Month: April 2017

CyberSecurity News Chum

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Continuing to clear the news chum, here are a bunch of articles all related to cybersecurity:

  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework is Changing. NIST is getting ready to release an update to their Cybersecurity Framework (and other updates are planned: eventually, the IPD of 800-53rev5 will be out for review, and then an update to 800-37). A key change in the new framework is measurement: The first, which should really be the starting point for any comprehensive cyber risk management program, is an entirely new section about measuring the performance and maturity of organizations’ cyber risk programs. It also discusses the need and complexity of correlating those metrics to business objectives and outcomes. That means measuring both how organizations are reducing risk to the business and identifying the benefits to the business resulting from good cybersecurity, such as how many new customers the organization has gained and/or how much more revenue was brought in. Another significant change in the framework is the addition of recommendations surrounding supply-chain risk management. Finally, the access-control category has changed within the framework. It was renamed to identity management and access control. The change adds more focus on making sure identities and credentials are managed from the time they are created to the time they are deactivated.
  • Minimal Cybersecurity Requirements. Although some of us have known about this for a while, the world is growing increasingly aware of NIST SP 800-171. The new mandates take effect Dec. 31 this year and apply to contractors for the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the General Services Administration. While some manufacturers are accustomed to working with federal agencies on classified projects, these regulations are meant to safeguard sensitive information in unclassified material, particularly as the threat of cybersecurity breaches grows.  Basically, they apply to any federal contractor that handles what is called Controlled Unclassified Information.
  • Encryption and Protection. Protection is good. Just ask porn site Pornhub, home to things like thumbzilla and youporn. They’ve gone to always on encryption, meaning that although your ISP knows you’re going to pornhub, they don’t know what you’re looking at. Others are turning to VPNs, and here’s a good summary of how to use one.  Lastly, for those worried about your ISP seeing where you go, one thing you should do is not use the ISP’s DNS. I use openDNS: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
  • Verizon and Spyware. Note that if you use Verizon Wireless, they may be pre-installing spyware on your phone.
  • JavaScript Popups. Google is making some changes to eliminate those popup dialogs that don’t let you leave. Such popups are occasionally useful as alerts, but their fix sounds reasonable.
  • Congrats to North Hollywood High. They won a national cybersecurity competition. Disclosure: My employer helped sponsor the team, although I was not involved.
  • Printer Cartridges. Lastly, an interesting court case that could dictate how much you pay for ink. This week, oral arguments were heard in the case of Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., and according to the well-regarded SCOTUSblog, it seems that the justices are having a tough time figuring out how to view this difficult legal tangle themselves. At its most basic, the case is a dispute over Lexmark’s patent rights regarding refilling printer cartridges. Impression Products is a small business with about 25 employees. It specializes in buying used printer cartridges and re-manufacturing them. In 2012, Lexmark decided to add Impression to an already existing lawsuit against other re-manufacturers. While the other defendants eventually settled, Impressin has stuck it out and the case has made it to the highest court in the land. The question is: Does the manufacturer give up rights to something when you physically purchase it? Can Lexmark dictate what you can do with your printer cartridge? Can HP dictate you can’t open your computer and modify it? Big key questions.

 

Share

The Good Old Days

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

XKCD EditorsA recent XKCD on editors reminded me that I’ve been accumulating a number of articles on computer history I should clear out, because I’m a computing dinosaur.

  • With respect to the xkcd, there’s nothing new under the sun. I remember the days at UCLA when there was a pitched battle between the supporters of the Rand window editor (“e”, formally “ned”), and the vi editor (for those clueless, vim is a later reimplementation of vi, and of course, vi was the visual version of ex, which competed with the ed editor on Unix). Then there were the TECO stalwarts that came from the DEC world (I used TECO on RSTS/E), the editors such as TSO and URSA on the IBM 360/91 (later 370/3033), and the battles between emacs and vi stalwarts.
  • At the same time we were dealing with URSA and TSO, we were printing on a IBM 1403 Lineprinter. This wasn’t a dot matrix or a laser printer, kids: this used a chain of type and printed super fast. You could even play music, if you did your boldface right. IEEE Spectrum has a fascinating article on how the 1403 was able to print so fast, including the fact that it didn’t press the type against the paper — it pressed the paper (from behind) against the type.
  • Back in those days, we didn’t program in C++ or Java or even Ada. It was FORTRAN and COBOL and Algol and… Guess what? Folks are still using those languages. I had a CSSF submittal this year that was programmed in FORTRAN, and you can make a slew of money in banking if you can program in COBOL. All the old-time COBOL programmers are retiring (sometimes feet-first); and these newfangled kids don’t want to learn it. [As a PS: Dan Berry at one time had a cartoon that showed a 1950s housewife labeled COBOL, a 1950s engineer labeled FORTRAN, and a baby labeled PL/I…. and the milkman walking down the driveway labeled ALGOL. The caption: “Funny dear, he doesn’t look like me.” Does anyone have a scan of that cartoon?]
  • Jumping up to the 1980s: The news these days are filled with items on the death of support of Windows Vista and the first version of Windows 10. But there’s another milestone: Windows 3.1. Twenty years have passed, and we’re still living with many of the notions 3.1 introduced (it was the first stable and popular Windows version, cementing the fact that you should never trust even numbered Windows variants, remembering that Windows 10 is really Windows 9, but they screwed things up with 95 and 98)
  • Turning to the hardware: Chips used to be simple: instructions sets, memory mapping and such. Intel is starting to change all that, with multiple processor instruction sets on a single chip. One of Intel’s changes is a mix-and-match heterogeneous design where different types of cores can be put in a single chip package. Under the new design, it’ll be possible to mix different architectures on a single chip. Chip packages could also have cores made using different manufacturing processes. Now ask yourself: with hardware this complex, how do we know it is correctly implemented?

 

Share

A Deeper Message in a Corporate Screwup

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Yesterday, over on Facebook, I posted a link to a friend’s post on the United Passenger Ejection Kerfuffle™, noting that it was “a good examination of the recent United kerfuffle — demonstrating yet again why what you read on a social media snippet-of-outrage(tm) is often not the full story in context.” There were loads of responses, and the debate devolved into everyone pointing out how United had screwed up, how the cops had screwed up, how the airline industry had screwed up, and how it was all Trump’s fault. Well, I made that last bit up, but wouldn’t you :-).

Seriously, however, everyone missed what — to me — was the most important point: A cell phone video is not news. The outrage here — much justified — was mostly generated without knowledge of the full context. That’s not journalism. Journalism investigates the story, attempts to get all sides. Journalism isn’t outrage shared on social media, which often gets facts wrong and rapidly descends into hype and hyperbole.

Contrast the social media outrage with the LA Times Business article on the subject. The Times (or more properly, its corporate sibling the Chicago Tribune) investigates the story. It looks into the full background of what created the situation: an overbooked plane, the need to move airline personnel, the way the contract of carriage works. It looks at how the airline responded. It shows the video wasn’t the whole story, and there was plenty of blame to go around. United (more properly, the less experienced United Express operator), feeling intense time pressure to get its plane and crew in the air,  screwed up the procedure to entice volunteers, randomly select passengers, and to do this all before anyone boarded the aircraft. United (the corporate side) completely bungled the PR response. The Chicago PD, demonstrating the tact they learned at the 1968 Democratic Convention, bungled how they requested the passenger leave the aircraft and the subsequent removal. The passengers bungled their response: everyone put themselves first and no one volunteered, and then they fought back against the removal — yet another demonstration of a “me first” attitude that has infected society. And everyone bungled things by not taking the time to think: it is a flipping five hour drive — the airline could have rented a car and driver, and gotten either its employees or passengers to their destination by the morning when they were needed, likely even before the plane touched down with the delays this created.

This incident demonstrates the worse of what our society has become: a society that doesn’t think, a society that feeds on outrage instead of journalism, a society that uses arcane rules instead of common sense, a mob response against “the man” (corporate leaders and law enforcement) before common sense.

All of this could have been avoided — at much less cost in terms of dollars and PR — if someone had said, “Hey, you know we could get our employees — or the bumped passengers — to their destination for perhaps $300 by renting a Lincoln Towncar and driver, with only a 3 hour delay.” Instead, they spent how much on the volunteer incentives, how much on dealing with negative publicity, and how much on the eventual legal proceedings.

Think first, people.

Share

And So It Goes | “The Sirens of Titan” @ Sacred Fools

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

The Sirens of Titan (Sacred Fools)There are many things I can blame for my science fiction addiction, but one of the first culprits was a camp counselor who decided to read to us short stories from Kurt Vonnegut‘s excellent short story collection, “Welcome to the Monkey House“. From that point, Vonnegut rapidly became one of my favorite authors, and I devoured everything he wrote. One such book was his novel “The Sirens of Titan”, which my notes from those days say I first read in September 1976, when I would have been starting my senior year of high school. Vonnegut’s novels were unlike any other novel — at times oddly non-linear, referencing odd concepts and painting a very sardonic and cynical view of society and where mankind had been taking itself.

I haven’t picked up “The Sirens of Titan” since 1976 (when I paid $1.95 for the paperback, new). That’s a shame, for it would have been nice to have the story fresher in my mind for last night, when we saw The Sirens of Titan in an excellent production at Sacred Fools Theatre (FB) in Hollywood. Looking back at the book when I got home, the production hewed true to both the story and the tone of the book, and made me want to revisit my Vonnegut addiction after all these years. That’s a good thing, and if you don’t  think so, you’re a ✴️ (and if you don’t know what that symbolizes, well, you need to read your Vonnegut).

The production of The Sirens of Titan originated with Chicago’s Organic Theatre (FB) in 1977, if I have my math right. At that time, Vonnegut himself was involved in the adaptation, and encouraged the adaptation team to not be slavishly faithful to the book, but to make the story right for a play. Skimming the novel’s text afterwards, I believe they achieved the right level. I can see places where Vonnegut’s dialogue and notions were lifted straight off the page. I can also see a few things cut out. They made good choices. If you like Vonnegut, you’ll enjoy this show. It is clear that the director, Ben Rock (FB), is a Vonnegut fan.

So what is the plot of the story? That may not be the right question, not only because it is a little hard to describe. A spaceman, Winston Niles Rumfoord, and his dog Kazak, take a spaceship to Mars but get caught in a chrono-synclastic infundibulum, which to put it simply, means they stretch out over time, see everything, but reappear on Earth every 57 years. On one of these anniversaries, Rumfoord summons one of the richest and luckiest men in the world, Malachi Constant, to tell him his future. Basically, he’ll go to to Mars, fall in love with Rumfoord’s wife Beatrice, have a son, Chronos, then go to Mercury, then back to Earth, and then to Titan, where he will fall in love. The rest of the play is watching that all played out from the eyes of our confused protagonist Malachi Constant. We meet his friends on Mars, such as Boaz, as well as the alien Salo that lives on Titan. You can find the summary of the book’s plot on Wikipedia.

Perhaps a better question is: What is the point of the story? In some ways, it is a commentary on religion — after all, the story posits the creation of a church of God the Indifferent, and the play opens with a commentary about fake religious leaders. I tend to think there is a deeper meaning about the purpose of life overall, and Vonnegut’s cynical take on it. This is captured in a line from the book spoken by a character near the end: “The worst thing that could possibly happen to anybody would be to not be used for anything by anybody.” Vonnegut is very big on character relationships, both meaningful and meaningless. To Vonnegut, a meaningless interaction — an interaction devoid of deeper purpose — is still better than to be ignored.  The same saying was captured many years later in the musical Rent, when it noted that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it is indifference.

One of the hallmarks of Sacred Fools is its inventiveness, which we saw a few years ago in their old space with the delightful Astro Boy. Ben Rock (FB) has continued that inventiveness with a creative and playful staging. He has worked with his actors to bring out that playfulness and creativity as well, making the production a joy to watch even as you puzzle over the deeper meaning and significance.

In the lead positions are Eric Curtis Johnson (FB) as Winston Niles Rumfoord, Pete Caslavka (FB) as Malachi Constant, and Jaime Andrews (FB) as Beatrice Rumfoord. Johnson’s portrayal of Rumfoord is a mixture of bemusement and resignation to his fate, which comes across quite well. He seemed to be having a great time with the role, and that (as always) came across well. He performance was also a consistent characterization across the entire story. That’s less so for the other main characters, who start out with one personality, and end up with a completely different persona. Martian brainwashing and all that. Caslavka’s portrayal of Malachi captures this well, starting out as an overly self-important prick (think Elon Musk, and add it a little Steve Jobs), and then transforming into more of the everyman that life is dragging from place to place, often not telling us why. Similarly, Andrews’ performance of Beatrice captures that character’s transformation well: this time from a stuck-up society wife seemingly indifferent, to more of an adaptable badass, to again someone who has been swept along, accepting her fate. A minor distracting note for Caslavka’s portrayal: there are times where the costuming reveals perhaps something that isn’t appropriate to reveal (or at least an unnecessary distriction), especially in the yellow jumpsuit. Luckily, that’s easily correctable.

The remaining performers constitute the ensemble, while also playing named characters. There are four I would like to single out. First, Jax Ball (TW) as Young Chrono is irresistibly cute, and reminded me of the lead from Astro Boy even though she wasn’t with SFT at the time. She was just having fun with the role, and it was great to see. It is always fun to see Jesse Merlin (FB) on stage — going back to the days many many years ago when we saw him in The Beastly Bombing and he was still regularly on LiveJournal. Here, his take on the alien Salo is playful and inventive and just a joy to watch (Merlin also gave me the most astonishment on this writeup, as I can’t figure out how we have the FB friends we have in common in common).  Tim Kopacz (FB) was notable for a role in which he isn’t seen: inside the wonderful Kazak the dog, who is incredibly dog-like in his movement and behavior it is remarkable. Oh, he makes a great Stony Stevenson as well.  Lastly, K. J. Middlebrooks (FB) as Boaz, Malachi (then called “Unk”)’s friend. I was unsure about him on his Mars scenes, but he came into his own on Mercury, especially in the scene that opened Act II. Tifanie McQueen (FB) was billed as Mrs. Peterson + Ensemble, but I didn’t recognize the character until I saw her FB photo: she was great explaining the Harmonium. Rounding out the ensemble were Dennis Neal (FB) as Redwine + Ensemble, Keith Szarabajka (FB) as the voice, and Emily Kosloski (FB) as the voice of the sirens.

Understudies were: Curt Bonnem (FB) (u/s Malachi Constant); Libby Baker (FB) (u/s Beatrice Rumfoord); Paul Plunkett (FB) (u/s Winston Niles Rumfoord); Adriana Colón (FB) (u/s Young Chrono + Ensemble); Gabriel Croom (FB) (u/s Boaz / Kazak / Stony Stevenson / Ensemble); Corey Klemow (FB) (u/s Salo + Ensemble); Brendan Broms (FB) (u/s Redwine); and Missy Mannila (FB) (u/s Mrs. Peterson + Ensemble).

As I said upfront, the creative team behind this production was remarkable. From the extremely clever set design to the remarkable sound effects to the great projections to the wonderful lighting effects to the costumes and makeup — all came together to create a wonderfully creative and cohesive whole. The team consisted of: Krystyna Łoboda (FB) (Scenic Designer); Matt Richter (FB) and Adam Earle (FB) (Lighting Designers); Jennifer Christina DeRosa (FB) (Costume Designer); Hat & Suitcase (Projection Design); Jaime Robledo (FB) (Sound Design); Lisa Anne Nicolai (FB) (Prop Designer); Russ Walko (FB) (Puppet/Creature Designer); Angela Santori Merritt (FB) (Hair and Makeup). Rounding out the production credits were:  Scott Golden (FB) – Assistant Director; Maggie Marx (FB) – Stage Manager; Alicia Conway Rock/FB – Dramaturge; Hillary Bauman – Key Scenic; Ruth Silveria/FB – Assistant Costume Designer; Michael Teoli (FB) – Score Composer; Cj Merriman – Choreography; Chairman Barnes (FB) – Military Advisor. The Sirens of Titan was produced by Shaela Cook (FB); Bo Powell (FB) was the Associate Producer.

The Sirens of Titans continues at Sacred Fools Theatre (FB) in Hollywood until May 6, 2017. This clever and inventive production of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel is well worth seeing. Tickets are available through the Sacred Fools Online box office; discount tickets may be available through Goldstar.

 🎩 🎩 🎩

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the  Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals).  I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: Next week brings Doc Severinsen and his Big Band at Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) on April 13, followed by Animaniacs Live at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center (FB) over the weekend. That will be followed on the penultimate weekend of April with Sister Act at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). The last weekend of April brings the Renaissance Pleasure Faire on Saturday, and the new musical The Theory of Relativity at Harter Hall/Charles Stuart Howard Playhouse (FB) on Sunday. Lastly, looking to May, the schedule shows that it starts with My Bodyguard at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) the first weekend. It continues with Martha Graham Dance and American Music at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). The third weekend brings the last show of the Actors Co-op (FB) season, Lucky Stiff, at Actors Co-op (FB). May concludes with Hello Again at the Chromolume Theatre (FB), and hopefully Five Guys Named Moe at Ebony Repertory Theatre (FB).  As for June? Three words: Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB). That, barring something spectacular cropping up, should be the first half of 2017.

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.

Share

Livejournal New User Agreement: Thoughts?

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

A quick morning post: Upon starting up my RSS feeds and blogs, I discovered that Livejournal has changed their terms of service, which you must agree to before you can do anything with your logged in account.  You are given a tiny window through which to read the agreement, and a link that is supposedly to the full text. Some highlights I noted were:

  • This Agreement constitutes a public offer in accordance with Article 437 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. By using the Service, including every access to the Website pages by any means, User unconditionally accepts this Agreement in its entirety.
  • Any User who does not agree with the terms of the current version hereof in full or in part shall discontinue using the Service in any way.
  • The User shall be responsible for any possible loss or distortion of information and for other consequences of any nature which may occur due to the User’s breach of any provisions of the Agreement.
  • The technical data transmitted to the Service by the User’s software as well as any other information transmitted by the User to the Service shall be available to the Administration and may be used at its own discretion legally, including targeting the advertising to User.
  • Please note that in accordance with part 3 Article 10.1 of the Federal Act of the Russian Federation No. 149 the Administration shall keep the following information and provide it upon the lawful request of the competent authorities regardless of Users will:any information related to receipt, transfer, delivery and/or processing of voice information, written texts, images, sounds, video and other electronic messages of Users and information on Users who performed the above actions, within one year upon performing such actions;
  • Please note that, User shall be subject to Article 10.2 of the Federal Act of the Russian Federation No. 149 if more than three thousand Internet users access the Blog (the Blog’s page) within 24 hours.
  • User who posted comments in Blog and User keeping such a Blog shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of such comments.
  • In respect of any Content which constitutes intellectual property, User provides to the Administration a non-exclusive (simple) license to use his/her Content in order to provide the Service by reproducing his/her Content as well as by making it public for the entire period the Content is posted on the Service. If User participates in any rankings or if User’s Content is used in any editorial projects of the Service, User provides to the Administration an additional authorisation to modify, shorten and amend his/her Content, to add images, a preamble, comments or any clarifications to his/her Content while using it, and in certain cases based on the Service functions, an authorisation to use User’s Content anonymously.
  • Mark Content estimated by Russian legislation as inappropriate for children (0 −18) as “adult material” by using Service functions.
  • User shall be liable for breaching the terms and conditions hereof, including the requirements to Registration and Content posting, as well as for violation of applicable laws committed by User, including the laws of the Russian Federation and the laws of User’s residence;
  • Please note that in accordance with the Russian Federation Act No. 2300-1 dated February 7, 1992, the provisions of the said act related to consumer rights protection do not apply to the relationship between the Administration and Users as the Service is provided for free.
  • Paid Services are not subject of this Agreement. The Administration shall not be liable for Paid Services. All Paid Services’ related questions shall be address to Live Journal Inc.

I have a number of concerns about this. If paid services (which include permanent services) are not subject to this agreement, as a permanent user, why do I have to agree to it? How can I agree to be governed by the Russian Federation when I have no idea what I am agreeing to. Legal liability for comments? Excuse me?

I am strongly considering severing the cross post connection between Dreamwidth and LJ, and leaving LJ as a static account just to preserve the username. I want your opinions on this agreement. Please post them on my blog on cahighways, or on my Dreamwidth account, or on Facebook. I WILL NOT READ COMMENTS ON LIVEJOURNAL.

ETA: It looks like if you haven’t approved the new agreement, the DW-LJ crosspost doesn’t work. Good.

ETA #2: LJ, it’s been real. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. There will be no more DW to LJ crossposting, and I do not intend to update my LJ after today. I am not deleting it out of consideration for hard links in posts and such.

Share

A Folk Classic Returns to the Stage | Tom Paxton @ McCabes

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Tom Paxton and the DonJuansWhen last we saw Tom Paxton (FB) — that is, in September 2015 — he had announced he was stopping touring except for special events. As with many other groups, the farewell tour wasn’t. Tom went on tour again this year, together with two of his collaborators, Don Henry (FB) and Jon Vezner (FB) — the Donjuans (FB). Last night, they were at McCabes (FB) in Santa Monica, so naturally we were there (after rushing over from our matinee of Cat’s Paw in Hollywood).

Before the usual song list, a few observations. One would have expected given the Orange-Colored Man in the White House, there would have been some pointed observations from Tom. There were none. I don’t know if it was the presence of the Donjuans, disgust at the current political situation, or lack of focus on the “short shelf life” songs, but Trump did not inspire Tom as Bush 43 did. The political commentary was sorely missed.

The Donjuans started off the show, and then accompanied Tom throughout. I enjoyed their opening, although my wife didn’t. They had a few mistakes and joked about this being their first tour, although their Facebook page belies that claim. I am interested in ordering their album when it comes out.

Noel Paul Stookey (FB) [who we saw recently in Thousand Oaks] was in the audience, and he joined Tom on one song. Alas, he didn’t perform Impeachable.

It should note that shortly before the show, Tom was involved in an accident. As the papers reported:

Folk legend Tom Paxton was miraculously unhurt after he fell backward down an escalator at Penn Station.

The 79-year-old “Ramblin’ Boy” singer, who received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, tells us, “I was going up normally and I felt myself pulled back and I couldn’t stop it. It was scary as hell. They stopped the escalator and got me on my feet and I was good to go.”

Joking, he said, “I’m a little old for that kind of dive. By the degree of difficulty, I hoped for higher scores . . . I’m just glad I didn’t make the obits today.”

While he amazingly escaped serious injury, aside from bloody hands, he did crack the head of his Martin guitar.

As a result, Tom occasionally used finger picks. There were also some songs in which he stood back and just sung. I don’t know if this was due to the accident.

The show consisted of the following songs (* indicates new for this year; ♫ indicates songs from his new album, Boat in the Water; 🎸 indicates songs performed by the DonJuans; 🎼 indicates songs written by the DonJuans (or members thereof); 🎙️ indicates songs unrecorded (either on YouTube or on an album)):

Act I Act II

 The DonJuans

Left It On The Plane 🎼🎙️
Is Love 🎼
Garden of the Dead 🎼
Where’ve You Been 🎼

Tom Paxton and the DonJuans

How Beautiful Upon The Mountain
Boat in the Water *♫
If The Poor Don’t Matter
Whose Garden Was This?
And If It’s Not True
Bottle of Wine

 Tom Paxton and the DonJuans

Did You Hear John Hurt?
The Mayor of MacDougal Street
It Takes All Kinds of Kinds 🎼🎸
This Old Town 🎸
Eleanor’s Song 🎼♫*
All The World Is Green *🎼🎙️
Susie Most of All *
Has Anybody Seen Amy? 🎸
Last Thing on My Mind
Ramblin’ Boy (w/Noel Paul Stookey)
What’s So Bad? *🎼🎙️
Dream On, Sweet Dreamer 🎼♫*

As I wrote last year:  McCabes (FB): The challenge is up to you. You now need to book some new favorites, such as the Austin Lounge Lizards (FB) or Blair Crimmons and the Hookers (FB).

 🎩 🎩 🎩

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the  Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals).  I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: Today brings the Colburn Orchestra at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). The weekend of April 8 brings Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan at Sacred Fools Theatre (FB). Mid-April brings Doc Severinsen and his Big Band at Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) on April 13, followed by Animaniacs Live at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center (FB) over the weekend. That will be followed on the penultimate weekend of April with Sister Act at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). The last weekend of April has two holds: one for the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and one for Uncanny Valley at ICT Long Beach (FB) [we’re just waiting on Goldstar]. Lastly, looking to May, the schedule shows that it starts with My Bodyguard at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) the first weekend. It continues with Martha Graham Dance and American Music at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). The third weekend brings the last show of the Actors Co-op (FB) season, Lucky Stiff, at Actors Co-op (FB). May concludes with Hello Again at the Chromolume Theatre (FB), and hopefully Five Guys Named Moe at Ebony Repertory Theatre (FB).  As for June? Three words: Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB). That, barring something spectacular cropping up, should be the first half of 2017.

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.

Share

A Game That Could Be Played Today | Cat’s Paw @ Actors Co-Op

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Cats Paw (Actors Co-Op)Yesterday, as part of my Aprils Fools “real or fake news” post, I linked to a real news article about planned cuts at the EPA: “The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a new, more detailed plan for laying off 25 percent of its employees and scrapping 56 programs including pesticide safety, water runoff control, and environmental cooperation with Mexico and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement.” In response, you could easily see an Eco-Terrorist taking someone hostage to protest these cuts and the damage done under them, especially when you consider that with a more limited budget, the EPA will be forced to make more questionable decisions about the communities in which they spend the little budget they do have. Decisions made by bureaucrats, with lives measured by actuaries and accounts.

Back in 1984, William Mastrosimone wrote a play — Cat’s Paw — about an unusual terrorist, one who is brilliant, articulate and who believes he is right. He updated this play in 2001, right after the 9/11 attacks. It is running until April 30, 2017 at Actors Co-op (FB) in Hollywood, and it is surprisingly relevant today (especially in light of the Trump administration EPA actions). The play tells the story of  an eco-terrorist (Victor) who blamed the EPA for an incident in which the water supply of a town was poisoned. He kidnapped an EPA official (David Darling), and masterminded a suicide bomb attack at the White House in which 12 senators were killed. This terrorist — excuse me, eco-warrior — has a television news reporter (Jessica Lyons) led to his lair by his follower, Cathy, so she can tell the world why he has done what he has done. Victor’s obsession is the destruction of the world’s water supply and, with it, the final destruction of the human race by pollution. When the reporter asks if he feels any guilt about the death of the innocent people, he replies that hundreds of innocent people die every hour because of what mankind is doing to its water supply and do the people responsible feel guilt for this? The cat and mouse game between the young woman reporter and Victor gets more and more tense, leading to a shocking and violent conclusion.

In a very interesting piece about the play in the acting script (reprinted in one theatre’s blog), the author writes:

Information is what enables us to make good decisions in a democracy – right? but the truth is that most of information is repetitive or useless; turn is most of us have a morbid curiosity that needs to be satisfied. By giving in to our need to see mayhem, we give more power to the terrorists. We are all part of the deadly triangulation between the acts of terror, the media coverage, and the viewing.

During her tenure as P.M., Margaret Thatcher advanced a thought that we have not heeded: “Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of oxygen of publicity on which they depend.”

Until we figure out how to stay free and still report the news, terrorist acts will involve two explosions. The primary explosion kills innocent people in the street. The secondary explosion occurs in the viewer’s mind, over and over again, as a neural pathway is created. Ring bell. Bring food. Dog salivate. News is not just reported anymore; it is designed for effect. The story is edited, parts subtracted, associations established with editing in other stories and/or expert opinions or carefully chosen public reaction. The fear we felt when we first saw the event on television can be conjured again and again, at will, in video replay, as news and entertainment slowly merge. Fear is reinforced. Fear makes us malleable, and caught between the act of terror and media coverage, we exist for a time in a state of impaired judgement.

Cat’s Paw connects to a number of ongoing discussions in the world today: What is our responsibility to ensure clean air, clean water, and a safe world to live in? When there are other economic priorities, is it reasonable to cut back on environmental protections (and endanger other innocent lives) out of a need for that money for other economic purposes? Who should make those decisions, and what should be their basis: science, economics, or actuarial science? What is the role of the media in all this — are they dispassionate observers reporting news in a neutral fashion, or are they manipulating what we see to make us feel and believe things? Are they playing up our fears — whether that is a fear of our leaders, or those who oppose them? All relevant questions — all great discussions.

Actors Co-op (FB) production of Cat’s Paw is an intense and gripping presentation of these questions and issues (if not a little heavy handed). It places you in that bunker with David Darling; it allows you to see the sausage-making that is Terrorism, and its manipulation of the story for particular purposes. Is it relevant today? Yes. Does it present a clear answer? No. One would hope that this excellent production raises the questions above for you, and sends you home to discuss and explore the issue further. This is what theatre can do: start a discussion.

Cats Paw (Cast)The Actors Co-op (FB) presentation of Cat’s Paw, tensely directed by Stephen Rothman (FB), stars Sean McHugh (FB) as the eco-warrior Victor and Deborah Marlowe (FB) as the reporter Jessica Lyons, supported by Ivy Beech (FB) as Cathy (one of Victor’s minions) and Vito Viscuso (FB) as David Darling (the hostage). All are strongly believable as their characters: their fears and pains and intent come across strongly. Staged in the small Crossley theatre with audience members on three sides, there are often small moments off on the side that speak to the powerful immersion of these actors in their characters. Just great performances.

Lauren Thompson (FB) was the understudy for Cathy, and was ever-reliable behind the scenes in the box office.

Director Rothman’s vision, realized by the Scenic Design of David Potts, places the audience in the bunker with the Earth Now activists. There are rough tables and chairs, graffiti, and shelves of realistic supplies and realistic weapons (all the work of Property Designer Lori Berg (FB)). The feelings of the bunker are amplified through the lighting design of James Moody (FB) and sound design of Adam R. Macias (FB). All this makes the audience part of the story, and amplifies its impact.  E.B. Brooks (FB)’s costume design also contributed to the feeling that these were real terrorists talking to a real reporter. Other creative and production credits: Collin Bressie (FB) [Fight Director]; Greyson Chadwick (FB) [Producer]; Heather Chesley (FB) [Artistic Chairwoman); Christian Eckels (FB) [Stage Manager]; David Elzer/Demand PR (FB) [Marketing/Publicity]; Selah Victor (FB) [Production Manger].

Cat’s Paw continues at Actors Co-op (FB) through April 30, 2017. Tickets are available through the Actors Co-Op website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. An intense play, very timely, and well-performed.

 🎩 🎩 🎩

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the  Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals).  I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: The evening continued with a concert with Tom Paxton and the DonJuans at McCabes Guitar Shop (FB). Today brings the Colburn Orchestra at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). The weekend of April 8 brings Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan at Sacred Fools Theatre (FB). Mid-April brings Doc Severinsen and his Big Band at Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) on April 13, followed by Animaniacs Live at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center (FB) over the weekend. That will be followed on the penultimate weekend of April with Sister Act at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). The last weekend of April has two holds: one for the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and one for Uncanny Valley at ICT Long Beach (FB) [we’re just waiting on Goldstar]. Lastly, looking to May, the schedule shows that it starts with My Bodyguard at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) the first weekend. It continues with Martha Graham Dance and American Music at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). The third weekend brings the last show of the Actors Co-op (FB) season, Lucky Stiff, at Actors Co-op (FB). May concludes with Hello Again at the Chromolume Theatre (FB), and hopefully Five Guys Named Moe at Ebony Repertory Theatre (FB).  As for June? Three words: Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB). That, barring something spectacular cropping up, should be the first half of 2017.

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.

Share

To Tell The Truth

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy2 Comments

Today is April Fools Day. On one hand, the day seems unnecessary, as we have elected the biggest (or should I say yugist or bigly) April Fool to the White House. But that doesn’t make you laugh; that just makes you run for cover and want to hide for four years (hopefully less). But this election has also ushered in the era of fake news, which makes every day April Fools Day. You never knew which news stories you read are true and which are not. So the following are some more stories I’ve seen over the last few days.  You assess, fake or real?

  1. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Yes, if there is anything we need, is it is ghost exorcist — someone trained to remove humans from where they are not supposed to be — like the White House. But first, the BJ will visit Broadway.
  2. Set Phasers on Kill. George Takei has announced that he is running for Congress in 2018, against Devon Nunes. This will be after he stars in a remount of Pacific Overtures.
  3. Viewing Porn Safely. With all the changes in the Internet, a major porn site has announced it is turning on encryption all the time.
  4. Gay Characters in Disney Movies. Continuing the trend of having gay characters in Disney movies, Disney have announced that the live-action Lion King will feature a gay Simba.
  5. Metro Extension. LA Metro has decided to continue the “subway to the sea” saga, and is extending the Expo line to Catalina.
  6. Paige! TLC has announced that, given these poor economic times, it is bringing back Trading Spaces.  The plans are, for the first episode, for two political families in Washington to trade spaces. There are also rumors that While You Were Out is next, with the first target being Trump Tower.
  7. Tony Categories. Given the presence of the Cats revival, the upcoming Groundhog Day, and similar shows, the Tony Award committee has announced an award for the best leading animal on Broadway.
  8. More EPA Cuts. There are more cuts in the work at the EPA, including to pesticide safety and water runoff.  Documents reveal that concern that someone will use a pesticide to get rid of a family of invasive pests in public housing.
  9. Vending Machine Changes . Vending machines are being modified to introduce a short delay when you get unhealthy snacks, in order to make you satisfy your immediate urges healthier.
  10. Microsoft Goes Open Source. Microsoft is changing. First there was a Linux shell in Windows 10. Then Microsoft joined Linux Foundation. Now Microsoft has announced they are going open source.
Share