Last night, Stefy and I went to the Fairchild Theater to see the MSU Theater Department's spring musical, She Loves Me. Stef had to do a write-up about the show for her acting class, but I thought it would be fun to tag along.

The premise is pretty straightforward. If you've ever seen You've Got Mail or The Shop Around the Corner, you basically know the gist of this story. Two anonymous pen pals fall in love, without realizing they know (and hate) each other in real life.

The only differences with this play was that it was (a) set in Paris, and (b) a musical. But, for going into the show basically knowing how the whole thing would end up, it was still a really cute performance.

This is the second production we've seen from the MSU Theater Department this year, and both of them have been a lot of fun. The tickets were a little more expensive than a movie, but it's still always fun to go see a live performance like this. Plus, it feels good to support MSU's Theater Department.

Anyway, if you live in the Lansing area and have any interest in seeing She Loves Me, here are the remaining performance dates:

Saturday, April 21st, 2007 - 8:00p.m.
Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 - 2:00p.m.
Thursday, April 26th, 2007 - 7:30p.m.
Friday, April 27th, 2007 - 8:00p.m.
Saturday, April 28th, 2007 - 8:00p.m.
Sunday, April 29th, 2007 - 2:00p.m.

Okay, this is a ridiculously nerdy category, but what's even more pathetic is I didn't even come up with it.

EW's Popwatch blog asked the question yesterday, so here are the top five sci-fi characters I think I could be buddies with:

• Data from Star Trek: For a guy with no emotions, he was always a good friend to Geordi.
  
• Chewbacca: You never had a clue what the guy was saying in any of the Star Wars movies, but the dude always came through for Han Solo when he needed him most.
  
• R2D2: Ditto for R2. Where C3PO might've been one of the most obnoxious characters in the franchise (just ahead of Jar-Jar Binks), this little rolling trash can was one of the most lovable. Hell, most of the cast owes their lives to R2D2.
  
• Slimer from Ghostbusters: I feel like Slimer was just kind of misunderstood in the first movie. By the end of Ghostbusters 2, he was nice enough to give Louis a ride to the museum, so I feel like Slimer and I could get along.
  
• The Lone Gunmen from the X-Files: You could never trust anyone on the X-Files... except the Lone Gunmen. These dudes always had Mulder's back. Plus, you never know when their elite computer hacking skills could come in handy.

Okay, so who am I forgetting? Are there any other sci-fi characters you could be buddies with?

Ladies and gentlemen... the most powerful man in the world:

Well, we had a lot of fun at the play last night, but I think Stefy and I both agreed that the story was a little disjointed, which is basically what the reviews from The Lowdown and The City Pulse had to say.

Molly Ringwald was actually really good (much better than I was expecting), and the overall singing and dancing from the rest of the troupe was really solid. But, like I said, the story was kind of uneven.

For starters, there was a rather lengthy scene in the first third of the play where Charity goes to the home of an Italian movie star. The scene had several funny moments, but the whole thing didn't really go anywhere, and then we never saw this character again.

It was also somewhat frustrating that we didn't even get introduced to the male lead until about halfway through the production. I dunno... it just seemed odd to wait so long to introduce such an important character.

And to top it all off, they get you thinking that the story was going to have this really sweet ending... and then it didn't.

Yet, despite all the problems with the story, the whole thing still somehow worked. I can't really explain it, but it was just a really fun show to watch. I'm really glad we were able to go, and I know Stefy had a lot of fun getting to see one of her movie idols.

So yeah, good times at Wharton, once again. And there's lots of cool shows coming to town next year.

Ricky Gervais goes to Africa for Comic Relief 2007. Or does he?



"What would Lenny Henry say? I think we know - imagine him going out of the door and Dawn French is going 'Where you going? You haven't done the washing up, you haven't put the rubbish out-' 'Do it yourself! I gotta go and save some Africans!'"

What will the planet be like if global warming continues?

"Warmer Than Hell"

Here's the news on the Spinal Tap reunion (via my old man)...

Spinal Tap is back, and this time the band wants to help save the world from global warming.

The mock heavy metal group immortalized in the 1984 mockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap," will reunite for a performance at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the Live Earth concerts scheduled worldwide for July 7.

"They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," said Reiner, whose other films include "When Harry Met Sally" and "Stand By Me." "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing — that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler."

Spinal Tap has reunited several times since the film, but hasn't for a number of years. For the band — whose last album was 1992's "Break like the Wind" — the occasion warranted a new single: "Warmer Than Hell."

Reiner provided a sneak peak at the lyrics: "The devil went to Devon, it felt like the fourth degree/ He said, 'Is it hot in here, or is it only me?'"

Man, you gotta love the Tap...



"Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported."

Molly Ringwald is in town for "Sweet Charity" at the Wharton Center, and my old man got a chance to interview her today. The audio isn't up yet, but when it is, you should be able to find it on WKAR's website.

FYI: We have tickets to tomorrow's show, so I'll let you know how it is...

UPDATE: Here's the link to the interview.

See, this is why I love the internet. You can download all five songs over on this blog. Here are the tracks they have...

Beck - "MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack" | (God Is My Wetsuit)
Beck - "To See That Woman Of Mine" | (God Is My Wetsuit)
Beck - "Satan Gave Me a Taco" | (Stereopathetic Soulmanure)
Beck - "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" (KCRW: Sounds Eclectic)
Beck - "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute)

Big changes around the corner!

Most of my family has already heard the news, but I'll wait to blog about this until the whole thing is official two weeks from today.

Something tells me 2007 is going to be a great year...

Okay, here's the quick weekend rundown...

Stef and I went into East Lansing on Friday to walk through the Beal Gardens and enjoy the gorgeous weather. Afterwards, we came back to my place, ordered a pizza, and watched Kill Bill. Ahhh... I love nights like this.

Saturday afternoon we went over to my dad's house and picked up Kyra to take her to the zoo. Morgan spent the night at her friend Ellie's house on Friday, and I could tell that Kyra was feeling a little left out, so we thought this would be a nice way to cheer her up.

Once again, we had beautiful weather, and the trip to Potter's Park was a lot of fun. On the way home, we stopped by the ice cream place in Dimondale, and ran into my dad and Morgan while we were there. I guess they were handing out flyers for the next play Morgan is working on. Anyway, it was just nice to sit out on the picnic table and enjoy some ice cream with the girls.

Later that evening, Stefy and I went out to NCG to see Hoax, which was really good. Richard Gere and Alfred Molina were both great, and I thought it was just a really fun story. It's always fun to see a film that's based on a true story, but not really know how it's supposed to end. I think Stefy and I would both highly recommend it.

Sunday was a pretty low-key day. Stef and I met up with her cousin Olivia and a friend of hers at Potbelly's for lunch. We ate outside, and soaked up the sun. In fact, by the time we were done eating, we were all getting a little fried... I guess our skin just can't handle being in the sun after seven months of cloudy skies here in Michigan.

Stef took off for home a little later in the afternoon, because she had tickets to see Taylor Hicks with her mom in Royal Oak. I stayed home and took my first walk through the neighborhood of the year. I'm really hoping the weather stays nice, so I can get back into my daily exercise routine again.

So yeah, that was basically it for the weekend. Ya gotta love this spring weather. Cross your fingers that it sticks around for a while.

Apparently Tom Cruise and I are twins.

Except for the whole Scientology thing, of course.

Here's the new photo series. Enjoy!