I haven't been here in a while.

...

What?

So, recently, I auditioned for a stage production of the musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog." It was originally a musical internet mini-series during the writer's strike, penned by Joss Whedon and starring Neil Patrick Harris. A bit of a hit. Supposed to be a sequel sometime.

Anyway, some fans decided "hey, let's put this on stage!" and so recently they held auditions. I tried out. I got called back, though unfortunately not for the lead - just got a callback for ensemble. They're putting a small chorus in the show - four people, a soprano, an alto, a tenor, and a bass, and they'll function kinda like the three singers from Little Shop of Horrors. As there were only two other guys at the ensemble callbacks, one of which was a tenor and the other of which was not a singer, I think I stand a good chance to get the bass part.

They're going to be doing a few things - they're going to expand the chorus parts a bit, depending on who they cast (I wonder how they'll do that. Adding harmonies, I guess), and they're also going to be adding in a few things from the supplementary comic books - I noticed that one of the sides for the principle callbacks included a monologue by Captain Hammer where he talks about how nerds are potential supervillains.

I think my chances are good, and I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a story. I go onto Youtube to watch a silly video that involves "Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies.

An argument goes on in the comments, one person saying that there was very little good music in the 90s aside from maybe that one involved song.

I say "Not so!" and proceed to list the soundtrack to Jurassic Park, Stephen Sondheim's musical "Assassins," and the music from the game "Ocarina of Time."

He says "well, obviously, I wasn't talking about those."

To which all I can wonder is... "why not?" I could list other things from the 90s -

Theme from "Schindler's List"

The musical "Parade"

John Adams' "I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky."

There's also that "Little Women" opera, but there aren't any good videos of the aria I like.

But because they aren't by a band, they don't count. Why?

I've been accepted for an ensemble part in Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Gondoliers."

A professional gig. I didn't get cast as Don Alhambra, but I'm too young for the part, anyway.

Not so much as a callback.

Depressing.

So, back in real life, I have an audition coming up. I signed up for an actors website so I could find auditions. And I've found one for next week. It's a big-time professional production of "Little Shop of Horrors."

Here's a hint as to what part I'm trying out for.

Note that "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" is not present in the stage version.

Makes me nervous. Never been in a professional production, but I really, really want this part.

I mean, seriously. Some executives actually that that a single-panel, gag-a-day newspaper strip was worth putting money into, writing a script, hiring actors, getting people to work on the computer animation, and they thought it'd make money.

They seriously thought that there was a viable audience for this:

And yet nobody seems to think that there's a viable audience for this:

Or for this:

Or for this:

I'd certainly rather see a movie based on one of those.

While I was on my trip in Europe, I started writing a new story, in the form of a comic book script.

So basically, I'm walking around inside a church in Venice that contains Tintoretto's "The Last Supper," thinking about the various anti-Christian comic books written by Garth Ennis, mainly on how cool a title "Just a Pilgrim" is, and I think to myself, "what are the theological implications of finding yourself in an afterlife at odds with your religious beliefs?"

So I decided to start on a new story.

The premise - four students of differing religious views are killed in a school shooting and find themselves in an afterlife they did not expect. The four are Matthew, an atheist and a student of history and philosophy; Mark, a Wiccan and a music student; John, a moderate Christian and a student of drama; and Luke, a fundamentalist Evangelical Christian, and a student of theology. They were killed by Jude, a deranged nihilist (if you want to call it that), who murdered them and then killed himself. Basically, the story I'm currently writing involves them finding themselves in the afterlife, whilst fleeing from their killer.

So far, plans include a clown who can shed his skin and turn into a man with two mouths, a theatre built over a chasm, a crystal ball that shows you the beforelife, an impromptu comedy, a bum, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, and a shotgun that shoots exploding bullets.

I'm titling it "By Candlelight."

In his review of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Yahtzee said something to the effect of "fine, enjoy Super Mario Galaxy 2 if you want, but if you do, go out and do something you've never done before." So I did.

I went on a Mediterranean Cruise. Went to see Italy (admittedly something I've done before), Croatia, Turkey, and Greece. I also tried some new food while I was on the trip, I just missed a chance to see the Pope, I went to the gym, and I also did a wine-tasting thing.