Day 279: The Improvables vs. The Antics

Tonight, the Improvables had another head-to-head matchup with another talented troupe from Utah. While Ian, Keenan, Ricky, Scott, and Willis took the stage in Centerville, Jordan, Ryan, and I traveled up to Logan for a faceoff with The Antics at the Whittier Center, adjacent to the Utah State University campus.

Three pretty big things stood in the way of people coming to this performance: (1) the BYU/USU football, which was being played concurrently; (2) mission reunions, which are typically held on Friday nights prior to the start of October general conference; and (3) conference itself, for which, we were told, many Aggies tend to go home to watch with their families or to watch live in Salt Lake City at the Conference Center. Nevertheless, though a small crowd turned up to watch the show, they were very vocal and enthusiastic, and we enjoyed a fun-filled evening together. They taught us a few of their games, and we also introduced them to "Too Much Information."

At the end of the performance, the crowd voted on the night's "MVP," and Claire and I tied for the most votes. As a result, we got to play one final game, "Scene with a Soundtrack," together.

The Antics are a very funny and talented bunch of improv-ers, and we look forward to seeing them again in two weeks, this time for a show on our home turf at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts.

Day 260: Post #666/BYU vs. Utah 2012

Today marks my 666th post on Disconcertingly Choppy since starting this blog (as "The Epistle of Jon") about four years ago.

While you ponder on that, be ye superstitious or not, there was a football game played locally last night between two local universities, BYU and Utah. Perhaps you have heard something about it. It is something of the most hotly contested sporting event of the year 'round these parts.

Ben and Adi hosted a viewing party at their home for both sides of their family, which included a handful of our mutual friends, to boot. It served as a sort of housewarming party for their new abode, as we had not previously congregated there for any type of gathering.

Most of us rooted for BYU with the exception of Adi and her parents, who are die-hard U. of U. fans. Adi's mother brought Ute tortilla chips, which I didn't even know existed until now:

and red and blue drinking cups:

Ben, meanwhile, dressed up Saru in a BYU jersey:

The game was full of ups and downs, with one of the wildest finishes I've ever seen in a football game. The Utes ended up prevailing, 24-21, winning their third consecutive game in the rivalry.

Perhaps the less said about that the better. At any rate, good times were had by all.

Day 255: Clearance Sale

I was browsing at the local Seagull Book today when I came across this clearance sale of University of Utah hats:


There were no BYU hats on clearance . . . just sayin'.

Happy Rivalry Week, everybody!

60 Seconds to Win It

Tonight, some of the truly fearless members of my ward and I took part in an event, under the direction of the Activities Committee, based on a popular TV game show; I think it's called "Sixty Seconds to Win It."

As with the TV show, each game required superb skill and/or talents to complete, and, of course, we were given 60 seconds to finish each challenge. Unlike the TV show, however, the "it" we were all trying to win was not a large cash prize but instead a bag full of goodies. But who's complaining? What's a wad of cash compared to bragging rights?

I was a bit late, having first watched the end of the BYU vs. Wofford NCAA basketball tournament game - like many others, namely Jill, I've jumped firmly onto the Cougars/Jimmer Fredette bandwagon - but, fortunately, I found that I had missed only the first two of several games when I arrived.


Among the events we Millstreamers competed in were "Nut Stacker" (pictured above), in which players had to stack ten metal nuts on top of each other, using a chopstick (no one could do it successfully, though some made it to nine); "Back Flip," in which players had to throw pencils up into the air with the backs of their hands and then catch them; and "Defying Gravity," in which players had to keep three balloons up in the air without grabbing or holding onto any of them.

Yours truly took part in "Nose Dive," in which we smeared a bit of Vaseline on our noses and then had to (using only our noses) pick up cotton balls from one jar and place them into another; and "Junk in the Trunk," during which we tied tissue boxes filled with ping pong balls around our waists and had to shake and shimmy to empty the contents. I *ahem* finished first in my "Junk" bracket and came close to winning "Nose Dive."

I don't know what the St. Patrick's Day correlation was to tonight's festivities, but this much I do know: Kiss me - I'm one-eighth Irish.