A Confession of Optimism

I am very thankful to my parents for the way that they raised my sister and me. There has always been a strong sense of neutrality. Not in the sense of never backing any side of an argument, but in the sense of being impartial and evaluating the situation before forming an opinion about something. It has led to complicated, if interesting, scenarios when friends and I have fought—I do my best to avoid taking a stance against the person mad at me. This just seems to frustrate the other party and makes me sound smarmy as I describe it now, but I believe it is the right thing to do if you can appropriately distance your emotions in order to make a rational decision.

Because of this, there is a sort of centrist streak running through my family. Religiously speaking, I was taught to revere the Dalai Lama as much as the Pope and to shun fundamentalism. Politics were also subject to this; my parents never shared with us who they voted for. They will discuss who they plan on voting for now that both my sister and I are of age, but they showed no desire to imprint their political beliefs on us the way so many people seem to do. (We were indoctrinated, but with views that are more flexible, in my opinion.) Whenever I can glean something about their beliefs, it reinforces the idea of choosing sides based on their merits instead of voting straight ticket; my father is a registered Democrat, but Reagan was his favorite president.

But there is more to this post than bragging about Mom and Dad. The centrism is alive and well whenever we talk about the upcoming election. My whole family, it seems, has adopted the strategy of voting for neither Obama nor Romney, citing problems with both. As with the previous election, I agree with them that there are problems with both (though I think neither would run the country into the ground, Bush-style). But every time my sister extols the merits of the Green Party, there is a part of me that shrinks as I remember my true feelings.

I like Obama.

There. I wrote it.

I have yet to admit this to my family, for fear of deviating from the consensus they have come to. Even with an intentionally-open belief system, there is a set of norms to which one must adhere.

I certainly have my issues with the President. The bill he signed “with reservations” bugs me, for example. But when I learned a friend was involved with the Obama campaign, I actually had a slight desire to do something myself.

I missed my chance during the “hopey changey” era. I lost my absentee ballot, so I did not vote. But even then, despite professing that both Obama and McCain were worthy contenders, I clandestinely harbored Obama sympathies.

I know that supporting a candidate in an election is not something to be ashamed of, but still I worry. I have found myself increasingly to be a liberal democrat over the years, and I just do not want to be one of those people that are part of the partisan train wreck that is most of our politics. And yet I drift to the left (or maybe I have always been there—I am a bit of a Socialist at heart).

I know who I am voting for this November. I just hope it is for the right reasons.

If he's good enough for her, he's good enough for me.

The End of an Era

Tonight I had an issue while checking out a guest. I went to call my boss to remedy the situation, but was sent to voicemail. She then informed me via text that she has resigned.

I am disheartened, to say the least. My boss was one of the best things about working at the hotel. She is possibly the most positive person I have ever known, and always has such genuine enthusiasm for things.

She will be missed. I can only hope that work will continue to be a rewarding environment. If things go downhill, though, I guess I will be stuck in the same boat as everyone else.

Low Hanging Fruit (2012)

I found James Adomian’s debut album to be good. Not incredible, but good.

Adomian is known around the Earwolf podcast network for his inventive, lively impersonations (including a paranoid, defensive Jessie Ventura, a maniacal Richard Branson, and an addled Gary Busey). His first comedy album, which was released through Earwolf, shows more of his normal personality, although he slips into several voices throughout the record to hilarious effect.

I first heard the comic on a number of Sklarbro Country episodes, performing as characters for mock interviews. They have several recurring impersonators, but I find his personas to be my favorites. He brings a great amount of energy to the table. In a recent episode, the brothers Sklar interviewed the man himself, and this got me interested in his standup. On the page for his album, you can listen to a great track that tackles the homophobic advertisements for beer that air during football games. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to buy the rest of the album (for a reasonable $10). While the rest of the bits do not quite live up to the sample track in my opinion, I got a great deal of enjoyment out of listening to them. At first I was lukewarm towards some of his material, but I must admit that upon further review I found myself laughing more and more. Taste in comedy is especially subjective, so it is difficult to judge how much Low Hanging Fruit will appeal to other people, but I liked it. I am not a fan of most stand-up, but I do appreciate the occasional alternative comedian, and Adomian is now one of them.

Plus, I just like the guy. I have written twice before about my tendency to latch onto personalities I like and support their work. I do wonder, then, how much I actually enjoy the things they produce because I want to like their stuff. Has my opinion of something been tainted if I have a desire to hang out with person who wrote it? Does the fact that I first was attracted to these people because of the quality of their handiwork remedy this?

In addition to the Sklarbro interview, Adomian appeared on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. There he talked about growing up and coming to terms with his sexuality. As an out comic, he incorporates being gay into a large chunk of his act. I find his treatment of the topic agreeable; he talks about his sexual orientation as just another part of his personality, but is not afraid to utilize it to great effect. We need more people like him to help people understand sexual minorities as something more than stereotypes. But that is a topic for a whole other post (or series of posts).

Adomian seems to still be finding himself as a standup, but I feel that Low Hanging Fruit is a good first effort.

Sleepwalk with Me (2012)

I had the pleasure of seeing a screening of Mike Birgbiglia’s Sleepwalk with Me. I had to drive to Pittsburgh to see it, because independent cinema has no place in Indiana, PA, but it was worth it. The screening I attended was actually packed, and I wondered if I would get in when I saw that there was a line outside of the theater to buy tickets.

The film is the fourth incarnation of Birbiglia’s tales about his sleep disorder (the others being his appearances on This American Life (which produced the film), a one-man stage show/album, and a book). In each version, he chronicles his life after college as a struggling stand-up comedian, his relationship with his girlfriend, and his increasingly dangerous sleepwalking episodes.

The film certainly feels “indie,” but this is a good thing in my book. Birbiglia gives a solid performance as a version of himself, and the cast is rounded out by myriad comedians. Notable cameos include producer/co-writer Ira Glass as a wedding photographer, and Dr. William C. Dement as himself. The story is strong and the film weaves together the different plotlines deftly, unifying the thematic elements.

One of the few problems I had was with some of the main character’s dialog. It might be because I am familiar with his material, but some lines felt like a comedy routine shoehorned in instead of naturalistic dialog. Then again, the character interactions between fellow comedians just hanging out rang very true to me (based on hearing many stand-ups shoot the shit on podcasts).

I especially enjoyed the dream sequences. Glass said in an interview on Fresh Air that he normally despises dream sequences in film as cheap, and you can tell that special attention was paid to ensure that the scenes were uncanny but realistic.

I will admit that this review is heavily biased in favor of the movie. As I have noted before, I enjoy seeing people I admire get exposure. I was a fan before the film was even released. It was great (and sometimes a little surreal) to see comedic bits I know portrayed in cinematic form, like the stilted confessions of love featured on Wedding Story Tales, or the dismal lip-syncing contest.

Me, being biased.

I would certainly recommend this film to anyone with a sense of humor—or anyone who is a little weird. Fans of Birbiglia will get exactly what they expect, and new viewers may find themselves introduced to a wonderful world of awkward moments and strange conversations comparing abstract concepts to pizza, tinged by a healthy dose of self-deprecation.

The United Stats of America

There is a certain type of glee you feel when someone you are familiar with gets a break. Being a fan of the Sklar Brothers, I was very excited to hear that they would be hosting a show on the History Channel. The United Stats of America saw their first hosting gig on television since CheapSeats ended in 2006. Spanning six episodes, United Stats features breakdowns of topics ranging from how we die to how much money we make to how advances in transportation have affected the distribution of population across the country. It was produced by the same company that made the excellent This American Life.

Overall, I enjoyed the show, but it was not without its problems. A couple of episodes, particularly the first, skimp on the stats. As a result, they are heavy on the antics. While I enjoy most of the brothers’ mannerisms and interactions, a few of the jokes in the stat-lite episodes are real groaners. That glee I felt over them getting work turned to the same feeling you get when you see a friend in a play that isn’t that great.

The strongest episodes were those that focused on cramming a huge amount of information into the hour. The twins seem to really find their comedic footing most effectively when they have narrow slices of joke time and must make up for it by lining the episode with their trademark style of witty, rapid banter. I especially enjoyed the episode about why Americans used to be the tallest country on Earth, but have since lagged behind the Netherlands.

It’s a shame that the show probably will not be renewed, based on the Sklars’ comments about their ratings. It’s practically the only show on History that is not a reality program concerning people of varying levels of hillbilly-ness. That or the fear-mongering tripe they produce on the apocalypse. Remember the good old days, when you could make fun of the History Channel for focusing too much on Hitler, a real person? Nowadays, a viewer must put up with this:

I cannot say that every other show History airs sucks. I have a(n intelligent) friend that insists some of it is quite entertaining. But the truth is, United Stats got me watching History again after a long absence. No other current show of theirs interests me enough to even tune in out of curiosity (the last time that happened was maybe a year ago when I decided to check out Swamp People).