Pics of the house

I took a bunch of pics when I went to meet the house inspectors.

I've got them on my Flickr page, which is here.

It's not much to look at yet, but transformations will occur!

Inspections

So, I met with the building inspectors today. The roof guy had apparently already come and gone, so I didn't get the "on the spot" report from him, but I did talk with the house inspector and the termite guy.

There are some issues. The downstairs bathroom essentially has to be completely ripped out and repaired, as it's got leaks around the toilet and bathtub, and the walls and floor have gone spongy. I thought the tub and toilet were a bit grotty anyway, so this isn't horrifying, and the upstairs shower and toilet are in great shape. So, the first project will be the downstairs bathroom, which will be otherwise off limits to any guests I have.

The other major issue was with the stove that the selling bank just put in. There is no external vents for the gas stove, which makes it a health and safety issue. We need a downward vent stove, otherwise I've got to install a big ugly duct going out the side wall. A downward venting stove would be more elegant and cheaper. So I need the selling bank to take back the stove they put in (which isn't even hooked up) and put an appropriate one in.

Other than that, there was a single pipe issue that seems pretty easy to fix and the myriad little details around the house that I plan to fix over the next several years. For a 100 year old house, it's in really good condition.

So, we'll get the full report, get some hard numbers, and see if the bank will at least fix the stove and push for a price drop due to the bathroom.

Status Updates

It seems a good idea to get a list of status updates going, so I can get it straight in my own head if nothing else.

Sweetie Tanya soundtrack: In Process.
Due to litigation concerns, Steve Kahn has rewritten the opening and closing number, and I've given the new tunes the thumbs up. Steve is working on arrangements and we'll go back into the studio soon to record them. Neil Howard is locating a singer to do his tune "Vengeance is best served hot", so we'll add that to the recording list as well. In the meanwhile, I am going to get our final contracts worked up for all the artists and see if I can start releasing the finalized songs on iTunes or CD-Baby as individual tracks while we wait for the last few numbers to get finished.

iScan: Feb 2009.
Peggy Powell's one-act will be remounted with the original cast for the 2009 Bay Area One Act Festival at the Eureka Theatre in February. We'll go back into rehearsal on Feb 2nd and open on the 19th.

The One-Eyed Man is King: May 2009.
I'll be performing as the blind thief Bendalli at the Phoenix Theatre.

Radiostar--Improv: Ongoing Production. We're still meeting pretty much weekly, and I've committed to getting a new audio show out every OTHER week. Ostensibly this should allow me time to work concurrently on the animated series.

Radiostar--Animated Series: Limping in production.
Episode 4 is about 2/3rds through the first of its seven scenes.

411: In writing stage.
Progress is slow on this, but I'm 36 pages into the first draft. The goal is to go into production the fall of 2009, but we'll see.

Tales of the Planes--Unification : Limbo.
I'm seven chapters into this novel and haven't touched it in a year and a half. It's not dead, but sleeping.

Sick Fucker: Gestating.
I have the story in my head, but haven't gotten the first word on paper.

Mammals in Collision: Limbo.
The first two acts are written, but have been for a couple of years.

Wings to Fly: Limbo.
I need a composer to turn my draft into a musical, and will start a second draft when I find him or her.

Called to the sea: Gestating.
This short story still wants to be told, but has to wait.

Submergency: Uncertain.
There has been talk of doing a show in March, but I'm not sure I have the bandwidth and recent events combined with other nascent projects may have soured enthusiasm on this one.

Tom Sup: Limbo, probably dead.
The third chapter in The Adventures of Tom Sup may be a graphic novel someday, but it's unlikely.

Pinch: Limbo.
I'd love to do a film version of my malformed nightmare-play, but it's little more than a flicker on the back burner.

Pond: Uncertain.
Conceived as a warmup to making 411, I have the notes and outline all ready, but until get the 411 script done, it sits neglected.

Pharmarsupial: Dead of improv overdose.

The Knifies: Gestating.
Diana Brown is working on an outline for this improv-film for me to review once I get 411 off the ground.

Vagina Dentata: Resting.
I need to see if I can find anyone interested in producing the show, which was well received.

Sweetie Tanya: Resting.
I need to see if I can find anyone interested in producing the show, which was well received. This, of course, needs to wait until we get the new songs done.

In a Distant Country: Resting.
I've given this play to a church that I know has an interest in readings, and possibly production, but who knows. It'd be nice to see my first play remounted, though.

On the Radio

So, it looks like I was on Peter Finch's "Beat of the Bay" on KFOG. Peter came and saw "Pulp Scripture" and covers the event, including about 95% of the Isaac and Abraham story (me, Dennis McIntyre, and Linda Ayers-Frederick). The rest of it is an interview with playwright William Bivins and the very beginning of the Adam and Eve sequence with me and Emily Jordan making very naughty noises in a church.

It's on the KFOG site, Nov 8th, 2008 episode, at 17:30.

A frequently asked question

I did a staged reading of some short plays based on the saucier moments in the Old Testament. It was a delight to do, and I felt spurred to forward the church coordinator a copy of my first play, "In a Distant Country". This led, as many conversations inevitably do, to the question of why I left the church after completing a four year degree in Biblical Studies and three years of Seminary.

I get asked this often enough, that I figured I might as well post the answer here. It doesn't deal with the specific circumstances around my departure, but it explains, in my mind, why I continue to maintain my distance from the church I had dedicated so much of my young life to.

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Ah, yes. It's, as I'm sure you can guess, a popular inquiry and one that could fill an evening in discussion.

While there were personal aspects to the decision to change my vocation and move towards a broader theological perspective, there were also spiritual and intellectual ones as well, which are probably more vital.

Through my study of church history, I began to become more and more uncomfortable with the exclusivity of the messianic message, and less and less convinced that it was what Jesus had in mind. The rise of codified doctrine as the church moved out of a place of persecution and into one of power, and the radically different ways that the "one way" looked when viewed from different points in history/economy/race/class structure... all this presented me with a real problem. The vast majority of what we call Christianity has seemed to do mostly with maintaining power structure, contemporary moral codes, and social mores.

Much of this goes back to what, in my mind, has been the supplanting of the teachings of Jesus for the exhortations and governmental mindset of Paul. Paul's very authority was questioned repeatedly by those who actually walked with Jesus, and has been established by a particular form of circular logic: Paul's churches, which were attractive to wealthy "god-fearing" Gentiles who admired Judaism but didn't want to deal with being circumcised as adults or obey the dietary laws, grew and succeeded. Because these churches were successful, while others were not, the letters of the founder get exalted to the writ of the Holy Spirit.

Paul's conversion became the model of Christian faith (and the basis for the idea of being Born Again) starting with Augustine, continuing to make Paul and his perspective the normative one in the church. As time moves farther and farther from the source, Paul's ad hoc attempts to bring his fledgling churches under control become used over and over again to apply universal rules of behavior to the believing community. The vast majority of ills the world has suffered at the hands of the church have, in my mind, come from Paul's often misunderstood comments about women, his attempts to calm down unruly behavior, and his vitriolic defense of his authority from the skepticism and denouncements of the Apostles.

I have no issue with Jesus, but I do believe that he viewed himself and his mission as essentially Jewish in nature. He only dealt with gentiles when they forced themselves upon him and became an object lesson of the kind of faith and passion he was trying to inspire in his own people. My issue is with Paul, and the hellenization of a jewish spirituality that came to owe as much to Plato as it does to Moses and the prophets.

Again, there was much going on in my personal life as well when I made the actual split, but the concerns from a theological level had been developing for years.

I don't know if that qualifies as a story, but the more narrative part of this deals more with the circumstances that forced me to take a good hard look at myself, what I was doing, where I was going, and why. It tells why I stood back at that time, but this explains why I have remained on the outside, sympathetic to a compassionate theology and believing community, but separate from it.

Joy and Sorrow

It feels like I should write something about the last 24 hours.

I'm deeply, profoundly glad and relieved that Barack Obama will be taking over as President in January. In many ways, it feels like I'm getting my country back.

At the same time, I'm incredibly sad that Proposition 8 passed here in California. I'm also sad because I feel that it passed because people believed the lies put forth by the proponents of the proposition. "Our schools will be forced to teach gay marriage," "churches will be punished if they don't perform gay marriage ceremonies", etc. This is what is known as "bearing false witness". Schools don't teach marriage now, so why would they have to teach gay marriage? Churches don't have to perform a wedding for anyone who asks for it, so why would they be punished in the future for it? My church, growing up, was very clear that if the pastor didn't feel good about the proposed union, he wouldn't do the service.

So we had a conservative religious push to change our state constitution that felt the need to lie to get its agenda passed.

I believe that a large number of people voted for Prop 8 because they believed the lies. They believed that it was going to force a worldview they weren't totally comfortable with into the public schools. They believed that their religious freedom was going to be curtailed. They were lied to, and they were lied to by people who are supposed to believe that "the truth shall set you free."

Hypocrisy and hate disguised as moral uprightness are nothing new for the church (regardless of whether it's the Catholic church, the Baptist church, or the Mormon church). Still, it makes me sad that the voters of California took away the liberties of others in the belief that they were protecting their own. It makes me sad that people who claim to be "Pro-America" do everything they can to subvert the very democratic process they are supposed to protect.