Thursday, January 16, 2014

CURRENT EVENTS


https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/file-federal-charges-against-officers-who-beat-homeless-and-mentally-challenged-kelly-thomas-death/DcVvTKcg




Wednesday, January 15, 2014

SPALDING GRAY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT OCD?


Read these 3 in order. Spalding Gray sums up OCD perfectly, though I don’t think he realized that’s what it was. Reminds me of the struggles I’ve had with it.









Spalding Greay




In May 2008 I read Spalding Gray’s “Swimming to Cambodia”, as you can tell by my previous post. My next post will also be partly about things in the book that stuck with me.

I guess cuz it’s the new year I’m getting reflective about the past 5 years that flew by faster than I knew possible. 

Anyway, for some reason this small, inconsequential scene was festering on my cerebellum for a very long time and I just had to share. I guess the anecdote is kinda humorous and a part of me can’t help wonder if that’s common practice in such a situation.
By the way: It’s said Spalding was a “major voice from the American theatre avant-garde”. I don’t see what’s avant-garde about a humorous one-man show.

But what is interesting is Wikipedia claimed in his very early career he was in a porno called The Farmer’s Daughter. Makes ya wonder if Sasha GRAY is related.


LONG-ASS POST to MY DEAREST FELLOW INTERNET HUMANS


I don’t “blog” anymore really, not in the form of paragraphs of text. I consider myself a writer but I don’t show that side online enough. You should see my near-thousand pages worth of comedy material, scripts, pitches, half-formed business ideas, etc. etc. I have neatly filed and organized on Evernote, that Godsend of an app.
BUT! What I’m here to talk about this morning (never mind why I’m awake right now, that’s for another post) is about writing and reading.
A lot of folks don’t see me as the voracious, avid reader that I am. From a very early age I’ve been constantly educating and entertaining myself with books on a myriad of topics that most adults thought were too advanced for me at the age I was when I read so much of the stuff. EXAMPLE: in 5th grade I was reading stuff about product design and filmmaking, particularly sneaking SCREENWRITING for Dummies into class. I’m serious.
But that’s just me showing off. What I really wanted to mention was how swamped and overwhelmed I am with the stacks of books I wanna get to, which happens to me every winter. Stuck in the house, ya know? 
And more importantly than how many books is that I wanted to vent a little about Hunter S. Thompson. I saw the movie version of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” on HBO-GO last year or so and liked it, plus I’ve always loved illustrator Ralph Steadman. People tell me I kinda draw like him…and those same people would agree my mother is like a 60-year-old, female version of Mr. Thompson. Scary and funny.
I was also struck at the sorta similarity between he and Spalding Gray. In 2008 I read Spalding’s “Swimming to Cambodia” and in his introduction he touched upon his creative process. Aside from the similarity between stand-up comedy and a one-person show, I just liked the euphony of his writing and his explanation of inspiration, which sort of reminded me of Gonzo journalism.
I am super fascinated by the processes of famous creatives, so one of my favorite things was in the introduction….