Pet Peeves - Friday, December 14, 2018

This afternoon I started thinking how much I hate the term, "blaxsploitation". Don't ask me why this 70's movie genre label is on my mind now, it just grinds my gears. I'm puzzled why there was no objection to it from African Americans when the name came out in the 1970's. They weren't the greatest movies, many of them were not even B picture bad but just plain crappy, but what exactly was exploitave about them? There is no equivalent label for formulaic action movies starring Caucasian actors. The first blacksploitation films came out at a time when Hollywood films might have black actors only in supporting roles or if the film was a serious solemn drama about race relations. In a truly equal world films with black actors playing the leads would run the same full gamut of genres from romantic comedies to horror flicks and in quality from terrible to great. Sometimes I think "blacksploitation" came into usage because too many thought it was a clever sounding new term. It wasn't then and still isn't today. Thinking about blacksploitation and "chick flick" also came to mind. Ok, so in this world there are types of movies that women like more than men and vice versa but chick flick is also another term that Hollywood uses because it very neatly describes a broad group preference that can be marketed to in the way that other products and services are. Those who do demographic analysis for advertising purposes like to slice the population of Americans in specific categories that have clever or catchy names and acronyms; YUPPIE or Young Urban Professional being the most well known example. But I like to think that my interest in movies is genuinely eclectic and not easily categorized. I might prefer action movies over romantic comedies but I want my car crashes and explosions to be sensitive and emotive!

Thoughts and Prayers for November 26, 2018

After waking up this morning I had some very dark thoughts about what I'm facing this week. This post is an effort to assure myself that I can face these challenges. People on this planet in droves are facing worse challenges. That only gives me some comfort. But I love life as hard as it is, and even when contemplating it getting harder and grimmer, I can still find a sense of persevering and that surrendering to those dark thoughts is not me.

The audition

I looked at the page of one liners that were supposed to make us all feel relaxed ,and I thought they could be material from the comedy shtick of the droll comedian Steven Wright. After auditioning I wanted to tell the director, producer and the other auditioneers that and maybe speak a few of his other jokes, feeling with strong certainty that I would get a few laughs. But I just recited the one I chose from their list - which surprisingly to me made a lot of people laugh. But the one liners didn't make me feel relaxed enough when time came to read from the play. I know was I stiff and most unphysical, standing in one spot and adding little emotion to the lines. It was not surprising that I didn't get the part, but it was so later to get a call from the director telling me regretfully that I didn't get the part. Such niceness seems to run counter to the idea that the world of theater is cruel and heartless. I didn't need such courtesy and I'm hungry for more auditions.

Foreign Travel In The U.S.

A little more than a week ago I said goodbye to Trenton, New Jersey after working there for less than a week. I accepted a job there after months of being unable to find anything comparable here in greater Washington DC. Then in mid week I was offered a position in Virginia, which I accepted instantly. Trenton and its surroundings have all the appearance of a well advanced 3rd world nation. Strip malls are inherently depressing places and strip malls with mostly boarded up stores are even more so. My office was in one such mall, a fairly good sized one that along with the vacant stores had a supermarket that sold only the barest of fresh produce, a store selling schlock furniture, a nail and beauty salon and only one eatery of any kind, a Chinese takeout that I was warned to steer clear of if I valued my health. I know bemoaning the absence of any Starbucks within a 9 mile radius of the office is a first world complaint but I must have coffee in the morning that is not instant and that I'm responsible for bringing to and preparing at work. Today, Monday was supposed to be my start date but there is some glitch, momentary I'm told by my new firm's rep, in the background investigation. At this point in my late life I would prefer to not have to go out every morning to earn a wage, but I have become quite the stoic in accepting my inevitable fate: to be found at some future date keeled over in an an office cubicle clutching a computer mouse. Oh if I could only be paid for looking handsome! So tomorrow will be my start date after all. I shouldn't be as nervous as I am now as I contemplate yet another job change in my life. Maybe it's because I'm so tired of working for a living and I know that I have a motivation problem come tomorrow. I'd much rather be learning Latin or to speak Irish, or anything that doesn't improve my profile on Monster.com or Linkedin.

Bad playhouse

I had a disappointing night last night. We went to see a performance of Hamlet, and I hated it. I tried to pretend that there were things about it I liked, because to just say it was boring sounds so ignorant. But the Elizabethan English was more impenetrable than usual for me and I could make sense of little of it. It was in contrast to a performance of Othello that I saw last year. That one was easy to understand, love: evil envy and jealousy. What was worse was that I got the tickets for free and I invited friends to attend. They were even more bored with it than I was and half kidded me on how they wouldn't be attending any more plays at the Shakespeare theater with me again. The half kidded part was funny, but the serious, I don't want to go with you to the theater anymore because you take us to such boring stuff hurt me. I've been in a funk about this all rainy day today. Maybe the vodka and tonic will bring me out of it.