Laughter is the Best Medicine: If the line is pink...

This blog entry is dedicated to anyone that can appreciate humor in unexpected life circumstances. We all have had them, or will have them at some point of our lives. Being that I'm smack dab in the middle of one, I thought this was just too perfect to share. The scene is from the BBC show "Pulling" which centers around three single female friends in London. ***as an fyi to my fellow actresses out here, there a ton of great scenes for comedy actresses in this show so check it out.

Laughter is the Best Medicine : Thank God for "Stefon"

Here's another dose to make it all better.
If you've seen Bill Hader's Saturday Night Live character "Stefon", I hope you love him as much as I do.  If you haven't seen it yet, here is a brilliantly created character that is crazy funny- even though comedy is about "committing", I think I crack up most when Will can't hold it together. Hope you like it!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

It has been a hard couple months for me. I'm trying to find peace and I realize that one avenue is through being present. I find I'm most present when I'm laughing, whether it's at an amazing moment at an Improv show, a unexpected funny comment from a friend , physical comedy, or a  funny joke, etc... So in addition to my social commentary I have decided to share  what makes me laugh out loud and truly enjoy the moment. 

Below is a clip a from "Wet Hot American Summer". Paul Rudd- I love him.

How Did We Get Here?... And Our responsibility in Social Media

I am angry and I am worried. Recently on Twitter there was a tweet that said " IM IN BLUE FLAME SLAPPIN STRIPPERS ASS AS HARD AS I CAN FOR $20"  followed shortly by " IM DEAD WRONG FOR TWEETIN WHILE SOMEBODY DAUGHTER GIVIN ME A LAP DANCE". This particular Tweeter was a comedian but for me that was not an excuse and I'll explain why.  

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, moving past the years when I wouldn't think twice to dance to rap lyrics such as "It ain't no fun unless the homies can have some" or participate in sexual exploitive sketches that at the time I perceived as "funny".  Or maybe because I see numerous reports on "Where have all the good men gone" and why woman (in particular Black women) aren't getting married because our pool of men is so small.  I don't think I'm pushing to say that there has to be some correlation with the misogynist and childlike outlook that many of our men have. 

I will, however, also be fair and put some responsibility on us women. I recently had a conversation with my friend Dee about Amber Rose. I was saying how surprised I was at how Amber came across on Twitter- gracious and sweet. Dee immediately shut all that down saying women like Amber disgusted her, using solely her body to make a living and rise in the ranks of celebrity.  And not just using the video girls, she discussed women that she knows in her field that have used their body or assets to rise in the ranks. ( I will throw out a disclaimer here and state I don't know where these woman came from, nor their story on doing what they felt like they had to do. But irregardless, it's not the direction I want to see continue on.)

So I have been pondering on these two sides and wondering, when did all this begin? Clearly I need to do some research, but I am curious to know how did we go from the understanding that it will take a partnership to build a life together, strength in numbers to work through the pain that racism, discrimination, and poverty gave way to.  To today- where woman are "bitches and ho's",  video girls with their asses out (literally) are plastered not only on videos but all over social media, and slapping stripper's asses' as hard as possible is seen as acceptable and cool.


The argument some may have is, well they're video girls, or they're just strippers. But that's bullshit. My argument is that we don't have enough role models to excuse and publicize this behavior. It's embarrassing and sad to me. Of course there are strong partnerships out there, but there are not enough. And of course there are amazing men out there  - please recognize that I know that (I know plenty of them).  But we need more. 

 I am asking for responsibility and accountability people. Social media is taking over. Our kids see it, do we really want to breed our male children into thinking that their women are there to be ogled, slapped and worthless but for sexual purposes? Do we want to breed our female children into thinking it's solely their body that gives them their worth- in particular, the size of their asses?

It's exhausting. Now as I write this, I am now regretting that this sounds like a wagging of the finger. I now am pleading, begging for us to think about who we are, where we came from and what legacy we want to leave behind. I beg you women to think before you stick your asses out as far as possible in that glossy photo, and I ask you men to please think before you throw out your sexual adventures and base tweets all over the internet.

I am truly hoping for the best.

Oh, My Mind

Is it better to ask questions that you don't want to know the answer to or stay in happy ignorance bliss. I recently picked up The Power of Now and realize I am a truly compulsive thinker. My thoughts can harm me as I overthink everything. 


I am striving to become more easy-going, but it's hard because my mind is constantly going back and forth , weighing every issue, every possible outcome. If I were to decide to stay in happy ignorance would I be hurt as often? confused? angry? Would decisions be easier to make? 


I recently tweeted that "Life is full of surprises and how you handle them is what builds your character." I have the understanding that life really is a gift, that you can choose how to live, to be happy or to be sad, angry, etc.  I want to choose to be happy, though my harmful thinking habits are hard to break. I'm blessed with amazing people in my life from all walks of life. I live in a truly wonderful environment, I am so lucky to be pursuing what I want to do professionally. The only problem is my overactive mind.  


I truly do envy people that live without attachment, that have such a strong trust in the universe and their God that they know no matter what things will work out. I do think I know that overall, but when you're stuck in the middle of something so unexpected, scary, the inclination is "I want to know now".  I am hoping that The Power of Now will aid me. I am so uncertain, but I maybe it's time to let go of my old ways, to be okay with being uncertain. 

Big-ups to the Funny Black Girl

Recently I saw "For Colored Girls" and liked it. Though it was heart wrenching and emotionally draining most of the movie,  I appreciated the comic relief that seeped through Loretta Divine's and surprisingly Thandie Newton's characters. The comedy wasn't in your face per say, but they were so completely living the life of their characters that the funny quirks came through and I loved it. 


It inspired me to give recognition to other funny performances by actresses. So here is the first video of many more to come. If you've seen this one , sit back, reminisce, and crack up. If not, you've got some catching up to do : )


CLASSIC!
Anne -Marie Johnson as "Cherry" from "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka"

I am gonna toast to the A**holes

I recently posted a link on Facebook with a interview with Kanye West : 
kanyespeaksthetruthpart1www.youtube.com.  I posted it with the comment of "You have to respect him".  I got feedback from a couple of people that didn't quite agree, statements like: 


"Kanye behaves like a child. Creatively, he's one of the best around, but his antics/personality are cliche. How much longer is he going to play the role of the misunderstood genius?" N.T


"I say all that to say I listen to his music, though I don't own all his CD's but I think the money, the adulation and praise he has received throughout his career has given him an amazing sense of himself, that can only be seen thru Kanye colored glasses. " R.E


I can admit that his comparison to his situation to Emmett Till was a complete stretch BUT I do respect his ability to say whatever he feels. He can act like a child but children are honest, they are free in that sense. 


Kanye plays a important role in our society. He goes against the norm, I would guess he despises it. It's so easy to dismiss someone , to say they're acting like a child when they do or say something that is so against what we perceive as proper conduct. And though it's unfortunate that people do get caught in the line of fire during these rebel's outbursts (Taylor Swift), it gives us another way to see-  if we really allow ourselves to open up and listen to these outliers - it forces us to look at things a different way, possibly as we did as children.


Of course we grow up and become responsible, but we also lose a lot of what made us creative- possibly our true selves. The shoulds and shouldnts get in the way- which becomes fear in going against the status quo, fear of hurting others, fear of being perceived as a bad person.  On this point I want to refer to an excerpt from an article that a friend recently sent me by Adrian Tan (Author of "The Teenage Handbook"), this was his speech to a graduating class of 2008 : 
  
" I now say this to you: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong."


full article: http://www.hs.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=435703785332&id=838833 331


So here's a toast to one of the hated... Maybe he is an A**hole.  A child. But he gets us to think.