RobertSpuhler.com

An Avalanche of Thanks

I hadn't expected the time period around my birthday to be this hectic. But I've got a Award-ceremony-list of people to thank and I want to get that out there first.

Thanks to:

• Everyone who donated to Fight Gone Bad, and therefore played a role in making me look like this:

Crossfits around the U.S. combined to raise over $500,000 for prostate cancer research and the Wounded Warrior Project. Then Safeway matched all of it, so more than $1,000,000 was donated!

• Dave and Rose for putting me up on their couch for a week - and putting up with me on their couch for a week.
• Everyone in DC who made time for me during my visit, especially Darren, who organized dinner one night, Erin, for breaking up her drive to Jersey to say hi, and Lilya, who got me pretty drunk.
• The U.S. National Team, for crushing Cuba 6-1 while I was in attendance. I'll forgive the loss Wednesday to T&T just for that.
• Juniper Lane, for once again setting its schedule to fit my flight plans (ha!).
• Jes, for dinner.
• Pictures will be uploaded sporadically over at Flickr.

We Interrupt This Supposed Blogging Hiatus For...

Ever thought about running a marathon? I know a couple of friends have run them, and I was thinking about gearing up for one at some point.

How 'bout a 100-mile race?

Or how about across the state of Massachusetts? All 192 miles? After having beaten back the ravages of cancer three-plus years ago?

Well, Dan Rose is that last guy. He's currently running across the state to raise funds for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. His progress is being updated by my good friend Chris over at the Run 192 blog.

Stop by. See the amazing things we can do. And if you can skip a latte every couple of days over the next month, drop some coin in the donation slot.

Natalie Hurley: Two guys have ascended five miles into the sky. They walked up a wall of ice, and are preparing to knock on the door of Heaven itself. There's really no end to what we can do. You know what the trick is?

Dan Rydell: What?

Natalie Hurley: Get in the game.

On Appearances

Monday night I made my podcast debut, as a guest on the Malt Shop Logic podcast with my friend Chris. A good time was had by all. Go for the soccer and basketball analysis, stay for the tasteless Jonestown jokes.

In other news, I've booked a role in a very funny play called "Office Sonata." It opens at the Hayworth Theater in the mid-Wilshire district in late April. More on that as rehearsals get underway in earnest.

On Patronage

How much would you pay for your favorite song? For your favorite movie?

Upon Return

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you to Dave, Chris and Danielle for letting me crash on your couch for a week.

Thank you to everyone who made time for lunch, dinner or bowling.

Thank you to Juniper Lane for showing me the 9:30 Club dressing rooms - after all the concerts I've covered there, that was the first time I had ever been up there.

And most of all, thank you to Jonathan and Radhika for letting me share your special day.

Photos after the jump and at my Flickr page.

Notes From the Road

SILVER SPRING, Md. - A few notes from the last two days:

• I am done, completely done, with United Airlines.

Holiday Spirit

I generally dislike holiday episodes of television shows ("…this week, on a very special Blossom…"), but Studio 60 knocked it out of the park Monday night, ending with a performance by trumpeter Tony Andrews and a backing band. They did "O Holy Night" and it was incredible. Their version should be available on ITunes (for free, purportedly), today. EDIT: Go here and look in the right sidebar.

The story line that set up the performance was touching, too – homeless jazz musicians from New Orleans were picking up fill-in gigs becuase LA session players all "got sick" for a bit to allow their brethren to pick up union cards and session fees.

And that’s the clunky segue to my friend Christian and his moustache.

 

Killing Time...

"Cacophony" is too strong a term, much like describing VH1 as a "rock and roll" channel. The noise inside a Starbucks tends to be what happens when cacophony settles down a bit, maybe buys a house in the suburbs (but still on the subway line), starts going only to outdoor concerts where it can bring wine.

It’s fiveish on a Friday afternoon, and I’m here at a Starbucks on Hawthorne Blvd., killing time (though it won’t stand still). I find that writing outside of my apartment, and therefore away from the 50 other things I should be doing, is often easier. I can let my mind wander a little bit, even if it is occasionally brought back-to-earth by the odd order for something involving some combination of the words mocha and latte.

(Sidebar - do you think Starbucks baristas actually know what all of that stuff means? I think they make it up new each time. People don’t always have the most discerning taste.)

The wireless Internet hurts that a bit, admittedly, as I sit here with three different windows open in Final Draft, yet typing out a blog post.

One of the busiest weeks of the year just ended for me, with the first test of the season going off tomorrow morning, a list of people visited in DC and a long plane flight on Wednesday. I still have a great number of students for the October 14^th SAT date, but I’ll be able to at least breathe a little between now and then.

A couple of quick notes before getting back to this Shannon/Eric final scene that is KICKING MY ASS...

1) Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who made time for me in DC and Baltimore. Special thanks to Chris, Dave and Lilya for lending me floor and couch space. Special thanks also to those who got to hear my shoegazing live and in person - sorry for sounding so ridiculous.

2) Keep a close eye on SomethingGood (linked over on the right sidebar). Movement coming soon.

3) Studio 60! Grey’s Anatomy! Next week! The occasional distraction is a good thing.

(Five categories is a new RS.com record.)

A JSDC Joint

Watch out. "Rock it" might be the new catchphrase sweeping the internets.