Living Forever and Dying Today

Here's an idea to explore: “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as though you'll die today.” I think James Dean said it, though he may not have been the first. But that's an interesting concept. Because on the one hand you're doing all this dreaming and planning for the future, but if you're going to live as though you'll die today, you've got to live totally in the moment. How did John Keats, the great English poet who died at age twenty-six, live? Was he constantly looking ahead to the goals he wanted to accomplish, or did he truly live in the moment? How does knowing you're going to die young affect the way you live? What trivial elements do you cut out of everyday life in order to make sure you do all that is important to you? You don't take anything for granted, you waste no time, you don't put anything off because there may not be any time to put it off until. Who is happier, the guy who gets to live forever but has to watch all his friends and family die, or the guy who lives for only twenty-five years but never has to see anyone die and never takes one single breath for granted? What if there was an immortal guy who was friends with a guy who knew he was going to die young, probably before age thirty?That'd be an interesting relationship, huh? Also, you wouldn't really be concerned about eating healthy or exercising if you knew you'd be dead before thirty, would you? I don't think so. You probably wouldn't think so much or worry so much about things. I think John Keats wanted to write so much so he could leave a legacy behind him, so he could leave something to show for his brief time spent on earth. I think he was concerned that he would die and have nothing to show for his short life. But maybe I'm wrong. I'd have to read his letters again, it's been a few years and I definitely have not read them all. Maybe he just wrote because it was his way of venting, his way of coping with his illness and all the tragedy in his life. What would have been my reason, had I been John Keats? I think both. I certainly want to leave my mark on the world, but it's not all about one's legacy, either. It's about these moments, it's about enjoying the time you've got. The legacy that's most important is how you're remembered by those you love, and the positive changes you've brought to all the people you've touched—not how many poems you've published or how many films you've acted in.

Guns on campus

I saw on the news today there are students trying to get a law passed allowing them to carry concealed weapons on campus. Are they f^(%in crazy? On the 10th anniversary of columbine, a day when you would think people would be thinking about a world without guns, here we are, and people are trying to bring more guns in. How will that solve the problem? The students say that they want to be able to defend themselves against an attack like Columbine or Virginia Tech. Well that’s all well and good and believe me I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment but I think this will lead to some serious trouble. Just imagine this: some kid gets drunk at a party, starts to get out of hand. Sound familiar? I think pretty much everyone who's been in college can attest to the fact that this is pretty common. Except, now imagine that he's carrying a gun. And an argument starts, and it escalates and becomes physical, and then the kid busts out the gun and maybe he doesn't mean to use it but whether he does or not, a struggle ensues and the gun goes off and kills someone. More guns, especially at school, are not the answer. If you’re in the street or in your house or someplace like that, you should be able to carry a concealed weapon if you have a permit for it--but not on a school campus. There has to be someplace that’s weapons-free. Even if school shootings happen, fighting fire with fire is not the answer in this case. That’s just my opinion. I see it easily doing way more harm than good. I just don’t think college students are responsible enough, in general, to be handling weapons. They can’t even handle themselves on spring break! Can you imagine if you throw guns into the mix? Just picture the insanity of spring break...and now put a gun in just one of those kids' hands. A professor at the school where this debate is currently going on made that point, and I thought it was a great one. Yes, college students need to be able to defend themselves, but you can do that without guns. Guns are trouble, and more of them is more trouble. That's not to say we should take away peoples' rights to bear arms. I completely agree with that right. But I don't think that means that immature college kids who are often intoxicated and making questionable decisions should be given the means to shoot each other.

How You Know You've Passed the Point of No Return

Guys, wondering if you've passed the point of no return in a relationship? You know, the point where you know there's no turning back, you're in it for the long run, you're hopelessly, incurably in love, a prisoner to its whim? If your girlfriend has asked you if you will go see 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' starring Matthew McConnaughey and Jennifer Garner and you said "Yeah, I've actually been wanting to see that," you have passed the point of no return. Actually, I read the script for that movie when I was interning in Hollywood and loved it. I guess I was past the point of no return a while ago.

Guts

Today I want to talk about guts. You know, I really admire people who’ve got guts. I’ve got guts. But there are people out there who’ve REALLY got guts, y’know? People like Adam Lambert, the frontrunner (there, I’ve said it) on this season of American Idol. He’s definitely the most talented of the group when you consider the total package. He’s not only the most talented, he’s the best performer, because he’s the gutsiest, he takes the biggest risks, and he has the most fun. He’s truly an amazing performer to watch. If you haven’t seen him yet, start watching American Idol on Tues nights at 8 on Fox. Most of you reading this probably know about him already, but there are undoubtedly those who will not. So start watching, those of you. It’s a very rare sight to see a contestant on Idol who is already so far advanced in his development as an artist. He’s so much more mature than most of the artists we see. He’s got more experience than a lot of them, and it shows. And he’s an actor too, a true performer, and he knows how to work the crowd. Oh, does he! Yeah, he knows not only how to sing incredibly well, but how to entertain! And the risks he takes are so admirable. I hope one day to have the guts to take the kinds of risks he does. I’m working on it, I’m getting there. But I think having the guts to get up there and do what you feel in its utmost expression is the epitome of what it means to be an artist. Not to care what others think, to get up there and be you, and pour every last drop of your creative spirit out into the room, to fill the room and the crowd with the magic you’ve created. That’s really something. To be able to affect people with the magic of your creative spirit. It’s what we actors live for. That and love. A lot of what we express as artists has to do with love, so art is really one of the main things we live for. Self-expression. Thank god we have the right to self-expression. I don’t know where we’d be without it, but I don’t want to think about that. But yeah, Adam Lambert is my pick to win Idol, I’m in his corner, he’s my fav. And I can’t believe articles are even coming out about ‘can he win if he’s gay?’ who gives a shit if he’s gay, straight, bisexual, or whatever-the-hell other kind of sexual orientation there is? He’s a damned fine artist, a true rock star in his own right, and that should be all that matters. I’m confident, though, that he’s got enough people in his corner that he can overcome whatever sort of ridiculous ‘stigma’ might come with suspicions about his sexual orientation. Give me a break, the guy is fantastic, he should be judged based on his talent, character and personality, and in all three of those facets, from what he’s shown on Idol, he is a winner and a true role model for children and anyone who desires to become an artist. That is my personal tribute to Adam Lambert.

Adventures in Acting

So I've decided I'm going to chronicle my adventures in the world of professional acting. So far, I haven't got much to write. I've got more to write about all the weirdos I've met on my various trips to the city than I do about my actual acting experiences. But those people add a little flavor to a story, so I'm thankful for them.
Anyway, I got up at four a.m. recently to go to an audition in New York City. Four. They say you have to be a little insane to be an actor--I think I've got that part covered. I felt the audition went quite well, but later I find out that the stand-alone copies i brought in for sheet music aren't gonna cut it in the biz. Apparently, it screams 'amateur.' So I've since put a music book together, and I feel more professional and confident knowing now that people will see me as more professional.
So after that audition, I went to TVI Actor's Studio to meet up with my consultant and sing for him so he could evaluate me for consideration in musical theatre classes. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I just wasn't as into it as I wanted/needed to be. My energy was lacking, I wasn't acting enough while I sang--I did sing well, and loudly, so that was good, but the rest was missing. I vowed that that would be the last time I gave a lackluster performance of any kind, regardless of the circumstance.
Even more recently, I woke up at 3 am to go to another audition. This time, it was for Broadway. I arrived at the audition location at 7a.m., two hours before sign-in was scheduled to begin--and saw a line. Okay, not surprising. But this was a very long line. I made sure it was the right line, then began walking to the end of it. Well, at least I got here two hours early, I thought. I won't have to wait too long. I walked to the end of the line--only to find that that was not the end at all. The line continued to the left, around the corner of the building. All the way down to the next cross-street. I walked all the way down there, only to find that the line continued around the next corner further down than I could see. I walked, more and more disheartened with every step, until at last I came to the end--nope, wait, just a gap in the line where some maintenance guy had told the other auditionees they couldn't stand, cause they were blocking some door. Keep walking. Ah, yes, the end. Really, this time. The real end of the line. There were at least four hundred people ahead of me. I calculated in my head that if the auditors saw someone every two minutes--and that was wishful thinking, believe me--in eight hours (the absolute maximum amount of time they would be there), they still wouldn't see me. it was an open call, meaning they were seeing people in order of arrival. I was about to turn around and go back home, but I stayed because I started talking to a few kids who had come in together from New Jersey. if not for them, I probably would have left. Anyway, I decided to stay until 9 a.m., just to see how the line was moving, and make a decision after that point. So, we start moving a little after 9, slowly, believe me, but we're moving, so that's encouraging. Then, someone comes around and tells us that the auditors are going to be 'typing' today--that means lining people up and choosing who gets to audition based on physical type, i.e., look. If you've got the look they're going for, you get to audition--so long as they don't already have enough people with your look. If you don't have the look they want, you're s.o.l. The young woman who tells us about the typing says there are over 1,000 people here to audition. Over 1,000. Is this American Idol or an audition for a play? I mean, sure, it's Broadway, but are you serious?! So, around 9:30, I get my return time, when I'm supposed to come back to be typed. It's 2:00. I have to leave the area and return at 2pm to see if they want to have me audition. Oh, well. What have I got to lose by waiting, right? I mean, I came here for this anyway, might as well see it through. I kill all four and a half hours at Starbucks, during which time I order only one thing there and read and eat my lunch. I go back to be typed--and I get chosen to audition! At this point, I'm psyched. This means getting up at 3 a.m., screwing up my whole sleep cycle, spending my entire day in the city, was all worth it, because I get to sing a minute of a song for the auditors. I sing well, I'm pleased, and out I go. Ready to go home. Successful day, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, definitely got the insanity part covered.

"Religion"

What if people just started religions based on anything they wanted? Oh, wait. They already do. Some of them. Or at least it seems that way. Then again, maybe some of these religions we laugh at only seem silly to us because they haven't been around nearly as long as the established ones like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc., and aren't nearly as popular, so they don't have the same credibility yet. Anyway, I was reading a user comment on imdb (the Internet movie database) recently, and someone wrote that she was starting a religion based on the movie "Supergirl." I hope she was kidding--but I'm not sure. Actually, it's much funnier--though scarier--if she's not kidding. Kara, the Supergirl character--is the "goddess' of this "religion." Basically, the premise is that all the followers worship Kara and her perfect ways, and basically that acting like Supergirl is what everyone should do. What if this person took this thing to the next level and actually got converts and followers? And they had actual meetings? What would they talk about?
"I tried to fly like Kara today...it didn't work out. Yes, that's why I'm in a wheelchair. Kara be praised."
"I'm still trying to figure out where that darn magic orb is that was stolen from Krypton. it's somewhere here on Earth."
"Keep looking, Susan. Don't give up. Kara is with you."
"Today, I tried to stop a car full of bad guys fleeing from the cops--that also didn't quite work. Would everyone please sign my full-body cast? Oh, just not across the chest--that spots reserved for Kara's signature when she returns."
Maybe there's a rival religion that worships Lex Luthor. The goal is world domination--and thwarting the efforts of the Kara-ites, of course. Followers of this religion would all be completely hairless, of course, like Luthor. They'd probably have ritualistic hair removal procedures.

A new "sport"

I saw something recently that really made me laugh. I saw a video of college students playing Quiddatch. yes, the same Quiddatch that is played on broomsticks in the Harry Potter series created by J.K. Rowling. Oh, with one minor exception: they were not flying through the air; they were running on the ground. Holding broomsticks between their legs. It was ludicrous. Now, of course they can't fly through the air, because of that sometimes unfortunate force called gravity. So why play Quiddatch, then? Why stick a broomstick awkwardly in your crotch? Play rugby or dodgeball. Because that's exactly what this was. A cross between rugby and dodgeball. With broomsticks that serve no purpose except to make their riders look like the characters from Harry Potter and enable them to swat away balls thrown at them. But these people didn't look like Harry Potter characters. They looked like a bunch of idiots dressed in wizard hats, running around like mad. And it gets worse. There's a player called a "snitch." The snitch runs around with a sock hanging from the rear of his waist which contains a small ball, to represent the "snitch" in the popular book series. Are you kidding me? So, basically, you've got a bunch of twenty-year-old geek extraordinaires running around with wooden sticks thrust between their legs, pushing each other over and throwing dodgeballs at each other, all the while trying to throw a soccer ball through a hoop and grab a ball dangling from somebody's ass. Sound like fun? Go for it. My alma mater, Boston University, played valiantly at the Intercollegiate Quiddatch World Cup, or so I'm told from the article I read. I couldn't really tell who was on which team from the video, because it looked like a bunch of overgrown wizard wannabes prodding one another with large wooden phalli. I can't tell you how proud this makes me of my school. A large young man dressed as the rugged Hagred put it best when he said, "I love Harry Potter. I really do. I love being Hagred. But grown-ass people playing Quiddatch is the most foolish thing I've ever seen." These Quiddatch players take their "sport" seriously, too. I even heard the word "strategy" mentioned by a girl wearing safety goggles, to her team of Quiddatchians in their tent. The only good thing about this bastardized, real-life form of Quiddatch is that you get to hit people with your body and with dodgeballs. So I say, dispense with the godawful broomsticks--which are more apt to render someone blind or sterile than add any kind of enjoyment whatsoever to the game--and the hanging "snitch"--I'm not even gonna go there--and call it "Dugby" or "Rodgeball"--a dodgeball-rugby hybrid. I think it'll create a nice bond between the Germans and the Scottish, the inventors of each sport (I think, but perhaps that fact just isn't true at all). I think you need to do some serious self-reflection if you're in college and you're still running around pretending you can fly like the wizard children in the fantasy books you read. I'm all for imagination, believe me--but Quiddatch? And I thought "handball" was bad when I watched it on the Olympics. Just wait until Quiddatch is part of the games. Then you'll see some really proud geeks. Broomsticks, away!