July « 2009 « Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Green Day Musical American Idiot Opening in CA

Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 03:42

With only a week before Green Day takes the stage at Orlando’s Amway Arena for their Green Day Tour, a musical based on the band’s hit album American Idiot is taking shape.Tony Award-winning orchestrator and composer Tom Kitt, whose Next to Normal is playing Broadway, has joined the creative team of the new Green Day musical American Idiot, as music supervisor. On July 28, Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California announced the creative team for the September-October world premiere of American Idiot, inspired by Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning album of the same name and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, who collaborated with Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong on the project’s story.

Featuring the music of Green Day and the lyrics of Armstrong, American Idiot will feature the work of Olivier Award-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett, Tony nominee Christine Jones (sets), two-time Tony winner Kevin Adams (lights), Baryshnikov fellow Andrea Lauer (costumes) and Obie Award winner Brian Ronan (sound), as well as video designer Darrel Maloney. Berkeley Rep will present the show in association with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman, the lead producers of Spring Awakening, Sept. 4-Oct. 11 at the Rep’s Roda Theatre. Two-time 2009 Kitt created string arrangements for the band’s latest album, “21st Century Breakdown.” In addition to music supervisor, he is American Idiot‘s arranger and orchestrator. (Courtesy, Playbill).

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Sharks Kill Rehabilitated Dolphin

Filed under: Animal Welfare — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 03:36

An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin was euthanized after being attacked by sharks just hours after he was released into the Gulf of Mexico in west Florida. Dunham, a juvenile male dolphin, was released Tuesday morning after eight months in rehab recovering from pneumonia. Jeni Hatter, spokeswoman for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, said the dolphin was attacked twice by at least two different sharks. Hatter said experts who were nearby were monitoring the dolphin with a VHF radio transmitter at the time of the attack. Hatter said experts rushed to the dolphin and euthanized him because of the life-threatening injuries. She added that he wouldn’t have been able to recover. (Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel).

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Clueless GOP Leader Shows More Ignorance

Filed under: Politics — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 02:06

Continuing to show just how out-of-touch he and the rest of the Republican Party are in the United States, GOP Chairman Michael Steele wasn’t even able to give CNN a clear answer on which company provides his health insurance. While Democrats are working hard to bring access to healthcare to a greater number of Americans, Republicans as always can’t see the big picture of how much taxpayer money we will end-up saving with a government-subsidized insurance plan. Below, watch as pathetic Michael Steele tries to remember his health insurance company…Laughably ridiculous…

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This Musical Promises to be a Gay ‘Ole Time!

Filed under: Film and Entertainment — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:58

As if all musicals don’t have a tinge of gayness about them, a new gay-themed film The Big Gay Musical is tackling the stereotype of theater queens and Broadway buffs and looks like it will do it in a very funny way. Check out the film’s official trailer below.

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Think Dems vs. the GOP is Bad?

Filed under: Politics — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:47

So you think the fights and debates between Demorats and Republicans are bad? Check out this video from the 7/22 South Korean Parliament proceedings:

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Live Announces 2 Year Hiatus

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:43

One of my all-time favorite rock bands, LIVE, have announced they plan to take a 2 year break from recording and touring. Although the band hasn’t released an official announcement, several band members have told fans through their Facebook and Twitter boards they plan to work on some other projects and take a breather from LIVE. Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk reiterated LIVE is not breaking up: “Live is not breaking up. We’re not boyfriends and girlfriends. [We’re just] creatively moving around in different spaces…all good.” Kowalczyk is working on his first solo album while the other members of LIVE are teaming-up with rock group Candlebox to record a new album. Luckily, I was able to see LIVE’s second to last performance last Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. The show was incredible and was another example of LIVE’s incredible talent and musicality. Hopefully, the band will get some of their solo “itch” out of their system and bring LIVE back together very soon.

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Time to “Celebrate” on August 3rd

Filed under: Popular Music — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 02:12

Madonna’s new single “Celebrate” which will be one of the few brand new tracks on her upcoming greatest hits collection Iconography will hit radio stations on August 3rd. Although there hasn’t been an official release date set for either the new single (which may not be sold as a single digital download or purchase) or album, the Material Girl did spend some time recently filming its video. Madonna is currently on the second (international) leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour, which will have a DVD release soon. Iconography will also be Madonna’s final album with her long-time record label Warner Brothers. Future releases and all concert tours will be coordinated through Live Nation. Madonna’s $120 million contract is a record for Live Nation and is one of the highest ever paid to a recording artist.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

ESPN Lists UCF vs. ECU as “Game to Fear”

Filed under: UCF Sports — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 03:01

ESPN released its annual top 5 “Games to Fear” for the upcoming football season. The column lists the top 5 NCAA I-A matchups of the season in-which an upset for the favorite is most probable. ESPN lists UCF’s September 26th match versus the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, NC as the #4 most “Game to Fear.” Here’s what ESPN has to say about the game:

4. East Carolina vs. UCF: East Carolina is the favorite to win Conference USA, but once again it has a tough nonconference schedule to with contend first. Last season, the tough nonconference schedule hurt the Pirates during the early parts of their conference slate and it could happen again against a Central Florida team that many believe will contend for the conference title as well.

And the best news: My dad and I will be there for the game cheering for the Knights!

GO BLACK & GOLD!!! GO KNIGHTS!!!

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CNN Examines Gay Reaction to Bruno

Filed under: Movie and Entertainment — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 02:39

I saw Bruno this past weekend and I have to say, I found the movie to be quite funny. As a gay man who is out in every aspect of his life, I truly didn’t take offense to one aspect of the film. Its an absurdity to think the film does anything else than poke fun at the outrageous stereotypes of gay men. On the contrary, I laughed my ass off. Anyone with just a small amount of intelligence and common sense knows Bruno hardly represents an accurate portrayal of a gay man. While the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the media watchdog group who monitors film, television, electronic, and print media representation of the gay community, disagrees with my assessment and believes the film causes far more damage to gay and lesbian people than good, some gay people agree with me. Below, CNN analyzes the gay reaction to Bruno, which grossed $30.4 million this weekend, placing it at #1 at the US box office:

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Monday, July 6, 2009

Horrific Accident on Disney’s Monorail

Filed under: Tragic News and Events — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 16:37

Austin Wuennenberg: Facebook profile picture

A horrific accident killed the operator of a monorail train at the Walt Disney World Resort around 2:00am Sunday in Orlando, Florida. Officers from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration are investigating what precisely occurred which resulted in the monorail train being piloted by Austin Wuennenberg (only 21 years of age and pictured above) plowing head-on into a train parked in the loading station at the Magic Kingdom. Some discussion has centered on the possibility of a faulty override system which is supposed to immediately stop trains as they get closer to each other on the track so they cannot possibly collide. Wuennenberg’s train was traveling from EPCOT and was in the process of switching tracks, which supposedly requires the operator to override the safety system. While the investigation is on-going, it appears Disney or the monorail’s safety mechanism are probably not at fault. Otherwise, the immediate re-opening of the Monorail System (which occurred Monday) would not have been permitted by regulators. Regardless of the cause of the accident, my thoughts and prayers go to this young man’s friends and family. This was a horrible tragedy, which as will probably be revealed, resulted from a mistake that ultimately took an innocent and young life. Below is a link to a video taken by a park guest shortly after the accident, showing just how horrific this event was. Warning, its content is quite disturbing.

Video of the Aftermath

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