Thursday, May 30, 2013

From the Mouths of Babes

I rediscovered this video recently and it sent my thoughts in two directions.



My first thought was around how rapidly and drastically our environment is changing. And by environment I don't just mean the literal health of our planet but also society and how the increased connectivity has impacted our awareness and sometimes perhaps over exposure to what is happening all over the globe. I can't help but think that what shocked and inspired this young girl in the early 90's (granted her father is an environmental activist so she likely had more exposure than most) is now so common place that children are desensitized to the images and concepts before they even enter kindergarden. In 1992 I never would have thought that my 3 year old niece, who is barely out of diapers, would be able to operate a smartphone with no assistance...there are all sorts of articles and statistics about the impact of technology on kids and for the most part I think the benefits outweigh the risks developmentally, but I do wonder about the exposure factor and if it is desensitizing us as a culture. To be fair, on the flip side, there are definitely benefits to the increased connectivity, take for example, kiva.org where (now that we have this increased awareness of what is happening world wide) anyone can offer a micro loan to someone in a third world country where a mere $25 can save their business which also seemed far fetched in 1992.

The next thought was to remind myself of just how much kids are capable of. I know that I, for one, was not thinking much about these types of big issues when I was her age, I do think that at the time, in the early 90's she and her peers were in the minority for having set their sites on such real and global issues. But even so, the fact that she is there, speaking to these people...As adults it's so easy to diminish the validity of the concerns of kids or even how much of an impact they are capable of having. I know it's easy for me to minimize the thoughts and opinions of the kids in my life. But after watching something like this I can't help but find myself wanting to listen a little closer and encourage kids to get plugged in and pursue what's important to them, including taking action as big as speaking to the UN. It makes me want to commit to really listening to the kids in my life, and wherever possibly encouraging them to look for ways to improve the world around them.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Fringe 2013 Reviews


5/18
Dirk Darrow 2 : Was dry but funny, he’s a great performer, rolling with the punches. Jeremy laughed a LOT, I did a lot of forehead slapping and shaking of my head J
Prinaha the Musical : Cheesy, some great talent, but I don’t know that I can honestly recommend it with all of the other fantastic options.

5/19 
6 Guitars : Amazing. Make Time for the show next Sunday. Buy tickets now. Enough said.

5/21
I had planned to see Loon @ 7pm in Green (Orlando REP) however I failed to plan ahead and it was sold out. John and Laura did go and they had nothing but praise for it so I think I may try to make it happen on Friday. Since I was already out there I decided to find another show to see and went with:

Jett Backpack and the Battle at the End of the Universe @ 7:15 in Yellow (Shakespeare Center)
This just wasn't my sort of humor so keeping that in mind....it was clever and well done. I have friends who would have found it hilarious. If you like SpaceBalls, slap your forehead kind of humor go check it out for sure.

Walk through Visual Fringe (The Venue on Virginia)
My buddy Thomas wound up being my date for this and we enjoyed it however I must say that I would have preferred if there was more art available for viewing. I felt like they could have managed to find places to display what little they had in the warehouse at the other venues, it just didn't feel like enough to be walking/driving to another location to see. They have a putt putt golf course designed by artists which is really interesting visually and might make the trip over there worth while, however because they're designed by artists and not engineers most of the holes don't actually work :( which made us sad. 

5/22
C- @ 8:30pm in Black (The Venue on Virginia)
The content was really interesting. He acted out snippets from interviews he's done of his old college frat buddies highlighting their journey to where they are now 30 years later. This was the last performance and I must say I think I'd rather read a book about his findings, his performance just wasn't enticing but again the content was really interesting, I did find myself wanting to know more.

Ain't True Uncle False @ 10:30pm in Purple (Shakespeare Center)
So great. I can only compare it to an adult version of story time. Paul Strickland started off with a song that created some amazing visual images in our imaginations of a trailer park called Big Fib and from there went on to tell the stories of some of it's inhabitants including Ain't False, Uncle Truth, Faye Cation and more. I would compare his style and tales almost to those of the movie Big Fish. He has several more shows this weekend that I would highly suggest folks make time to see. I know I'm excited to see his joint effort with Chase Padgett of 6 Guitars tomorrow.

5/23 
A Field Guide to the Gays @ 8:15pm in Purple (Shakespeare Center)
I laughed so hard! They handed out a quiz at the beginning which I could answer 80% of going in, Jeremy couldn't answer any. By the end we both could get them all. It was informative, hilarious and a great support to LGBT rights. It does get a bit graphic but based on the name I would've been disappointed if it didn't. 

4 Truths and a Lie @ 10pm in Blue (Shakespeare Center)
I didn't realize this is based in a podcast calked five truths and a lie...it was really interesting. Great way to hear snippets of people's lives. This show had my favorite Sak player, Mike Carr, which made me happy. Neither of us picked the actual liar by the way. 

Chase & Paul: Solo Shows are Hard @ 11:30pm in Gold (Theater Downtown)
It felt like we had been invited to hang with them during a jam session. It was so  incredibly funny. Their both so talented it wound e been hard for then to produce anything but awesome together. I would recommend seeing their solo shows first if possible. 

5/24
Loon @ 5:30pm in Green (Orlando REP)* 
It's purely a person with a mask, music, lighting and sound effects that convey the story. But it still manages to be dynamic with a plot reminiscent of a Pixar short. So much creativity and talent. 

Skill Focus: Burlesque @ 7:15pm in Green (Orlando REP)*
I've seen then before and this wasn't their best performance. But I still love the idea of nerdy themed burlesque.