on my way to Vegas - 2007/05/06 12:52In three hours I'm boarding a plane. A few hours after that I'll be seeing Penn & Teller.
Most of it through a monocular, since I'm visually impaired. Haven't seen the BS show on handicapped parking yet, BTW, because it's in my TiVo back in Phoenix, and I'm in Chicago.
I wonder if they might have upgraded my seating based on all those emails I sent to the Penn Jillette show that they read and liked so much. I think they did say they wanted to send me gifts at one point. But, my procrastination is probably a bigger handicap than my visual impairment, because there'd be no time to pull that off, and truthfully, thinking they'd even remember that Ask Dr. Penn about typing with boxing gloves on, that's the height of conceit.
But I did buy a copy of The Aristocrats here in Chicago, having left my own copy back in Phoenix. So this won't be like the time I met Warren Robinett but forgot my Adventure cartridge.
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Vlad the Impala
Moderator Karma: 162
Re:on my way to Vegas - 2007/05/06 13:18You can buy the Aristocrats and loads more P&T goods from the P&T shop. Say "Hi!" to Ryan for me...
(but you're probably on the plane by now)there is no possible use for a signature* except to demonstrate how funny/geeky/cynical/pathetic you are.
*including this one
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:on my way to Vegas - 2007/05/06 19:49Woo! Hope you have a fantastic time. I'll be seeing the show next month.
~JoMadge
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
show report - 2007/05/07 15:48Vegas is a bit weird, mostly because my cell phone doesn't work and I'm only now on the Internet again. $12 is a super-ripoff for 24 hours of internet access, but it's cheaper than most other methods of being bored in a casino.
After getting lost on the strip, I made it to the Penn & Teller Theater with 30 minutes to spare to pick up my will call tickets. My keen instinct developed by seven years in the ticketing industry caused me to notice a will-call kiosk in the corner, so I bypassed the line and had time to buy a Sprite and sign an envelope that was later used in a trick.
The show tonight has one bit where they hand out joke books and demonstrate various methods phony psychics use, by guessing which joke from which joke book you've read. It's a tasteful way of demonstrating the tricks without doing tasteless things like pretending to channel dead relatives &c. I actually handled one of the joke books, and can vouch that the jokes are all different, and when I passed it to the guy next to me, Penn asked him to stand up and he did indeed guess a different joke than the one I read, so it's definitely not a forced choice. Mine was about hotels, his was about HMO's. That was the cold reading demo, the simplest of the three. It definitely gave me more to think about than all the non-live ranting and raving I'd seen from those two up until now.
They also had a green screen bit. I really love it when they do magic by using sufficiently advanced technology that it's indistinguishable. Especially since the result turns out to be so excessive in execution.
After the show, I got Penn to sign my Aristocrats DVD, and a DVD-ROM with the entire run of his radio show burned on it. I got a picture with him too, but I was so preoccupied about the guy being able to work the flash so I wouldn't have those damn flesh-colored pupils and irises in my picture with one of the people I admire most in the world. It looks like I avoided the dreaded albino red eye, but I'm clearly distracted in the picture. And I do commend Penn for being able to work a crowd like that, especially since he seemed a bit hoarse by the end of the show. He has it down to a science. You just stand next to him and he auto-poses. Some women got free hugs this way, but I suspect they didn't need the subterfuge.
I didn't see Teller after the show, or else I'd have asked him to email that guy he knows in Arizona who wears all black and studied under James Randi, and tell him to start showing up at atheist meetups again and pay me back that quarter he bent. But, the duo worked the crowd such that Teller in particular was just a few feet away from me at many points in the show, especially when he gave the random joke book to the lady in front of me, and gave the microphone to the guy sitting next to me. I got to high-five him as he left the theater, and that's really all you need.
Also, I lost my hat twice yesterday, and recovered it only once. I think Penn has it.
I was so busy forgetting my hat that I forgot to look for female P&T fans to bond with, if you know what I mean.
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Vlad the Impala
Moderator Karma: 162
Re:show report - 2007/05/07 18:20Thanks for that! Are you planning to see the show again while you're there or was it a one-off?there is no possible use for a signature* except to demonstrate how funny/geeky/cynical/pathetic you are.
*including this one
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Resa
User Karma: 3
Re:show report - 2007/05/07 23:38Sounds like you had a great time! Did your Aristocrats have the sticker on it? If not, Penn better have given you one!
I was out there the night of the premiere of the green screen bit, Penn thought it was sloppy but it looked hilarious. Love when Teller "accidentally" knocks over the one prop.
Next time ask to see the Monkey Room!
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:show report - 2007/05/08 16:27I saw the Monkey Room on that makeover show where they built it, and I did yell Monkey Tuesday a bit half-heartedly from the audience while Jonesey was playing, after Penn had already left.
I asked the merchandise guy before the show whether they had those stickets, and he said he'd check. After the show, he said he was out. Oh well.
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:show report - 2007/05/08 16:29Only in town two nights. In fact, right now I'm at the airport, 95 minutes before departure.
Second night I saw Spamalot. And I must say, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" doesn't have the same effect when whoever's singing it isn't being crucified.
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Vlad the Impala
Moderator Karma: 162
Re:show report - 2007/05/08 17:09The green screen trick got smoother each time I saw it.
It works on a number of levels and is a must for Teller junkies. there is no possible use for a signature* except to demonstrate how funny/geeky/cynical/pathetic you are.
*including this one
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teen
User Karma: 16
Re:show report - 2007/05/09 01:54are you talking about a video of a green screen trick? what exactly is that?
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:show report - 2007/05/09 16:12I can't see how this would translate to TV without very careful directing.
Penn is at a table stage left. A video close-up of his hands is stage right. And Teller, in a green jumpsuit and a green stocking on his face, is in front of a green-screen backdrop stage right. Each partner's individual activities are added together on the video screen, so it's hard to decide where to focus your attention at any given time.
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Resa
User Karma: 3
Re:show report - 2007/05/23 12:32I'll have to see it again now that they've had a couple months to work on it
Going sometime in the end of June/early July, will give a report afterward.
Vlad - how do I add you on MySpace?
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Vlad the Impala
Moderator Karma: 162
Re:show report - 2007/05/23 13:13message me on http://www.myspace.com/vladtheimpala and I'll send you an invite (any fan of Penn is a friend of mine...)there is no possible use for a signature* except to demonstrate how funny/geeky/cynical/pathetic you are.
*including this one
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