FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Shaggy 2 Grote on July 19, 2008, 05:30:45 PM
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I am writing you because you are an awesome, generous group of people (see: Erika's cat, raising money for) and I am superstitious.
Here's the story: I am up for my ultimate dream job. I can't stress enough how badly I want this. I can't say what it is, but if you read my posts you can probably narrow it down with some accuracy.
Here's all I ask of you: if you have a minute, send a good thought or two my way. If I do get the job, I promise to use my newfound powers for good, to help my fellow FOT, and maybe even Tom himself!
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Best of luck, Lamont.
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(http://ourspace.biz/myspace_comment_graphics/Images/Good_Luck/budda_good_luck.gif)
Give 'em hell, JG.
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I don't believe in this kind of crap (i.e., the power of positive thinking, creative visualization, etc., etc.), but of course I wish you well and hope all your dreams come true.
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Lots of luck and good thoughts!
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Best of Luck, Grote! If you build it, they will come.
& may the Schwartz be with you!
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If the requirements for this job are smarts, wit, charm, and rugged good looks, then you are a shoo-in.
Seriously, nothing but good thoughts coming your way.
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done.
good luck!
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I certainly hope King Diamond picks you to produce his next solo album! You'd do a much better job than Albini, Bob Rock, or Spot.
(http://musicweb.cz/data/2623/king-diamond-04.jpg)
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Sending orgones your way.
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You are amazing and brilliant! Anyone with half a brain would hire you in a second.
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Knock 'em dead, Grote. Unless you already have. In which case, great job.
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Go Grote Go!
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(http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w301/nikkistardust/good-vibes.jpg)
Go Jason!
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You totally deserve a dream job, Mr. Grote. I'll keep thinking good thoughts.
You're the best!
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(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j235/DMSeraphim/Baseketballdance.gif)
Good luck man!
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Good luck! good luck! Good luck! GOOD LUCK!
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I didn't even realize Insane Clown Posse had an opening.
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Good luck good luck good luck good luck!
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Good luck!
(I wish I had something more different to say, but that about sums it up.)
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Best of luck Grote!
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(http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1734/glcuo6.jpg)
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I am sending you dozens of my finest thoughts, sir.
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i couldn't find any with that said "good luck," so this will have to do:
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/80/233276847_ff3de4217e.jpg?v=0)
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Sending good thoughts your way!
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What an awesome, touching thing to come home (well, to my weird, trendy space-hotel in DC) to! You guys are so so awesome. And DFK and Omar: one of you is right. I won't say who.
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I also wish you good luck, sir.
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Good luck, future Violent Jason Grote (DFK is the one who's correct, right?)
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(http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/Bruce-Dickinson.jpg)
best of (good) luck.
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(http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19051&rendTypeId=4)
'Night, and good luck out there.
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Dream jobs are the best!
Good luck,
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You will be the best Arby's manager ever!
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My stoner friends tell me this is the best kind of luck, so have some.
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee183/gaughin/PotLuckLP.jpg)
Oh wait, I have no friends.
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Good Luck, Grote!
(http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/all-thumbs-up.jpg)
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knock 'em dead,sir
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Radio Hut will be lucky to have you. Good Luck!
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(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g51/tommyboy74_photos/mc_hammer.jpg)
Please, Jason, Don't Hurt 'Em!
Best of luck to you, sir.
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Thanks, guys!
OK, I'll tell you what it is: I want to help the Insane Clown Posse work through some of their issues by talking it all out and better getting in touch with their emotions. Come 2011, the SCP will be available for kids' parties and corporate events:
(http://www.musicaldrama.org/ClownsForChrist3.JPG)
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Chili is NOT ok with this.
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Chili is NOT ok with this.
For a second I thought Chili was the name of one of the ICP.
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Chili is NOT ok with this.
For a second I thought Chili was the name of one of the ICP.
I don't think we can disprove that yet, honestly. There is just no way to know!
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Any update, JG? We're dying ovah here!
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I won't know anything for at least another week, maybe even longer than that. But the release form has been faxed in and I'm waiting for the godz to smile on me. I'm drafting my fall syllabus anyway, but totally insomniac about this thing.
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I'm sure you have killer syllabi!
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I missed this thread the first time 'round, so I'll say it now:
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I just wanted to say good luck, we're all counting on you,
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I was fumbling around in my mind for that line -- isn't that from Airplane!?
Whatever the case, GOOD LUCK JASONgroat!!!!
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It is!
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I'm sure you have killer syllabi!
Meh, they're OK, pretty boilerplate. Yours is way better, seriously!
Thanks for the good wishes everybody.
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OK. I just found out that I didn't get the job, which was a staff writer here (http://www.thedailyshow.com/), in case anyone' still wondering. But all of the orgones you guys sent must have done something, because on the same day I found out, I got a movie deal. It's an indie movie, not the kind of thing I can quit my day job over, but it's still more money than anything I've ever made as a playwright. And it's a cool project!
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Cannonball Run 2009?
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Cannonball Run 2009?
Starring Michael Moore in the Jackie Gleason role, and Angelina Jolie as Burt Reynolds. Don't tell anyone.
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Congrats! That's awesome. I actually think that's cooler.
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Cannonball Run 2009?
Starring Michael Moore in the Jackie Gleason role, and Angelina Jolie as Burt Reynolds. Don't tell anyone.
If Michael Moore falls through, you can always get Chris Farley's brother. Angelina Jolie with a mustache is giving me a weird, tingly feeling that I can't quite explain.
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Congrats! That's awesome. I actually think that's cooler.
Actually, it's much cooler. I won't get too detailed about it, but it's generally about copyleft/anti-privatization issues and everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest. This guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Reid) and this guy (http://www.djspooky.com/) are involved, which is kind of exciting for me.
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As long as it's not one of those movies about a bunch of sad sacks dragging a couch across the country.
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As long as it's not one of those movies about a bunch of sad sacks dragging a couch across the country.
Fuck, back to the drawing board!!
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It's going to be a mumblecore treatment of copyleft/anti-privatization issues, starring that guy from Bishop Allen.
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Congrats! That's awesome. I actually think that's cooler.
Actually, it's much cooler. I won't get too detailed about it, but it's generally about copyleft/anti-privatization issues and everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest. This guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Reid) and this guy (http://www.djspooky.com/) are involved, which is kind of exciting for me.
That's awesome Jason, congratulations! Very exciting!
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Congrats! That's awesome. I actually think that's cooler.
Actually, it's much cooler. I won't get too detailed about it, but it's generally about copyleft/anti-privatization issues and everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest. This guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Reid) and this guy (http://www.djspooky.com/) are involved, which is kind of exciting for me.
That's awesome Jason, congratulations! Very exciting!
Thanks, buddy! It definitely looks to be the hardest thing I've ever done. But I look forward to someday having FOT meetups with you at film festivals.
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everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest.
I deeply admire this. The subject matter is actually pretty fascinating and relevant, but it's advocates have the habit of being so smug and obnoxiously "counter culture" about it, I think it gets less attention than it deserves.
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everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest.
I deeply admire this. The subject matter is actually pretty fascinating and relevant, but it's advocates have the habit of being so smug and obnoxiously "counter culture" about it, I think it gets less attention than it deserves.
Thanks, RJ. I think I got the job because I was really frank about wanting to problematize the issue - what I most want to avoid is this Pollyannaish techno-utopianism where the whole movie is saying, "let's just make everything free and things will be great!" The fact is that, to some degree, having human transactions hyper-mediated by capitalism (whether in the form of money or technology) makes things easier or more convenient. And people are dysfunctional -- left to our own devices, we'll just as often recapitulate larger structures of power (i.e., act like corporations). But when contrasted with the radical corporatization of everything -- water, culture, DNA, the government, health care, food -- suddenly the idea of sharing starts to look pretty good.
Oh, hey, I also found out I have a show in Seattle in March. I think it's pretty low-budget, so I don't know if they'll bring me out. Do you know Theater Schmeater? They seem nice, but their name makes me feel like Spike started a theater troupe.
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That is awesome, let me know when and I will definitely see your show! I do know of Theater Schmeater, though I haven't ever worked with them. They put on some of the more decent shows around here though from what I have seen there. The one instance that immediately comes to mind is a couple of winters past when they took on a few episodes of The Twilight Zone. It was a wonderful low budget show! So, I'd say you are probably in safe hands. That being said, Spike very well may have enjoyed the hell out of it himself, but to me that is something of a strange endorsement.
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Actually, it's much cooler. I won't get too detailed about it, but it's generally about copyleft/anti-privatization issues and everyone (including me) is concerned about indulging in Cory Doctorow-ish BS, accidentally or on purpose, and I'm hoping the FOT will keep me honest.
Have you read "The Wealth of Networks"? Good stuff.
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Theater Schmeater is good stuff, but pretty low-budget yeah.
Definitely keep that show info posted Jason, I'd be interested in seeing it for sure.
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I'd say that I'm a reformed techno-utopian.
A not-so-benevolent dictator-- whether it's the author of a piece of art or a Steve Jobs just declaring what the company will do and what the market will like--in most creative domains can lead to better results than turning everything into a "democracy." Scare quotes because wikipedia etc. are more "people with a lot of free time-ocracies." And guess what. Certain models that lead to good results require certain IP laws. Therefore those laws should exist. Where the content industry gets excessively hung up on its made up "rights," the Cory Doctorows of the world get excessively hung up on "user's rights."
But, I'm still very fond of wikipedia and the chance for these wacky computers to do things like allow people to collaborate in making textbooks free for poor kids. It's definitely the big content owners nowadays who push for bad laws that protect their interests at the expense of society's nowadays, which means that a little techno-utopianism to balance them out may be necessary.
And holy shit, you don't even want to know how circular a lot of copyright law is. There's been more than one case where the reasoning is, "If we decide there's a violation, that means the defendant would have had to have paid a licensing fee to make the use, which means that the defendant has deprived the copyright holder of a potential revenue stream, which means that the use was a violation."
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If Vernon Reid is in it then Black Earl will surely be around.
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Congratulations, it sounds like a cool documentary. FWIW, what's Cory Doctorow's role in the discussion? I know his name from Boing Boing and know he's published books, but not paid attention to much else. Is he just an extremist as far as the copyright stuff goes?
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(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/The-Abyss_BottlePint.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/Cheers-Posters.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/patriotic-ber.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/beer.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/soortenbier.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/cheers2.jpg)
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/oktoberfest-girls.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/oktoberfest03.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/Oktoberfest-Waitress.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/Oktobergurls.jpg)
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/chinabeer.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/beer-girl3.jpg)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/knBEER_wideweb__470x2910-1.jpg)
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/hippocatgeek/beercootsPB.jpg) CHEERS TO JASON GROTE! CONGRATS!
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Big Grats Grote!!
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Keep posting that octoberfest collage please! I think dirndl's are sexy, not gonna lie. But then, I am German-born myself, so that probably has something to do with it too.
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I'd say that I'm a reformed techno-utopian.
[etc]
I guess I should clarify what the hell that meant. F*tchan whiners.
It's just that many copyright reformers get obsessed with "rights" rather than crafting practical solutions that lead to good outcomes. This is the same thing that the content industry does.
That said, I'm probably as far to the left on IP issues as anyone except for people who think it should be outright abolished. (Which is a silly position, as the GPL and creative commons and the ability to demand attribution depend on copyright law.)
For instance, I'm opposed to anti-circumvention laws, since I think they do more harm than good, particularly when they interfere with fair use. Nor do I think that permission should ever need to be sought to make transformative works or to use samples, that copyrights should ever be retroactively extended, or that technology should adapt to suit the desires of a few moneyed copyright holders. More radically, I doubt that IP should be freely transferrable. But I'm not going to hang my hat on a list of made-up "rights" that I as a user or creator think I ought to have, unless I can justify in practical terms *why* I should have a particular right that relates to the purpose of IP law to begin with (to limit people's freedom to the extent necessary to create incentives that lead to the production of new works).
IP is one of the clearest quid-pro-quo, results-driven areas of the law, yet both sides take up the rhetorical position of moral crusaders enforcing "rights" and "principles." Maybe some of this is necessary on the reforming side to combat the rhetoric of the other side, and I've probably indulged in it myself, but I've tried to take a more practical stance in the past when dealing with IP issues (http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1096).
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Congrats to Grote. I send my positive mental vibes back in time to before you got the job, because I can do that with my mental vibes. I am like Lionel Hampton.
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I am like Lionel Hampton.
Wasn't he a republican and a great big douchebag?
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I am like Lionel Hampton.
Wasn't he a republican and a great big douchebag?
OK, I'm not like Lionel Hampton, aside from my command of vibes.
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I am always sending good luck your way. I hope it isn't too late to send more good luck your way. I hope you win the lottery and can do whatever you want because you are the best person I don't know. Better than Jimmy Carter and maybe even Tom Scharpling. I'm not certain about Tom Scharpling. I feel kind of dirty for saying that. You are at least tied with Tom Scharpling, though. But your stranger ranking in my head doesn't mean anything except that your great and I will send the best luck vibes to you.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/1662762158_dad15f2aab.jpg?v=0)
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Congratulations on the movie thing, Grote. But I still like Jimmy Carter better than you. He has better Harrison Ford stories.
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That's true, Wes, especially the time they did all that blow in the Oval Office. Also, I am nowhere near as good as Tom at almost anything*, let's just get that out of the way right now.
Thanks for the tips and good wishes everybody!
My trashing of Cory Doctorow was pretty half-assed, I have to admit - I'm no expert. But I have a general sense that a lot of these copyleft/techno-utopian guys (including some I consider friends) are totally unwilling to look at the possible drawbacks to the idea of the commons. I believe that the system is broken (not just in terms of copyright and intellectual property, but privatization and corporate rule in general), but that it's going to take a lot more than a few enterprising nerds** to fix it. At the risk of sounding totally pretentious, I consider myself what Frederic Jameson calls an anti-anti-utopian. I think that utopian thinking can be fairly silly at best, dishonest and amoral at worst, but I'm not an anti-utopian, either. I do believe that the way forward is to embrace utopian thinking with utter clear-eyed honesty about pitfalls and drawbacks. At least that's what I said in the pitch meeting.
Seattle FOT: yes indeed, I gathered from the website and the money involved that this was a low-budget outfit, but both the Rep and ACT have chickened out on me in the past, plus I like the other artists Schmeater has produced, so I was like, sure, why not. My friend who is the lit manager at the Rep warned me that they may not be able to get the strongest older actors, which is 2/3 of the cast of this show, but oh well. I've been trying to break into Seattle for years now. It's happening in March '09 - don't know if they're bringing me out or not, but I will definitely try to get you comps if I can. Oh, ditto for Gilly or any other Twin Cities FOT - I have a show coming up in MN next month. I'll put that one in the Extra-Curricular thread.
One drawback to all this - I have to turn the script around incredibly quickly while still teaching and working on 2 play commissions, so it's going to put a serious dent in my board presence. Not like this place isn't plenty of fun without me, but I want everyone to know that even if I can't check in for a while, I miss you all and am listening every week. And I'll be back, though I hope it's not all totally different people by then.
Though who am I kidding? I'm supposed to be working right now.
*I would say except maybe playwriting but I've been doing that for years
**That Margaret Mead quote notwithstanding
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Two footnotes? It's a shame he died and all, but I think somebody here maybe needs to take a break from revisiting his David Foster Wallace back catalog... ;)
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Just for that, here's a third footnote: I might be a better playwright than Tom now, but give him about 15-20 minutes of coaching and he'll probably have me beat.
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This thread should merge with the "I can do that!!" thread to form a potentially explosive "I'd be better at ____ than Tom" thread. Which could then possibly spin off into its own reality series.
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From New Yorker Profiles: Why Me? Alec Baldwin’s disappointment, undimmed by success. (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/09/08/080908fa_fact_parker)
“I always think, What if you just took your hand off the wheel, and slowly, over time, it all went away, and your life became about, you know, ‘Is the mail here yet?’ I always think about that.” But this dream of disengagement quickly gave way: in the space of a few minutes, sitting in weak sun on a New Jersey driveway, smoking a cigarette, Baldwin imagined himself as the restaurant critic of the Times; the proprietor of an inn near Syracuse; and the presenter of a classical-music show on public radio. “I could do that,” he said, and he wasn’t exactly joking. He cares about classical music; he began to take an interest in his twenties. (Perhaps not surprisingly, he adores Mahler and can’t quite see the point of Mozart.) “To sit there in the studio and just say”—a rich radio voice—“ ‘And now Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, with Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.’ Click. Hit a button, and then you sit back and listen, and they pay you for that. And I can’t imagine they pay you as much as the movies, but to me it’s getting to that point where there’s just something else I want to do. I don’t know what it is. I’m tired of being somebody else. I spend the waking hours of my life saying things that other people think and say and do. And behaving as someone else. I’m tired of it. I want to be me! I want to be myself!” - Alec Baldwin
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This thread should merge with the "I can do that!!" thread to form a potentially explosive "I'd be better at ____ than Tom" thread. Which could then possibly spin off into its own reality series.
If you haven't started that thread yet, I'll go start it.
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This thread should merge with the "I can do that!!" thread to form a potentially explosive "I'd be better at ____ than Tom" thread. Which could then possibly spin off into its own reality series.
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