Various Comments I recieved on this piece, while writing it.

Various Comments I recieved on this piece, while writing it.

There is nothing here
Is this some sort of art project?
Why are you showing me this?
Hunter, This is really stupid
This isn't funny
Why are you typing what I am saying?
so, what, like, meta?
This isn't funny
Hey, did you see last nights episode of Community?
I don't find it funny
It's actually quite powerful, don't you think?
What? Wait, what will I say go in there?

 

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Analysis: This is open to all interpretation. (read: it's stupid if you think it is). I came up with the idea, wanting it to be funny because of meta. As only the person 2nd from the bottom got, it became something different. This short bit of writing has morphed from an unfunny gag into a powerful statement: What somebody hears about a piece of art has a massive influence on how that art is perceived. The audience matters. The context matters. Your opinion of a film will be different if you read negative reviews before you saw it, than if you did not.

Is this a good thing? A bad thing? That is not my place to say [here]. One must be conscious of any biases of art before they see the art  (So for film, I think reading reviews beforehand is bad), but otherwise it is an inescapable aspect of art. I am also playing with similar themes by writing poetry designed for only one person to be the true audience, everyone else is an observer. It's difficult to enjoy as a poem, but when one applies the audience-as-theme for analysis, things get at least a little bit more interesting.

I stopped it here, because people would 'get it' and would watch what they say before talking, as the last line had.

An update on the book

What do I do when I should be working on my book? I am making sure you are all informed about it's future release date.

The book is a bunch of funny 'bits' that I wrote. Think of it like sketch comedy, but with words.

Sign up for updates when it is for sale by clicking here:  http://eepurl.com/l1aL5

Performing, what I learned tonight

I learned a thing or two about performing for children tonight.

• Never show them the knifes until it is a show (crowd watching) environment (IE: not when messing around, gathering, or killing time with the curious kids).


• When you make a big deal of something that will only happen once. Stress how it will only happen once (knives over somebody).


• If you show them (or let them see) something, be prepared to do it. IE: if they see the unicycle, and the juggling props, they will want to see you do both at the same time, and when they ask "can you do this" being able to say "yes!" is the best thing ever.


• I need to get a prop box to hide things/protect things/carry things/look official, and I need to have a clear routine with a beginning and end.


• I need an assistant or somebody that can get kids to behave, because my humor often comes from my reaction to misbehaving kids. Then they think:misbehave = funny. I don't want to get rid of that bit about my performances, so somebody else has to be the authority.


• I need a length of rope I can set down to make an impromptu stage. (and maybe some chalk)


• I need to set up the kids to peer pressure the other kids into behaving. as opposed to them banding up against me. It's tough if they already don't respect you, but possible.


• Looking different/unique/some sort of outfit, or silly hat, or something like that, would be nice.

Tonight was fun, but none of the kids respected me. They stole and run around with my stuff, they crossed my chalk-line stage, they got in the way of things and tried to mess up my juggling or trip me on the uni. Also, juggling knives over the kids is huge. Danger adds a whole lot. I should get some torches and a water bucket and make a huge deal of things. Really I should get better at clubs.

In the end, they enjoyed the hell out of it, and that's the point, right?

The 5 ball cascade, progress report

I am getting to the point where I can get 6 or occasionally 7 tosses in during an attempt, and I can toss 5 balls up and then catch them in my hands over 50% of the time. My tosses still are not consistent enough, so I am doing a lot of 3 ball flashes, 4 ball cascade/showers, and other tall/high tricks to try and be more accurate tossing higher, faster. There were sessions where I would hold 5 balls, toss them into the air and try and catch them, and they would almost all drop, for half hours at a time. It was terrible, and the lack of improvement means I should go to a more basic of fundamental step (such as three ball flash's with a clap or two, continuously. Try it). But now it, after throwing 5 up I got three of the original toss' back up again, and it felt good. Really good. I am just going to need to attack this pattern head on

What are you doing, Google?

 



Google, what are you doing? My math teacher is Romanian, not Czech! It's OK google, easy mistake to make.

Suck it, novelists

Humor is not a strange medium of writing/art. Outside of the artist's circle (inside of the consumer's, receiver's, enjoyer's, layperson's circle) it is a very enjoyed medium. Everybody loves picking up a book and having a good laugh. But humor doesn't get very much respect. Possibly because browsing the 'humor' section of Barnes and Noble is filled with titles such as The Ultimate Toilet Reader of Stupid Facts books - some books even shaped like toilets. How is a genre of writing that published their works as toilet-worthy ever going to get respect. "Stand up comedians can't write! Put that Steve Martin book down" is an actual (I swear to god, it's why I am writing this post) quote I heard at the bookstore. David Sedaris is stuck in the bottom, and usually only gets an appearance on 'the table', where, under a "New & Noteworthy" sign, high quality but unpurchased works are on display to attract more attention. Humor is not a respected medium, but it is an enjoyed one. Why don't people respect humor? Everybody who has ever flubbed a punchline knows it isn't easy being funny, and being funny in writing is even harder. It's so hard, i am resorting to writing about humor, than writing humor itself.

Consumers do not take humor seriously.

Inside of the artist circle, ask a poet is he could try to be funny for a piece. You will get scoffs. Shel Shilverstein, Odgen Nash - even Alexander Pope. These guys are good. Really good. Pope is considered one of the best poets of all time. But they get scoffed off for being funny. Pope's satirical piece on how to write poetry is considered one of his worst poems. Shel silverstein is for kids and kids only, and - lemme guess - you had to Google who Ogden Nash even is, right? Hell, if you are reading this blog you probably had to look up Alexander Pope too. (sorry). Poets do not think humor poetry is serious. It never has those obtuse and convoluted layers and extended metaphors that poets call 'meaning' and 'emotion'. 1) that is a generalization and a wrong one. 2) Humor writers use a lot of poetic techniques to write. If something sounds funny, it is funny. I use Zeugma, Alliteration, Metaphors and Similies all the time. One of the greatest metaphors of all time, by Douglas Adams: "The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't". My point is that to say that humor writing is shallow or inartistic is a hasty generalization.

Novelists poop on Humor writing too. Often humorists are forced to write pre-teen fiction, or (god forbid) children's books. As a kid, I wanted to pick up a book and laugh. I remember Captain Underpants fondly. But how about for adults, David Sedaris, Steve Martin, and Tucker Max are the only adult-oriented humorists I can think of. (Tucker Max is very adult oriented).  Adults arn't going to go pick up 'Emails from an Asshole' or 'Ant Farm'. (By the way, I highly recommend reading Simon Rich's Ant Farm and Free Range Chickens. OK, I can think of a few more adult-themed humorists (Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, The New, New Rules). I am missing a lot, arn't I. I am, but that's not the point, the point is that humor is not respected by creators, consumers, or publishers. My point is that this is bad, and this conception needs to change. Harry Potter has moments of humor in it! Shakespeare? That man liked a good pun. (According to John Cleese the lowest form of comedy) Do not tell me humor cannot be art. I will hit you into the Thames with a large fish, then ride away on chariots made out of bacon and driven by strippers. Because fuck you, is why.

Vegetarian

I started a personal challenge to go one month without meat. Today is day 5.

A friend of mine is going to give me $20 if I succeed. Challenge accepted!