1. It is collaborative creation.

2. There is instant feedback.

3. There are lots of laughs.

4. It is personal. One must make themselves vulnerable in order to succeed.

5. Success also means making other people look good.

6. It is completely disposable, not repeatable art. Every performance is unique.

7. It takes a ton of preparation in terms of learning the skills, and no preparation in terms of knowing ahead of time what might happen on stage. (No memorization)

8. Improv skills are life skills.

9. Improv doesn't only create stories, it creates trust among actors.

10. It gives you energy, by drawing from entirely different parts of your brain and body.

According to (e:Jason) 's facebook page, (e:Joshua) has died. I don't have any more information, but please watch Jason's page and send love his way.

When people discover that we attempting to sell our home and purchase another one on the West Side, they don't say it out loud, but they tend to make assumptions.

The most common one is that we can no longer afford our lifestyle the way that it is. Given the current economic realities, this is likely true for many people. But it isn't for us. Not that it's anybody's business, but we are--even in this house--saving money, not going into debt.

Others assume that we are fleeing our neighbors and/or leaving town. No and no. Yes, we have some quirky neighbors, but we have learned to love the quirks, and will miss living on Lexington. We also want to stay in Buffalo, for something between a long time and a life time. This place is sweet.

It's not about taxes, either. Plenty of people are "mad as hell," and I would love to pay less, but frankly federal taxes make me madder than local ones.

Is it really so hard to believe that people would choose to live in a "transitional" neighborhood and lower their expenses?

Moving will give us greater financial freedom. We can give more (time and money--we like both of these ideas) . We can spend more time with our kids. We can travel more. We might even buy a new tv (it's been almost 10 years, and even that one was used).

What really surprises me is that most of the shocked people know that I am a Christian and/or are Christians themselves. Jesus never commanded people to get the biggest box, with the nicest stuff in the safest place. He practiced "downward mobility," and commanded his followers to do the same.

Even in the new place, we're probably living too extravagantly. We'll have a garage--a house for our car--in a world where too many people don't have a house or a car. Hopefully, we will be able to use the stuff well, not just for ourselves, but for others. Maybe, someday, we will be led to spend even LESS on housing. Once, I never imagined living in the city, then we did that. Now we are moving into a "rougher" place, but we are hardly moving into a "danger zone." Maybe someday we will. I can't imagine that God loves the people on the East Side, or in the 2/3 world, any less then God loves Elmwood Villagers or West Side folk.

So please don't act surprised. This is our attempt to bring the way we live more into alignment with the values we profess. It's fine if you value different things, or live those values differently. For us, this move makes all the sense in the world.

For more on "Stuff" and houses. See George Carlin. If you are offended by swear words and/or truth, don't watch.

This is a good video, but I am posting it for other reasons.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

This post is inspired by (e:paul)'s lament on declining estrip use. I will admit that it has been easier to share via facebook and/or twitter. I have also slacked on updating/posting to elmwoodjesus.org.

So in some ways, I think, internet use is changing, and (e:strip) might get left behind--but I don't want it to.

I think what makes this site great is that it is a hybrid community. Not 100% online, not 100% in "real life" and no other online community has that same vibe. But it doesn't work if we stop posting and/or getting together. And I, along with many of us, have done a lousy job of this.

What's the fix? Do we all just double down and re-commit to blogging? Wait and see if we miss it? Adjust (e:strip) to the facebook world? I'm not sure. I really don't think any one of those will do the trick, to be honest.

I wonder if the departure of some regulars has dropped us below the "critical mass." If it has, I hope my return to blogging can help change that. It's not like I've stopped having opinions, right? I even (finally) have a phone that can send pics straight to estrip. (I know, I am about 4 generations of phone behind).

As for face to face get togethers, I feel especially bad because I made a fb invited for our annual labor day party, but didn't blog about it here. I hope you all can come (maybe even you lurkers that we know are around but don't post). This party is bigger than Christmas for Janelle and I. We start around 10am and go all day. I hope to see you there. Call my cell for directions: 510-7086.