hammanhoagblog

An Experiment in Storytelling (The Other Side of The Weekend)

2010-05-17T11:46:00.003-05:00

Well, that happened.

That’s one of my favorite things to say after a show because it’s non-committal. It doesn’t say “That went great, I am so proud of myself!” or “That went bad, please assuage my vanity.” It lands in the middle.

In my mind, it concedes a small amount of success because it implies that the show did, in fact, go on.

And last Friday. It Did.*

I was trying something new. An experiment in storytelling, as indicated in my previous blog post. And, as with any experiment, there were some hiccups. Tech issues that sent me running back home 45 minutes before we were to start. Audio for the “Plan D” that we ended up using wasn’t working even though EVERY indicator that I checked showed me levels and was responsive. I was flustered and thus did not properly introduce the event or myself. My friend Brian, who was one of the first to speak, said it best… “This whole thing is weird.”

Then, we took an intermission.

When 7 people returned after intermission, I was happy.

When each of those 7 people shared a story, I was elated.

When one of those 7 people (who had never been to our theatre before the event on Friday) came back to see our mainstage show on Sunday, enjoyed herself and promised to come back….I am not ashamed to say, I almost cried. Well, maybe I wasn't going to cry, but I was really really happy.

Well, that happened.

And I certainly hope it keeps happening.

*In all the craziness of the evening, I did not get a chance to properly thank all the people who participated. Special Thanks to:

David J. Loehr – Davidjloehr.com

Dave Charest-DaveCharest.com

Rebecca Coleman-Artofthebiz.com

Travis Bedard-Cambiareproductions.com

Chris Ashworth – Figure53.com

Scotty Iseri – Scottygotanofficejob.com

Monica Reida (fragments) who “skyped in” from Iowa.

And Paul, Brian, Andy, Pearl, John, Jesse, Chelsea, Hank, and Tim who all shared stories.

If I left anyone out please forgive me and come back to the next one which is TBA.

***UPDATE*** I've finally put up a couple of the videos from the 360. You can find them on my vimeo channel here. There are a couple on the 360 vimeo channel here. also-Dave Charest has moved domains...he's now at DaveCharest.com.

An Experiment in Storytelling

2010-05-08T06:13:00.008-05:00

I'm putting together a Multi-media 360 Storytelling event on Friday the 14th at Strawdog Theatre. There will be live storytelling, pre-recorded storytelling via video, and other types of storytelling (see below)....oh, and the bar will be open.

"Oh, no!" you say, "I can't make it to Strawdog Theatre in Chicago on Friday night at 11pm. I'll be in Little Rock organizing my Chuck Dovish's Traveling Arkansas VHS collection."

You're in luck! If you can't make it out to Strawdog Theatre in Chicago on Friday night at 11pm you can watch via the INTERNETS!!! (caps lock borrowed without permission from @travisbedard and the above word "INTERNETS" is actually a "Link" that will take you "here"-http://www.ustream.tv/channel/somestorytelling)

"That's awesome, Kyle!" you say, "I'm super excited about this and I would like to participate!"

Well, you are also in luck! There are several ways to play!

Experiment 1-

Come and listen to stories and share a story of your own! We'll get started around 11pm at Strawdog Theatre in Chicago on Friday Night. There is a $5 cover that will go to pay the charge for the space. Any additional funds will go back to 2amtheatre.com to fund more theatre ideas like this one!

Experiment 2-

I'd like to read a fictional "And then" story written by the twittersphere. I will take all the posts that have posted with the tag "#360exp" from now until Friday May 14th at 6:00pm CST. I will read the "story" towards the end of the event on Friday. It will most likely be a beautiful mess but I'm interested to see what happens.

Experiment 3-

Skype a story- if you are not in Chicago (or in Chicago and trapped in your pajamas) and want to tell us a story, you can Skype in from where you are! Iceland? Turkey? Logan Square? Just Skype to khambone360 and we'll put you in the line up.

Experiment 4-

Got any ideas? I'm listening.

Also if you want to tweet-up or follow along on Friday-we'll be using the tag "360s"

Step number one in being a writer...

2010-04-22T14:55:00.002-05:00

Write something.

I wrote this for a Sprint contest and submitted it:

Okay. Here's the deal. I know it sounds crazy but I can grow a beard really fast. I'm not braggin'. I'm just sayin'. I've got a video to prove it but that's not why I'm here. I'm here to tell you about this wonderful thing that I can do very quickly. Here it is: I can, believe it, or not, tie my shoes in less than a minute. I know what you're thinking. "Under a MINUTE?!? That's Incredible!" I know. It is. But there is really nothing magical about it. It just. takes. practice. You build up stamina and agility and eventually it just flows, you know? So, Chin up. With determination, you'll get there.

then I read the rules...had to be at least 150 words. Whoops. This is like 115 or something.

Oh, well. Guess I won't win a Sprint phone. and I guess I'm not a writer.

or am just a rebellious writer who can't be put in a box?

I mean, it IS "published" on my "blog."

So... does that mean I'm a writer?

If so, when do the checks start arriving?

Kyle

p.s. another one of the rules was that this work has not been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format. So now, I'm REALLY not going to win.

Nostalgia

2010-01-08T11:31:00.008-06:00

Nostalgia: nos·tal·gia

Pronunciation: \nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\

Function: noun

1 : the state of being homesick : homesickness
2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition; also : something that evokes nostalgia

so i was just going though photos trying to do some organizing and i realized..."i really like looking at old photos."

It reminds me of when I was a kid. Every time we went to my Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house, the first thing I wanted to do (after hugs and kisses and unloading the car) was look at all the old photo albums that Maw-Maw had stashed away under the coffee table in the living room.

We would pour over the photos (some of which were of people I had never met) and would laugh about all the funny stories that came along with the photo.

so,

here's some random old photos.

transportaion.

2009-09-05T12:31:00.006-05:00

This summer has been great.
I started riding my bike a lot more than ever. Using it instead of the car to go to the grocery store or hardware store or to the theatre. Then I started having trouble with the rear derailleur and so took it in to get it checked out. Ended up having to replace the cassette, get a new chain, a new derailleur and a full tune up.
Great.
Everything is working fine now.
And then, wouldn't you know it? The CAR has issues.
I waited to take the car in cause I knew it was gonna cost money but lo and behold I get a flat tire. What was particularly annoying about this flat tire though was that I had a spare but no jack. So I had to get one of those fix-a-flat cans that you spray into your tire to give it just enough to hobble over to a gas station to put some more air in it. What a mess.
So I finally take the car in and they replace the tire and it's gonna cost an arm (no leg, just an arm) to have the front alignment fixed so that it'll stop having these issues.
During all this I realize my CTA card is cracked and doesn't work properly so I need a new card for taking public transportation.

AND

the sole of my boot is coming off.

So, to sum up... all the way around (Car, Bike, Public Transport, Feet) it has been a challenging summer as far as transportation goes.

But seriously, this summer has been great.

hmmuh?

2009-08-26T12:50:00.004-05:00

ahh crap. i fell asleep. what day is it?

you mean i went a whole week without posting?!? Again?!?

HAMSMELL!!!!!!!!

so sorry for the gap. i'm really trying to get better.
no, really.

anywho...here's the haps. we did some really great work on the show over the weekend. breaking down some of the scenes and putting them back together. but this time...faster. stronger. this show is truly shaping up to be a lean mean comedy machine that kicks you in the groin and i can't wait to start playing on the set that anders and judy are cooking up. it's gonna be a lot of fun. yeah, like a whole lot.

on the flip side, i got the three way switches for the basement stairs installed so you can turn on the light at the top and the bottom which makes things a lot easier when it's dark and scary down there.

we were going to go see inglorious basterds but decided to watch the bears preseason instead. they are looking good. i'm excited about this culter fella. and iglesias had a nice catch. actually there were quite a few nice catches. ooooo...now i'm getting excited for some football.

last thing...then i'll go.

kyle's basement is now Variety Underground. going to have some new faces playing and it's going to be great. october 17th. put it on your calendars.

checkya.

and now for something completely different.

2009-08-19T02:11:00.001-05:00

a moose once bit my sister.

Accent.

2009-08-18T09:30:00.002-05:00

i'm lost.

first, i was taking a tour. then, i was centralized. next, i went north but i'm not sure that is working out.

i just want to arrive so i can get on with it already.

here's the thing.

2009-08-13T11:09:00.005-05:00

that last post didn't get posted til after the rehearsal that i was talking about because blogger was all messed up.
so, the read through with full cast was great. enjoyed hearing the many talented voices that are contributing to this project.

before we read the play, kevin played us a song that was pretty intense. i didn't get the artist.

also, found out that i'm going to be wearing a leather sweater type of garment. gonna be hot. no, i mean, lit-trilly...hawt.

here's a question. what does it take to inspire someone?

update: the song is called ARES by the group BLOC PARTY

it's a new dawn, it's a new day...

2009-08-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

and i'm feelin' good.

ahhh, nina. so maybe just a little about the house. we got the recessed lighting installed in the basement it's nice to have a well lit basement for the first time ever. it's been a challenge (nightmare) but at least that part is done.

rehearsals are smashing. tonight we get to read through the play with the entire cast. for the first time!

i've been telling people this play is like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead but for Henry V, instead of Hamlet. and with a Monty Python sensibility.

i'm trying to attach pics but "thebloggers" is not being nice so that's not happening. as soon as it does happen...then you can see them. and you'll like them.

in the meantime, remember...the french blew it.

on another note.

shannon started rehearsal for BOOM at NEXT last night. Can't wait to see her rock it out! Boom!
off to replace a light fixture in the furnace room. hopefully no "boom" will happen.

St. Crispin’s Day rehearsals

2009-08-11T16:31:00.001-05:00

Well, we’re off. 1st rehearsal was Saturday and here it is tuesday and i’m just getting to blogging about it.

i’m hoping the rehearsal process will give me some material to blog about. i’ve been buried doing work on my house and would love to blog about something else. so…

Did you know that in the Battle of Agincourt, it wasn’t that the English won. Oh, no. The French just really, really lost. They blew it. They just really blew it. I’ll put up some links later but for now, just know that the French really blew it.

double whammy for facebook folks!

2009-01-30T01:39:00.002-06:00

25 Things About Me. by Shannon Hoag-Hamman-Hoag

1. I am the wife of a wonderful man. His name is Kyle and he is my soulmate, best friend, love of my life and nemesis all in one. We met while rehearsing a show almost seven years ago. Our life together is not a show but is very dramatic. He loves banana laffy taffy. I most certainly do not. I told you it was dramatic.

2. I suffer from delusions of cleanliness. I like to imagine my house to be a palace of all things neat and orderly. I crave an entire room of my home devoted to the proper cataloging and storage of holiday decorations and various assundry bric-a-brac. Then I look at the reality of my hectic life and I wince at the improbability of it all. Order is for the birds. Seriously, just look how they migrate South. Orderly.

3. I love Sunday Spaghetti Dinner. This is how I knew Number 1 was NUMBER ONE. I want to have Sunday Spaghetti Dinner**with him for at least fifty years.

4. I love $20 dresses*. A dress, in my opinion, is the economic garment of the future. It is one piece, one look, not a bunch of separates. If you’re smart, you can pair several $20 dresses with one simple pair of black pumps. If you hate the dress next season, oh well, it was only $20.

5. I love Christmas Movies. Get over it. My favorite is Albert Finney in “Scrooge”- a 1970’s musical retelling of ‘A Christmas Carol’- Also starring Sir Alec Guinness and Dame Edith Evans. This is from my Father.

6. Along with Number 1, we have a goal of seeing all 50 states together. In our seven years as a couple we have seen 19 states.

7. I am working on turning my black thumbs into green thumbs. I love to grow basil every Spring. I always plant that and then go on a planting rampage when I go into my annual ‘I AM Mother Earth’ manic episode. Then I usually start rehearsal for a play in late summer resulting in total twisted-up, dried-out vegetation carnage in early November.

8. I love Nina Simone. I was lucky enough to see her perform once before she passed. I love Nina Simone.

9. I have no favorite play. I am an actor and I feel guilty about this. I am a bit of an experience junky, therefore every play I am in turns into my favorite play. Until the next one…

10. I love to cook for my family and friends. I love it. I love to experiment and whip stuff up. It strangely relaxes me.

11. I love Brussells Sprouts and I don’t care who knows it.

12. My Grandpa Lee is the biggest influence on my life.

13. Favorite Pizza= Green Olives and Mushrooms

14. My Favorite Books are The Dud Avocado by, Elaine Dundy and Middlesex by, Jeffrey Eugenides

15. I love sliced tomatoes with Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper. * See Simple Pleasures in Life. **See also Sunday Spaghetti Dinner.

16. I am an Olfactory person. I love the sense of smell. The smell of Cover Girl Pressed Powder and Estee Lauder Bright Red Lipstick are my favorite smells of Comfort. This is from my Grandma Betty. I recently smelled a perfume that was Grapefruit and Vanilla and this smelled like infant spit-up. I still love the sense of smell.

17. My favorite piece of music in the whole world in ‘The Swan’ by, Saint Saens, played on Cello.

18. I am a Sigma Kappa. My Mother, Aunt Debbie and I were all Sigma Kappas at Illinois Wesleyan University.

19. I am full of hope. It is party because of this year as a voting adult. It has a good deal to do with our new administration, but also has a great deal to with my recent adoption of a No More Excuses mindset. I need to be hopeful- the alternative is terrible.

20. My First Wedding Dance (with Number 1) - ‘Night and Day’ written by, Cole Porter-sung by, Ella Fitzgerald. This was a nod to our lives in the theatre- paycheck jobs by day- rehearsals or performances at night.

21. I want to go to Paris. Now.

22. I love the Rocky Mountains. I went there almost every summer as a kid and continue to envy the landscape to this day. I am jealous of people that live there. How do you have any problems? Look outside.

23. My brother Matt is the nicest person that I have ever met. He is and you should meet him.

24. I am somewhat embracing the experience of my own thoughts and ideas surging throughout my mind and then hearing my Mother’s voice coming out of my mouth. This was bound to happen.

25. I am a member of Strawdog Theatre Company. Become a fan on our Facebook page!

The Green Bird

2009-01-20T09:35:00.003-06:00

It was the week before we opened (I think) and Michelle Caplan, John Ferrick and I were Hugen Hall working on production elements for The Green Bird.

Caplan was not happy.

I had my guitar.

I played a song to try and cheer her up.

I recorded it yesterday (seven years later) and put it to some pics from the production taken by Dave Brennan. Enjoy.

or you can check it out on my youtube channel here.

COLD.

2009-01-16T11:23:00.002-06:00

First of all, they lost. I know. I don't want to talk about it.

Moving on...

It's COLD!!! Along with a good part of the rest of the country, Chicago is COLD right now. When the actual high for the day is NEGATIVE ONE then you know it's a cold one. With the wind chill and all that I think it got to negative thirty or something.

It's supposed to warm up tomorrow to the mid 2o's and I plan on going into the front lawn and sunbathing.

I've begun to blame everything on the cold. It's debilitating.

anywho...i'm off to to do some painting at the theatre.

boomer sooner.

2009-01-08T11:23:00.002-06:00

I'm very excited today. Today the Sooners will play in the BCS National Championship. I've been a sooner fan since I was wee because my dad went to school there. and because they are awesome.

When I was in Sixth grade i dressed up as a Sooner Fan for Halloween. I wore Sooner pants, Sooner shirts, Sooner coat, Sooner hat, and anything else I could carry that said OU on it. Being that I was in Arkansas, I didn't win the costume contest.

We (my mom, dad, brother and I) went to the Orange Bowl on January 1st 1987 when we trounced the Arkansas Razorbacks. I believe I wore my shirt to school the first day back.

I think the BCS is a mess and I would have loved to play Texas again in the Big 12 championship but that's not the way it works. Oh well.

Oddly enough, last summer, before the football season began, I was joking with a friend about using the calendar on my centro and we "scheduled" the date of January 8th with the title "Good Things."

Good things, indeed.

Just write something...

2009-01-04T19:58:00.003-06:00

I didn't really make a formal resolution but i'd like to do more blogging in the new year.
So I guess I'll just relay some interesting stuff happening with the Hamman-Hoags.

I'm working on getting the basement finished out and have made a little progress but have a long way to go.

For one, i was interrupted by a burst pipe in the laundry room. What would have taken a plumber two hours ended up taking me two days but now I know how to do it the next time.

Then, while I was working on that, we discovered a leak in the ceiling in the kitchen which required a replacement of the upstairs p-trap (it was rotted out and basically the sink was just pouring into the base, the floor, our ceiling, and then our floor...gravity at work) and the sink base floor that had rotted out. good times.

I also was able to finish the install of the basement bar sink so now we have a working sink down there which is nice.

Also, Shannon started rehearsal for Cherry Orchard which is exciting.

also.....while i'm working on my basement, i'm working on Kyle's Basement. which is my podcast that will be arriving soon. keep your eyes and ears open!

to really overload you with stuff i'll also be launching ihaveanger.com in the very near future. we just have a couple of tweaks we need to do on that one and then it's all set.

so...all in all there's lots happening. most of it plumbing related in the last couple of weeks.

and like i said i'm going to do my best to blog more. stay tuned.
kyle

Some people build snow men...

2008-12-16T23:27:00.005-06:00

I decided to build a thumb.

I'll try to take some daytime pics tomorrow.

Check it out....there is even a watch.

The Cupcake Party.

2008-11-15T23:19:00.003-06:00

I had a fun birthday.
here's the video.

Stuck between 4 and 77

2008-11-09T09:42:00.003-06:00

I live in Bowmanville. It's a small triangle shaped neigborhood on the north side of Chicago.
Everybody talks about Chicago being a City of Neighborhoods but everybody knows that those neighborhoods are ever changing. Moving and stretching. Determined mostly by the people who inhabit them. But also determined by Real Estate Agents renaming neighborhoods that our "hot" to sale their wares.

But back in the 20s the City of Chicago did their best to put some parameters in place that would give Chicagoans a better idea of where they live.

You can see the map here.

Technically, I live in the community of Lincoln Square (4). The street at the end of my block, just four houses down, is the border street between Lincoln Square and Edgewater (77). I sometimes tell people tht I live in Andersonville (which is in Edgewater) because it is a much more widely known neighborhood.

So thus, I'm stuck between 4 and 77.

Officially, I live in Bowmanville. Bowmanville is a neighborhood within the boundries of the Community of Lincoln Square. In Chicago. Illinois. The United States of America.

Just thought I'd share.

It's that time of year.

2008-10-27T17:32:00.000-05:00

I remember the way we use to make carmel (beeing from the south, that's how I pronounced it) apples. We would get the round sheets of caramel from the grocery store that you would stretch over the apple. Kinda like how they do on "ace of cakes" with the fondant (sp?). Anyway, when my mom wasn't looking I would just peel off the piece of caramel and eat it without the apple. Like a fruit rollup with no fruit. Just sugary goodness.

Peanuts am good.

2008-10-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

are you serious?

2008-08-27T22:24:00.003-05:00

so i got a phone call from the Little Rock Airport.

apparently the luggage with a six pack of beer we threw away at O'Hare made it to Little Rock after all.

Only lost two beers.

what do you know.

thanks to kevin for picking up the goods and the pics!

Three Floyds...finally.

2008-08-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

I finally was able to try the Alpha King.
After leaving the first six pack in an empty suitcase in an O'Hare trashcan. It's a long story.
Bulletpoints:
Shannon and I are late travelers.
We had to consolidate two suitcases into one carry-on.
The casualties in this escapade were six bottles of beer and one 11 year old suitcase that has traveled the world but reached the end of its journey.

The Alpha King is pretty good.

In Reponse...

2008-08-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

..to chainsaw calligraphy's office fun.

No power.

2008-08-06T11:19:00.002-05:00

You can't see it but there is a small wire down in the middle of the road. It's been down since about 8:30 monday evening. Cops are still waiting for ComEd to show up and do something.

UPDATE 8/7: so, as i was walking up to the house last night, the cheers i heard coming from various folks up and down the street informed me that the power was back on. Nearly 48 hours with no power makes me thankful to have it again. And...apparently they knew nothing of our downed wire (despite our calling it in several times) until they were doing other repairs further west and someone asked if they had repaired "the one down on wolcott".

Grow baby grow

2008-07-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend yet.

www.chicagobeards.blogspot.com

Ren Faire!

2008-07-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

i directed this show and it is funny.
if you like to laugh, you should go see it and laugh.
ha.
ha-ha.
ha-ha-ha.
it multiplies like that.
k

2008-01-24T16:02:00.000-06:00

some cool or funny quotes i've heard or read lately...

"Chicago divided your heart. Leaving you loving the joint for keeps. Yet knowing it never can love you."-Nelson Algren

"You're constantly kicking at the world to pay attention to you and one day the world turns around and goes, 'What?!' It's the most terrifying thing." -Glen Hansard on his sudden (after seventeen years in the band, the frames) success

"This is what they call a blowout. That's a fairly sudden event." - Spokesman for the City of Chicago Water Department explaining the cause of a watermain break that lead to flooding and a sinkhole that was 15 feet deep and 80 feet in diameter.

g'bye oh seven...

2007-12-29T12:24:00.000-06:00

hello Aught Eight!

Sunset on Springfield

2007-12-23T17:12:00.000-06:00

Fruit Bird

2007-12-19T12:49:00.000-06:00

At the Pins!
Happy Birthday Jordyn!

Our Tree.

2007-12-12T21:23:00.000-06:00

and a close-up...

sorry it took so long, mom.

more to come.

october twenty

2007-10-20T21:34:00.001-05:00

so shannon made cookies for tonight's show...
and i took pictures but they aren't uploading for whatever reason.
there are some great pictures of anita in a blonde wig and me in an astronaut's helmet so you'll just have to wait to see those.

on a side note, my folks are in town and we watched OU beat Iowa State today. so that was good. my mom took pictures, too. she does that.
k

a week later...

2007-10-19T20:35:00.001-05:00

so...

Aristocrats has been Jeff Recommended and we had some good reviews in Time Out Chicago, the Sun-Times and we were on WBEZ's Dueling Critics on Eight-Forty-Eight this morning.

And we did our stagechannel shoot last night so that should be up pretty soon.

bloody good, eh!

so here's some pics that himself took of tonight's show...

press opening...

2007-10-14T19:31:00.000-05:00

here we are back at the dog.
last night went well.
we had a champagne toast after the show it was great to feel a little relaxation.
press opening seems to be going well so far.

yikes...shannon just screamed at it scared me...it's part of the show. you'll understand when you see it.
anyway...
no pics tonight. more pics and more indepth coverage later.
kyle

gala opening...

2007-10-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

here's a pic of us all before we got places...
missing from the pic is Jack McCabe. He was already in place...

i'll take some pics from the party tonight and put em up tomorrow.

from the greenroom...

2007-10-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

preview #2

so here i am backstage again...

here's some pics by me.

the second preview is going well...we're ramping up to our big gala opening tomorrow. it'll be great to do the show with a full day of rest behind it. we are all pretty exhausted but tonight's show definitely has more energy than last night's. it's friday after all. and we've got a few people in the house. or the hise as we like to call it. ahh, the irish accent. i feel like i'm typing in an accent right now.

we're also still discovering moments that we can share with one another.

this show has the feel of a show that we will always be tweaking and adding little nuances. it's a very rewarding process and show for sure.

all the same...i can't wait to sleep in tomorrow.

2007-10-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

i'm currently backstage of our first preview of Aristocrats. I have some downtime in Act 1 so i thought i would throw something up on the blog.

Here's some pics taken by Chris Ocken.

It's been a lot of fun working on this show even though we all look quite serious.

Rick is very enthusiastic with his notes which is always fun. And it's been great working with this cast...we've been using a speech that Mike found online to get ourselves pumped up for the show...it's a rugby captain speaking to his team to get them pumped up. It's really quite good.

got to go ait to the hise niw.

more later.

been a long time, been a long time.....

2007-06-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

and we've been busy....

in a nutshell:

in january-shannon and i made homemade pizza and da bears were in the playoffs.

then in february the bears lost the superbowl. also in february, shannon performs in Strawdog Radio Theatre 6.

In march, we rehearsed (shannon performed, i was assistant director) and opened A Lie of the Mind which was jeff recommended and got good reviews.

In april we did some work on our home (this was the basement bathroom).

may brought the float trip to arkansas and now it's june and it's a pretty day outside so i'm going out to mow.

here's the pictures in backwards order...still can figure out the formating on this blogger thing.

also...the strawdog pics were taken by Chris Ocken of Ocken Photography. he's cool.

Whole Hog in Little Rock

2007-06-09T14:54:00.000-05:00

mmm...electric.

2007-06-09T14:52:00.000-05:00

i heart you.

2007-06-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

can't we all just get along?

2007-06-09T14:48:00.000-05:00

da bears.

2007-06-09T14:47:00.000-05:00

when the moon hits your eye....

2007-06-09T14:45:00.000-05:00

Let them eat pie!

2006-12-24T13:08:00.000-06:00

Shannon made some wonderful pumpkin pies for all the "nuts" in this family.

More Vs. The World

2006-12-21T18:29:00.000-06:00

here are some cool shots of our last Vs. The World performance...

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-12T19:02:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree and stockings that Shannon was sure to put up the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The other picture is our bedroom with our new ceiling fan that I put up while Shannon was working on the tree.
also...check out the smugmug site for the rest of the thanksgiving photos.

Happy Turkey Day!!!

2006-11-23T22:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all...

We're thankful for our families who have given us so much in the past two years (not to mention the thirty years prior).

We are thankful to be blessed with great family.

The hambones

p.s. my mom has a ton of photos that we will post to the smugmug soon.

work, work, work....

2006-11-16T23:17:00.000-06:00

this is me hard at work.

happy birthday to me...

2006-11-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

i turned another year older and my dj career can finally begin.

happy halloween....

2006-11-01T01:22:00.000-06:00

yes...we are alive...we've been buried in the bowels of strawdog doing marathon 33 to great reviews and good times...but we managed to escape just in time to carve some pumpkins...

Vs. The World (halloween edition)

2006-10-31T23:19:00.000-06:00

Vs. The World is James Anthony Zoccoli, Kyle Hamman, and Seeking Wonderland (Misha Fiksel, Kevin Richey, Paul Foster, Micah Bezold, Colby Bessera) and we perform experimental improvisational music with stories, poems, and all out rants.

The picture is kevin rocking the trumpet at Morseland.

This is part of the halloween story i read:

The first Halloween I vaguely remember was in 1977. We had just moved from Lawton, Oklahoma to North Little Rock, Arkansas. We arrived in North Little Rock on the 31st of October. All that my family owned pulled from the U-Haul truck and loaded into the garage of the house we were supposed to be moving into due to the fact that the lady who my parents bought the house from hadn’t moved out just yet. At some point my parents realized that in all the hustle and bustle of the moving, costumes had been forgotten about, packed away and buried in a garage full of boxes. Luckily, my Uncle Don and Aunt Susie, along with cousins Tim, Matt, and Kari, lived down the street now and we could borrow a costume from them. They also had neighbor friends, The Farnsworth Family, that would also help out and so was born Super-3PO-Boy. It was a mixture of Star Wars plastic mask, a cape made from a towel, some sort of head covering and my superman pajamas. I remember crying.

In third grade my class was responsible for the play that was to be presented in the month of October. I was to be a bat. My teacher gave patterns to all the little third grade students to pass on to our parents or guardians so that they might make our costumes from black trash bags and construction paper. Trash bags…bat wings….construction paper….bat mask. Easy. Now, I just want to say this… I love my mom. My mom is awesome. My mom followed that pattern exactly. Here’s the thing. The pattern, and thus my mom, did not take into account the fact that I had and still have a large melon. The eyes on the bat mask pattern did not match the eyes on my head. I could only see out of one and ¼ eyes and thus my day was spent cocking my head at various angles trying to see out of holes the size of peanuts with eyes the size of grapes. I learned about headaches that day. I don’t remember crying.

In high school my friends and I would have an annual shaving cream fight on Halloween. We would pick somebody’s house to be the base and there we would gear up. Beat up Converse. Check. Old pair of acid-washed jeans. Check. Winter coat from three winters ago. Check. Baseball caps or bandannas would “protect” our heads from getting shaving cream in the hair. Aerosol caps stolen from mom’s old hairspray can would create a steady long distance spray of shaving cream. Balloons filled with shaving cream created grenades to unleash a heavy load in expedient manner. Frisbees, bikes, basketballs, whatever we could get our hands became a weapon in our shaving cream battles. We had fun. I often got hurt. I didn’t cry.

marathon dancing...

2006-08-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

sorry for the lack of posts and flat out communication.
since coming back from Doug's wedding we've been in rehearsal for Marathon '33.
we've been doing sit-ups, dancing, and doing slap-stick for the past month and we're exhausted.
shannon's fighting a cold and i'm doing my best to do the same.
we open in three weeks and the show is going to be insane...
nearly 40 people on the strawdog stage and if you know the strawdog stage, that's alot!
this picture isn't even the entire cast.
live music (complete with clarinet) and dancing for days(months)
check out www.strawdogtheatre.blogspot.com for more.

Doug Dickens

2006-08-07T01:18:00.000-05:00

married.

A battle for ultimate supremacy...

2006-07-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

Jedi Hambonious and Jedi Super Colby train on the bridge of the Deathstar.
I know it doesn't make any sense but work with me here.

a little something....

2006-07-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

i've been delayed in posting and for those of you holding your breath....
here's a little someting until i can put more stuff together...
i thought this was a great picture because of colby's eyes.

brooms over chicago.

2006-06-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day!!!

2006-05-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

Carm: Should I fire the grill back up?

Andy: I've had, like, seven hot dogs

Carm: You need more meat!

Andy: Is hot dog meat?

Carm: Close enough.

Andy: Okay.....put some ketchup on it.

The view from behind home plate...

2006-05-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

Shannon and I went to the Cubs vs. Nationals game on tuesday night with Nic from CLAS and his girlfriend Michelle. We bought these tix for half face value cause apparently people don't go see the cubs when they are playing badly. I root for the cubs all the time.

Fried stuff is good.

2006-05-07T17:48:00.000-05:00

It was Katy Dailey's Birthday and we went to Geja's Fondue and ate cheese, and bread, and shrimp, and beef, and lobster, and chicken, and vegtables. It was super yummy.

Moment's after this picture was taken Vanessa almost burnt down the entire resteraunt.

Stinkin' Scallops.

The sliver of face on the right is me. I think the waiter was secretly wishing I wasn't there in hopes of running away with my beautiful wife.

Stinikin' waiters.

Shannon's Birthday Cake

2006-04-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Shanbone.

again and again.

2006-04-10T11:48:00.000-05:00

CUBS WIN!
CUBS WIN!
CUBS WIN!

2006-04-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Words...

2006-03-31T12:03:00.000-06:00

I lifted this from Bill Mallonee's (formerly Vigilantes of Love) my space blog.

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered to form a real word. Some are terrifically innovative:

1. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
2. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
3. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
4. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
5. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
6. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
7. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
8. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the lot:
18. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an ***hole.

Owitch!

2006-03-28T22:48:00.000-06:00

It's a little late but these are a couple of pics from Wireless Programme Five, Strawdog Radio Theatre. I was a bit of a goofy character in this one. Go figure.

college

2006-03-03T15:41:00.000-06:00

footsteps left in the snow...

2006-02-27T22:36:00.000-06:00

it was snowing that day. it was very cold. it was my first trip to chicago.
it was the fall of 1993 and as a freshman in college, i had decided to go visit one of my best friends from high school. college was a miserable experience that first semester. i had been in rehearsal nearly non-stop which didn't allow me to make many new friends or hold on to the few that i had met during the ever-so-popular "orientation weekend."
i escaped to chicago.
chicago, where it was so cold that winter that the moisture in your nose froze if you went outside.
this is chicago, huh?
four years later i packed up my crx and headed north on I-40 out of little rock.

and now for something completely different...

2006-02-23T00:52:00.000-06:00

here is a pic of stephen murray connecting with a softball from season '04.
sing it with me now....
soft ball is fun
soft ball is great...

My Alarm Clock.

2006-02-16T13:30:00.000-06:00

so this was my morning wake up call.

the lot next door to our house will soon be a two story singe family home. they begun construction a couple of weeks ago and things seem to be progressing well...good for them!!!

meanwhile...they've completely demolished MY front yard, damaged part of my sidewalk, and this morning... this is what i see when i walk out the door to go to work.

that's my car surrounded by cones. the metal sheet i was parked on was moved out from under my wheel leaving my car hovering over a large hole in the street.

"um....that's my car."

"Oh."

pause...."Can you give us five or ten minutes?"

not that i have a choice, really.

twenty minutes later they finally slide the plate back and move the large truck out of the middle of the street and i can now go to work.

they say there are two seasons in chicago.

winter and contstruction.

this morning i was in the middle of both.

5,4,3,....

2006-02-03T13:38:00.000-06:00

We are live!
WRLS is on the air!

Our fifth installment of Wireless, Strawdog's Radio Show, begins previews Feb. 3, 2006
Watch for pictures of the Feb 4 preview followed by THE SET, Strawdog's new and improved open mic night.

www.strawdog.org for more info.

2006-01-27T22:50:00.000-06:00

whirley ball is a real good time.
i have a bruise on my gut from the steering stick.
red 8 is the fastest car on the field.
shannon forgot her basket...again.
i think she hit that wall on purpose.
happy birthday walker.

soda withdrawal...

2006-01-26T15:23:00.000-06:00

those that know me.

know that i drink lots of soda.

until recently.

i've only had one dr. pepper a day for the past two weeks. and lots of water.

Now....

i want to nap constantly.

and i pee alot.

5/8 of an idea.

2006-01-25T16:56:00.000-06:00

never before and never again
has the earth been witness
to such a happening
such a moment
such a time
captured in frames
of glass
and moving pictures
and pixels of parts of pieces
this life
this age
this excitement
contrived and contrite
and begging to be caught
"don't let me get away. don't let me leave."
chase me chase me chase

but once captured.
lost
it doesn't quite live up to
the life we live

how to explain
expound
excavate my mind to find the treasures of life

but i find nothing. except old cliches
catch phrases and silly rhymes.
why does my head hurt?
is this normal? natural?
to pain so much over nothing but
words and images
words and images
the sound of words
spoken soft
sung aloud
images
seen, witnessed, felt

what happens when they collide?

welcome to the world of...

2006-01-05T20:01:00.000-06:00

wonderful...
because it's a wonderful world.
no, i'm not high...just happy.
happy to have awesome friends and great family.
so if you are one of those, thank you and we love you.
if you're not one of those, my name is kyle....nice to meet ya. can we be friends?

Enchiladas and Home

2005-12-26T12:19:00.000-06:00

After some enchiladas, cheese dip, and guac for breakfast, i finally got my hands on the new ho-hum cd, LOSTY. its pretty good stuff. listening to it right now on the iPod.

Ran into Luke Kramer at the Airport and met his son, Hank. (Luke if you ever read this and get the inkling...i'll act for you any day of the week. except fridays cause i'm usually not fit.) Shannon and I boarded the plane headed for Chicago.

KIDS!!!

2005-12-24T20:06:00.000-06:00

saturday was Christmas Eve service at Park Hill and hanging out with Shane, Becky, Tucker, Russ, Amy, and Emma in Conway...

Traditional Family Christmas

2005-12-24T00:47:00.000-06:00

Every year we get as many members of the family to meet at midnight at the Shell station on JFK to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

and then we get a 44 oz. milk with some pre-packaged cookies and wait to see who comes down the chimney.

grilled club

2005-12-23T19:00:00.000-06:00

my favorite thing to eat while in north little rock...
grilled club with no tomato, no mayo, fries and a side of ranch dressing from gadwall's grill.

met up with mitchell...a high school friend i have not seen since probably 95 or 96...and bob (robert)

A Merry Angry Christmas Dinner

2005-12-22T21:03:00.000-06:00

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...hour ten of Christmas '05 airport-a-palooza at Lambert St. Louis International Airpport Chili's Too.

doh!

2005-12-22T13:02:00.000-06:00

we....uh...missed our flight. but isn't this a really cool artsy looking photo?

Hug Your Grandpas

2005-12-22T01:04:00.000-06:00

In this joyous season- be sure to hug your Grandpas if you are lucky enough to still have them with you. Remember your Grandpas always.
God Bless -
Shannon

merry Christmas.

2005-12-20T23:07:00.000-06:00

from holly.

Rock and Roll Christmas lights...

2005-12-17T19:46:00.000-06:00

We decorated the inside this year but next year Shannon and I are going to do something like this to the outside of our house.

www.compfused.com

scroll down to find the heading "Lights Out for Christmas House".

Click the first "here" turn up the volume and enjoy!

kyle

family is nice....

2005-12-13T23:37:00.000-06:00

this is my family.
a year ago.
more new pics to come.

picklebot 2000

2005-12-11T14:09:00.000-06:00

remember picklebot?

kyle

traffic!

2005-11-17T17:53:00.000-06:00

Traffic sucks!

stinking trolleys

2005-11-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

milk producing beasts

2005-10-17T15:59:00.000-05:00

Angry Man's Wife

2005-09-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello..Nice Country...My name is Ysmeta Stanahlov Prozorov Yatsik.

My name Ysmeta, I live on the second floor.

so close...

2005-09-22T19:02:00.000-05:00

this will show you how close yonesh was to the band....he's mad at bono's good side.
kyle

angry at you, too.

2005-09-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

my friend yonesh at the U2 concert.
so angry.
kyle

2005-09-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

here is a picture of my new friend Yonesh Lludmyliov Prozorov Yatzik.
we just call him angryman.
because he is an angry man.
k

my first post

2005-09-18T12:26:00.000-05:00

let's see what this thing does.
kyle