Hey, Dr. Phil - I'm just wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.
And what is your response?
Oh, really?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Future Projects, boxing update etc
There is a Shakespearean monologue in Henry IV, in which Falstaff sings the virtues of sherry. Of course, in his time, it was known as "sherrisack". Nonetheless, this monologue is essentially a commercial, touting the benefits of drinking fortified wines, and pinpointing the fine qualities of a well made sherrisack.
I want to film this monologue as a commercial in black and white and use these videos/clips as reference points:
Marvelous.
As much as I'd love to do the whole piece as a faux commercial, it would simply be too long. So I have to make cuts and shorten the length to 60 seconds.
So that's what is down the pike for me.
Additionally, boxing is going really well. I am finally able to throw a jab, right cross combo without lunging forward on the cross when I spar. "Lunging forward" can just mean an inch or two. If you expose your face just a little bit for a split second, that can means lights out, taking a canvas nap etc.
Of course, when you are just hitting the heavy bag or hand pads, it's easy not to lunge....but in the heat of a sparring session it's a challenge to keep cool and maintain solid technique. I attribute keeping cool to years of playing football and the fact that I don't freak out when I take a hit. I attribute the technique to improved foot work/coordination and I attribute this to jump rope. I'm a skipping machine these days. I can skip 5 different ways interchangeably. It's fun to do 100 one way and then switch back and forth. Man oh man, skipping rope can be an exhausting workout when done right and long enough.
I can now see some abs poking through my belly. At first I assumed it was smaller rolls, as opposed to larger belly rolls, but upon further inspection, they are indeed abs. So that's cool. It has definitely inspired me to put boxing and fitness in high gear.
I want to film this monologue as a commercial in black and white and use these videos/clips as reference points:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
I suppose the product will be a fake one, called "Sherrisack".
I suppose the product will be a fake one, called "Sherrisack".
One of my acting heroes, Orson Welles, tackled this monologue on the "Dean Martin" show. Here is that video, fast fwd to 3:52 to see the actual piece (before that he waxes poetic about Falstaff, and you will also see an excellent example of old school stage makeup application)
Marvelous.
As much as I'd love to do the whole piece as a faux commercial, it would simply be too long. So I have to make cuts and shorten the length to 60 seconds.
So that's what is down the pike for me.
Additionally, boxing is going really well. I am finally able to throw a jab, right cross combo without lunging forward on the cross when I spar. "Lunging forward" can just mean an inch or two. If you expose your face just a little bit for a split second, that can means lights out, taking a canvas nap etc.
Of course, when you are just hitting the heavy bag or hand pads, it's easy not to lunge....but in the heat of a sparring session it's a challenge to keep cool and maintain solid technique. I attribute keeping cool to years of playing football and the fact that I don't freak out when I take a hit. I attribute the technique to improved foot work/coordination and I attribute this to jump rope. I'm a skipping machine these days. I can skip 5 different ways interchangeably. It's fun to do 100 one way and then switch back and forth. Man oh man, skipping rope can be an exhausting workout when done right and long enough.
I can now see some abs poking through my belly. At first I assumed it was smaller rolls, as opposed to larger belly rolls, but upon further inspection, they are indeed abs. So that's cool. It has definitely inspired me to put boxing and fitness in high gear.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Four Loko does not make a good night cap
Last night the Gut Punch gentlemen met up to discuss some potential new business and catch up. It was a lot of fun, perhaps too much fun for at least two people.
After a bar, a party and a cabbie who told 3 of us that we were too "big for the cab", we went to one of our apartments for further discussion etc. I cracked a Four Loko open. Big mistake.....huge mistake. For those of you who don't know, Four Loko is a caffeinated alcoholic beverage. People say, and I take them at their word, that it is essentially like having 6 beers and 2 cups of coffee. I have to agree.
It was the last drink of the night, a nightcap of sorts. A nightcap that I will never have again. I'm getting too old for this kind of shenanigans. I had the watermelon flavor, and it is because of the loko, that I totally mailed in this post today.
You reader(s) deserve better than this. Have a great weekend and stay away from Four Loko
After a bar, a party and a cabbie who told 3 of us that we were too "big for the cab", we went to one of our apartments for further discussion etc. I cracked a Four Loko open. Big mistake.....huge mistake. For those of you who don't know, Four Loko is a caffeinated alcoholic beverage. People say, and I take them at their word, that it is essentially like having 6 beers and 2 cups of coffee. I have to agree.
It was the last drink of the night, a nightcap of sorts. A nightcap that I will never have again. I'm getting too old for this kind of shenanigans. I had the watermelon flavor, and it is because of the loko, that I totally mailed in this post today.
You reader(s) deserve better than this. Have a great weekend and stay away from Four Loko
Thursday, November 18, 2010
My office is strange
We have a weekly meeting at my real estate job. It's usually a mix of pep rally and fire and brimstone speeches.....and breakfast! Usually, the office manager will walk across the street to Dunkin Donuts and get a box of joe or two and some bagels and call it a day. No one really complains. Its bagels and decent coffee. Well. Today, we ordered kosher food from a woman essentially operating out of her apartment kitchen. Sounds gross and skeevy right? Right. But its KOSHER AND THEREFORE DEVOID OF BACON AND HAS BEEN BLESSED BY A RABBI! (So it must be good, right?) Keep in mind this is 930 in the morning.
Tartar sauce as a salad dressing killed me. Murdered me. It makes sense though......clams are not kosher, so how would they know that tartar sauce and fried clams are a match made in Goy heaven? They would not.
Tartar sauce as a salad dressing killed me. Murdered me. It makes sense though......clams are not kosher, so how would they know that tartar sauce and fried clams are a match made in Goy heaven? They would not.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Honestly, let's clean it up a bit - shall we?
This happens to me a few times a week. The old world meets the new world, and in doing so, the goat carcass meets the shopping cart.
Performers should not have a backup plan...
...well, unless you are a tightrope walker and your metaphorical backup plan is literally a safety net; that, I am all for. Let me be clear here, I, PhillyRay am vehemently against splattered guts. Now that that's out of the way.....
I had a lot of friends from my college days who said that they were going to pursue acting after graduation. Perhaps 2 other people besides me are still actually doing so. It's not like I'm old, I'm only 27.7 years old. Did they just quit? Did they become weary of the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle? One gentlemen confessed to me that he "...just freaked out and wanted more money and a higher degree of [women]".
The uniting factor in all of these people is that they had a backup plan. David Mamet talks about this in his book True and False. Most of the actors that I talked to about this book do not agree with most of the author's points....and I get that. But......I totally back him up on the whole backup plan point. Bottom line is, if you have a backup plan to acting, invariably that backup plan is what you end up ditching acting for.
Backup plans are not survival jobs. I'm not stupid, you should have a survival job....unless you are one of the privileged few people who are independently wealthy. My survival job is real estate in NYC. It's terrible...I hate it. Hate. Hate. Hate. But I love the flexibility. Love. Love. Love.
Take today for instance. It's raining. So I posted ads from home and fielded calls. I went on 2 appointments and showed apartments to clients. I didn't have to get to my desk at 9am. That is a huge relief....if I have a big audition (or a last minute one at that), I can work on the material at home.
What do I mean as a backup plan? I mean people set deadlines for themselves. Such as...."Well, I'll try it for 5 years and if I don't earn a comfortable living, I'll apply to law school." Or, "I will try to get an agent right out of college and if I don't succeed, I'll go into the family business." If people say such things, I guarantee you that they will have given up on their dreams of being an actor.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with making as much money as you can however you want to do it. Yes, I said however you want to do it, I'm a libertarian.
I also have a huge beef with the word "try" in peoples sentences. If you say "try" you are setting yourself up for failure. Did you know that the ancient Spartans did not have word for defeat? There was "winning" and there was "not winning"? Did you know that I completely made that up?
Sometimes things just aren't right for people. I've had two desk jobs in my life. I got fired from both of them. One lasted 3 months and the other lasted 2 months. I'd have an audition and I'd go. Screw them. I'd just go. I'd come back and finish whatever I had to do that day, stay late etc. After a while they became weary and fired me. It's all good. They shouldn't have hired me in the first place, ha!
So here I am, walking that tight rope and pretending the cold hard cement floor isn't 50 feet below me.
I had a lot of friends from my college days who said that they were going to pursue acting after graduation. Perhaps 2 other people besides me are still actually doing so. It's not like I'm old, I'm only 27.7 years old. Did they just quit? Did they become weary of the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle? One gentlemen confessed to me that he "...just freaked out and wanted more money and a higher degree of [women]".
The uniting factor in all of these people is that they had a backup plan. David Mamet talks about this in his book True and False. Most of the actors that I talked to about this book do not agree with most of the author's points....and I get that. But......I totally back him up on the whole backup plan point. Bottom line is, if you have a backup plan to acting, invariably that backup plan is what you end up ditching acting for.
Backup plans are not survival jobs. I'm not stupid, you should have a survival job....unless you are one of the privileged few people who are independently wealthy. My survival job is real estate in NYC. It's terrible...I hate it. Hate. Hate. Hate. But I love the flexibility. Love. Love. Love.
Take today for instance. It's raining. So I posted ads from home and fielded calls. I went on 2 appointments and showed apartments to clients. I didn't have to get to my desk at 9am. That is a huge relief....if I have a big audition (or a last minute one at that), I can work on the material at home.
What do I mean as a backup plan? I mean people set deadlines for themselves. Such as...."Well, I'll try it for 5 years and if I don't earn a comfortable living, I'll apply to law school." Or, "I will try to get an agent right out of college and if I don't succeed, I'll go into the family business." If people say such things, I guarantee you that they will have given up on their dreams of being an actor.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with making as much money as you can however you want to do it. Yes, I said however you want to do it, I'm a libertarian.
I also have a huge beef with the word "try" in peoples sentences. If you say "try" you are setting yourself up for failure. Did you know that the ancient Spartans did not have word for defeat? There was "winning" and there was "not winning"? Did you know that I completely made that up?
Sometimes things just aren't right for people. I've had two desk jobs in my life. I got fired from both of them. One lasted 3 months and the other lasted 2 months. I'd have an audition and I'd go. Screw them. I'd just go. I'd come back and finish whatever I had to do that day, stay late etc. After a while they became weary and fired me. It's all good. They shouldn't have hired me in the first place, ha!
So here I am, walking that tight rope and pretending the cold hard cement floor isn't 50 feet below me.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Real Estate is funny.
Funny weird, not funny ha ha.
There are many doorman buildings in the Murray Hill section and Midtown East section of Manhattan. To make their properties seem more exclusive, landlords give the buildings a name. Seriously. I know it sounds stupid, I know it is basically, how does the saying go? Ah yes, "putting lipstick on a pig". Or was is "Polishing the turd"? Anyway, it must work because when I tell people that they are going to see an apartment in "Dorchester Towers" I hear a little "Ooh" as opposed to we are going to 236 E 36th Street.
Here is an example of names of buildings, and I will provide those names with a weird contrast.....
On E 46th Street, there is a building called "The Ambassador". This building is located 25 yards away from the UN, but the management does not allow diplomats. Huh?
On Lexington Avenue in the 30's there is a 20 story building called "Lexington Towers". 20 stories is kind of tall, I guess.....but across the street are twin buildings that are 35+ stories tall. Suddenly "Lexington Towers" seems to be compensating for something. I suppose that something is a diminutive Indonesian doorman who can not speak English.
On E 52nd street there is a building called "Rivercourt". There are no clear river views and the building is 2 avenues and a quasi-highway away from the East River.
On E 47th street there is a building called "Embassy House". The problem? You guessed it. No diplomats allowed. Well, unless they pay the year up front and sign away their immunity status. Ha, like that'll ever happen.
Yesterday I saw a building called "The Mango". Ha. I'm serious about that one. I decided to preview it and take pictures because I found the name to be in the very least humorous and in the very most refreshing and almost self deprecating.
There are many doorman buildings in the Murray Hill section and Midtown East section of Manhattan. To make their properties seem more exclusive, landlords give the buildings a name. Seriously. I know it sounds stupid, I know it is basically, how does the saying go? Ah yes, "putting lipstick on a pig". Or was is "Polishing the turd"? Anyway, it must work because when I tell people that they are going to see an apartment in "Dorchester Towers" I hear a little "Ooh" as opposed to we are going to 236 E 36th Street.
Here is an example of names of buildings, and I will provide those names with a weird contrast.....
On E 46th Street, there is a building called "The Ambassador". This building is located 25 yards away from the UN, but the management does not allow diplomats. Huh?
On Lexington Avenue in the 30's there is a 20 story building called "Lexington Towers". 20 stories is kind of tall, I guess.....but across the street are twin buildings that are 35+ stories tall. Suddenly "Lexington Towers" seems to be compensating for something. I suppose that something is a diminutive Indonesian doorman who can not speak English.
On E 52nd street there is a building called "Rivercourt". There are no clear river views and the building is 2 avenues and a quasi-highway away from the East River.
On E 47th street there is a building called "Embassy House". The problem? You guessed it. No diplomats allowed. Well, unless they pay the year up front and sign away their immunity status. Ha, like that'll ever happen.
Yesterday I saw a building called "The Mango". Ha. I'm serious about that one. I decided to preview it and take pictures because I found the name to be in the very least humorous and in the very most refreshing and almost self deprecating.
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