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2:31 am - Thurs 11/30/06
Babies, Barenaked Ladies, and Michael Richards

Babies, Barenaked Ladies, and Michael Richards (In Other Words, Something For Everyone)

Writing this "on location" at Cary and Kay's home in Newhall...

Some time back, Kay asked if I wouldn't mind babysitting Donovan for them last night--their regular sitter can't do weeknights--so she could treat Cary to a Barenaked Ladies concert.

And I was happy to say yes, because 1) I owe them, big-time, and 2) They have Direct TV and high-speed Internet.

I got here around 5:30 yesterday, we had pizza, then they gave Donovan a bath and put him to bed before heading out to the show.

(They got back around midnight, having had a very nice time, and went to bed shortly thereafter.)

And I'm happy to report that Donovan was still alive when they got home.

So taking that into account, along with all the tv watching, high speed web-surfing, and snack eating, I'd have to consider this venture a total success.

_________________________

I tend to struggle with the holidays. Not just because they're the holidays (And woe is me, because I don't have a family, etc and so forth), but because, at the same time as I'm getting the holiday blues, the two things I enjoy most--watching tv and auditioning for things--take a "holiday" as well.

But happily, that hasn't happened just yet (I was particularly glad ABC aired new episodes of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy on Thanksgiving Night, instead of some lame "special").

I'll probably have to get through at least December without my favorite "stories", but on the plus side, that's when we'll have most of the year's big Oscar-worthy movies at the theater.

And while auditions will slow to a stop at some point, that hasn't happened yet; as a matter of fact, I've had four auditions over the past three days.

On Monday, I had a "straight to callback" audition for Comcast (It would have been great to book this--three national spots as the spokesperson for "Big Old Expensive Phone Company"--but I don't think it's gonna happen).

On Tuesday, I had an audition for Mastercard, playing an under-the-weather Zookeeper (The elephant he cares for, seeing that the Zookeeper is sick, takes his "Express-Card", sneaks away, and buys the Zookeeper some cough medicine and chicken soup, tenderly
"tucking him in" at the end of the spot).

And yesterday, I had an audition for a SAG "Ultra Low Budget" film at 11:20 (I think those pay $100 a day, which is still better than I do at ArcLight), and at 1:00, I had a callback for PNC Banks, as a "heart and soul" man, whatever that means (No dialogue, just three spots with some 30 principals).

For the PNC Bank spots, they were also casting for toddlers and mothers, so I didn't get seen for that one till 2:40, when my audition time was 1:00 (I went from "Look at all the cute babies!", to "How many babies are left...?", to "Damn babies...!").

(The good part about a SAG audition running so late? If they make you wait an hour past your scheduled time, they have to pay you for your time.)

Anyway, while I'm all-but-certain the Comcast thing didn't happen (The one where I probably could have quit ArcLight), I could imagine getting any of the remaining three things.

Wish me luck on that--It'd be fun to put one more thing in the "win" column before the year's out.

_________________________

I'm probably the last person in America who's still thinking about the Michael Richards business...

One reason the story is so interesting to me is that I saw Richards do standup maybe a month prior to the incident--I'd gone to support Rob A., an ArcLight coworker who was doing the Laugh Factory's Wednesday night "Amateur Hour", and Richards was a "special guest" at the end.

And ironically, Richards seemed more "amateur hour" to me than the comics who'd just been on. He didn't really have an act, just kind of meandered around, occasionally hitting on something funny, but mostly just seeming like he was coasting on audience goodwill from having been "Kramer".

The audience that night was favorably disposed towards him, but even then, when some overly-enthusiastic audience members were trying to be "part of the act", he didn't take it very well, and became kind of mean and profane, without, in my opinion, being very funny about it.

So I wasn't totally shocked, when an audience wasn't on his side--and someone actually heckled him--that he blew a gasket.

And now I wonder--How does this make me feel about Michael Richards? About watching re-runs of Seinfeld? About my own latent racism? About how these things play out in a public arena?

It makes me think about "degrees of racism"; Michael Richards probably thinks he's not a racist because he's never burned a cross on someone's lawn or tried to prevent someone from excercising their civil rights. But if you're on stage, telling a black man who's heckling you that "Fifty years ago, you'd be hanging upside down with a fork up your ass" and screaming to the audience "He's a nigger!" over and over, well...I'd say you have some "issues" with race, to say the least.

But at the same time I'm appalled by his outburst, I feel kind of sorry for him. Racism notwithstanding, who hasn't said something in the heat of anger that they wish they could take back?

But the differnce, for most of us, is that our angry outbursts aren't usually recorded for posterity, and broadcast to a worldwide audience.

I think the guy's toast at this point, and I don't know if that's that big a loss to the world, but it makes me feel sorry for the guy, who probably just wants to entertain people, and because of one bad night, isn't going to get to do that anymore.

(It's a textbook example of how you usually hurt yourself more than anyone else when you lose your temper; the people Richards went off on had a bad night that night, while Richards is likely going to feel the effects of his little racist tantrum for the rest of his life.)

Well, I could go on about this--I find it very thought-provoking--but it's gotten very late (Or very early, depending on your point of view), and I don't want my whole Thursday to go down the tubes because I have to sleep all day.

Nitey-nite, fellow travellers...


 

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