Trinity (REDUX)

7.3.2017 (first posted this week, 2001)


Scandal!

I got nothin' but grief from a lot of ya for leavin' you out of the loop regarding my surprise bday party. Well excuse me but I didn't know much about it during the "planning" and "invite" stages. Being in on the ground-level of one's own surprise party kinda shit-cans the surprise part of the party. That said, I'm awful sorry if you were one of the unlucky that stayed home. You missed a hell of a time.

One last story for the kiddies: The joint is called the Cal-Neva because it's on the border of California and Nevada. ON THE BORDER. They got a pool on the boundary that is striped down the middle showin' what state yer in. They got a swim-up bar in that pool and several list members delighted in sitting in one seat and ordering Everclear shots and getting turned down, only to shift over one and get their shot o' grain alcohol. Sadly, the CHP waded in before the snorkel trick Mr. Metsker was trying on the Cali side got off the ground, but an enterprising interstate Mossy's reenactment of Das Boot on the Silver State's side had everyone - aquacops and waterborne barmen included - falling over laughing. Well enough of all that. No sense in rubbing it in. Instead, I'll try to salve crisped feelings by letting you all in on what I stumbled on: Tryouts (of some sort) for slow-motion kung fu robots!

My guess is that someone's making a movie that features a platoon of robots that do slow-motion kung fu. That's about the only thing it could be. Or maybe a TV show or miniseries. Anyway, let me explain more. I was walking in to work the other day and what with the new apartment, I got a new commute. This takes me past a big church on California Street that has a park across the way. I'm walking on the park side and as I'm dodging some filthy ankle-biter dog that the oldest lady you ever saw is desperately trying to reign in I see a bunch of folks going through some very strange gestural movements. So strange, in fact, that it stopped me dead in my tracks to gape. The little yapper snaps me out of it but the wonder is still in front of me. Dozens of people - young, old, man, woman, child, black, white, brown, yellow - all going through some ritualistic slo mo judo chops and kicks and leg sweeps and sleeper holds. Stunned. That's the easiest way to describe my reaction. I was stunned. If I'd been on my bike, I'da wrecked.

I shook it off and resumed my walk, after watching a while longer. It stayed in my head all the way to work and for most of the day. I don't know for sure that it was a casting call or what. I didn't see any producer-lookin' folks. I didn't see any ubiquitous MiniDV cameras recording the best slow-motion kung fu robots to screen later, so I don't know. Mebbe it was the newest fitness mode, a la Ti Bo. Could be it was a newfangled martial art. My guess it was either tryouts for slow-motion kung fu robots or a new self-defense mode. The kind of new self-defense mode that is so unique, so original, it stupefies the would-be attacker long enough to deliver a slow-motion boot to the head. It'd probably work only once, though.

Tonight's venue is here:  Iron and Gold

News: As I'm trying to figure out the mailing list errors, you may notice that a Thursday will go by and you won't receive a message from Robot. Here's the solution: Go to the frikkin' site. All the email is is a link to the site. You sorta don't need it. Just check to see if it's updated. The Venue Announcement is usually posted by 3p.

bye-ee!
whrr ... clik!