Well, we're now really in the holiday season. I finally got a good percentage of my Christmas shopping done yesterday. (Sometimes "living Improv" means you do things last-minute!) I also recently got back from a visit at my sister's (to see both nephews & the new niece), while also being invited to come again tomorrow with the gifts I bought for all of them.
Anyhow, the fact is I haven't seen a lot of my family ("immediate" or "extended") since the last blog. (Still debating meeting with my Mom's side of the family tonight, prepared for many of them to tell me "Merry Christmas" & "Happy Birthday" about in the same breath!) Regardless, I present to all my readers a possible gift list...
...To be a bit different, however, this will not be of anything to get me for my birthday or Christmas, as they will not be things that you could likely find in any store. Even so, they are things I would be very interested in seeing in the New Year (or-so) that I believe many of us would benefit from. (Don't worry; I'll limit myself to a maximum of 10, so you can count them down instead of watching the already-seen-too-much Ryan Seacrest take over basically solo for Dick Clark next week.)
1] "Truth In Advertising" = I heard about this years ago, & so have long assumed it (& laws to require it) actually existed. However, I think it (like the "right" to marry) should be extended across the country in various ways & situations. For instance, I recently watched a TV performance by a group known as the Avett Brothers. I loved it (to the point I watched it when the episode repeated, when I rarely watch Jimmy Fallon's show once a week)!! When introducing the group, Jimmy announced they were performing alongside Chris Cornell, whose name I knew from bands he was in previously. What makes them violate this rule/idea is that I recently read an article in Rolling Stone about them that goes out of its way to mention the other members of their band that performed with them that night, as well as several other nights before & since! I don't mind that (I know Tom Petty & other artists play multiple instruments on their albums through multi-track recording & things, but can't do so live in Cleveland or Pittsburgh), but when it bothers me is people like Justin Bieber, who we all know can't play a note on anything! (I realize this might seem mean since I grew-up a drummer, so I technically didn't play a note either... But I'll loan Bieber my old sticks next time he's in Cleveland, & personally induct him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if he knows how to use them as well as I do.)
2] Bands Reunited, etc.= Not saying I want to see the return of this show to VH1 (though I wouldn't be against the old seasons being put out on DVD). What I want rather, starts with the end, for instance, of things like I heard about on that show, where the female from the group Berlin (I think it was) continued to tour years later under that name when she was the only original member still in the performing group. Also, I would love to see 98 Degrees get back together as I read they did earlier this week. (Anyone else see the irony of the host of "The Sing-Off" being another guy who famously sings but doesn't play anything?!) However, before they sign on for a tour, add this caveat: They (like recent reunite-ers New Kids On The Block) can no longer be advertised as a band (due to my aforementioned "Truth In Advertising" bit), & since they would not be touring to support a new recording, Nick will be singing under his new name "Nick Minnillo", as his wife still has a show actively airing on Fox's schedule, & is therefore more "actively famous" than he is. (Much the way Pau Gasol is more "actively famous" than Kobe right now, since Bryant can't stand up without the rest of the team ironically supporting him.)
3] “The End Of Presumption” = This, contrary to #1, refers to something I long believed did not exist, but have come to find out exists perhaps beyond nationwide. [In fact, it may refer to both of the previous, as when we hear someone has the “top-selling” album, we might have once assumed they could play an instrument. Likewise, when Jay Leno says his guest “stars in the #1 movie in the country”, we might assume they are an actor. When people like the group One Direction or comic Kevin Hart (also currently a star of a reality show) are the previously-described stars, however, that is not the case.] A Google search tells me it may have been as many as 8 years ago this first began to occur to me: A local man that was a friend of my father’s was charged with a crime. Fast as a finger-snap, that man’s name was never mentioned again in our house. I don’t think anyone had spoken it for years prior, but that fast, you dared not say it on the property, or risk something akin to an “evil eye” from any other family member. Reading my prior blogs will show the same thing bothers me more now with people assuming everything my doctors have claimed about me is the truth, even though we all admit my doctors are as human (& therefore, I say, as prone & likely to make mistakes) as anyone else.
I had more of these mere hours ago... But my "improv" deal & my memory seem to be linked these days, as ideas disappear minutes later. (That's why I have a text message saved in my phone's "Drafts" for a writing project I don't plan to begin until 2014.) Hence, I titled this as "Part 1" when it may turn out to be all of it.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
I'm Thankful For A New Year This Christmas
So, here we are... We've officially reached what everyone around me seems to designate "the holiday season". Ads all over the paper & TV for their gift-&-related sales, trees that have lost their leaves but are covered in lights & plastic balls, many of the people I E-mail or contact on Twitter sending me actual, hold-able cards via "snail mail"... And all that...
I almost typed "all that good stuff". To be honest, though, it's not really all that good for me. Not only did I take a Latin class over a decade ago, which ruined the idea of celebrating it in Winter for me (much the way Emmy-winner Jim Parsons does here),... But I happen to be one of those people who has a birthday in-between Thanksgiving & Christmas. (Not saying I rank anywhere near deities on any list made by anyone, but my birthday & the holiday each bring-about the idea of gift-giving; For years, my Aunt would ask weeks beforehand what I wanted for Christmas, & my stock answer was some version of "Whatever I don't get for my birthday.")
Subtract my birthday & all holidays from the remainder of this year's calendar, though. (It only exists metaphorically for me anyway, outside of me keeping my appointment cards on a counter in chronological order, including those for 2014.) In the next 24 hours, I will have either my 3rd nephew or my first niece somewhere in the county. (I don't know why I chose to write it that way; They will be born in the same hospital as my sister, 2 nephews, & Grammy-winner Dave Grohl, but not in the city I live in now.) As I said to Mom about an hour ago, I believe my younger nephew to have a closer connection to me than his older brother did at the same exact age, which can only bode well for the yet-to-come child... So why was I sitting in the adjoining room last night, debating if I wanted to live even 1 more day?!
I think I covered this all before, even just on this site. However, in case I haven't, let's cover it all (perhaps again). It comes down not to anything I've done, but to what I haven't done: I am a legal adult in any "state of the Union", as well as a legal citizen of the same county & state I write this blog in. [Unlike Bret Hart & his niece, both of whom I watched on TV last night, I've never done a legal "job" in my life (nor the illegal type as seen on "Leverage"). However, I was naturally born in this county in every sense of the word/phrase.] Outside of perhaps jaywalking down a nearby street (often right past police cars), I have never committed a crime, or been any type of suspect. I have spoken right out loud several times the idea of running for local or national office, & have yet to rule it out. Even so, I sit within eyes' view of several pieces of proof that other adults (ironically, those with jobs as attorneys, judges, & others in the legal "realm") have more control over several key parts of my life than I do. It's only been that way for about a year; However, that's at least 10 months longer than it should have been.
In truth, this all starts back about a dozen years ago. Around the middle of the actual year 2001 (perhaps I should blame Kubrick?!), I was diagnosed with a disease I still refuse to say I have. As it was far-more-recently explained to me (about a week ago), the reason these other people have control over key aspects of my life is because I "refuse to admit" I have it. On the contrary, I admit to any who ask (& some who don't) I have not spent a single second in a college class or law school, & therefore get my entire legal knowledge from watching court-related shows. (Today was the first in a long time, but one of literally thousands, of days I had Breakfast while watching "Judge Mathis".) However, I was (until this case/situation) cognizant/aware of the fact I still find myself relying on that courts rely on evidence in the vast majority of cases, & that the "burden of proof" &/or need to prove things relies on the one claiming it is/they are so. There is not a person in any US State or territory that has ever seen proof I have this not-named-here disease, which is one reason I claim that even if I wanted to, it'd be impossible to "admit" I have it.
It seems to me that this is just a situation of some sort of a "train of thought" being (let's kill a metaphor) thrown into "Reverse"... I've long seen/read/heard, "Be careful what you wish for; You just might get it". Here, I was not wishing for anything; Simply relying on something I'd long been told was true, but never needed to find out if it truly was or not. When I actually find a situation where it would benefit me, it turns out not to be true at all.
Reading the clock on/at the corner of the screen, I see it is a time when many things/offices/companies in this county are probably closed. However, I got the phone number of the local court that handles my case/situation off of its Website last night (which also had a picture of the same judge that signed the paperwork pertaining to my case/situation), so I may still call them before my next birthday, & see if I can't change something besides my age, clothes, & the length of my hair before the year's out.
I almost typed "all that good stuff". To be honest, though, it's not really all that good for me. Not only did I take a Latin class over a decade ago, which ruined the idea of celebrating it in Winter for me (much the way Emmy-winner Jim Parsons does here),... But I happen to be one of those people who has a birthday in-between Thanksgiving & Christmas. (Not saying I rank anywhere near deities on any list made by anyone, but my birthday & the holiday each bring-about the idea of gift-giving; For years, my Aunt would ask weeks beforehand what I wanted for Christmas, & my stock answer was some version of "Whatever I don't get for my birthday.")
Subtract my birthday & all holidays from the remainder of this year's calendar, though. (It only exists metaphorically for me anyway, outside of me keeping my appointment cards on a counter in chronological order, including those for 2014.) In the next 24 hours, I will have either my 3rd nephew or my first niece somewhere in the county. (I don't know why I chose to write it that way; They will be born in the same hospital as my sister, 2 nephews, & Grammy-winner Dave Grohl, but not in the city I live in now.) As I said to Mom about an hour ago, I believe my younger nephew to have a closer connection to me than his older brother did at the same exact age, which can only bode well for the yet-to-come child... So why was I sitting in the adjoining room last night, debating if I wanted to live even 1 more day?!
I think I covered this all before, even just on this site. However, in case I haven't, let's cover it all (perhaps again). It comes down not to anything I've done, but to what I haven't done: I am a legal adult in any "state of the Union", as well as a legal citizen of the same county & state I write this blog in. [Unlike Bret Hart & his niece, both of whom I watched on TV last night, I've never done a legal "job" in my life (nor the illegal type as seen on "Leverage"). However, I was naturally born in this county in every sense of the word/phrase.] Outside of perhaps jaywalking down a nearby street (often right past police cars), I have never committed a crime, or been any type of suspect. I have spoken right out loud several times the idea of running for local or national office, & have yet to rule it out. Even so, I sit within eyes' view of several pieces of proof that other adults (ironically, those with jobs as attorneys, judges, & others in the legal "realm") have more control over several key parts of my life than I do. It's only been that way for about a year; However, that's at least 10 months longer than it should have been.
In truth, this all starts back about a dozen years ago. Around the middle of the actual year 2001 (perhaps I should blame Kubrick?!), I was diagnosed with a disease I still refuse to say I have. As it was far-more-recently explained to me (about a week ago), the reason these other people have control over key aspects of my life is because I "refuse to admit" I have it. On the contrary, I admit to any who ask (& some who don't) I have not spent a single second in a college class or law school, & therefore get my entire legal knowledge from watching court-related shows. (Today was the first in a long time, but one of literally thousands, of days I had Breakfast while watching "Judge Mathis".) However, I was (until this case/situation) cognizant/aware of the fact I still find myself relying on that courts rely on evidence in the vast majority of cases, & that the "burden of proof" &/or need to prove things relies on the one claiming it is/they are so. There is not a person in any US State or territory that has ever seen proof I have this not-named-here disease, which is one reason I claim that even if I wanted to, it'd be impossible to "admit" I have it.
It seems to me that this is just a situation of some sort of a "train of thought" being (let's kill a metaphor) thrown into "Reverse"... I've long seen/read/heard, "Be careful what you wish for; You just might get it". Here, I was not wishing for anything; Simply relying on something I'd long been told was true, but never needed to find out if it truly was or not. When I actually find a situation where it would benefit me, it turns out not to be true at all.
Reading the clock on/at the corner of the screen, I see it is a time when many things/offices/companies in this county are probably closed. However, I got the phone number of the local court that handles my case/situation off of its Website last night (which also had a picture of the same judge that signed the paperwork pertaining to my case/situation), so I may still call them before my next birthday, & see if I can't change something besides my age, clothes, & the length of my hair before the year's out.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Movies On-Demand... In Theatres!
First off, I know I will be (figuratively) "kicking myself" if I do not wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving, "Black Friday", "Cyber Monday", & all that jazz. (Also, my condolences seriously go out to anyone who lost a loved one in an occurrence related to any of those.) With that said, let me tell you what I've been up to over the time since last blog. I stayed away from the Mall & movies that whole time, spending a little time with my sister & nephews at their house, & most of it here where I still live.
The fact is that, like Harry Chapin used to sing it (& I believe I still have the CD to prove it), "All my life's a circle." I stay up late Sunday nights (often to watch repeats of "Burn Notice" or the E! Channel's wrestling-related show), which is why I then end up sleeping late most Mondays. (Ironically, I missed the opening of last night's "Monday Night Raw" largely due to watching the show on E! late Sunday night.) While I've had one-or-two appointments lately (& more to come; Literally, 3-in-a-row in about 2 weeks), I sleep in most days I am allowed to stay here. (I continue to say how much I hate this place, but when you're sleeping/"napping", your eyes are closed, so you largely have no clue where you are.)
Anyway, I say all this to mention I had not yet been able to finish my main two aims for the month of November: Getting a haircut & seeing the new Jason Statham movie, "Homefront."
This afternoon, I left the apartment at about 3 PM, sure I'd get to the theatre in time for what I remembered as being a 4-something showtime. I reached the mall almost right at 4, & called "Fandango", sadly my most-often "go-to" destination for movie times. It was then I was told the show had (at some point) moved to 5:20. I passed by the place I get my hair cut, but they were extremely busy. I walked a few laps around the Mall, before leaving the building for the movie theatre around 5:15.
At the ticket counter, I double-checked the film's showtime. I then asked the ticket-seller for "one to the 'Homefront' that just started". I reached for my ID, only to have him confirm out loud that he'd seen me there before, & knew I was "21". ("Long as he knows I'm old enough to get in, no need to correct him," I thought.) He told me (I never asked) I'd "only miss the first few minutes". Not a problem; Anyone who (like me) is a Statham fan knows his movies are big on action & small on plot/setup anyway.
I go to movies on Tuesdays because the local theaters are cheaper those days; The 2nd-run discounts tickets by a buck, & the other has discounted popcorn (the only movie snack people are allowed when, like me, they are popularly-believed to be Diabetic). The ticket-seller also handed me my ticket-shaped paper that earned me a $2.00 popcorn. (Note I said these theatres are "cheaper" now; There was a time years ago the popcorn for frequent customers like I then was cost nothing; It's like they're punishing me because the studios are putting out Vince Vaughn crap & Kevin Spacey is signing series deals solely with Netflix.) I therefore figured my next stop was the concession counter to get the discount snack & some size (diet) soda... Sounds like a fine plan, except I was the only one standing at the counter for long enough to watch many of the most-popular YouTube videos.
With all of that in hand, I walked into the right individual theatre. A quick glance at my watch showed "5:25". I laughed, thinking I'd mainly missed ads for Sprite & other concessions, which I was either medically-barred-from or already carrying. I walked in, & saw nothing on the screen. Twenty more minutes went by, & still blank. [The "radio" was playing; However, it was largely playing Ariana Grande (I joked to myself her FULL name was "Arian-A Grande Pain"), & bands I'd never heard of, like something by/about a White Buffalo.] Finally, at 5:45, I grabbed my currently-off cell phone out of my pocket, turned it back on, & text-messaged my mother, explaining the situation.
She texted me back, "Sumthin not right". I simply laughed, saying aloud, "Like I don't know that," before calling "Fandango" again. When they gave me the option for the building I was in, I hit the buttons to get the theatre's phone number. I memorized it, hung-up, & called it. (I reminded myself of the book I've already mentioned I read by Kevin Mitnick, as this was like something he often did; I stopped myself before sharing that with the employee who answered, however.)
I told the male employee (still now wondering if he was the ticket-seller) that I was "actually calling you from inside your building. I'm in the theater that's supposedly showing 'Homefront', but it's a half-hour past start time, & there's still nothing on the screen". He said he'd "let them know". Soon, some woman came in, looked at the screen for a few minutes actual time (like she expected that would change it, ala a "Jedi mind trick"), & then looked at me & thanked me for letting them know.
A young man (one of only two other audience members) who had headed out of the "screening" before seeing me on the phone thanked me before heading past me on the way back to his seat. I laughed, honestly responding, "No problem; I just wondered, 'What would happen if I called them from them?', & I had to try it!"
Sure enough, the movie started (with the White Buffalo song still playing over it about 10 seconds more). I usually leave the second the end-credits start, thinking, "I'll IMDB it" about any questions I might have about the cast/crew. I stayed for the first minute-or-so of these, however, perhaps expecting a bonus animated flick or something to repay us for not leaving in the wasted half-hour. (Blame "The Amazing Spider-Man", which I still can't find available on DVD in 3-D, the way I saw it in the theatre, & which also had a few more minutes after the last credit ran.)
The fact is that, like Harry Chapin used to sing it (& I believe I still have the CD to prove it), "All my life's a circle." I stay up late Sunday nights (often to watch repeats of "Burn Notice" or the E! Channel's wrestling-related show), which is why I then end up sleeping late most Mondays. (Ironically, I missed the opening of last night's "Monday Night Raw" largely due to watching the show on E! late Sunday night.) While I've had one-or-two appointments lately (& more to come; Literally, 3-in-a-row in about 2 weeks), I sleep in most days I am allowed to stay here. (I continue to say how much I hate this place, but when you're sleeping/"napping", your eyes are closed, so you largely have no clue where you are.)
Anyway, I say all this to mention I had not yet been able to finish my main two aims for the month of November: Getting a haircut & seeing the new Jason Statham movie, "Homefront."
This afternoon, I left the apartment at about 3 PM, sure I'd get to the theatre in time for what I remembered as being a 4-something showtime. I reached the mall almost right at 4, & called "Fandango", sadly my most-often "go-to" destination for movie times. It was then I was told the show had (at some point) moved to 5:20. I passed by the place I get my hair cut, but they were extremely busy. I walked a few laps around the Mall, before leaving the building for the movie theatre around 5:15.
At the ticket counter, I double-checked the film's showtime. I then asked the ticket-seller for "one to the 'Homefront' that just started". I reached for my ID, only to have him confirm out loud that he'd seen me there before, & knew I was "21". ("Long as he knows I'm old enough to get in, no need to correct him," I thought.) He told me (I never asked) I'd "only miss the first few minutes". Not a problem; Anyone who (like me) is a Statham fan knows his movies are big on action & small on plot/setup anyway.
I go to movies on Tuesdays because the local theaters are cheaper those days; The 2nd-run discounts tickets by a buck, & the other has discounted popcorn (the only movie snack people are allowed when, like me, they are popularly-believed to be Diabetic). The ticket-seller also handed me my ticket-shaped paper that earned me a $2.00 popcorn. (Note I said these theatres are "cheaper" now; There was a time years ago the popcorn for frequent customers like I then was cost nothing; It's like they're punishing me because the studios are putting out Vince Vaughn crap & Kevin Spacey is signing series deals solely with Netflix.) I therefore figured my next stop was the concession counter to get the discount snack & some size (diet) soda... Sounds like a fine plan, except I was the only one standing at the counter for long enough to watch many of the most-popular YouTube videos.
With all of that in hand, I walked into the right individual theatre. A quick glance at my watch showed "5:25". I laughed, thinking I'd mainly missed ads for Sprite & other concessions, which I was either medically-barred-from or already carrying. I walked in, & saw nothing on the screen. Twenty more minutes went by, & still blank. [The "radio" was playing; However, it was largely playing Ariana Grande (I joked to myself her FULL name was "Arian-A Grande Pain"), & bands I'd never heard of, like something by/about a White Buffalo.] Finally, at 5:45, I grabbed my currently-off cell phone out of my pocket, turned it back on, & text-messaged my mother, explaining the situation.
She texted me back, "Sumthin not right". I simply laughed, saying aloud, "Like I don't know that," before calling "Fandango" again. When they gave me the option for the building I was in, I hit the buttons to get the theatre's phone number. I memorized it, hung-up, & called it. (I reminded myself of the book I've already mentioned I read by Kevin Mitnick, as this was like something he often did; I stopped myself before sharing that with the employee who answered, however.)
I told the male employee (still now wondering if he was the ticket-seller) that I was "actually calling you from inside your building. I'm in the theater that's supposedly showing 'Homefront', but it's a half-hour past start time, & there's still nothing on the screen". He said he'd "let them know". Soon, some woman came in, looked at the screen for a few minutes actual time (like she expected that would change it, ala a "Jedi mind trick"), & then looked at me & thanked me for letting them know.
A young man (one of only two other audience members) who had headed out of the "screening" before seeing me on the phone thanked me before heading past me on the way back to his seat. I laughed, honestly responding, "No problem; I just wondered, 'What would happen if I called them from them?', & I had to try it!"
Sure enough, the movie started (with the White Buffalo song still playing over it about 10 seconds more). I usually leave the second the end-credits start, thinking, "I'll IMDB it" about any questions I might have about the cast/crew. I stayed for the first minute-or-so of these, however, perhaps expecting a bonus animated flick or something to repay us for not leaving in the wasted half-hour. (Blame "The Amazing Spider-Man", which I still can't find available on DVD in 3-D, the way I saw it in the theatre, & which also had a few more minutes after the last credit ran.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)