New and Improved?

I'm pretty sure I mentioned it at some point, but I'm in a play and it opens Friday. Being the dedicated slave to the arts I am, I have offered up my very appearance for this production by way of a shave and haircut. Behold my commitment and despair (or something)!

Before:
















After:

You'll have to come to the play to see my awe-inspiring salesman comb-job. That's right, it gets even better. See you there.

Commence Primary Ignition

Boy oh boy, FAWM is under way once again. I spent yesterday afternoon rearranging stuff in New Danger Dog Studios (less formally, the second bedroom) and restringing Susan with a Nashville tuning (the other three guitars - Gillian, Dorothy, and Anna - were all restrung Saturday night). I even managed to record a guitar groove/chord progression with a bass line but no lyrics yet, so I'm not even running behind yet. I hope to get my demos up as I finish them, so brace yourselves for updates.

I'm thinking that this year will have an alt-country sort of vibe, but we'll see what happens.

A Motion From The Floor

After the election, I decided that I'd keep an eye on Wyoming's new representative, Cynthia Lummis. While I had (and will no doubt continue to have) my fair share of political disagreements with her, I'm doing my best to give her a fair chance to do her job before casting judgement.

Ms. Lummis isn't off to a good start.

As you may have heard, the first bill signed by President Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. When the bill was in the House, only three Republicans voted for it, and none of them hail from the Equality State. This is pretty disappointing to me on a few levels, one of which being Ms. Lummis' stated desire to "safeguard our families."

Things being what they are, I move that we only pay Cynthia Lummis 78% of what she's supposed to be making as a congresswoman, since she apparently doesn't believe in equal pay for equal work.

Repectfully submitted,
Regis

What a Twist!

So they finally announced the winner of that silly 3-Day Novel competition I participated in over Labor Day weekend last year. And guess what, boys and girls?

I didn't win.

Yeah, pretty much what I expected, what with 570 registrants (428 of which submitted novels) and all. But whatever, I'm still a winner (and I have the Everybody Gets A Trophy Day trophy to prove it).

Speaking of Bataan Death March-style forcing of creativity, FAWM 2009 is just around the corner. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna do it again, even if I'm in a play that month. Oh yeah, it's on.

It could make a million for you overnight,
Regis

Blast From The Past

Thanks to the magic of the internet, you can see just how much my writing has improved since the dark days of 2002, when I was a weekly columnist for the University of Wyoming Branding Iron. A brave soul with too much free time uncovered a small collection of my "Life Is Like A Mop" and "The Way I See It" columns that a friend of mine posted on his website back in the day (being the swell guy I am, I would email my stuff to people that weren't in Laramie and thus couldn't pick up a copy of the BI).

Behold! Here is your portal to days past!

I'll have to see if I can dig up Word files of more of my old columns, as I know there were some that were better than these. Or would that be about as worthwhile as Liberace at the Playboy Mansion?

After all, Liberace is dead.

-Regis

Everything's Coming Up Milhouse

How is everyone doing?

Things have been clicking together lately. I've just about gotten my apartment rearranged and have filled in the gaps in furnishings (new bed ftw), although I haven't gotten my last salad plate from Cottonwood Kitchens yet. Picasso's "Guernica" and a Japanese Godzilla poster from the dorms once again grace my walls. Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille is coming along and is a lot of fun (I may even get credited as "Polka expert" or some such - a selling point and a half if there ever was one). Flight of the Conchords is back for a second season. I'm having a blast playing guitar in church and Dorothy (the Ibanez Jet King II) is getting a lot more attention. I'm getting rid of a lot of clutter (both literal and figurative) as well as anger, and damn but it is nice to have a little peace and calm in my life.

Oh, and America is finally about to go all Scandal on George W. Bush. It's about eight years late for my taste, but it is what it is. It's like morning in America, or something.

Let the good times roll,
Regis

Fresh Start For a New Year

Happy New Year, gang. I've been more than ready to put 2008 to an end, so here's hoping that '09 is better all around.

In local news, Meg finally filed and has moved to Laramie, leaving me with what feels like an exceptionally spacious apartment. Granted, that probably has a lot to do with there being not much of anything in the living room, but it's still a little bit shocking. The only big thing I really need to get is a small couch or loveseat, and I could use another lamp or two, but all in all I'm in pretty good shape. One could say my life has turned into a Darkness song:



I got a part in a local play, and rehearsals start next week. Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille looks to be a lot of fun, or at least as fun as a play set against nuclear war can be. If you're looking for something awesome in Sheridan come February (super sweet Valentine's Day date, anyone?), come check it out. I play an asshole, so I'll leave it to you whether I've been typecast or am just that good at dramatics.

Is it just me, or am I all on my own again?
Regis