SHANNEN DOHERTY: MY HERO

In 1990, I wanted to BE Shannen Doherty. In 2012, it was 4am and I was watching infomercials and there she was in a horrifically rad online college infomercial. And then, this video was born:

The FB "Compare & Despair"...don't do it!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: We all present our best and most awesome versions of ourselves on Facebook, don't we? I've yet to see a status update that says "Well, that was a shitty interview/audition/meeting/concert/outing/job/vacation/wedding." I mean, it happens, but it's rare.
If we judge life by facebook status updates, everyone is ALWAYS successful, happy, ecstatic and loving life. No one EVER looks bad, has bad hair days or fails at anything ever.

So, when you find yourself on someone else's page, in a moment of "compare and despair," remember that you are actually comparing your WHOLE self to a very small percentage of someone else's whole self. And they are doing the same, I promise.

I swear to God, if the only things that happened in my life were the ones I shared on Facebook, I'd have a shit eating grin on my face all day long. If I looked, on a daily basis, the way I look in my facebook pics, I'd never buy eye cream again. It's so hard NOT to look around and think, "well, how do I stack up?" but, in my opinion, this question is the killer of creativity, time, days and self-esteem. It's a question that should be banished far, far away.....to the land of deleted photos.

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

Okay, so I just watched the pilot of HBO's new series, "Girls". After reading a few diatribes online, I was curious to see what all the hate was about. After the credits ran I sat there, having been thoroughly entertained and impressed with Lena Dunham's writing, and thought to myself "Seriously??"

In a world where "The Real Housewives" are more popular than The Pope (to some), why is a narrative show about complicated white girls living in New York City some sort of bastion for anger, mockery or jealousy?

So, these actresses are related to famous people! Who cares?? I'd be hard pressed to find a show where someone in the cast/crew was not related to a well known/successful member of the entertainment industry. I'd also be hard pressed to find someone in the position to benefit from their parents' success who would pass that gift up.

I wonder if any of this criticism would be bandied about if this was a show about four white guys. Was "Entourage" criticized for being "too white" or "too sexist" for that matter. I highly doubt it. The Washington Times said the show "depicts a wasteland of promiscuity". Are they seriously saying that females depicting what it's actually like to be young and dating in NYC should all wear scarlett letters while the bachelors of TV, be it Don Draper, Vincent Chase or Hank Moody are just "being men"??

I lived out my early 20s in NYC and what they are showing, whether it pisses people off or not, is exactly what it is like to be between your parents nest and your own in a very rich city. Yes, some people are poorer than the girls depicted and yes, these characters come off a bit spoiled. Cause they are. And what is wrong with putting that type of person under a microscope? Why do audiences totally eat up the Kardashians' wasteful bullshit yet totally rip down women who are working hard and being creative?

The thing that puzzles me is that most of this backlash is from women. Shouldn't we, as an overall group, applaud interesting shows that portray some of the realities of being a woman? It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but in my opinion, it beats watching four idiot guys bum around L.A. screwing everything that moves. But, perhaps, that reality is more palatable to the audience at large than four female-relatives-of-successful-people portraying layered, keenly-observed characters written by a young author with a very bright future.

In other news Mr. Belvedere is anti-babies!

This week, ex-teen heartthrob Kirk Cameron, decided it was time to tell the world what he thinks. And what he thinks is that homosexuals are an abomination. Thanks Kirk. Don't remember ANYONE asking your opinion about anything since 1987.

What really bugs is not the fact that he's a hateful anti-human religious zealot, but more that PEOPLE ARE REACTING TO IT. GLAAD is calling him out, Tracey Gold is saying he's wrong, Nikki Sixx thinks he's a total d-bag. (BTW, love that the ex-stars of the 80s are banding together against him.) But, in my opinion, the BEST reaction would be NO reaction. It's not as if someone who is at all in the public eye is coming out as a nazi. Some has-been is an ignorant moron. Big deal. How is this even news?

Of course, here I sit typing away about the situation, so perhaps I'm part of the problem. Me and my dozen or so followers.

If I could sit down with him, I'd tell him to worry about his own marriage, family, life. I wish I could tell him that no one cares about his opinion, but sadly, the reaction to his pitiful little diatribe proves otherwise. My biggest fear is that now that Kirk has opened the door, more has been TV actors are going to step up to the mic and we'll be forced to listen to what they think.

I swear to God, if Conrad Bain (who is still alive and kickin at 89 btw) comes out with his opinion on illegal immigration, I will scream. And what will I scream? THIS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0CYJNw9YJQ&feature=related

The fog is getting thicker...

Johnny clips:
http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/1m3e

Had Johnny's voice in my head today for some reason. So I went on the ol imdb and sadly found that Stephen Stucker, the comedic genius that played Johnny in Airplane! passed away when he was only 38. He was one of the first actors to openly tell the media he was diagnosed with HIV. He even went on Donahue back when people were afraid of touching someone with HIV, to try and dispel the myth.

Apparently, he was also a gifted composer. In his short career, he gave some very memorable free and joyous performances

The fact that I can have his voice stuck in my head is testament to that.

Macho Macho Man...

So Macho Man Randy Savage just passed away..and with him, some of my childhood did as well. He was my ALL TIME favorite WWF wrestler. The day of his death, I was on line at Vons and this adorable 12 year old was begging her jovial dad for a Slim Jim, right behind me. The dad was hemming and hawing (as I would do if my child begged me to eat a processed stick of MSG infused cow hooves). I couldn't help myself, I turned to the dad and let him know that the Slim Jim spokesperson, Macho Man Randy Savage, has just passed away. The dad, who already knew, was inspired. We decided that in honor of Randy Savage's passing, his daughter should get the slim jim. She was thrilled and actually thanked me. Cute kid. Sadly, she was not aware of who her real benefactor was. She would never understand the sheer entertainment Randy Savage bestowed upon us children of the 90s. One can only hope that he and Miss Elizabeth are reunited in heaven in that big ring up in the sky.

Rest in Peace Macho Man. Ohhhhhh Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaah!

Connections in the Missed

So last year 'round Christmas time my friends and I got together and decided we wanted to make something. What? We had no clue. We thought we'd start by calling ourselves a writing group. It has since morphed into this. I present you all with ......dun duh duh duuun!!! (those Disney fairy tale king/queen horn thingies are played by blonde cartoon horn players in red tails) Left Right Seven !! (website by Susan Joy Designs) Our first series of web videos is called "Missed Connections" based on the same named section of craigslist! What is a missed connection you may ask? Here is an example:

4pm, L.A., A dude walks into a library with a bowl of mac n cheese and is wearing a "Who Dat?" Saints t-shirt. He spots a girl wearing ballet flats and a jaunty hat reading "A Clockwork Orange". They exchange glances. Dude goes to the bathroom and when he comes back, jaunty girl is gone! He goes online and posts "I was the guy in the L.A. library at 4pm today with the mac n cheese and the Saints T. You: jaunty hat reading clockwork orange. Maybe we can join forces one day..email me back here if you see this!"

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES that a) she was even looking at him to begin with b) she is going to go online to see if HE wrote about her? Right? Well, what we do at LR7 is take these missed connections and interpret the given situations, using the posting's EXACT wording. It's craazy fun!!

Together we've written directed, acted, edited, written music and are now in the process or marketing these vids (16 shot so far!)...

Won't you take a look?