It's 4:30pm as I start to write this, 27.5 hours before louder than words premieres.

I still can't believe that it all came together so quickly and am more than a little nervous about both the turnout and the response. The concept has received a lot of positive feedback but, like many of my favorite sports teams over the years, it's not about how things look on paper. It's about execution. So many variables in the mix, so much of it completely out of my hands... Ironic that one of the things that triggered the desire to do the show was Cristin's comment to Morris about not being able to control the poetry read onstage!

I'm not the least bit worried about the poetry as everyone I've picked, for both shows, I have the utmost confidence in. It's the debate portions of the show, the real meaty stuff, that concerns me.

Roger and Taylor have the potential for being a volatile, controversial combination if we can push the right buttons. There was a moment two days ago when Eric, Helen and I met that we realized our focus was a bit too narrow and things could be brought to a halt by an unexpected moment of clarity from either of them. Or by their simple refusal to play along. I'm not really worried about the latter, though.

Judging by what he wrote about the show on his calendar, Taylor's coming prepared to have fun with it:

I am looking forward to this immensely because Guy is so incendiary and opinionated that he is fun to bait and argue with, but Eric says I should be ready to answer some pretty fank and honest questions about the choices I have made as a performance poet. So maybe Guy is planning a little ambush of his own.

On the other hand, I'm not really sure about what Roger's thinking. I'm expecting him to be on guard a little in the beginning but hoping his competitive spirit gets him riled up as we put on the full-court press.

As it is, they're two very different personalities, with Taylor being more open, while Roger is a bit more nuanced. At their core, though, I think they're very similar in the way they approach things.

Then there's Eric and Helen...the loose cannon and the wild card. As much as people are expecting me to push things, Eric's the one to watch out for. Which is why I wanted him to co-host with me. He's not afraid to offend with honesty or to speak from his own experience and own it. And Helen? She's probably the smartest person that will be on the stage and is like a hollow point bullet when she takes aim at a target. Of all the people on the scene, she's one of the few I'd be afraid to get on their bad side. Most poets are blowhards but she's the real deal.

27 hours and eight minutes to go. {shiver}

Hope to see you there!

PS: My Guestbook is getting jealous of the TagBoard. The quick comments are fun but where's the beef? Hit me off!