Matthew J. Hanson's Journal

Work and Fringe

Wed, 31 May 2006 05:51:52 GMT

So... what have I been doing recently. Well, for one thing I’ve been working this other job. I'm a reader for Data Recognition Corps. Basically I read essay questions written by 6th grade students, and give them a score. It's starting to get a little repetitive. Perhaps I will find something else soon.

In more exciting news I have a final title for my Fringe Festival play: Roasted to Perfection. It's a rich blend of love, caffeine, and serial arson. A dark robust comedy, percolating with suspense. And best of all, it opens August 7th. Don't worry. You'll read plenty more about it in the weeks to come.

If you strike me down...

Thu, 25 May 2006 07:35:21 GMT

Your results:
You are Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi		80%
Qui-Gon Jinn		80%
Yoda		74%
R2-D2		69%
Mace Windu		69%
Lando Calrissian		65%
Chewbacca		65%
Han Solo		65%
Boba Fett		60%
Darth Maul		60%

You are civilized, calm, and
have a good sense of humor,
even when those around you don't.
You can hold your own in a fight,
but prefer it when things
don't get too exciting.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)

Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz

I must confess that Obi-Wan was originaly #2, behind Qui-Gon, but I'm to old school to be having any of that. (And I would have prefered a picture of Sir Alec).

Congratulations!

Mon, 15 May 2006 03:05:47 GMT

Congratulations to all you Beloit people who just graduated. Now you get to enter the real world.

It's even more scary out here than you thought.

End of an Epic

Tue, 09 May 2006 06:37:53 GMT

I know you have been waiting with baited breath for my latest update, but don't worry. The combined forces of X-Men and the Enterprise crew not only defeated the Draa'kon invaders, but Crusher and a holodeck recreation of Professor X found a cure of the Xhaldia "Transfomations." This lead to my favorite part of the book, when they commented on the similarities between Captain Picard and Professor X.

The only thing is that they gave the transformed the option of returning to normal, but they never said whether Erid chose undo the transformation or not.

Also they answered the question of just how exactly the X-Men got into the Star Trek Universe. Then answer was the other our good old pal: Q.

It got me thinking about how much fantasy is in the supposed "Sci-Fi" genre.

In other news my play "Aesop's Journey" went off without a hitch.

Work Shmirk

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 19:17:17 GMT

So I had day on my new job yesterday, but who wants to hear about that? I know you all really are dying to know what's going on with the X-Men, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Well things have definatly heated up. I mentioned last time how I was disappointed that the "Main characters" we just sitting around their ship saying, "What's going on?"

Not any more.

An evil alien race called the Draa'kon has appeared in orbit of planet Xhaldia, and is attempting to round up all of the transformed. Shortly after the Enterprise arrived and a major space battle ensued. The Enterprise lost it's shields and weapon system, by Nightcrawler teleported over to the Draa'kon ship (he could get through the shield because his teleportation works differently than Starfleet transporters), and with the help of Data, they were able to sabotage the Draa'kon ship.

With the ship disabled, the Enterprise crew is currently on the surface of Xhaldia trying to clean up the Draa'kon down there.

Remember Erid Sovar? One of the transformed? It turns out his older brother was the first Xhaldian to join Starfleet. And he was stationed on... wait for it... the Starship Enterprise. Now Lt. Sovar is on the surface, and the brother's just had a family reunion. But apparently Erid "Doesn’t need any help from your kind."

Dun dun Dun!

I am a tool of the Marketing Machine

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 05:11:12 GMT

After weeks of delay, I finally received my latest order from Amazon.com: Star Trek/X-Men: Planet X.

That's right. It's a cross over between Star Trek (the Next Generation) and X-Men. How brilliant is that?

I've only gotten through the first ten chapters (out of thirty four), but I couldn't wait to share it with my loyal readers, so I decided to write an ongoing review.

WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!

First of all Star Trek is awesome, and X-Men is also awesome. Thus it is impossible that this book could do anything other than rock.

The next major observation I noticed is that the book’s author, Michael Jan Friedman knows his Star Trek. Maybe a little too much. I appreciate the fact that he captures the spirit of the characters and stays firmly within the Star Trek cannon. But when Picard talks about his flute it sounds like Michael is trying to prove that he watched 525: The Inner Light. The book is filled with tiny episode summaries like this, which I find distracting at best.

While it pains me to say it (out a feeling of disloylaty) the part I am enjoying the most so far is actually the story of the original character: Erid Sovar. Erid is a young man from the planet Xhaldia (The Planet X of the title), who has recently developed strange powers. He and the other "transformed" (a.k.a. mutants) were rounded up by the government of Xhaldia and placed in a secret camp. Most recently the escaped under the leadership of Rahatan (a.k.a. "the Magneto corollary").

So far this story is the most dramatic and engaging. It deals with characters in a turbulent conflict. To date the X-Men and Enterprise crew only have to worry about how the X-Men got there (it's set in the Star Trek Universe incase I forgot to mention) and how to get them home. I have no doubt that the conflict on Xhaldia will soon draw the Enterprise into close orbit, hopefully for more than just a Deus ex Machina ending.

That's all for now. I'll continue my review later, possibly including other trivial details like my new job.ll

Live... from New York... It's Matthew J. Hanson's Live Journal!

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:28:34 GMT

Guess where I am right now. I'll give you a hit. It's new, and it's named after a popular brand of peppermint patties. Give up? I’m in New Junior Mints.

Seriously though. I'm at the big apple, (where there are surprisingly few apples). There are lots of people though, and the drivers really like to honk their horns.

I've done a little sight seeing. Like to the Statue of Liberty. I realized we don't build really big things that have no functional purpose anymore. They pretty much all have to be buildings now. Why is that?

I also went to the American Museum of Natural History. There were a bunch of dinosaurs there.*

I've also seen a lot of theatre here, but the highlight has to be the premier production of "A Perfectly Normal Family Dinner." It was much better than Cats.

That's all for now.

* Dinosaur fossils. Real dinosaurs are extinct.**
**Except for Senor T-Bone and Ginger Snap. And pterodactyls.

No, that's A.M.

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 09:52:22 GMT

I'm in that awful state where I'm tired, but not sleepy, so I might as well write what will probably turn out to be a mostly incoherent Live Journal post.

I'm out in Afton at the moment, taking care of my mom’s dogs, which always wreaks havoc on my sleep schedule. We went for a walk on Monday, which was fun. Then acres of snow fell, so I haven’t gone outdoors much. And here I thought I was done with winter.

Early today I played some Dungeons & Dragons. It was a little slow to get started, but eventually it got going and we had a pretty good battle. Alas I am 28 experience points short from getting to the next level. For those of you don’t play D&D, that’s about how many experience points you get from defeating a chipmunk.

I think I'll try lying in bed and hoping to fall asleep again. More later.

Free Custard

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 07:00:50 GMT

I got free custard today. It was awesome.

My favorite thing about fridays

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 09:01:09 GMT

I have to get up in three hours.

Sweet.

Look! An Update!

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 07:50:29 GMT

Wow. It's been so long I don't even know where to begin. I can't even manage to do my normal shameless self-promotion (and by do I have a lot of it to do). For that go www.matthewjhanson.com and check out the latest items.

I’m doing pretty well chilling in the apartment. I've got a new laptop, and I don't have to worry about it disintegrating into a pile of dust at any second, so that’s pretty cool. I think my mail service might finally be functioning, which is always nice.

I went to the Guthrie to do a little volunteering the other day. I got to a free shirt, and the opportunity to explain to a bunch of people facts about theatre, some of which I knew, and some of which I made up. (Did you know they can take up any part of the floor they want to put in trap doors. I later verified that this was in fact true after telling it to a few dozen tourists. It’s amazing how much authority a free T-Shirt with a snazzy logo on it can provide.

Oh, I’ll bet you probably want to hear about the last city of Atlantis (which I discovered a month or two ago). As most people theorized, when Atlantis sank, the inhabitants did not die, but rather mutated into a race of water breathing creatures. Needless to say that over the years they became incredibly xenophobic, and thus I was attacked on sight. Luckily I have study the laughing porpoise style of kung-fu, and thus was able to easily defeat the first wave of guards.

The elite guards were a little tougher to defeat, but this post is already pretty long, so I’ll have to continue this later.

What Muppet Are You?

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 01:44:29 GMT

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!"

You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up.

If only your routine didn't always bomb!

You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Yay for updates!

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 23:47:12 GMT

Wow. So. Yeah, I haven't posted in a long time. It's been a busy few weeks, but things are finally starting to calm down, so I once again I have some time to update y'all.

Why was I so busy? I’ll tell you. For one thing there's work, there's writing (I might or might have had a deadline or two) there’s the important socializing and hobnobbing with the stars. There was the shameless self-promotion of my new ebook 50 New Ways to Blow Things Up.

And of course, there was my undersea journey to the deepest depths of the ocean.

The first few days of undersea exploration was fairly ho-hum. Lots of water. Lots of fish. LOTS of seaweed.

On the fourth day of exploration I encountered a giant squid. It thought my submarine would make a crunchy snack. Luckily my submarine was able to transform into a giant robot. The squid and I wrestled for a while, but in the end I of course prevailed.

After a few more days of exploration, I found the lost city of Atlantis.

Hold on, water’s boiling. Time to get the pasta cooking.

Later.

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 02:22:49 GMT

Today was a lazy day. I mostly sat around my room reading and visiting Dungeons and Dragons message boards. I also did a little bit of writing and researched some colleges.

Yesterday was a bit more interesting, as I went to see a play called "Propaganda for the Converted." It's kind of hard to describe. Some playwright took to other plays that were somewhat propagandistic (real word) and combined them into something else.

Also technically yesterday, but for my purposes the day before I saw the new Harry Potter movie. (At the midnight showing. I firmly believe that midnight showings are when movies were designed to be seen, and watching them at any other time is blasphemy.) The movie was good. I think probably the best of the movies thus far.

I've realized that while I have traveled to outer space, parallel dimensions, and different time periods, there are still uncharted reaches on this planet I have yet to explore. This is why tomorrow I will be commissioning a high tech deep submersible vehicle to explore the depths of the ocean.

Wish me luck.

A bunch of random tests.

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 05:37:06 GMT

So I needed to waste some time:

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

(Nobody cares what the orriginal colonies were)

Your IQ Is 130

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Genius

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

(Close but a little on the low side)

Your Heart Is Blue

Love is a doing word for you. You know it's love when you treat each other well.
You are a giving lover, but you don't give too much. You expect something in return.

Your flirting style: Friendly

Your lucky first date: Lunch at an outdoor cafe

Your dream lover: Is both generous and selfish

What you bring to relationships: Loyalty

What Color Heart Do You Have?

(...till you've got that Mood Indigo)

Passions and Phish Food

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 05:25:52 GMT

I had a pretty good day today. It was Veterans Day today (Happy Veterans Day!) so I had the day off. Really I'm a slacker who doesn't do any work, so ever day is a "day off," but today I took a day off from watching daytime soaps while I consume a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

I went over to a coffee shop in St. Paul, then took a little walk around Lake Harriet. It was a really nice day today. I think the high was 63 (a new record), which, for reference is no the sort of thing we are used to in Minnesota in mid-November.

Then this evening I went to a bar I went down to a bar that my roommate described as "not divey enough." I tried to prove that it was divey by getting into a fight with one of the other patrons, but after I insulted him, he apologized and bought me a wine cooler.

Yet despite the pleasant day I grow restless. I think tomorrow I pack it all up and move, to say... France. Or maybe Tibet. I hear Antarctica is nice this time of year (it's spring there donchaknow). Maybe not. Maybe one of my faithful readers will have a better suggestion for me.

Oh, also there's something pretty cool at www.matthewjhanson.com, the official website of Matthew J. Hanson. You might want to check it out if you haven't yet.

Chilling

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 03:14:06 GMT

I’ve had a wonderfully lazy Saturday today, sitting on the banks of the Amazon river. You see, I was stressing out a little, and so I said to myself. "Matthew J., while you're down in the South American rainforest, why not give yourself a treat and take a real vacation."

It’s not a complete vacation. Obviously I brought my laptop, did a little typing, but not nearly as much as I should have done. And you know what, I don't really care.

I'm playing fetch with a six ton monster that went extinct millions of years ago.

Dem Bones

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:52:43 GMT

Happy Day of the Dead!

I’ve had a fairly busy weekend. I'm pretty much officially moved into my apartment at this point. I don't quite have everything yet. I left my PS2 back at the home in Afton, so I haven't my daily dose of dancing in a manor that will overthrow the government.

Also the monkey butler store was out of monkey butlers, so I don't have one of those yet.

Arsenic and Old Lace closed last Saturday, so we destroyed the set (some of the actors decided not to wait until the show had finished. One door and one glass framed picture. The audience loves the smell of blood in the water.)

Sunday I went and saw something called Bare Bones. It was a performance sort of thing involving a lot of dance and puppets and fire and stuff. My favorite part was the dinosaur.

Speaking of dinosaurs, I thought it might be a nice to go down to South American and visit my pet triceratops, Senor T-Bone. Senor T-Bone seems to be doing rather well for himself, but he's a little lonely. I'm not sure whether it would be a good idea for Ginger Snap to go down and visit. On they're both dinosaurs, on the other hand Ginger Snap is a vicious predator, while Senor T-Bone is a delectable morsel. We'll see.

Also www.matthewjhanson.com, the official website of Matthew J. Hanson blah blah blah.

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 06:35:53 GMT

The Slow Dancer
Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLDm)

Steady, reliable, and cradling her tenderly. Take a deep breath, and let it out real easy...you are The Slow Dancer.

Your focus is love, not sex, and for your age, you have average experience. But you're a great, thoughtful guy, and your love life improves every year. There's also a powerful elimination process working in your favor: most Playboy types get stuck raising unwanted kids before you even begin settling down. The women left over will be hot and yours. Your ideal woman is someone intimate, intelligent, and very supportive.

Your exact opposite:
The Hornivore

Random Brutal Sex Master

While you're not exactly the life of the party, you do thrive in small groups of smart people. Your circle of friends is extra tight and it's HIGHLY likely they're just like you. You appreciate symmetry in relationships.

ALWAYS AVOID: The Battleaxe

CONSIDER: The Maid of Honor or The Sonnet

Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

Lawful Good Human Bard Ranger

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 06:12:53 GMT

I Am A: Lawful Good Human Bard Ranger

Alignment:
Lawful Good characters are the epitome of all that is just and good. They believe in order and governments that work for the benefit of all, and generally do not mind doing direct work to further their beliefs.

Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.

Primary Class:
Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.

Secondary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Deity:
Oghma is the Neutral Good god of knowledge and invention. He is also known as the Binder of What is Known, and is the Patron of Bards. His followers believe that knowledge reigns supreme, and is the basis for everything else that is done. They wear white shirts and pants, with a black and gold braided vest, and a small, box-like hat. All priests of Oghma are known as Loremasters. Oghma's symbol is a scroll.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Nothing but a pack of vicious lies

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:03:34 GMT

Wow. Long time since my last update. So what have I done in that time? All kinds of crazy thing, like...

Directing, lots and lots of directing.

Watching the premier weekend of the first full-length play I've ever directed. (You can still catch the closing weekend, find out more here.

Also, I've finally moved out of my mother's basement. Okay, moved out is perhaps going a little too far. I am not "sleeping" there yet, as I still don't have a "bed", but I've put down the security deposit, and I think that counts for something.

It's pretty nice, not all that large, but good enough for what I need I think.

Slowly I'm chipping away at granite slab that is my future.

As always, www.matthewjhanson.com, the official website of Matthew J. Hanson.

So buttons.

Fri, 07 Oct 2005 06:00:55 GMT

Well I was going to tell you all about the almost bad day I had recently, but then I realized it would make good fodder for a rant at Matthew J. Hanson.com, so I don't think I can tell you about that yet.

In theatre news, Arsenic Rehearsals continue to progress. We're not ready for performance yet, but we've got over two weeks left until opening night. Monday they need to be off book, so we'll see how that goes.

I've also realized that I've become better at controlling large groups of young people. One of my chess classes this week had 23 kids (we're probably going to have to split that in two), and there were no major incidents.

That's about all I've got.

Update

Sun, 02 Oct 2005 19:53:34 GMT

Okay, so yes it's been a while since my last update. What's happened? Plenty.

First of all, I have a cast! A whole cast. Can you believe that? I sure can't. That means Arsenic and Old Lace rehearsals are going pretty well. We don't quite have all our lines memorized yet, but we still have more than nineteen days.

I saw Serenity. There's a whole rant about it on www.matthewjhanson.com so I won't bother to go into all the gritty details here.

Also been doing a lot of writing. I constantly feel like I have more to write that I have time in the day.

Oh, and I've started up chess lessons again. So far so good with that. I start a couple of new classes next week.

Tomorrow I'm heading up to Duluth to deal with the zombie pirate invasion.

Feel free to visit www.matthewjhanson.com, the official website of Matthew J. Hanson.

Go see it now!

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 08:14:10 GMT

I don't know how it took so long, but I finally added a much needed up date to www.matthewjhanson.com.

I debated for a while where I should send my link to. At first I thought just the site's main page, then I thought I'd link directly to a trailer, thus forcing people to watch. In the end I took pity on those with slow connections and just linked to the page that features the trailers.

It's a solution we can all live with.

Oh, and buy the way, go see Serenity. (When you get a chance.)

Lessons Learned

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 06:50:12 GMT

Lesson 1
If there is a movie coming out that you are really excited about seeing, and you think you might want to go see a midnight showing, make plans before eleven o'clock that night.

Lesson 2
If you do decided to see a midnight showing about an hour beforehand, make sure that you actually pay attention to the Map Quest dirrections, especially when it says, "We could find this. Did you mean that?" No as it turns out, I did not mean that.

Lesson 3
Only 13 days until Serenity.

www.matthewjhanson.com, the official website of Matthew J. Hanson