Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Apologies

"I make bitches laugh, that's how I get laid."

This was what I heard from the condo next to me as I was walking into my apartment yesterday. Some guy who sounded young and dumb was talking way too loud on his cell phone, presumably to another dude.

As a male of the species I would like to apologize for this idiot. And all the ones like him.

The conversation I overheard did not mention that he likes women or respects them. But when you are in your twenties, it's more about friction than respect.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Overly Lin-Sensitive

There was a brouhaha recently over an Asian basketball player who is doing quite well. There was a ages old phrase in a sentence in a broadcast which people were saying was racially insensitive.

The phrase was "Chink in his armor." In context it was meant as, this guy is so amazing, he must have a weakness.

Are you fucking kidding me? This phrase got someone fired? It is a term that has been around since men went into battle wearing armor. A chink in the armor refers to a weak spot, maybe from prior damage that had been fixed, but is not as strong as it was originally. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BORN IN CHINA, ASIA OR BE OF ASIAN DESCENT. It's a hole in the protection, the armor. A weak spot in something. It's not racial.

This kind of stupidity makes me crazy. The saying has been around since at least the 1400's. In Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream, in act 5 during the Pyramis and Thisbe scene the talking wall tells about a chink in the wall that the separated lovers would talk thru. Should that word be changed? Is someone in the audience going to get up, offended, and storm out because they are talking about a hole in the wall?

What other phrases or sayings can be misconstrued to be made into something racial? Hmmm...

Tie one on. It's normally about getting shit-faced drunk. Would someone of Thai descent think they are going to be bound to something?

Black as night. Or Pitch. This is to describe a color. Will people think blacks are lurking in the darkness?

That guy is yellow. Mainly you would hear this in old westerns. It meant he is scared. Doesn't mean he's Asian.

My point is there are everyday idioms and sayings in the English language that if you want to take the time to get offended at, go ahead. But it seems like a lot of time wasted when there are really offensive words out there meant to hurt people's feelings. Whether it's race or gender or sexual orientation. If you want to get offended, get offended for the right words. Don't waste your time on the ones you create the offense.

I wonder if Orientation offended anyone...

Sunday, February 5, 2012

DIY Acting

Fuck it.

I'm going to create something to act in-- starring me. Why the fuck not? It worked for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon with Good Will Hunting. So I'm going to do my own project.

As an artist actors are kind of stuck in an unfortunate situation. We need other people. Writers can write on the back of a napkin if necessary, visual artists need whatever form they work in and may not even need reality to create art. But actors... We need other people.

So I'm going to create a web series for me to act in. The technology is there that makes it possible to shoot something one the most simple of cameras. Recently there was a movie I heard of that was shot on an Iphone. So with simple editing programs I can shoot something to showcase ME. I'm the product and I need to be bought.

I started writing on and off about a year ago. Since it's a web series I'm thinking of stories that can be told in 3 minutes of less. The hard part is getting help. I'm not used to asking for assistance when I have projects because most of the things I do I can do by myself.

What I need is pretty simple. Camera man, boom operator/sound guy, and someone to direct. I'm not going into this trying to direct myself. That seems foolish... Lighting would be pretty simple and the technology in cameras makes it possible to shoot with available light.

I was involved with a web series 12 years ago before anyone knew what to do with the internet. I saw the grand ideas yield minimal results. I'm going to think economically.

I just need to keep writing...