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12:24 pm - Sat 1/24/04 Well, karaoke pretty much sucked Thursday night. I got lost...again (It's hard to overstate just how "directionally-challenged" I am). And as a result, I didn't get there till sometime after 9:00; I was the last person to arrive, and ended up sitting at the end of the table. I didn't know most of the dozen or so people there, I couldn't hear (They play music in between the karaoke), so I couldn't horn in on any of the already-ongoing conversations, and I didn't have much to say when someone did talk to me. It was that "alone in a crowd" feeling that, for me, is the worst kind of loneliness. And even the karaoke itself sucked. I did a couple things throughout the evening--"Bust A Move" (JS actually put in a dollar for me to do that one), "White Wedding" (With Mike, one of the guys I knew from before), "Just a Gigolo", and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" (I like to think of myself as a fairly eclectic karaoke performer)�but nobody was listening (It wasn't just me; no one was listening to anyone when they were up there, no matter how good they were). And while I know it's karoake, and don't expect people to treat it like a concert hall, I don't see the point in doing it if no one's paying attention. I might as well be at home, singing in my apartment ( I think I would have enjoyed myself more). Did I mention the evening sucked...? I don't think I'm going back again. It's always been pretty hit-or-miss, in terms of whether I enjoy myself or not, but more than that, it just never seems to go anywhere. I haven't made any friends from it, I never get any "face time" with JS (And if the point was to show him I can sing and dance, I think he "gets" that by now), and in terms of performing, I think I've pretty much done all my "A-list" material (I spent $9 that night, and honestly feel I would have gotten more bang for my entertainment buck by saving that money and catching two matinees at the Los Feliz 3 instead). Anyway... Well, I didn't get a callback for the Hyundai spot. So it goes. I have something Monday for Ralphs. I'm supposed to be an "engineer", so they want me in a white button-up shirt, tie, and slacks. It's a non-union spot, which is sort of funny in an "I'm not laughing" kind-of-way�I've spent the past two months boycotting Ralphs because of the ongoing grocery workers strike. That's an issue, in general, that is making me more and more angry�I've gone out on auditions for HUGE companies (Disney, HBO, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros, Hyundai, and now Ralphs, to name a few), that could damn well afford to pay actors a union wage, but choose instead to screw them, basically because they can (It's pretty much a "buyer's market" out here, and if these giant corporations want to offer actors $50 and a boxed lunch to do a national, you can bet some actor anxious for a break--and a free lunch--is going to take it). But I'd better get off this subject, because I can feel my head about to explode... Speaking of the commercial game, I called Cary and Kay yesterday; I want to take the plunge and do some new headshots, sans mustache. Kay is game, so I'm going to try and get the day off a week from next Saturday, so instead of a chore I have to get done before heading off to work, it'll just be part of a fun day with the Browns. (Kay did my current headshot�the one gracing D-land�which I've been very happy with. And knowing I am the poorest of poor actors, last time they sprang for the film, the contact sheet, and some test 5x7's, which meant I only had to shell out for lithos. That's the difference between spending maybe $100, and hundreds at a photography studio. And my first headshots out here, done by a "professional", bit the big one). As I write this, I'm feeling a little silly about the big "I think I should shave my mustache, but I don't want to" debate. It's some hair above my upper lip, not an ethical dilemma. If shaving it off will get me more auditions, there's no "dilemma" here--I absolutely have to try it (If it doesn't make any difference--or somehow makes things worse--I can grow it back. Let's remind ourselves one more time�It's just hair). Well, even though karaoke didn't really pan out Thursday, I haven't given up on the idea of socializing with humans; On Monday morning, I'm having breakfast with Nick and Kyle. We're doing it at their place (Probably because Nick read me crying about how I couldn't afford to spring for them, and didn't want them to spring for me, and "maybe we could just go Dutch...", blah blah blah). We were going to do it last Saturday, but the CBS audition got in the way. Anyway, I'm looking forward to that. I enjoy their company a great deal, and I'm feeling the need for some enjoyable company these days. I feel myself wanting to comment on the Democratic primary race, if only to show that I'm aware of something outside my own little bubble. I'm following events pretty casually, but two things are bothering me�If you're following the race via television or the internet, which I imagine is how the majority of people are following it, it seems like all you get is the "horserace", which doesn't seem very helpful. The other thing that always bothers me when a Republican is in the White House, is how the Democratic challengers spend all their time tearing each other down, instead of running against the incumbent; As the ostensible "front runner", Dean was shot so full of holes by his opposition (And the media), that it was no wonder he ended up running a distant third to Kerry and Edwards. Frankly, I'm surprised he did that well. And I'm sure that if Kerry now emerges as the front runner, he'll similarly end up bleeding like a stuck pig from all the slings and arrows (I guess he's not exactly an electric speaker, but my perception is that he'd be a better candidate to run against Bush than Dean). In terms of my own opinions, to be honest, I basically don't care who wins the nomination. I'm pretty much an "Anybody but Bush" man; As long as the eventual Democratic nominee doesn't eat babies for breakfast, I'm voting for him (Let me go a bit further here�If the Democratic nominee used to eat babies for breakfast but doesn't anymore, I'm voting for him). Did you hear about the uproar over the Friends commercial? I'm sorry I missed it (It ran once, then they yanked it); apparently, the commercial referred to Friends as "The greatest comedy of all time". "The greatest comedy of all time"? Maybe one of the top ten, definitely in the top 20, but "greatest"? I don't see it. Daniel and I were talking about it at work last night; adding just two words would have eliminated all the fuss �All you needed to do was change that line to "One of the greatest comedies of all time", and who would argue with you?�but tv promos that wildly overhype the shows in question have gone into serious overdrive in recent years. To the point, in my mind, where it's actually damaging to the shows in question�If a promo tells me the next ER is "an episode to treasure" (An actual line from one of their promos), and I don't end up "treasuring" that episode, what might have been an enjoyable hour of tv suddenly becomes a disappointment. This is one of those times where I feel smarter than whoever wrote that copy, because I would have immediately known that to say "Friends is the greatest comedy of all time" would do nothing but invite criticism�Better than Mash? Or Seinfeld? Or The Simpsons? Or Mary Tyler Moore? Or Bob Newhart? Or Barney Miller? Or I Love Lucy? Well, I'm kind of feeling like I'm "on a roll" here, but I've eaten up the morning doing this, and I have to go get some groceries (And of course, take my pre-work nap).
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