Hazardous Material

Spencer, Caroline, Psyche, Loki, Clio, and Buster! A happy and prosperous New Year full of creativity and well being. Cheers! Christian and Chris

In the word's of Hannibal Lecter in the film and book, "Hannibal", "It is time for me to come out of retirement."

On the event of David Amram's 88th birthday, I decided to make him a poem of appreciation. He has contributed greatly to the film, music, and artistic worlds we enjoy everyday. His compositions have been hailed since the 1960's. So it is with great respect that I wrote this poem in the style of his own poetic performances to make it more personal to him. Soon after his birthday I heard back from him. He loved the poem and encouraged me to, "keep Scat Rapping". And so I will. Thanks again, David for inspiring me everyday creatively.

It happened so organically that I didn’t notice I was walking into a lifetime practice of brilliance and synergy. One day, I just got drunk and decided to email someone who made me feel good. I don’t remember who the first person was, at this point, but the practice had begun and it would grow over time. The seed of the idea is pouring out your soul to someone who has influenced you, in one gushing email or letter. It doesn’t matter if they respond, it only matters that you show them appreciation. Soon I was in the practice of sending out a series of emails whenever the spirit struck me, to whom ever deserved mention at the time. Soon I was in contact with film makers, poets, and artists of all types. Sure, not everyone responds, but when someone who has influenced you does respond, the affect is powerful. For instance, I was a fan of Wayne Ewing’s films documenting the life of Hunter.S.Thompson.I reached out to him and let him know. At first he responded with kind words. Next, a...

Here's a simple exercise if you're a comedian. In addition to preparing your material for your upcoming Open Mic or other performance. Ask yourself how you want to be seen on stage. Not just as being funny, but what impression do you want your physical appearance and your onstage habits want to leave with the audience members? Before I went onstage for my last comedy club performance I asked myself,"What do I want to look like onstage?" Do I want to be the comedian who stands solid at the mic? Do I want to pointedly wander connecting with the audience? Most performers know to try to make eye contact with every member of the audience, but some do not know this. This builds rapport and helps bring the audience members into your world. In my early twenties I wanted to come off as chaotic and brilliant like an early Robin Williams. But being chaotic and "brilliant" and being just chaotic is a super slim line barely visible to the human eye. After doing 9 to 10 ...

I think it is important that we rule our tools and not let our tools rule over us. This is my hesitation with the release of the iPhone 4s and Siri. We are a society that has slowly been socially crippled by our enjoyment of technology. The appearance of the iPod allowed us to shut out other humans and invoke a state of musical intoxication whenever and wherever we wanted. The grocery store, the post office, and even walking with friends and family. This serves as a wall of separation and offers something similar to what we call “creative hiding” in the world of acting. Creative hiding is the use of a hat or hair to close off the expressions of our face. When you use the brim of a baseball cap to obstruct the full openness of your face you are masking your emotions and expressions to others around you. When you use an iPod with friends or family present you are employing an even deeper separation than that which is provided by a hat or long bangs in your face. The wall of music is comp...