Hey all!

I just stopped by the board and, as I was catching up on my reading (awesome stuff lately, everyone!), I came across the lovely post about my recent appearance in the news! Thanks so much for the kind words, they're greatly appreciated. I'm really excited for the project; it's a big step for my company and for me as an artist.

That got me thinking - you might be interested to hear an update on all the things that are keeping me busy and away from the PVB these days!

For starters, as you may have gathered, I now run a small theatre company. It's called Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre, and we've been around for about four years. We mostly create and produce original work, and often our shows are site-specific - so, rather than doing them in a theatre space, we do them in churches, community halls, art galleries or (for our upcoming show) an abandoned fish warehouse.

Our upcoming show is called i-ROBOT Theatre, based on a book called i-ROBOT Poetry. We're currently in full-time rehearsals to get the show ready for its opening on May 5, and it's going to be a really fun show. It's set in a world where every piece of machinery has a personality, emotions and sentience. Actually, it explores a lot of themes that we've seen in the Parodyverse - definitions of humanity, robot rights, self-determination, etc.

My day job is in the office for another theatre company, One Yellow Rabbit, which produces an annual festival called the High Performance Rodeo. It's a really incredible festival which combines all genres of live performance, and brings some of the most innovative productions from around the world to Calgary. Swallow-a-Bicycle is lucky enough to have a show that has become an annual fixture in the festival, called Freak Show. (Every January I end up feeling fairly schizophrenic, as I try to balance my "administrator brain" with my "artist brain", especially since a lot of the site-specific work we do isn't exactly, um, legal when it comes to zoning bylaws.)

For the past couple years, I've also been holding events called "We Should Know Each Other", which is exactly what it sounds like - an opportunity for people to meet. It's a simple concept, but it's proven to be really powerful. So often, we become comfortably sheltered inside a prescribed social circle, and it's incredibly powerful to step outside of that comfort zone every once in a while. I recently celebrated my 50th WSKEO event with a giant warehouse party, where I had a dozen live bands, a LEGO room, cupcakes and over 450 attendees. (Usually the events aren't nearly so sweeping; they take place in my living room.)

Another annual event I run is called Markapalooza which, in addition to being a lovely ego-trip, is a fundraiser for the ALS Society of Alberta. My father died of ALS a few years ago, and there's a strong chance that I will eventually get the disease myself... which seems like a good reason to throw a giant party, if I've ever heard one! Each of the first two editions raised over $10,000, and I'm hoping to make the next one even bigger.

I've got a lot of other cool things coming up on the horizon, too. In June, Swallow-a-Bicycle will be doing a show in a small town of 2,000 people in Southern Alberta called Vulcan, best known for its Star Trek tourist centre. Also in June, a play that I co-wrote with my friend Charles Netto was selected by Lunchbox Theatre for its "Stage One" play development series. Then, in September, we're co-producing a burlesque show with the Garter Girls Burly-Q Revue. So yeah, lots of excitement in the near future!

In short, those are the reasons I haven't been as active on the board as I would like to be, but I'm delighted to see that you guys are still churning out stories and keeping our shared universe alive. I try to keep up as much as I can!

How 'bout you guys? What's keeping you busy in real life?

Well, yeah... it seems like you've got a few things to keep you busy... hell, even providing all of those links must have taken some time. I think I'd enjoy "i-Robot Theater", provided the fish smell isn't too strong.

I also quite like the "We Should Know Each Other" idea, and would attend if I ended up in Calgary. You Canadians and your friendliness... it's adorable. I think in the US we may have to warm up with "We Probably Shouldn't Stab Each Other" and build from that. A Lego room would help, no doubt... unless there weren't enough Legos to go around.

Is that you in the top hat on the Markapalooza poster? I can't say I looked too closely, what with the naked women in body paint just beneath it. I have now decided that far too few of my own birthdays featured nude models in body paint. Screw cake and ice cream.

In any event, I'm delighted to see you're doing well! Congrats!

Thanks for the update. Theatre companies are fun and insanity-making at the same time. I produced and directed four productions when I was around 18 or so and I don't think I've recovered yet.

I'm glad to see you're having a busy and hopefully happy time, though. Feel free to post clips of the production for those of us for whom Calgary is quite a commute.




This is my year of having books published. I think I might end up with around five or so volumes either by me or with some content by me by the end of the year. The newest one, a Robin Hood novel, is shilled a little way down the board.

I think the next thing out will be in an online magazine called Planetary Tales. It's possibly the world's only SF insurance claim tale.

Also keeping me busy is work and family. I went entirely to being a self-employed consultant when I needed money after my divorce. I've got custody of the children so they take up a lot of my time - I'm not complaining (too much) but they do. And my mother's got terminal cancer so she's requiring a lot of attention as well. It's not been a good year or two from a family standpoint. Professionally it's been quite reasonable - I guess being in a constant grumpy mood has its uses in my job.

Give your most recent story post, I think i-ROBOT Theatre would be right up your alley! We're dealing with a lot of the same issues about robot rights & sentience that are coming up in the Parodyverse.

(The fish smell is minimal. Except for in one room. It's pretty fishy.)




I think there's a market for "We Probably Shouldn't Stab Each Other'. It would start with suspicious glowers and end with hugs. Everyone loves hugs!




Yup, that's me - my poster designer thought it would be fun to pimp me out, and I didn't object.

Bodypainted models have become a fixture at my parties. Everyone seems to love them! Can't figure out why...




Thank you, sir! What about you, any crazy video game developments lately?

No kidding - my sleep schedule right now is laughable. Good thing we're having a blast, otherwise I'd be curled up in a sobbing ball of fatigue.




No clips yet, but we do have a trailer! Check it out here (at the bottom of the page).







Congratulations! It was only a matter of time until your publication floodgates burst open. Let us know when the Planetary Tales story comes out; nothing gets me going like insurance.




Sorry to hear about this series of hardships, Ian. It sounds like you're taking it all in stride, but I hope you've got some people to help out when it starts to pile up. Glad to hear your work's been going well, at least!

It's lovely to re-connect with you folks. I'd love to write a Badripoor story sometime; if time permits over the summer, I'll try to catch up on the archives and see what's what.

Nice update - your jobs sounds like a lot of fun!

Al B.

Sounds like you're up to a helluva lot, and all of it great. May your fern never wilt, my good man.