Walk Like a Chubby Egyptian to a Special Place in Hell
I’m auditioning this weekend for a role in a short, student film, a comedy by the name of Bed, Track and Beyond. I read the following description in the call announcement:
Josh – Early 40s. Starts out slightly chubby and soft…
I thought, I’m 40! I’m slightly chubby and soft! I could do this! The character description continued as follows:
. . . but gets fit and muscular by the end of the film. Must be able to run and work out while looking asleep.
Hmmm… the film said it would require five days of shooting. It’s not a paid role, just something I’d do for fun and a credit, but I can’t help but wonder: how could someone get “fit and muscular” in just 5 days? I dunno. Lots of famous actors have changed their body shapes for particular roles; it would certainly be good motivation to get in better shape! Wish me broken limbs for the audition on Saturday!
Lord knows I’m getting my exercise. I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve cut my commute to school from 90 minutes to 30 minutes. That has been so awesome. The thing is though, the first 10 minutes of that is a twelve block bicycle ride to the bus stop, and it is all uphill. May not sound like much, but riding a bicycle up this long, steady hill is one the more vigorous exercises I’ve ever done regularly… and I get it every day I leave my home. Starting that ride, I think, “Ohmygod, here we go…uggh.” When I get to the top of the hill, thighs and glutes burning, I am so tired, but I get a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Who knew a simple hill could mean so much?
Of course, when I‘m done with school, I get to coast down that same half mile or so without even having to peddle, the perfect way to relax at the end of the day.
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I got a letter from my college the other day which read: “Congratulations, Joko, we are pleased to inform you that you have made the Dean’s Honor Roll for the Fall Quarter . . .” That was pretty cool. This is the first “honor roll” I’ve made since I was 22.
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I’m watching the events in Cairo in awe. When these demonstrations started, one thing that kind of bugged me was how much attention was paid in our media about how the Obama administration was reacting to this. Sure, the USA is a world leader, but IMHO, it is not our place to opine on how another country struggles for freedom, stability, what have you. Why should American opinions even matter? This is an Egyptian matter. Entirely.
In light of the street battles I am watching live right now, the news I heard yesterday about moving the protests to just outside of Cairo, to Giza, seems a little insensitive, but I’ve been telling this story all day, so one more time can’t hurt… Yes, they were trying to move the demonstrations to an alternate site, a place even more famous than Tahrir Square. The idea was rejected. It was far too much of a blatant Pyramid Scheme.
Just finished watching Anderson Cooper getting sucker punched right in the head. He almost spun in a 360. Hard corps stuff.
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We’ll finish with a fun little ukulele video that I made tonight, here on Feb2nd, WORLD UKULELE DAY!
It’s a cover of a Doctor Sparkles song, “There’s a Special Place”. Ironically it’s NOT coming to you from Hell, the little 2nd room in my apartment that I am turning into a music studio.
My friend Dr Sparkles has a new recording out. It’s called “SCARY COUNTRY”. This new release is really a lot of fun, as I’ve come to expect from this guy. It’s a very eclectic collection with great recording quality. Some of the best I’ve heard from Dr Sparkles. He also goes a lot more political in SCARY COUNTRY, practicing suspicious behavior in his unique and light-hearted way. I myself may not agree with a lot of the viewpoints expressed in songs like The Beast of the New World Order or Without Freedom (download the songs just by clicking the links, I’d be very interested in what y’all think), but I really admire anyone who can express pretty far out there political thoughts without taking themselves so seriously. Ron Paul supporters will love this album! Click the funky animated gif below to go to Doctor Sparkles website where you can hear selected tracks off SCARY COUNTRY and even buy the album!
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This makes magics in only five days, in my case, but bicycle is very good. Good luck you next future Hollywood stat. 🙂
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Im having difficulty watching your video Joko. I dont know whats going on with it
Discerning of you to question some of what is being televised from Cairo. I have joined tens of thousands marching on the Capitol against the Iraq War. It received almost no televised coverage. Certainly there was no “oh my God, the people are rising up against the government kind of talk”. Did we need to start fires to get that attention?
The world press is quick to believe, without real evidence, that the more middle-classed Egyptians who are relatively happy with their lives are in fact paid Mubarek counter-demonstrators.
The young in our country are virtually disenfranchised, waiting, I suppose for my generation to die and leave them something to supplement their McJobs. The young in Egypt are perhaps worse off; we assume so because it’s a foreign country.
A kernel of truth seems to be bleeding through to you and me, Joko, that things may not be all they seem from the televised coverage of the demonstrations.
Strange now how the story has become the intimidation of the world press as opposed to the story they are covering.