Last Saturday I was able to view a drama called Metamorphoses at The Warehouse Theatre (note: see disclosure below).

Metamorphoses is basically a retelling of ancient Greek myths (which include tales about Apollo, Aphrodite, Midas, etc.) with one unique distinction: there is a mini “pool” in the middle of the stage!

I was surprised by how well the cast incorporated the pool within their scripts as not all the tales involved rivers, oceans and (of course) pools of affluent kings.

I don’t want to give away how the cast spun the stories (as it’s better to see it in person), but here is a mini synopsis of what I loved (as well as disliked) about Metamorphoses.

Meta-Awesome

The cast of Metamorphoses were nothing short of phenomenal, as they not only executed their lines perfectly but were also able to appropriately project their character’s emotions upon their faces (which in my honest opinion separates the good actors from the great).

I also liked how the whole cast could easily switch between roles (i.e. transitioning from a supporting character in one story to a main one in the next).

Also having the actors disappear within the pool (or make a surprising entrance from the water) was really cool, especially during the stormy sea episode with Poseidon (which you’ll have to see in person to understand how great it was).

The only disadvantage of the Metamorphoses crew using water was the fact that they had to constantly dry off the sides (so the actors wouldn’t slip), but they humorously were able to incorporate side characters which prevented the drama from being interrupted.

Meta-Bad?

Most of the stuff I didn’t like about attending is trivial (yet understandable), but for a geek like me it was a bit of a let down.

We were not allowed to take videos or photos of the drama (so alas no instagraming it), and out cell phones had to be off during the Greek drama (which meant no tweeting or Google plusing by the minute updates about what was happening).

The only part of the drama that I disliked with a passion was the Father-daughter story, although that had more to do with the content of the story itself and not the acting (which was flawless throughout the event).

Meta-Hilarious

While some of the stories were sad, a few were hilarious (especially the Apollo drama which is traditionally a sad story but Metamorphoses had you cracking up laughing when Apollo made his debut).

Intermission was also hilarious (stay and watch it, as you won’t be disappointed) and the random Pandora transition scene was awesome too!

And I can not fail to mention the drunk guy in the beginning, although I’ll refrain from telling more lest I spoil the surprise.

Is it worth it?

Even if you are not a fan of live skits and dramas, you’ll probably enjoy Metamorphoses due to the pool in the center of the stage (which last I recall has an under water tunnel), and how the actors incorporate it within each story (especially Apollo’s which as you can tell was my favorite performance).

Just avoid the “hungry lady” as she was creepy and freaky! (words to the wise: don’t tick her off)

Disclosure: The Warehouse Theatre provided me season tickets without cost in order to review this drama, as well as upcoming performances.

–Posted from my iPhone

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So after watching WWDC (repeatedly), I’m now torn on whether to purchase an iPhone 4 (32 GB) or an iPad 3G (64 GB).

Due to my inability to make the AT&T December cutoff, I can only choose one (as iPhone 4 will cost me $500 instead of $300, unless I add a 2nd line).

However if I choose the iPad, it will set me back $1,000 total (as I plan to purchase the keyboard charger plus a case to go with it).

So what is the hold up? The iPhone 4 is my dream phone. Let me explain.

When I purchased the original iPhone (refurbished of course), I loved everything about it. It was sturdy, tough (I know because I dropped it quite a few times), it was my beastly smartphone.

Unfortunately it lacked a video camera, and even if you jailbroke it, the 2 mpx camera wasn’t anything to boast about.

It also lacked 3G too, making Internet browsing over EDGE (aka 2G) “almost decent.”

Then came the iPhone 3G, which also lacked video but came with the 3G speed. I opted to skip this phone and wait for the iPhone 3GS which had 3G and video support (albeit 3.1 mpx).

My biggest issue with the iPhone 3GS was its fragility, which made it too delicate to leave in the hands of clumbsy people.

So I had to sacrifice a quality design for awesome features–until now.

The iPhone 4 has HD video, LED flash, is built like a beast (metal and “glass,” or rather a very hard plastic) and gyro to boot!

So the question remains, should I skip the iPhone 4 and just get an iPad 3G? Or should I hold off on Steve Jobs greatest creation and embrace my iDream?

I guess well find out at the end of June!

–Posted from my iPhone

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Photo:Vlad Lazerian, Creative Commons, Flickr

I’ll save you the video from my spiritual blog, but basically it looks like my country is being led by incompetant fools (to put it bluntly), which is (believe it or not) one of my biggest fears.

My fury with BP who is humerously called Beyond Petroleum (although they should rename themselves Broke & Penniless after everyone sues them out of existence) is increasing by the day as their actions have destroyed the lives of millions of people, not to mention thousands of animals (if not hundreds of thousands).

Despite my outrage over this oil spill (which the media is now saying the busted “pipe” is leaking 2 MILLION GALLONS A DAY!!!), I’m even more upset with my government, or rather their lack of intelligent action regarding this whole affair.

No one seems to know what to do, and worse, everyone is simply blaming each other for what is happening while more animals and businesses die thanks to the “black gold” in liquid form.

Basically it seems as if my President doesn’t know what to do, and ironically neither do the experts whose only skill is calculating how much oil is poisoning the oceans.

All I ask my leaders (especially political) is that they know how to perform their task, and if not then to seek out those who do.

Right now neither of that is happening in my country (at least on the Federal level), resulting in our country being help hostage by the stupidity of a few.

Perhaps it’s time I consider entering the green field (as a few if my relatives have), and try to find a solution to help us become energy independent from oil, instead of semi-dependent on it.

Note: Sorry for the rant, as I usually will publish those privately.

However this situation is getting out of hand, and I’m tired of “Oilgeddon” dominating the news cycle.
–Posted from my iPhone

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(Image Credit: Engadget)

Okay, I don’t have any spies inside Apple HQ (you’ll have to contact Michael Arrington for success in that department) but looking at last year’s clues I have the feeling that the next iPhone HD (aka iPhone 4G) is going to be classified as a medical device. Yes seriously.

Before I delve into the latest iRumor, here is a video from last year debuting iPhone 3.0 OS.

This idea apparently was inspired by a diabetic who pleaded Steve Jobs to make managing diabetes much easier.

Life Scan announced this app at the WWDC last year, but unlike the various other apps (ranging from multi-player games to enterprise apps) Life Scan never appeared in the app store–and Steve Jobs never breathed a hint about this app again.

I suspect that as soon as this app was revealed, Uncle Sam (or the US Government for you non-yanks) got involved, and that Apple and Life Scan had to go through some medical approval process before being allowed to mention this app again.

I also suspect that this feature (or app) will ONLY be available upon the upcoming iPhone (which could be called iPhone HD or iPhone MD).

Again, I have no hard evidence on whether or not this is true (so you’ll have to tap your own sources as Apple is as secretive as the Kremlin), but I have a feeling that Steve Jobs is going to unveil iPhone MD in a few days.

And when that happens, we will hear a loud, rusty, breaking sound, as Android devices everywhere are seen as “green junk.”

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Okay, for those of you who exist outside of the geekverse (or at least the twitterverse you stubborn Facebookers–I say that in love) it looks like the world’s number 2 search engine has decided to lay the smack down against the “search engine that shall not be named!” (via Gizmodo)

Lets ignore the fact that iGoogle exists, which Google launched in 2005 (and officially gave it the name iGoogle in 2007) which already helps users clutter up their homepage to their hearts content.

Why should I trade a site that takes me places (and in theory helps me become more productive) than one that is full of distractions from the 4 corners of the Earth?

Come on Yahoo!, the portal world died out with AOL! Why are you trying to resurrect that dead beast?

Why not instead focus on what you’re good at? Like Flickr (especially the video aspect), Yahoo! Search BOSS (which is totally awesome) and whatever else is left in your portfolio (sorry, your rivals have out shined you elsewhere).

Truth be told if I want to view info from “everywhere,” all I have to do is check out Twitter and Google Reader, or open up Facebook if I want to hear from my non-geek friends.

Instead of mocking Google, why don’t you do something instead like highlight why users should choose your various sites (like Flickr), without showing bitterness towards your rival.

That strategy didn’t work for Apple (as Window powered PC’s are still on top) and it won’t work for you either.

Highlight your products. Tell us what they do and why we should use them and your glory days will return again.

But if you choose the way of the dark side, you will only end up fighting against a zillion Google fan boys, and shouting back in a noisy crowd full of deaf ears.

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(Image Credit: Mobile Computing)

Ever since Opera was able to put Opera Mini upon the iPhone, bloggers, journalists and tweetaholics have been experiencing “geek shock” that El Jobso would approve another browser outside of Safari.

Opera mini has been downloaded over 1 million times in the app store over the past 3 days and many iLovers have made Opera their default iBrowser (well, unless you click on a link within an email in which case Safari still takes over).

But enough of the Opera stats, I’m here to write about Firefox!

Last year Firefox announced plans to create an iPhone app which would allow users to surf the net outside of Apple’s native Safari.

With Opera’s approval, I was hoping that the company would seriously consider building an iPhone app, as that would give users 3 1/2 choices when it comes to iBrowsing (currently iFans only have Safari and Opera, plus “remixes” of Safari on the iPhone).

Unfortunately it looks like Firefox isn’t interested in building an app upon Steve Jobs playground, despite the fact that users are asking for a Firefox browser for their iDevice.

(Fierce Mobile Content) Mozilla, maker of the popular Firefox browser, said it does not plan to build an iPhone version of its Firefox Mobile product, and Bolt browser maker Bitstream and NetFront browser maker Access have similar positions.

“Our understanding of browsers in the iPhone App Store is that a ‘full’ Web browser like Firefox that incorporates its own Web rendering and JavaScript engines would be prohibited,” said Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s vice president of product. “We have no insight into any arrangement between Apple and Opera.”

So it looks like Firefox is not going to invest in an iPhone browser after all, despite Opera’s success with the device.

Currently the only browser business interested in the iPhone who has a chance of getting approved is Skyfire, who is really popular on mobile phones powered by Windows 6.x (which will become extinct thanks to Windows 7 Mobile).

While I think Firefox is making a HUGE mistake by ignoring the iPhone, hopefully the company has more success with Android devices (which are starting to become really popular amongst my extended family).

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