We loaded our loot onto a palette, and stuffed it in the car. As partial payment for her help, we needed to drop Sonya at her apartment in the city. The three of us crammed into the front seat at 7:55, and zoomed off. After some wrong turns and miscommunications, we accomplished that portion of our mission, and headed back towards the venue, which was conveniently just a few blocks from our warehouse. Just before we got there, Dawn & John made it to the front of the ticket line, got our tickets, and headed to the nearest place they could get food, where we rendezvoused at about 8:20. Now, the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts is downtown. This meant that the closest place to get food was a fancy-shmancy hotel restaraunt, perhaps not the best place for 4 poorly dressed people, two of them with grimy hands (we washed up at the warehouse, but its tough to get out computer grease), who wanted to eat *fast*.

The staff performed wonderfully, however, taking our order of soup & an appetizer, and "more bread and water, please" with grace and panache (I have no idea what that word means). They were courteous and efficient, and we finished at 8:40, when we left a tip of almost 100%. Making our way back into the hall, it became clear that it was some sort of intermission. People were out using the restrooms, buying merchandise, and so forth. Had we missed half the show? Of course not, this was too good a day for that. We found our seats, and asked our neighbors what we had missed. "Oh, just a comedian", they replied. "And he wasn't very good."

Sweet! We win. We settled back in our chairs, and a few minutes later, the show began.

While we enjoyed the show tremendously, there wasn't much of particular note to talk about. If you liked Weird Al's movie, UHF, you'd like the show, because there were lots of video shorts shown, some from UHF, but most of them new. These were shown in between the big production numbers, presumably to allow for costume changes. The one thing that I found inspiring about the show was the high proportion of kids there.

See, life as a geeky kid can be kinda tough. I should know, I was a typical example. Not enough friends, minimal social life, pushed into the girls bathroom, that sort of thing. Its not like I didn't have social outlets, but it was a lot less fun than growing up could have been. Anyway, I was really struck by what a great experience this concert was for geeky kids. Here they get to feel solidarity, they get to see all sorts of people, young & old alike, laughing and screaming and cheering for silliness, and they get to see someone on stage, being silly and absurd, and getting cheered for it. I thought it was wonderful that people who are a little different, a little funny, a little abnormal can become part of a screaming concert crowd too. I think most kids are fun loving, expressive, and enthusiastic, before the iron fist of society indocrinates them with our cultures values of cliquishness, only enjoying social acceptable phenomenon, and mocking those who have too much fun.

It was refreshing. I wish I had gone to one when I was a kid.

Ok, I keep making this email longer, cuz its been a while, so its all pouring out, and I have half the next section written, but i better go ahead and send this now, or it won't ever get out. The next part should be within the week.

Oh, and check out my incisive new .sig:

I saw a girl with Guess on her shirt, and I said "Thyroid Problem?" (?Emo Phillips?)

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