Will I EVER amount to anyhting?
Will I ever do anything that anyone cares about?
Will I ever be interested in car commercials, or will I be pathetic and have no belief that I can even look at them?
I am so much older than my lack of success should be.
I am not as young as my lack of success usually is.
I really gotta stop watching these awards shows...
Sunday, January 20, 2013
For the Parents I know...
I watched my friend crying at the end of Les Miz, and thought to myself:
How fascinating it is to imagine...
A piece of me has left, and now it turns around, looks back at me, and calls me Daddy.
-And I love it.
But that’s not all. It’s also the realization that what I created wasn’t just my own, but my wife’s too. And her own mommy and daddy, and my own mommy and daddy.
Am I just them, looking back at themselves? Do they love it as much? More?
But even more fascinating to me is that- We are all just parts of ourselves and eachother, looking back, marvelling and quarrelling about, kissing and missing... ourselves.
And the Trees, the Oceans, and the Mountains that we came out of watch us look back at them;
and the Planet looks at the trees, oceans and mountains and says “That is me, and now they are looking back at me- and I love them”.
and the Planet looks at the trees, oceans and mountains and says “That is me, and now they are looking back at me- and I love them”.
And the stars look at the planets, and the galaxies at the stars.
And they cry with joy, knowing that love is never-ending, because we are just us, looking at ourselves, from the stars, wanting our happiness, and willing to give everything of ourselves to give it to...
You.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
The Perfect Breakfast
What is the Perfect Breakfast?
Ok, so I know that many people are on the go, and they just want something to eat before they have to be wherever they're going, and if it does the job then great.But I also know that many people have coffee because they want an energy boost to start the day, so they can start making money at whatever they're doing.
Well what if you could eat something that were quick, easy, and gave you that boost that also prevents you from being hungry for hours, was easy to digest, and was actually HEALTHY for you?
Wouldn't that be the perfect breakfast?
Perfect Breakfast Recipe:
1-2 Cups of Orange Juice 1 Banana (frozen or unfrozen)1-2 scoops of BIOTRUST Low-Carb Protein Powder
1 Serving of SCOOP OF SEXY Green Drink Powder.
Optional: 3 Frozen Strawberries, small handful of Frozen Blueberries, or any other frozen fruit you'd like to add for taste or variety. Blend together and drink it down!
Play with your own recipes, but know that the Banana, the BIOTRUST PROTEIN and the SCOOP OF SEXY make the Perfect Breakfast ingredients so that you can go and be Half-Assed Healthy!
Here's why- The energy you get from the sugars in the fruits are longer-lasting than the carbs you'll get from a bagel, and the bagel will eventually put a ring around your belly. Not good naked. The Scoop Of Sexy powder will help to detox and rid your body of the build-up of other foods and non-digestibles because of all of the super-greens in it. The protein is high-quality, and will burn longer, staving off hunger.
Looking Good Naked is EASY if you do it Half-Assed!
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
In The Heights- Usnavi, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Bones Rodriguez
This post is going to sound very self-serving, but stick with me here...
I love the musical IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin-Manuel Miranda, about a group of neighbors in Washington Heights, and what happens when one of them wins the lotto. The main character and narrator USNAVI is a complicated part, and when performed well, can really bring the audience an understanding of the theme of home and family. Lately, I have noticed that less and less people understand this, and many directors are making a terrible mistake in their casting...
I recently finished performing as USNAVI in the musical IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I loved doing it. I found that the part is perfectly in my skill range, and feel connected to the character in many ways.
One of them is that although he is part of his Latino community, there's definitely a part of him that feels outside of it. The main theme of the play is finding the definition of "Home", and for Usnavi, his journey and discovery is what the play is about.
He is a Latino who doesn't dance particularly well, his singing in the show is minimal, and he raps most of the show, almost as an outside narrator, which furthers the theme of finding home.
Which is where I see people in casting messing this up over and over again.
Having seen a number of performances live and online now, I notice that very often a director will cast a "Musical Theatre" baby as Usnavi, and audition his beautiful voice, and see how good of a dancer he is, and then throw on the costume and BOOM- Usnavi!
But they never see if the person can ACT like an OUTSIDER in a musical, and then they also forget to see if the person can convey STORYLINES in RAP form.
I keep seeing these "Musical Theatre babies" do Usnavi songs with wide arm sweeps, as if they were performing in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, or rapping like they see people in music videos- completely forgetting to CONVEY THE WORDS that Lin-Manuel created for the part.
I also see these same performers do obviously graceful movements as they glide across the stage instead of TELLING THE STORY of an outsider, walking in New York, who feels a little disconnected even though he's in the middle of everything.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the originator and creator of In The Heights is NOT one of these "Musical Theatre babies", as he's demonstrated to his critics. His vocals are not particularly melodic, but he CONVEYS HIS STORY through his words. He grew up listening to KRS-ONE, BIG PUN, and several other NY rappers who were known for their clever rhymes and word pictures. Not many people get that-
But I do.
And here's the self-serving part of this post.
When I was performing Usnavi, from rehearsal through to final bow, I knew that there was a STORY to be told that came WAAAAYYY before knowing the Choreography, and way before perfecting vocal notes.
It was more important to me that the theatre-going audience know what the HELL I was talking about, because most of them weren't used to listening to rap lyrics. Even the rap fans of today are more used to hearing highly produced hip-hop tracks with catchy choruses more than intricate rhyming, so even they need the rapping to be COMMUNICATED instead of "theatrical".
When I performed Usnavi, who grew up rapping in the streets with his buddies, I performed him like he was a REAL PERSON, not a "musical theatre protagonist". I grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan, way before it was filled with strollers and Whole Foods customers. We went to school and RAPPED to each other, making up bad rhymes, and listening to the Ol' Skool rappers. USNAVI is a REAL PERSON to many of us, and I think that's why so many of us take so much pride in the show Lin-Manuel created.
I'm not saying all of this to toot my own horn, but to ask that directors take CARE of this fantastic show, because to some of us- IT'S PERSONAL.
IT'S PERSONAL to have someone tell our story.
IT'S PERSONAL that other people who wouldn't normally sit through a rap/latin music set for 2 hours come out singing and feeling like they were PART of something.
IT'S PERSONAL to me that a director SEE THE POINT before they choose to mount their "show"
For the usual melodic musical theatre hero, you have Benny.
For the usual belting female songs, you have Nina, Abuela and Daniella.
For the clown, you have Sonny and Carla.
The usual templates are there- just like in Fiddler on The Roof- but this is a show that's ABOUT something too.
So for USNAVI, you need someone who can play an outsider version of all of them- and that's when people will believe that he's lonely in the middle of a crowd of friends, that's when people will believe that he feels lost without Abuela, and that's when people will CHEER when he finally gets that kiss from Vanessa.
Instead of having these oh-so-passionate and over-the-top vegas acts twist and emote through the part, why not look for someone who understands what "Fo!" means to begin with, and can tell someone else?
Please stop auditioning Musical Theatre Singer/Dancers and look for ACTORS who can RAP- then you'll have that USNAVI that actually conveys what happens in those couple of days in the life of what it's like-
In Washington Heights.
and here's my ad:
I also wrote two other blog posts about In The Heights:
HERE and HERE.
I recently finished performing as USNAVI in the musical IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I loved doing it. I found that the part is perfectly in my skill range, and feel connected to the character in many ways.
One of them is that although he is part of his Latino community, there's definitely a part of him that feels outside of it. The main theme of the play is finding the definition of "Home", and for Usnavi, his journey and discovery is what the play is about.
He is a Latino who doesn't dance particularly well, his singing in the show is minimal, and he raps most of the show, almost as an outside narrator, which furthers the theme of finding home.
Which is where I see people in casting messing this up over and over again.
Having seen a number of performances live and online now, I notice that very often a director will cast a "Musical Theatre" baby as Usnavi, and audition his beautiful voice, and see how good of a dancer he is, and then throw on the costume and BOOM- Usnavi!
But they never see if the person can ACT like an OUTSIDER in a musical, and then they also forget to see if the person can convey STORYLINES in RAP form.
I keep seeing these "Musical Theatre babies" do Usnavi songs with wide arm sweeps, as if they were performing in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, or rapping like they see people in music videos- completely forgetting to CONVEY THE WORDS that Lin-Manuel created for the part.
I also see these same performers do obviously graceful movements as they glide across the stage instead of TELLING THE STORY of an outsider, walking in New York, who feels a little disconnected even though he's in the middle of everything.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the originator and creator of In The Heights is NOT one of these "Musical Theatre babies", as he's demonstrated to his critics. His vocals are not particularly melodic, but he CONVEYS HIS STORY through his words. He grew up listening to KRS-ONE, BIG PUN, and several other NY rappers who were known for their clever rhymes and word pictures. Not many people get that-
But I do.
And here's the self-serving part of this post.
When I was performing Usnavi, from rehearsal through to final bow, I knew that there was a STORY to be told that came WAAAAYYY before knowing the Choreography, and way before perfecting vocal notes.
It was more important to me that the theatre-going audience know what the HELL I was talking about, because most of them weren't used to listening to rap lyrics. Even the rap fans of today are more used to hearing highly produced hip-hop tracks with catchy choruses more than intricate rhyming, so even they need the rapping to be COMMUNICATED instead of "theatrical".
When I performed Usnavi, who grew up rapping in the streets with his buddies, I performed him like he was a REAL PERSON, not a "musical theatre protagonist". I grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan, way before it was filled with strollers and Whole Foods customers. We went to school and RAPPED to each other, making up bad rhymes, and listening to the Ol' Skool rappers. USNAVI is a REAL PERSON to many of us, and I think that's why so many of us take so much pride in the show Lin-Manuel created.
I'm not saying all of this to toot my own horn, but to ask that directors take CARE of this fantastic show, because to some of us- IT'S PERSONAL.
IT'S PERSONAL to have someone tell our story.
IT'S PERSONAL that other people who wouldn't normally sit through a rap/latin music set for 2 hours come out singing and feeling like they were PART of something.
IT'S PERSONAL to me that a director SEE THE POINT before they choose to mount their "show"
For the usual melodic musical theatre hero, you have Benny.
For the usual belting female songs, you have Nina, Abuela and Daniella.
For the clown, you have Sonny and Carla.
The usual templates are there- just like in Fiddler on The Roof- but this is a show that's ABOUT something too.
So for USNAVI, you need someone who can play an outsider version of all of them- and that's when people will believe that he's lonely in the middle of a crowd of friends, that's when people will believe that he feels lost without Abuela, and that's when people will CHEER when he finally gets that kiss from Vanessa.
Instead of having these oh-so-passionate and over-the-top vegas acts twist and emote through the part, why not look for someone who understands what "Fo!" means to begin with, and can tell someone else?
Please stop auditioning Musical Theatre Singer/Dancers and look for ACTORS who can RAP- then you'll have that USNAVI that actually conveys what happens in those couple of days in the life of what it's like-
In Washington Heights.
and here's my ad:
I also wrote two other blog posts about In The Heights:
HERE and HERE.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Do They Like Me?
I am writing this on Christmas Day. It's been rolling around in my head, and I wanted to be sure to write this out...
A lot of people are looking for a partner, and some of them have it all backwards. They often ask "Do they like me?" they also look for a certain "resume". If they can find someone with the right resume, who also likes them- BINGO! They go for it.
Here's what I mean: Imagine a girl who is very polite, she's tidy, she's sexy. She always wears heels, works out, and takes care of herself. She's "nice" too.
These are fantastic lines on a resume.
Many guys would see these traits and say "Damn, that's the girl for me!" and then twist and turn themselves hoping to get her to like them.
This is resume seeking.
Women do this even more; they look for a guy who makes a certain income, drives a kind of car, lives a particular lifestyle. Hopefully, he's "nice" too... Or at least polite. Often, a woman will find herself dating a guy with a great resume, but saying to herself "I SHOULD like him..." and years later she realizes that she doesn't.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having a list of things you want in a partner, but what if you started with different list?
Do you like YOURSELF when you're with them?
What parts of yourself do they bring out in you?
No one wants to be chosen solely for their resume; they want their partner to love THE REST OF THEM too- foibles, imperfections, hurts, and fears.
So, maybe instead of polishing up the resume, why not work on the actual INTERVIEW part?
A lot of people are looking for a partner, and some of them have it all backwards. They often ask "Do they like me?" they also look for a certain "resume". If they can find someone with the right resume, who also likes them- BINGO! They go for it.
Here's what I mean: Imagine a girl who is very polite, she's tidy, she's sexy. She always wears heels, works out, and takes care of herself. She's "nice" too.
These are fantastic lines on a resume.
Many guys would see these traits and say "Damn, that's the girl for me!" and then twist and turn themselves hoping to get her to like them.
This is resume seeking.
Women do this even more; they look for a guy who makes a certain income, drives a kind of car, lives a particular lifestyle. Hopefully, he's "nice" too... Or at least polite. Often, a woman will find herself dating a guy with a great resume, but saying to herself "I SHOULD like him..." and years later she realizes that she doesn't.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having a list of things you want in a partner, but what if you started with different list?
Do you like YOURSELF when you're with them?
What parts of yourself do they bring out in you?
No one wants to be chosen solely for their resume; they want their partner to love THE REST OF THEM too- foibles, imperfections, hurts, and fears.
So, maybe instead of polishing up the resume, why not work on the actual INTERVIEW part?
Friday, December 14, 2012
Newtown Massacre and its opposite
While the Newtown Massacre was happening this morning...
I was being a brontosaurus, falling into an audience of kindergarteners, and first and second graders just to make them laugh. I had complained when I had to wake up at 5am this morning to get into a van and drive for two hours to do 2 shows. I was complaining because it felt so early to go make kids laugh and clap and have a great time while learning about things like teamwork and cooperation.I don't think the guy who committed the Newtown Massacre was complaining. I imagine that he was preparing to make his big statement, and do the OPPOSITE of what I was going to do that day. He was busy preparing to destroy hundreds of lives in Newtown, and no matter how many times we hear about these shooting sprees, see them, and cry about them, they keep happening.
I consider myself a tough guy, but I just lost it over this one, and I don't know why. Maybe the Newtown Massacre was the last straw. Anyway, I grabbed a camera because I wanted to remember how I felt and what I was thinking:
Newtown Massacre and My Tears
I hope I see this in the future, and realize that this event is what changed everything. Then it might all be worth it. The strange thing is that all morning, I was singing a song by my friend Joel Henry Stein that is all about peace called "This Xmas". One of the lines is "What I want this Christmas, is write 'Peace' on Santa's Wish List". Later on he says "And you may say that the time will come, but it can never be now... and you may say you want it too, but you just don't know how...."Well, what are we gonna do now?
What is the OPPOSITE of this tragedy, and how can we do MORE OF THAT?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
I Love My Cousin
Is there a reason I love my cousin?
I went ice skating the other day in Bryant Park here in New York City. It was a friends’ birthday, and she thought it might be fun to go ice skating, since it was free-
-except for the skate rental, hot chocolate, and lock for the lockers.
But that’s cool- I am proud to live in a socialist city like that, where parts are free, and parts are for pay- it makes a profit every year- and it’s FREE!
Well, as we saw the VERY long line to get in, I walked around the rink just to see if we could find our friend skating around.
That’s when I saw them.
There were two little guys, about 7 or 8 skating together, and they kinda looked like each other, so I assume they were brothers. The bigger one was helping the smaller one keep his balance, but the bigger one was pretty wobbly too. You could tell he was just trying to “be there” for the little guy as he held the railing along the outside.
As they gripped the handrails, and carefully put one foot in front of the other, I remarked “Wow, it must be great to have a big brother to help you out like that, huh?”
Well, the bigger kid looked at me as if I had said the silliest thing in the world:
“He’s my cousin.”
And that’s all he said.
He said it like “Duh, I love my cousin, and he needs help, so this is what I’m doing- THIS IS WHAT COUSINS DO…”
Well, I suddenly had the biggest lump in my throat as they just continued on with this ice skating thing, totally ignoring the (dashing) older man with the ridiculous observation.
I was reminded of my own cousin Mark.
I love my cousin Mark.
He’s my only first cousin; he’s taller, older, better-and-younger looking, he’s a lawyer, and taught me to like Star Trek and Prince. He was who I got to play with when we had family dinners, and now that we’re older we still sit next to each other and talk and laugh about… Star Trek, and Prince.
…and maybe the hottest girl on whatever show.
He recently got married, and I got to be his best man. I got to do a best man speech for him, and everyone knows I love my cousin Mark.
You probably have a cousin who is instantly your friend. Sure, you might disagree on things (like him not liking J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek), but just because you are family, you’re friends.
And it’s not like your Toy-and-Parental-Attention-Stealing siblings.
Why do I Love My Cousin? I’ve never heard of “Cousin Rivalry” have you?
I remember a time when Mark and I both slept over at our grandmas house, and we were small enough to be in the same bed. I wanted to sleep under the covers, but he was terrified that there would be no air and I would suffocate on his watch, so after a long debate (I love my cousin- he’s a lawyer now) we settled on my sleeping under the covers that were knit with holes in them.
When I was really sick with Stevens Johnson Syndrome, he came to see me which could not have been very easy. I needed someone to play with while I was recovering, and he took a shot so he could be around me (And this was in his early teens- there must have been more exciting things to do than be around your sick cousin… BUT THAT’S WHAT COUSINS DO).
I love my cousin, so it’s easy for me to do stuff for him and with him too. I’m sure there’s a cousin that you feel the same way about. It’s fun to talk about the same old things, new things, and the new things about the old things. Now our conversations are about being married, and our parents lives changing. Maybe we’ll be talking about being parents ourselves and having our kids play together. Who knows?
Your cousin might be older, younger, close, or far, but you know that at times like the Holidays, birthdays, weddings, funerals, or any other special occasions, you remember your cousins. There’s something about the “kids of your parent’s brothers and sisters” that just brings them close enough without the headaches.
Sure, they’re crazy, and they come from that other part of town. Maybe they’re constantly going into business and want you to work with them, or buy their thing, or vote for their crazy candidate. But you know when the time comes, they’ll say “I love my cousin”, and they’ll claim you as their own.
You can trust your cousin.
There might even be a time when you feel like you’re on shaky footing, and the ice may be thin and slippery, but if you’re lucky to have a cousin like mine, you know that they won’t let you slip and fall through.
And if you’re REALLY lucky, they know that about you too.
Share this with someone if you know what I mean by “I love My Cousin“
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