Where the hell did a week go?

Yes, yes, I had another one of my "time just got away from me" weeks, and I have let the blog suffer. Some people have said, "why not just write once a week?"

well, you see...I have an addictive personality. I tend to develop habits, and then pursue them until I can't anymore. In some cases, like with exercise, it's probably not all that bad.

Although...man, for as much as I work out, WHY DO I STILL HAVE THIS GUT!?!?! I mean, seriously, I work out more than most everyone I know. I will kill it. I don't know how, but I will.

So, I'm trying to develop the writing habit. To facilitate a better skill with word, and also to improve my typing, etc. I have a couple of writing projects in the hopper right now, and I need to focus. Having the blog as a kick-start for the simple act of putting them on paper helps.

In fact, one of said writing projects is SUPPOSED to be done tomorrow. It's short, and I have some ideas down already, but I also just realized I have two auditions tomorrow. So, my concept of kicking it out tomorrow morning is pretty well squashed. I feel a real pressure here, because I've promised a friend, a collaborator, that it would be done. Y'all know how I am with responsibility and commitments.

Thank you, Stan Lee for pounding that into my head with your damn Spider-Man.

My auditions tomorrow? Interesting. Companies I haven't worked with, at all. So, I'm a nobody again. (Which is probably damn good for me) Stuff that's not in my "contemporary realism" comfort zone. We'll see how it pans out.

I still have moments when I really think I've forgotten how to act.

I know, laugh.

Seriously, I've been in these readings and such, and there's moments when I don't believe a damn thing coming out of my mouth. If I don't believe it, I can't see how anybody else could. I feel rusty and lost a lot.

In other news, next week we start the process of trying to figure out Stage Left's next season. I've submitted a show which I dearly believe could be good for the company. I saw it performed in London in 2007, and it was like a gut punch. Full of power, and offering the audience no chance to turn away from the subject matter. For a company that seeks to "raise debate on political and social issues," I feel like this show gives us a way to do it, without falling into the pitfalls of "message theatre." That's my opinion, and why I brought the show to the table. I'm intensely curious as to how the rest of the ensemble will react to it.

We shall see.

Here Where It's Safe has opened, and I encourage all of you to check it out. Scott Bishop and the cast have done a really great job of bringing life to MEH Lewis' play. Our Stage Left ensemble members are all doing fantastic work, and our guest artists are equally wonderful.

A Character in an Epic Poem...About Losers

Jungleland
Bruce Springsteen



The rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock'n'roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the D.J. plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on, just a look and a whisper, and they're gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender in a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal and then surrender in the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down as shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between flesh and what's fantasy and the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

I Ache...

Seriously, my legs hurt.

Let's see...productive day. My written proposal for Stage Left's next season is done. Now, I just have to scan the script, and get it sent out to everyone. I like this show a lot, and I hope some other folks can see the potential in it.

I'll be at the preview tonight, running box office. Last minute drop-in to cover a little mistake that left us with no one scheduled tonight. Gotta admit I'd rather be going home. I've got "leg aches" like you wouldn't believe right at the moment.

I've finished up a couple of graphic novels recently.

The Rocketeer: The Complete Collection

by Dave Stevens

Which is just absolutely gorgeous. No one touched Stevens for period detail and just exceptional draftsmanship. His images just pop with vivid life, and the story is pure, pulp adventure. The movie from the 90's was fantastic, but here's where you mainline the real deal. Just joyous.

Hell, Doc Savage and the Shadow both make uncredited supporting appearances.

Scott Pilgrim Vol 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

by Brian Lee O'Malley

Which is sort of just the opposite, sketchy, quick drawings that also carry a vivid life. While Stevens was reaching into the pulp novels of the 30's, O'Malley jumps head-first into the video-game culture of the 90's. With all the anime-influence that would suggest. Can't wait to read the next 5 volumes, and follow Scott's battles with his girlfriend's 7 evil ex-boyfriends...

Yeah, it's that kind of story.

New Comic Day 2.17.2010

What did I say last week? 10-title week?

So close to that, my wallet hurts.

Batman #696

Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea
Cover by Tony Daniel

Daniel has proven very adept at running this title without really doing anything spectacular. It seems like everyone knew that the eyes would be on Morrison over in Batman And Robin, so they just needed somebody to "mind the store." His art is very nice, and the writing is solid. No complaints, but nothing amazing.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #9

Written by Paul Dini
co-feature written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
co-feature art by Jeremy Haun
Cover by Dustin Nguyen

Dini's back after an issue off. He and Nguyen have formed a solid, workmanlike team, and they get the job done with style and wit. The quality ebbs and flows from issue to issue, but it never drops below the baseline, and it sometimes can be stunningly good.

Blackest Night: The Flash #3

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Time to be blunt...This series is better than Flash:Rebirth, and Scott Kolins is kicking Van Sciver's butt in the art department. I don't even care how that mini-series is going to end at this point, and every time Van Sciver posts some inane video or right-wing propaganda on facebook, I think, "shouldn't you be drawing?"

Which has nothing to do with this mini-series, which is quite good.

Green Lantern #51

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Variant cover by Greg Horn

Blackest Night continues...Again, enjoying it, but I think I'm ready to start wrapping this up. Hal's possessed by Parallax again, and we'll see how that turns out.

Justice League of America #42

Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Mark Bagley and Rob Hunter
Variant cover by Adrian Melo and Mariah Benes

Just keep repeating "Robinson and Bagley will turn this around. Robinson and Bagley will turn this around. Robinson and Bagley will turn this around."

Maybe it'll come true.

Power Girl #9

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art and cover by Amanda Conner

The joyful read of the week. Superhero comic books at their best, fun, sexy and a bit cheesy. I'm so happy to have Amanda Conner drawing Karen Starr on a monthly basis. So many people claim to be trying for a "sliver age feel," and it just comes off as a little too precious and aware. This team has captured how to have the same energy and feel of those insane silver age stories, while still feeling fresh and modern. Great stuff.

Captain America #603

COVER BY: Gerald Parel
DEADPOOL VARIANT COVER BY: Gerald Parel
WRITER: Ed Brubaker
PENCILS: Luke Ross
INKS: Array

Ah, me...I used to love this series a lot. It was the lone mainstream Marvel title I could say I was reading an enjoying. Then Captain America: Reborn happened. That mini was such a botch, on so many levels, that I can't even explain. It's tainted the series for me. Is it my expectation that Steve Rogers would be back as Captain America being thwarted? Possibly, mainly because you KNOW when the movie hits in 2012, corporate synergy obsessed Marvel couldn't bear to have Rodgers out of the costume....

The Stand: Soul Survivors #4

COVER BY: Lee Bermejo
VARIANT COVER BY: Mike Perkins
WRITER: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
PENCILS: Mike Perkins
INKS: Array

If you like the novel, you should like this series. It's a very well-executed adaptation, and I've enjoyed it all so far. If you don't like the novel, or King...nothing for you here, move along.

Buckaroo Banzai: Hardest of the Hard #2

Written by Earl Mac Rauch
Art by Shawn Van Briesen

I love the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension. It's a film that I saw 2 times on the day it was released, just sat in the theatre, pretty much alone, for two showings. These comics absolutely get the story and characters right, as they're written by original screenwriter Earl Mac Rauch, but the art can swing from passable to poor. Moonstone isn't a hotbed of art talent, apparently. However, I'll be coming back for the story, and the continuing adventures of my favorite rock star/surgeon/race car drive/physicist.

Let's take a moment to look at one other thing about these titles...six of the nine have something in common that I hoped we'd left behind in the 90's.

VARIANT COVERS....

Thank you, comic industry, for trying to suck more and more money out of the pockets of your loyal, but dwindling, fanbase by getting to buy the SAME BOOK twice, or even three times!

Artists and Communication

Any artistic endeavor, is, at it's core, one thing, and one thing alone...communication. The most important skill for any artist to develop and nurture is the ability to express their ideas. Now, you can do that any way you want, speech, words on a paper or computer screen, paint on a canvas, but you have to be able to convey something to the people around you.

Jackson Pollock is my favorite painter, hands down. He works in the realm of the abstract. Yet he's still expressing a mood or emotion in a vibrantly clear way. Blue Poles, Number II gives you an entirely different "feel" than, say, Lavender Mist, Number 1. (Computer images do not do these works justice.)

When you enter the realm of a collaborative art form, theatre, or film, or music, this skill becomes even more vital.

I'm starting work on a comic book project with an artist. We spent a lot of time just throwing ideas back and forth, and honestly telling each other our thoughts. We came to an understanding about the storyline, in a broad sense, and the look of the project. Things can, and will, change and adapt, but he and I have now come to a starting point where we both understand what we're trying to achieve. I can think about it while I'm working on the script (which I better get on, the "deadline" is Saturday), and he can think about it working on the visuals.

The goal is clear, and it gives us freedom to play around with our own parts in the enterprise. Anything I come up with must move us toward the target we've set. The concept we've agreed to explore. Music can work in much the same way.

When you talk theatre or film, things are a little different. This artist and I are forming a partnership, it's just us, and we are equals. When you enter into a theatrical production, for example, your director is your leader, and they are tasked to bring your concept, your goal, to the table. They provide the ultimate vision that the actors and tech crew are there to support.

Unless the artist heading the project can effectively share his or her views about the work they are trying to make, the entire team will feel lost. This vision is what keeps the project on track, and drives it to it's goal. The goal, of course, is to share that vision with the eventual audience, but how can it be effectively conveyed to them, if it's not effectively conveyed to your team?

I've worked on productions that land on both sides of the line. There's nothing more frustrating than feeling lost because either you can't understand what your director is going for, or they can't. Likewise, when your director can answer questions from a strong central idea, the rest of the process becomes smooth as silk.

These are the days that wear on me...

I had no weekend.

Aside from a extremely fantastic massage from Morgan L, and a lovely dinner at La Bocca Della Verita last night, I was at Stage Left pretty much the whole weekend. Final work before previews, first preview, Ensemble meeting, box office duty...and *POOF* the weekend was gone.

Tonight...Laundry and guitar. Then Castle.

And The Wheel Turns 'Round and 'Round...

Currently on stage at Second City is a show entitled Rush Limbaugh: The Musical. It's a satire from a explicitly liberal point of view. I think anyone reading the material about the show would understand that.

Zev Valancy is a friend of mine, and a member of the ensemble at Stage Left with me. He very much likes this show. Betty Mohr, of the Southtown Star, very much does not.

Let me make this clear...I'm a very liberal guy on social issues, and more conservative on fiscal matters. I believe, very strongly, in things like universal health care, The National Endowment for the Arts, and equal treatment for all citizens, with no difference for race, sex, or sexual orientation. However, I also believe in a balanced budget, a strong military and personal responsibility. I, personally, see no conflict in those views, but some people around me do. I've made people uncomfortable, and they've done the same to me.

I will never see Rush Limbaugh: The Musical.

It's not because I disagree with it's stance. I find Limbaugh loathsome, as I do with Beck, and Olberman, the entire political talk radio industry is disgusting to me. They are doing absolutely nothing to help this country, they are all screeching harpies in a contest over who can express themselves in a louder and more condescending way to those who don't agree with them. I can't watch the guys on the right, and the Lefties like Olberman just make me uncomfortable by playing in to the over-educated, condescending, elitist image the Right has slapped on us. Keith has almost become a parody of it.

The fact is, this show simply strikes me as more of the same. In mocking Limbaugh, they simply become him. Making up facts, and twisting truths to make those they abhor look as bad as possible. Just like Limbaugh and Beck do. I don't need to see that. I get enough of ugly, political hate speech in my own life without paying a theatre company to give me more of it.

Where's Edward R. Murrow when we need him?

On Sly and Ain't it Cool News

I'm generally a Sylvester Stallone fan. I was a boy growing up in the 80's, how could I not be? Plus, anyone responsible for the creation of such a wonderful and indelible character as Rocky Balboa deserves respect.

Doesn't mean I'm always in his corner. I loved Rocky Balboa, because it got to the heart of that character, and made you believe in what was happening. The latest Rambo...I couldn't get over the fact I felt Stallone had made something akin to violence porn, and then attempted to justify it by "exposing the violence in Burma."

First Blood was relatively realistic, and had something to say about Vietnam vets. After that the Rambo films got all kinds of cartoony. That was fine, the politics were as cartoony as the violence, and I roll with them as pure entertainment. With Rambo, I felt like he tried to have his cake and eat it too, and the whole thing felt...wrong.

Anyway...Stallone is making a film right now called The Expendables, with an all-star cast of action stars, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, etc...Governor Arnie and Bruce Willis even show up in cameos. As a kid of the 80's, I can't help but see this as something that will be fun to watch...

But "good?" Jury's out.

The film was recently test-screened, and, as they are wont to do, Aint It Cool News posted some reviews of this screening...

You can find the first two of these reviews HERE.

My take on these two reviews? "The Recruiter" may have expected a bit too much from the film, especially at this early stage, but their review is very fair and balanced. A list of likes and dislikes by someone who can put together coherent thoughts.

"D?" Well, simply reverse everything I just said about "The Recruiter." "D" strikes me as everything wrong with these fan-reviews. It's dazzled by the pure excitement of seeing a movie so early, and wrapped up in a lot of hero-worship. It's not a review, it's an orgasm.

Well, Stallone apparently was unhappy with "The Recruiter's" take on his film. Read HERE.

OK, Stallone...You allowed people to see your film. You've opened yourself up for them to have opinions. You may have been "a tad annoyed" that someone didn't like it, but that review was in no way calling the film a "disaster." Top that off with the line about the "girl with braces?" It sounds like you're just upset that your "buddies" over at AICN would post something that wasn't glowing.

The real annoyance, for me, is Harry (Knowles) reaction. I mean, for God's sake...I'm fully aware that AICN has become pretty beholden to the Hollywood teat, and that Harry LOVES being "friends" with people like Stallone...he's falling over himself to try to convince his readers of...what? That Stallone is a big movie star and we ought to all kiss his feet for deigning to talk with us...er, well...Harry?

I mean that "Perfect movie for 1985" defense he mounts? It's idiotic. It's really, really stupid, and it makes him look like a mouth-breathing sycophant. The Expendables is not going to be To Live and Die in L.A., or Runaway Train, or Silverado. Those films are legitimate classics, and true works of art on top of being pretty kick-ass.

He's not doing The Expendables any favors making that sort of comparison. I, really, have no doubt I'll see this movie and enjoy it. However, that's a long way from being something I'll remember in 25 years.

New Comic Day - 2.10.2010

Another light week...I feel the impending onslaught of a 10-title week...

Batman And Robin #8

Written by Grant Morrison
Art and Variant covers by Cameron Stewart
Covers by Frank Quitely

Well, after all the delays and missed dates on Final Crisis, somebody must have something to prove...The last issues was only 2 weeks ago! All kidding aside, as I've been saying, this is a top-notch title. Morrison has hit his stride with Dick Grayson's less-grim, more light-hearted Batman. The series is just plain fun.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #7

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Takeshi Miyazawa
Cover by David LaFuente

I'm charmed by the new direction for Ultimate Spidey...Or, "Aunt May's Home for Wayward Teen Super-Heroes." It's great fun to see Peter living with Johnny "Human Torch" Storm, and Bobby "Iceman" Drake as siblings...along with Kitty "uhhh..." Pryde down the street. Now, that said...I really hope this new supporting cast doesn't unbalance the series. However, I always give Bendis the benefit of the doubt with this series, he almost always nails it.

Jon Sable: Freelance - The Ashes of Eden #5

Written and Art by Mike Grell

OK, this one has never been on my weekly list, but I always buy it. Frankly, it just always sneaks up on me. Jon Sable has been a favorite of mine since the 80's. Grell's creation is a wonderful espionage/detective character. Read up on him here. I've always said that this character is a tremendous film franchise, in the spirit of the recent Bond films, just waiting to happen. I know I'd love to put on his trademark war paint. (Yep...actor ego in play, there..Surprised it doesn't happen more often)

This mini-series is actually a hard-copy printing of a webcomic series Grell did a couple years ago. You can find the webcomic version here.

I continue to slack off...

Yeah, yeah...I've not been keeping up with the blog.

Here's the deal, We're in tech week for Here Where It's Safe at Stage Left. I'm the assistant director, which means I really don't have a lot of pressing tasks or responsibilities, but I also feel like I should be at as many rehearsals as possible. I spend a lot of time just watching.

Which, silly as it seems, can be really draining.

More to the point, however, I have little time for anything else in my life at the moment. I read when I can, and watch movies when I can, but I've had precious little time to work on music, or write. I am looking forward pulling out of this particular creative tailspin.

As an update....

Music:

The new set of tracks was going pretty well, but then I got hung up on the latest. I've been re-evaluating everything from the top down. It's struck me that my lyrics have gotten "dumb" again, and I lack the David Lee Roth ability to make that seem natural. I'm gonna strip all the vocals off everything I've done so far, and just listen to the music tracks for a while. Try to get inspired by what I hear, and use that to spark some new lyrical content.

It means throwing out, essentially, about 50 pages of lyric ideas and notes I have in my notebook right now. However, I think it'll ultimately pay off better.

I'm still struggling with the drum machine. Lord, how I wish someone I knew, who lived within 100 miles, was a drummer. Oh, hell...I'd just like some real people to play with, bounce ideas off off, etc.

(Yeah, I know, it's about the 5 billionth time I've written that)

Writing:

The adaptation I've been working on is dead. Well, City Lit passed on it, anyway. Fair play all around, they, in the end, just didn't like the book. Perfectly fair reason to pass. My adaptation my arise from the ashes at some point, but, right now, I need to move on.

So, I've had an idea for a play for a very long time. The seed was planted on April 20th, 1999. Now, the job is to coax the story out of my skull in an entertaining and interesting way. I've made a decent start at a first draft, but, again like the music, I've felt distracted.

I also really feel like I ought to make a few revisions to Neon (including a new title), and maybe send it out into the world. It's been round and around since the first draft was produced in 1999. (You have to scroll down...and, yeah...first draft...it pains me to admit that) I think I've tinkered and pounded on it as much as I can...the baby needs to walk or fall on it's own.

Acting:

Yep, I'm actively working to find something, anything to do...It's highly likely I'll be a part of the Stage Left Leapfest festival in June. So, I have that going for me. Otherwise, audition, audition, audition....

With relatively little success.

And...the update.

Springsteen Says He Is Not Suing a New York Bar

Changes my opinion on the matter not one iota.

This sort of thing burns me up...

'Boss' strikes sour note: Bruce Springsteen sues midtown bar Connolly's for copyright infringement

Ok, who's the asshole? The artist, who's attempting to be compensated, in a very small way, for the use of the music he wrote? Or the bar that's been ducking a licensing fee for more than two years?

Let's just take Springsteen out of it. I found the article because of his involvement, but I'd feel the same way if it was The Rolling Stones, or Lady GaGa, or Reverend Horton Heat, or whoever. This is a matter of artists' rights, as far as I'm concerned. This would've been, reportedly, a $2700 licensing fee for the bar, if they just paid the damn thing...I'd guess (I really don't know, but I know what the drinks cost) a midtown New York bar could clear that on one weekend night.

Especially if they had a band playing live music...

I grow so weary of the idea that an artist loses the right to protect their interests if they are successful. It's an attitude driven by jealousy and the reality TV-era belief that we are all owed some share of fame and fortune. We're not, and just because someone has succeeded doesn't mean we get to pick bits and pieces off their work because we think they have enough. It doesn't mean they're wrong for pursuing the lawful execution of the rights to their creations. Acting to protect those rights is not wrong, and it's certainly not greedy.

I mean, the show in question occurred on August 9, 2008...over two years ago! I can imagine, this started as, "hey, you didn't pay your fees. I'm sure it was an oversight, so let's get you squared up." If you ignore that sort of thing, the situation gets worse and worse.

Other bars in New York comply with the law, why should Connolly's get a pass? Did Connolly's pay the band more because they weren't paying the ASCAP fees? I'm sure that's a silly idea. I can't imagine the owners of Connolly's didn't know how the system worked, and, apparently, they refused to comply...They got caught.

Kudos to Mr. Pastis

THAT'S a classic.

Pearls Before Swine

New week....Mea culpa. Comics/ Rock Hall

So, I am not keeping up my schedule on this blog, at all. I always intend to write something every day, or post something, or generally use this space to communicate something on a daily basis. Sometimes I have a lot to say, sometimes just a picture or something from another blog to share.

Well...I haven't posted since last Wednesday.

First off, CByrd and I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland 2 weekends ago. Mainly to see their From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen exhibit. I loved it, naturally. (How could I not?)

It was rather more emotional to stand in those rooms, looking at the scraps of paper with lyrics scrawled over them, than I expected. When I walked up to one case and saw these words:

I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched

I have to admit....I felt myself getting choked up. It's my favorite Springsteen song, and the words he wrote there...they still touch me. (My eyes are a little wet as I write this) They still speak to me now as much as I did when I first really listened to what he was saying there...

...And I really can't fathom that a 20-year-old kid wrote that.

I mean, in a way, only a kid that young could write it, but there's also an understanding of what it meant to be who he was in that moment that usually only comes when you look back from a distance. Only one who was truly touched by something beyond himself could find that clarity. That's my opinion on the matter.

Caryn Rose also visited the Hall for this exhibit, and frankly, she says it better than I could:

From Springsteen to Strummer: A Tour of the Museum from a First Time Visitor

So, yeah...so glad we made the time to go see that, and it's been extended to the end of 2010, so if you love Springsteen, it's really a can't-miss.

I mean, THE guitar is there, and THE jacket...You know the one;



Moving on...It's also new comic day, and thankfully, after last week being so heavy, we only have two titles for today. So, lets see what's in store...

Jonah Hex #52

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art and cover by Jordi Bernet

I know I say this every, single time a new issue of this series come out, but it really is the most consistently solid series on the market these days. The return of Jordi Bernet always brings up Palmiotti and Gray's game, as well...so, so recommended.

Red Robin #9

Written by Christopher Yost
Art and cover by Marcus To and Ray McCarthy

Again, I've said this before. Yost has crafted a really nice series here, and, behind Batman and Robin, it's might just be my favorite of the "new Batman" series. Tim Drake is being pushed in new directions, as a character, and the results are most interesting.

That's it! Yay for my wallet!

Hopefully, I'll have something for tomorrow.