mikefotis.com

It’s Pretty Amazing Isn’t It?

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Happy Wednesday!

1. Yesterday was amazing. No matter who you voted for, I’m not sure you can deny the power of last night.  Here are some thoughts!

-McCain’s concession speech was really amazing. It was a reminder that the man I admired still lingered, not completely destroyed by the morally compromising rigors of a campaign.  It wouldn’t have changed my vote, but can you imagine how different this campaign had been if the discourse between Obama and McCain had been at such a high level throughout?

-Obama’s speech was stunning. Tears flowed, which is what happens to me when I hear about 106 year old women and the struggles they’ve been through. What an amazing touch, to put the scope of the American experience through the eyes of one citizen. His ability to make the gigantic personal is one of his truly great strengths.  The room I was in, was completely silent during his speech (the room was half actors, so that was kind of a mini miracle in and of itself), all of us taking in both what he was saying and this once in a lifetime experience.

-I couldn’t help but wish I was in Chicago last night.

-Last night I went to bed and wondered if all of this hope, this very real hope, would manifest itself into progress. If it doesn’t, then there was no point to any of this.

Mike

I Am A Hero. A VOTING Hero.

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

1.  I waited in line for two hours at my polling place in order to vote. Normally I am in and out within ten minutes. Normally waits in line bring out the the worst in me. But not this line. Not this wait. Nobody whined. Nobody left the line. We all stayed. We all talked. Being in that line felt like we were part of something.  It was great.

I can sense the eye rolling right now.

You can be cynical if you want. Say that your vote doesn’t matter. Complain about all the “vote now” statuses on Facebook if you so choose. Rail about the annoying campaign commercials and how disconnected the candidates seem to be. You can get angry at celebrities and daydream about knocking them off of their Prada designed soapboxes. Fuck, you can even choose not to vote. That’s your right.  Who am I to tell you what to do? But I’m telling you, if you don’t stand in line today or tonight, you’ll have missed out on a great experience. A community experience. An experience that I argue is more of a once or twice in lifetime event than a every four year kind of deal.

Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 31st, 2008 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Happy Halloween!

1. I was wondering what I was going to be this year when I was given an awesome bit of costume inspiration by a gang of pretty resourceful folks. Granted, one of those people doesn’t know that my blog exists, so this shout out is 1/3 unnecessary, but still, the inspiration is much appreciated.

Plus, I now have an excuse to buy that awesome multi pocketed vest that everyone on the planet hates but me.

2. I have a new roommate moving in tomorrow. While, I’ve enjoyed having this month or so of solitude, I am aware that conversations with my cat have sky rocketed. It’s always weird getting a new roommate.  There’s lots of questions to be answered. Will we get along? Is he crazy?

Either way, he has an Xbox 360 so everything should be fine.

3. Finally, thanks to all of you who were able to come out to see Creature Feature this month. We had great crowds and we’re really grateful.

Have a great weekend!

Mike

My Last Night. Also Creature Feature Tonight! 8pm! BNW!

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | Plugs, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Happy Thursday! Last Creature Feature is tonight! 8pm! Get your tickets! Here are the things I did last night in no particular order.

1. Watched a three inning conclusion to the World Series? That felt wrong. On the plus side, the game was super short.

2. I started sobbing 10 seconds into Obama’s ad buy. The man inspires me, what can I say?

3. Last night’s NOVA was about fractal geometry. Guess who doesn’t get fractal geometry? Me.

4. After NOVA, I watched a Frontline about Afghanistan that was also kind of about Pakistan.  Point of the show? We are all fucked.

5. Played almost 1,000 games of free cell.

6. Talked to several people online, including the Little Chicago Warrior.

7. Read 5 pages of a book about John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assassination. Fell asleep.

Another Day, Another Plug…Creature Feature Ends Tomorrow!

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | Plugs, Solo Show Stuff, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Happy Wednesday!

1. The plugs are almost done! Creature Feature! 8pm! Thursday! BNW! Get your tickets online! Thanks!

2. Last night’s Rockstar show went well. All of the acts were great, with Joe Scrimshaw’s set really sticking out in my mind as excellent. As for my story? It was meh. I liked it. It was funny. But at the same time, it never really seemed to gel into one cohesive piece. It felt like seven minutes of setup for a one minute joke, which can be fine, unless the seven minutes seems like nothing more than filler. That seemed to be my problem. Oh well. It was still fun to do.

3. Tonight I might go see a movie. What movie? I don’t know. A good one.

Mike

Rockstar Show Tonight!

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Happy Tuesday!

1. Sorry guys, super strapped for time.  Tomorrow will be plug free!

Rockstar show!

Rockstars Mike Fotis, Allegra Lingo, Dave Mondy, Amy Salloway, Ben San Del and Joseph Scrimshaw take to the stage with new creations, and Courtney McLean is your host throughout.

Tickets $12 / $10 with Fringe button

Tickets available at the door (doors open at six), by calling 612-825-8949

Where: BLB

When: 7pm

Write Fotis, Write!

Monday, October 27th, 2008 | Plugs, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Happy Monday.

1. There are days when I am reminded that I essentially make my living as a writer. Today is one of those days. I have been over the course of the last week, writing holiday sketches for the BNW’s soon to be Holiday show and it is safe to say that my (along with the rest of the cast’s) writing about Christmas before we’ve even hit Halloween is totally responsible for our recent rash of cold weather. Sorry.

Aside from writing for work, I am trying to put together a story for tomorrow night’s Rockstar Storyteller show*. The show’s theme revolves around music which for me, is both good and bad. Good because I love music and could probably write about it constantly, and bad because 1/3 of my Fringe show already dealt with music. What if I used up my good stories about music for the year?  That’s a very real possibility.

Actually, I have a pretty great idea for another story. Actually actually, it’s a combination of three stories about music that I’ve always wanted to do, but for some reason or another haven’t been able to get on their feet. The trick now will be taking the parts of each of those stories that I like and coming up with something cohesive and…brilliant.  And 12 minutes long.

It’s been since Fringe that I’ve done some solo stuff, so I hope you all get a chance to see me and some of the best storytellers in town tomorrow night at the BLB.

Mike

*What happens when the Rockstars are asked to incorporate music into their writing, in any form they choose? A banjo might make an appearance. Maybe a story about the constant soundtrack that pervades Israel. Maybe a drum kit. Who knows? Rockstars Mike Fotis, Allegra Lingo, Dave Mondy, Amy Salloway, Ben San Del and Joseph Scrimshaw take to the stage with new creations, and Courtney McLean is your host throughout.

Tickets $12 / $10 with Fringe button

Tickets available at the door (doors open at six), by calling 612-825-8949

Where: BLB

When: 7pm

Thanks, Haircuts, and the BNW

Friday, October 24th, 2008 | Plugs, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Happy Friday!

1. Thanks to everybody who came out to last night’s Creature Feature! It was very much appreciated.  We have one more left, but I’ll spare you the plug until next week.  *Smile*!

2. Really want to get my haircut but for some reason I am unable to pull the trigger. I don’t know why. When I grow my hair out, I look ill. I don’t know how else to describe it.

There’s an old school barber shop right across the street from where I am. Maybe I’ll go there.  It’s filled with old man barbers and old man customers. I want to go in there, because I’m pretty sure were I to be welcomed into their fold I would never go anywhere else to get my hair cut. However, I couldn’t take it if they didn’t want me. I might have to buy a flo-bee.

3. If there was ever a time to catch The Lion, The Witch and The War Hero it’s now. We’ve changed up a bunch of stuff in light of, say for example Retardo Bachmann’s thinking Hardball wasn’t a political talk show with a belligerent host. It’s a radically different show from last week. Woo hoo!

Okay, see you Monday.

Mike

Aunt Mabel’s Firehouse Chili Recipe. Also, CREATURE FEATURE!

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 | Plugs, book project | 12 Comments

Happy Thursday!

1. Creature Feature! Tonight! 2nd to last chance! 8pm. BNW. Get your tickets here. Not kidding folks. This show sells well.

2. Last night I made my first batch of Chili. Was it good? No. But here’s the recipe anyway.

1. Go to the grocery store. If you’ve never been, a grocery store is like say, Macy’s, except instead of buying an overpriced loveseat, you buy over priced onions. Here’s what you’ll need:

-1 lb of meat. I went with ground turkey because I want to feign good health.

-a package of pre diced onions. Or, you could save money and buy and dice your whole onion. You’re friends will say things like,  “Wow, you’re awesome. You diced your own onion. I just made partner at the law firm. Those accomplishments are pretty much the same.”

-Other veggies. I didn’t do this. You can. Branch out, you little tree you.

-Two cans of diced of halved tomatoes. You’ll only need one, but they’re less than two bucks a can, so go nuts!

-A small can of tomato paste. You’ll want to skip this. I know you will. You’ll be like, “Why paste? I’ve already got tomatoes! This is some sort of conspiracy.”, but you HAVE to buy some. You HAVE to.

-One can of kidney beans. Or you could go to your garden or bean tree or bush or whatever and get some fresh ones!

2. Once home (Big step. Most stores won’t allow you to cook while inside.) begin cooking (insert your term here. “make hot” is the important thing) the onions and the ground turkey.

-Take a moment and look at the clean pot sitting next to your frying pan. This pot is for the meat and onions and tomatoes and beans and PASTE! Consider how annoying it is to clean two dishes. Fuck that. If you’ve got a deep frying pan, throw all this shit in the pan. For a moment you’ll feel like an asshole, I can’t explain why, but the feeling will pass. Add all the tomatoes. One can should do it. Put the other can away. Be dramatic and tell the can it will live one more day. Add all the beans (water and all). Then add the paste. Seriously, paste is magic. Thickens everything right up.

-Look in your spice cabinet. Hmmm, you have no spices.  You know who has spices? Your friend who just made partner.  Dammit! Nothing’s worse than going to the store just for spices. Ugh. Tough break. Fortunately, you do have a bottle of Sriracha sauce! Squeeze 4 times what  your mother would deem appropriate into chili. Rub your hands together and squeal with joy. This is not optional. It must be done in order for chili to “set”.

-Let this all cook until you can’t take it anymore. If you wait a little longer than I did, your first batch of chili won’t feature raw turkey, which by the way, tastes fine.  Add cheese. Lots of cheese. More cheese than you can imagine! Got sour cream? Dump some of that in too! Do whatever you want. It’s chili. When serving to friends, name it after your aunt and say the recipe’s a secret. That’s what everybody else does.

-Enjoy!

Creature Feature’s Only a Day Away!

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 | Plugs, Podcasts | No Comments

Happy Wednesday! I’m kind of strapped for time today, what with unwritten holiday sketches looming over my head, so I’ve only time for a plug…

1. Get your tickets for Creature Feature. There’s only two shows left. This THursday and the next. Both shows are at 8pm at the BNW.  Last week’s crowd was huge, so it’s actually a really good idea to get your tickets ahead of time.

And don’t forget, Survivors of the Undead Plague are also a part of this spooktacular evening!

2. Also, the latest BNW podcast is up.

Mike