Sunday Espress Editorial Clint

Sunday Espress Editorial ClintLet me tell you about typing on a ThinkPad keyboard. As Tom Cruise once said, “There is no substitute.” And while it’s not as sexy as a Porsche (what is?), I can achieve almost supersonic speeds. Mavis Beacon would be proud. These days I can use all the help I can get too. Theater. Sharks. Gadgets. Wine. We have a seemingly endless amount of content (inane or otherwise) to share here on SSC.

We constantly seek new ways to shorten the amount of time it takes to get stuff published. Real-time is the ultimate. Well, almost. Sometimes, especially with our videos, a loving hand is required to massage the bits and pieces. A soundtrack helps. As does a blooper or two.

In case you haven’t been following along, welcome to Sunday Espresso. The rules here: relaxed and loose. Caffeinated. In fact, not many rules to speak of. Let your hair down. I write the things that would otherwise not pass our strict editorial board during the week. Even Loni doesn’t have the power to stop me on Sunday mornings. I milk it for all I can.

Vegetable Mania

Why is it every dish, every recipe around our little CA home now has broccoli in it? Or radishes?

Slow Cooker recipe
Witches' Brew by Loni

Ah, yes, that “program” called Live Earth. Basically it’s a weekly curiosity that dumps a boatload of just about every single thing I would never touch if I weren’t married. Are you kidding? Large lettuce. Small lettuce. Green stalky things. Round, knobby objects with hyper-extended attenae. Where’s the beef?

I see through all this. It’s an obvious trick; cheap foodie sleight-of-hand.

Here’s how it works: take all this green, veggie stuff that most mere mortals would run like hell from, then “slow cook” it. Ah, yes, slow cooker! Suddenly, this is special. When I walk into our home after the slow cooker has been on for 8 hours it smells like we’re living in a giant mushroom.

My counter-attack? Salty crackers and either swigs of Espresso, Diet Coke, or Riesling, depending on the time of day. Recall I see the day in thirds: Espresso to noon (yes, violating every Italian convention), Diet Coke to evening. Then wine. Somewhere in there I try to fit in a visit to the gym, but I’m less successful these days thanks to the success of our Teal and White…

Sharks Mania

4 more wins and the Sharks are in the Stanley Cup finals. It would be a dream, as a transplanted Canadian (class of 1998, Ottawa), to witness this event. The city of San Jose deserves it. This place is an intelligent hockey town I’m proud to say. Just go to any Sharks game and you’ll quickly realize the crowd knows all the nuances of the game.

When I first moved here I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrant hockey scene.

At the time Logitech Ice (known then as San Jose Ice) had only one rink down by 10th street. Flash forward twelve years and the facility now offers all sorts of ice-based activities including broomball, figure skating, and, of course, ice hockey. I’ve been playing there for almost all 12 of those years. Wow. It’s quite something when I think about it; us guys channeling our inner-NHL, slogging it out at god-awful hours. Many-a-time I come home past 1am.

Oh, back to San Jose Sharks. Chicago is tough. Watch for the Patricks: Sharp and Kane. Talented youth. High skill. And then there’s the brute in Byfuglien. Just ask Vancouver. This guy parks himself in front of the net and wreaks havoc. Kind of like Holmostron did for Detroit against the Sharks but with a bigger frown. Don’t know how to spell his name? You probably will soon enough.

I’m putting on the line here for San Jose. I predict SHARKS WIN. But in a tough series: 4-2 Sharks. The difference? Nabokov.

Theater Mania

SJ Rep Sonia Flew
What's wrong with this picture?

Last week I spoke on a panel in San Francisco about the impact of new media on theater. Can it fill the gap created by the continuing decline of traditional media (newspaper, tv, radio)?

You can read about my take on the event in this recap of the experience.

The key is passion; theater & arts deserve all of our support. In every way possible.

Loni and I do it because we love it. Business sense says drop it. Theater coverage doesn’t draw massive traffic like gadgets or food. But there’s something important here. The Arts are an essential part of our culture. We need to pass this on to future generations. And—please allow the espresso to speak—promote it as much as we can, with every single fibre, digital or otherwise.

The financial industry was bailed out. The auto industry was bailed out. So was healthcare in a manner of speaking. But what about Theater & Arts?

Fortunately “new media”—be it Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or anything else related to the hyper-fast digital world—should be celebrated in the world of theater. The game has changed, big time.

If someone Tweets about a play, creates an online conversation, shares photos of a local production or ignites interest some how, some way, then we should encourage it. New voices will emerge that speak in a different way, to different audiences.

This is not to say that thoughtful, classic theater criticism will disappear. It won’t. Rather, we’re extending the reach by adding new perspectives. Even if it’s a 140-character mini-review or a Facebook comment, it has meaning. No doubt, it’s the future not just for theater but for the way we share and communicate information.

Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear