker. It's a good thing I brought my comfortable pair of Vans, but I do have to say that lugging around 50 pounds of equipment is doing quite a number on my back. Any chance I can sit back and relax, I will take full advantage of it. I really wish I had a venti green tea lemonade right now, but this Innocent Smoothie will do.
I had a pretty long and tiring day, so it's nice to sit back and relax. We stayed out very late last night. After Lynn Ruth's gig at the Bongo Club, we had dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Dario's. That restaurant is open until 4am, and we barely made the cut off time. I had a mediocre pizza that tasted like it had just been defrosted. We got back to the flat at about 4am, and because I ate so late, I had a hard time sleeping. After about an hour of tossing and turning on my twin size bed, I managed to fall asleep. Actually, it was more like fall "anap." I didn't really sleep. I took a nap, and eventually woke up at noon.
I walked to the Three Sisters Club at 139 Cowgate to see Lynn Ruth's storytelling show, "An Audience With Lynn Ruth." This show is the polar opposite of her comedy routine and strip tease at the Bongo Club. It's much more serene. In fact, this performance show cases Lynn Ruth Miller's softer poignant side. I attempted to film this performance but I just didn't have too much luck. I'm just not good with the camera. I'm pretty good with Final Cut Pro and 90% of the time I disguise my fallacies through creative editing. I really do have a lot to learn, and this week will be a true test. All I know is that I have to find a camera shop somewhere in Edinburgh. I desperately need a tripod. The one I brought is just not working out for me. I hate to do it, but I am prepared to pay an arm and a leg for this tripod.
After her performance, Lynn Ruth and I had lunch at Henderson's, a vegetarian restaurant at Edinburgh City Centre. We discussed marketing strategies. It is my goal to make Lynn Ruth Miller famous! This woman is hilarious, and I want to see her name in bright lights. I will do what I can to transform this 73 year old granny into a star! After lunch, we broke off and I got to check out Endinburgh by foot.
I walked and walked and walked some more. My goal was to find a tripod, so I searched high and low. The problem is that I am not very good at reading maps. I thought I was walking one way, but it turns out I was supposed to go in the other direction. I turned the map upside down and all around but I had no luck. I kept walking, lugging about 50 pounds (that's weight, not currency) of camera equipment. When I finally reached Princes Street, I did the dance of joy in my head. I would have done it with my body, but I was just too tired. I purchased my tripod for about 14 pounds and then jumped into a taxi and headed back to the flat to prepare for Lynn Ruth's evening show. Though I had corns on my feet and my right shoulder sagged to one side because of my camera bag strap, I felt good about my trek through Edinburgh. Not only did I get good exercise, but I got to see Edinburgh by foot.
I got some great pics of the city. My personal favorite is of the Museum of Scotland, where the pillars were wrapped in Campbell Soup labels in honour of Andy Warhol. I will make the effort to see this exhibit. I took a whole lot of pictures, but that probably comes as no surprise to my readers. This is only day two in Scotland for me, and I have already taken a few hundred shots. I don't plan to stop any time soon!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007It's about 4:07pm on a Tuesday afternoon. I am sitting at the Edinburgh Public Library because the Starbucks in Edinburgh City Centre did not have wi-fi. I never thought that I would end up at a library in Scotland, but here I am! I'm not complaining, because not only do I have a nice quite place to review the footage that I took of Lynn Ruth's storytelling show, but the wi-fi is free at the libary!
I have to say that I wasn't too pleased with my filming of "An Audience With Lynn Ruth" this second day. However, I learned from my mistakes from the previous day, so there is a 20% improvement. Tomorrow's filming should be 20% better, so I'm optimistic that by the end of the week I will reach 100%. Is that wishful thinking? I hope not. It's all part of digital workflow (did you catch that, Evan Donn?).
After Lynn Ruth's performance, I stuck around for the 2pm showing of "A Shadow Passing," a one woman play about unrequited love. The woman starring in that show, Audrey Lee, is personal friend of Lynn Ruth's so I offered to film her show. I have to say, that her show depressed the hell out of me. In fact, it depressed the hell out of the whole audience, all three of us. In any case, I was able to get some good angles of Audrey, so I figured I would apply those angles to Lynn Ruth's performance tomorrow. I'll eventually get it right.
Right now, I am sitting in the "romance novels" section, looking through my footage Lynn Ruth's performance of "Ballooney Tunes" from last night. I have to say that I am not happy. Even with my new 14 pound (that's currency, not weight) tripod, I still wasn't able to get the filming right. It didn't help that Lynn Ruth was all over the place, running around putting wigs on audience members and throwing diapers at the people in the front row. For this show, she really needs someone who is good with the hand held camera, and I'm not the guy. In any case, I'm looking at this footage and telling myself that I really need to do some creative editing in order for Ballooney Tunes to work. I'm going to log some of this footage and then head back to the flat. I'll take a little break and then attempt to walk to Chester's Bar at the Grovesnor Hilton. I don't read maps well, so this will be a challenge, especially in the dark!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007I'm really liking this Absolute Comedy Chaos. I'm known as "The Camera Guy" at Chester's Bar, and all the comedians treat me like I'm one of them. There's no egos here at the Grovesnor Hilton, and I really like that. The attendance is hit or miss: some nights we will pack the house and the laughs would be thunderous, and then other nights there may be only one or two souls lurking in the bar. What I really like about this venue is that it's so casual. I also like the fact that I've actually become a fixture here. I swear, Absolute Comedy Chaos at Chester's Bar could be a situation comedy. There are definitely enough colourful characters. Picture the cast:
- Lynn Ruth Miller, 70-something strip teasing granny.
- Lord Buckley, world's oldest rapper.
- Cameron, 15 year old personal assistant to the strip teasing granny.
- Borm, camera guy and the only Vietnamese person in Scotland.
- Noah, young mild-mannered bartender from Malta.
- 80's Luke, Scottish comedian with hair by Loreal and body by KFC.
I think we may be on to something! The point is that I'm having a lot of fun hanging out with these people every night. I could be out on the town exploring the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by night, but I choose to stick around with this dysfunctionally entertaining group of misfits. Seriously, though, we're like a little family here. Absolutely no egos at Chester's Bar. All the comedians are in the same boat, and it's fun for me to watch all the fun from behind the camera.
The awesome thing about Lynn Ruth Miller is that her brand of humour crosses generations. People of all ages love her! Last night, a middle aged gentleman from England brought his two teen age sons to see Lynn Ruth's show. At first I wondered if the boys would get her, but they laughed at all her jokes. I don't know if it was a British thing, but these two teens liked the raunchy granny so much that they posed in a picture with her afterwards! In a warped kinda way, Lynn Ruth really speaks to the youth of today. In fact, this geriatric comedienne speaks to all demographics. Below is a cross section look at Lynn Ruth Miller's audience.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007It's 5:13pm, and I'm sitting in the lobby of a hostel in the middle of Leith Walk in Edinburgh. I don't really know how I ended up all the way out here, but I guess that's what you get when you fold up your map and stick it in your back pocket. I'm sitting here looking at all the pictures I've taken with my Nikon D-70 up to this point. I'm up to about 700. My critics often scowl at my excessive nature, but I will stand behind my actions. I document my life via Blogged Arteries, so every photo and every frame in my extensive video archive helps me remember every detail of what goes on in my life. I'm looking at these photos and thinking about what a great time I'm having in Scotland. It's definitely going to be hard to return back to the States.
It was another late night for me last night. After Lynn Ruth's Ballooney Tunes show, we all took a long walk across town to The Carlton for her strip tease act. When Lynn Ruth takes off her clothes off on stage, the audience roars. Her performance at the Carlton brought the house down, and I was glad I was able to get video footage of it. Initially, the club owner have us a hard time about filming, but Lynn Ruth managed to sweet talk them into letting me film. I managed to snap a few good shots.
I woke up at 11:30am, and got some B-roll footage of Lynn Ruth Miller washing her hair for my documentary. I had wanted her to sit in the tub and talk about her experience so far at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but she felt more comfortable keeping her robe on while she washed her hair. I got my shot and returned to my room to prepare for my day. I inserted new tapes into my cameras, cleared the memory card in my Nikon D-70, packed up my computer, and walked on over to The Three Sisters at Cowgate. Once again, I filmed Lynn Ruth's storytelling show, and once again I had problems. I'm not going to make any excuses. The sad reality is that I suck at filming. Hopefully, Evan Donn will be able to transform me into camera man extraordinaire after I'm done with his Digital Work Flow class next semester. I definitely need a little more practice. Eventually, I'll get it. I'll keep telling myself that.
I left the Three Sisters right after Lynn Ruth's show. I took the rest of the afternoon to explore Edinburgh by foot. My first stop was the Museum of Edinburgh for the Andy Warhol exihibit. According to the museum's official website: "The first installment of our Bank of Scotland totalART series presents the largest collection of Andy Warhol work ever exhibited in Scotland. Twenty years after his death, Warhol remains one of the most prolific and contentious artists of the twentieth century and this show presents a diverse range of his work. The Bank of Scotland totalART series aims to showcase some of the most critically acclaimed artists of the 20th-century. The next instalment will see a major collection of work by Joseph Beuys in autumn 2008. Beuys and Warhol admired each other’s work and spent time together sharing their very unique views on art, society and popular culture. Both shows offer a unique insight into the life and works of these two significant artists."
I'm glad I checked out this exhibit. I have to admit that I didn't really know that much about Andy Warhol, so seeing his work at the Museum of Scotland was definitely educational. Now, when someone makes reference to this artist, I can say that I saw his work. Whenever Marc Chagall comes up, and it occasionally does, I get to say "oh yeah, Marc Chagall, I saw his work at the SF MOMA. Love the flying sheeps!" So if someone ever brings up Andy Warhol, I will say, "Saw him in Endinburgh! Loved the Campbell Soup labels wrapped around the pillars at the Museum of Scotland!"
I spent the rest of my afternoon walking up down Princes Street and then headed towards Leith Walk. I also made my way to Edinburgh High Street, which is part of the Royal Mile which runs for about a mile, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill to Holyrood Palace in Queen's Park at the bottom of the hill. Part of this street is closed off during the Fringe, and all the artists and performers roam free. I had been focused on filming Lynn Ruth Miller all week that today was really the first day that I had to immerse myself in the Fringe. As I walked around High Street, I couldn't help but smile. Everything I love about life surrounded me at The Fringe. Creativity fuels me, and it was a huge pleasure to see others just like me expressing themselves at this festival.
Thursday, August 23, 2007Today was a marathon day in Edinburgh. I was scheduled to fly out of Scotland at 6am Friday morning, so I figured there was no reason for me to go to sleep. Since I had to be at the airport two hours before the flight, I stayed up through the wee hours of the morning and took a taxi to the airport early Friday. This worked out just fine because every minute counted, and this allowed me to fully enjoy my final day at The Fringe.
I don't think I ever suffered jet-lag on this trip because I never got away from San Francisco time. Lynn Ruth, Cameron, and I pretty much stayed out to the way after midnight every night. Ballooney Tunes started at 10pm, and by the time we got out of Chester's Bar, we would have a late dinner. It's a good thing we walked all the way back to the flat every night because it allowed me time to digest. Last night was no different. I made it back to my room at about 4am and I finally got to sleep at 5am. I got up at noon and walked on over to The Three Sisters to film "An Audience With Lynn Ruth" for the last time.
I stopped off at Bobby's Sandwich Bar and picked up a ham and cheese baguette beforehand. I paid about 5 pounds (that's ten US dollars!) for that sandwich. It was adequate, but definitely nothing compared to the cinco peso torta (that's 50 US cents) from Huatulco. I brought my 5 pound sandwich (that's currency, not weight) to The Three Sisters and munched while I filmed Lynn Ruth's final show. I made sure that I turned my face away from the camera so that the microphone didn't pick up any of the baguette crunches. I'm not sure it would have mattered either way, because once again I walked away with another less than stellar recording. I'm going to have to do some very creative editing in order to make this video look good. Oh boy. In any case, after I finished filming, I took off for High Street to enjoy my final day at The Fringe.
I walked and walked and walked some more. It's a good thing I packed my comfortable pair of Vans because if had to walk around Scotland in my Sketchers, I'd have more corns than a maize plantation. It didn't help that I was carrying a few extra pounds (that's weight, not currency) of camera equipment, but adrenaline kept me going. I wanted to hit every corner of Edinburgh that I missed earlier in the week. I started out at The Three Sisters and worked my way up High Street. From there, I walked down the hill to Princes Street and then hopped into a taxi to get to The Laughing Horse Berlin Bar Club on South Queensferry Street Lane for 80's Luke and Terry Milligan's show at 5pm.
I was standing near the Campbell Soup label clad pillar at The Museum of Scotland when I flagged down the taxi. I did not wanted to be late to this show, and being that I have no sense of direction, I figured I should let a navigational specialist take over. It turns out that the Laughing Horse Berlin Bar Club was right around the corner! I paid 3 pounds for that taxi ride, and that was the smallest fare I ever paid in Scotland! But that's fine, because the cab driver got mer there in 4 minutes and I had plenty of time to grab dinner at Wannaburger. There was a deli across the street from the burger joint, but I felt kind of weird about eating at place called "Cock Burn." Would you eat at place called "Cock Burn?" I ended up at Wannaburger instead, and I paid a whopping 9 pounds for my meal. After dinner, I walked around the corner to the comedy club.
Terry Milligan and 80's Luke cracked me up. I came into this show thinking that I would get a repeat from Absolute Comedy Chaos, but that was not the case at all. These two are very good at sketch comedy and their "Bringing In The Sheep" show made me laugh so hard I literally peed! Really! As part of his routine, Terry Milligan takes his audience out of the club and into the public as they all chant "bringing in the sheep, bringing in the sheep, we will go rejoicing bringing in the sheep!" When I first caught his routine at Absolute Comedy Chaos my first night in Scotland, Terry dragged his audience out in the street and crammed them all into a phone booth while chanting that bringing in the sheep ditty. For his show at The Laughing Horse Berlin Bar Club, Terry led his audience of 10 into the ladies room and made everyone hide in a stall with the door closed as we continued to sing the sheep song. Oxymoron, eh? How can one be hidden if they are chanting? It's all part of his act, and it's funny as heck. In any case, as we waited in the stall, I decided to pee. I did my business and when I flushed the toilet, Terry got excited. He tried to find the culprit, but I didn't fess up. I knew what Terry Milligan was capable of doing to his audience members, and I really did not wanted to be singled out for public humilation! When that joke ended, Terry took us all back into the club, and at that point, he and 80's Luke went at it with their tag team comedy. I laughed so hard, I almost peed in my pants again.
After The 80's Luke/Terry Milligan Show, I stuck around for another comedian's show, which I'm actually sorry that I did. Marcus Clarke is the "Puppet Maker" and I'll give him kudos for making good looking puppets, but he should just stick with that. Combining puppets and comedy is tricky, but what turned me off about his performance is the fact that his lips moved when he attempted ventriloquism on his puppets! The only good thing about his show is that it got me curious about Avenue Q, the Tony Award winning musical largely inspired by (and is in the style of) Sesame Street. I hear that show is coming to San Francisco, so I'll try to catch it. When the puppet maker's show ended, I darted out of there and hopped in a taxi and headed straight to Chester's Bar for Absolute Comedy Chaos and Ballooney Tunes.
My last night at The Grovesnor Hilton was so much fun. Aside from the usual banter between comedians and crew members, I had jokingly told 80's Luke that I had been practicing my comedy act in the taxi all week, and that I would love to bring my act to Chester's Bar. Seriously, I was joking. Well, it turns out that a few comedians did not show up for Absolute Comedy Chaos, so there were some holes in the schedule. We had a nicely inebriated audience that night, so 80's Luke pretty much said what the hell, and he put me on. I got up on stage and immediately gave the following disclaimer: "I am the camera man. I work BEHIND the camera. This is my very first attempt at stand up comedy, so I want you to laugh at EVERYTHING." I then launched into impersonation of 80's Luke, Vietnamese style. People get a kick out of me speaking in my native tongue, especially when I take words in English and give them the Vietnamese inflection twist. I thought I'd throw this out to the people of Scotland. Well, let's just say that my audience was very nice and they laughed at everything. But then again, I did tell them to! I lasted about 8 minutes. I realized that night that stand up comedy is not for me. I had my 8 minutes of stand up comedy fame, but I can honestly say that I will never do it again. Lynn Ruth summed it up well: "Don't quit your day job, Borm." I do have video footage of my routine, but I won't put you through the pain of watching it, so I won't post it on this blog! One of the girls in the audience did say that she thought I was adorable. I love it when girls think I'm cute. I took a picture with her. If Tai Ho Lez were there, she'd say "SHAMELESS."
When Absolute Comedy Chaos and Ballooney Tunes ended, I waved good bye to my new comedian friends. Lynn Ruth and I then walked to the same Italian restaurant that we had been dining at every night. As I sprinkled parmesan onto my lasagna, Lynn Ruth gave me the good news: a producer in London saw her show, loved it, and wants to produce it. I was so excited for her. She worked hard for this, and she deserves this. My job now is to create an awesome DVD and market the heck out of Lynn Ruth Miller. I've had issues with filming all week, but I think I can take the highlights and use my editing savvy to create something compelling. This trip has been awesome, but Lynn Ruth's news takes the cake.
Friday, August 24, 2007I'm back in United States. After 20-plus hours of travelling through four different airports, I am very relieved to be back home in San Francisco. NEVER EVER again will I try to save a few bucks and take flights with multiple connections. San Francisco to Toronto to London to Edinburgh and then back again is a big price to pay for a bargain. I would rather cough up that extra couple hundred of dollars for a direct flight. Live and learn. At this time, I am completely wiped out, so I will keep this blog entry short. I am going to jump into the shower and then crash on my nice comfortable Ikea bed. Boy oh boy, I really missed that bed...
Saturday, August 25, 2007It's Saturday afternoon and I am sitting at the Starbucks on Bryant & Mariposa in San Francisco. I am still on Scotland time, so an occasional yawn have snuck in as I sip my venti green tea lemonade sweetened with four Splendas. I haven't had one of these beverages in a week, so it's nice to get it back onto my palate. I am sitting here thinking about how I am going to piece this documentary on Lynn Ruth Miller together. I have about 16 hours of footage, but I am embarrassed to say that only about 60 minutes of it is usable. I haven't looked through all the footage yet, but I pretty certain that this is the case. In between logging and capturing, I am looking at the 1200-plus digital pics that I took. Of all the shots, this one stood out most:
I took this picture early in the week as I walked to The Three Sisters for Lynn Ruth's storytelling show. This nude and blind folded Barbie imprisoned behind barb wires and put out on display stood out for me. Of all the things I saw at The Fringe, this random unintentional exhibit made the biggest impact on me because of it's metaphorical implications. My mind works in mysterious ways, and as abstract as this may sound, what I see from this is a creative soul tormented by their left brain. We all have in our heads the guidelines of what society deems as acceptable and what is not. Unfortunately, many of us fall prey to this and forget our inner artists. These inner artists are the ones who creatively strip themselves naked and bear their souls to world, but in this sad case, this particular one is blinded and imprisoned by the higher being in our psyches that dissuade us from expressing ourselves because what we have to show is not suitable for all eyes.
I wish we could all express ourselves 100% of the time, but unfortunately, that will never happen. People are so hung up on what other people think that it's easy to fall prey to what someone else deems as appropriate or not. That is why we have events like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is ok for the inner artists to take it all off and show the world what they got. There is no fear of any higher being demolishing their vision and locking them up. That's what I got out of this display, and that is what I take away from The Fringe.
This is exciting. I was asked by our games group to participate in a virtual world demo with avatars for the upcoming Games Developer Conference. My co-worker, Jessica, and I were asked to record a casual three minute conversation in the Dolby studio. We ended up having a dialog about American Idol, the Oscars, and classic R&B hits from the eighties. We even sang a tune or two. I'm curious to see how the powers that be will use this material. Can you imagine an avatar version of me? In any case, Jessica and I had so much fun doing this that we decided to start up our own podcast talking about random stuff. Below is the first webisode.
