Witnessing Inaction

"The present Western policy of playing down genocide and hoping it will peter out has proved to be bankrupt practically as well as morally. Granted, there are no neat solutions in Darfur. But ignoring brutality has only magnified it, and it's just shameful to pretend not to notice the terrified villagers here, huddling with their children each night and wondering when they are going to be massacred." - Nicholas Kristof, columnist, writing from the Chad-Sudan border of increasing violence by Sudanese militias in the region, including cross-border raids against villagers in Chad.
Source: The New York Times

"It is a very tricky thing to dramatize because you have to get into how the government rationalizes inaction and how they sort of stiff-arm the horror and sort of pooh-pooh any real action as something that would be naïve. We are not as a country too naïve to establish democracy in Iraq, but apparently we are too naïve to put an end to babies being thrown into fires." - Bradley Whitford on writing an episode of the West Wing about the genocide in Darfur. The transript is from a podcast Whitford did for "Bearing Witness for Darfur: Can We Prevent Genocide in the Sudan?" an off-shoot of Voices on Genocide Prevention, a podcasting service of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Uncertain Stage Fright

For those who don't know this story, allow me to briefly recap. I took a directors workshop last month with Judith Weston. Basically, the class was an acting class populated by directors. It was eight hours a day for three days. We'd have to get up in front of the class a few times a day. Repetition exercises, monologues, scenes, improv. And, well, I loved it. And I don't think I sucked. At least according to some of the people in class with me, I didn't.

So, for some ridiculous reason, I've signed up for her Masters Class. Starting on Thursday March 30, we'll be working with two plays from a "master", in this case Eugene O'Neill, and we're to have a monologue from Long Day's Journey Into Night or Mourning Becomes Electra memorized for the first class.

Let me be clear about something: I could not be more scared.

I'm taking the class because, as Mike Nichols says, directing is creating a safe environment for an actor to "open a vein." And while that's yucky, it's true. So. I think learning what actors go through for that process can only improve my ability as a director to empathize.

But, the class starts THIS THURSDAY. And, I have to memorize a MONOLOGUE. Plus, it's expensive.

Something being difficult or scary is never an appropriate reason not to do it, yeah, yeah, I know that. And yes, some of the best things I've done in my life scared the living crap out of me. Here's what I'm taking as reassurance: "The future is uncertain... but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity," Ilya Prigogine. Substitute "uncertain" for "stark, raving terror" -- it's not as melodic, but far more accurate.

Corporal punishment and Nicotine Withdrawal

So I know this girl who decided to stop smoking. She actually decided about 46 minutes ago. Now, see, in the past, this friend has been, well, less than successful in this particular endeavor. But she sounds to be fairly determined this time. She threw away the two packs she had at work and in her car. She threw away her lighters. She even decided she wouldn't be going with friends who take a quick smoke break and are more than willing to let her bum a quick cig.

Here's the problem: this particular girl has fairly deep-seeded avoidance issues. Whenever she feels frustrated, emotional, socially awkward, she uses the excuse for a quick smoke to compensate. So. What to do instead.

Below is my list of substitutionary diversions. For my friend. Please feel free to add any.

1. Chewing gum
3. Calling a friend and chatting
4. Taking a walk
5. Watch a movie
6. Watch TV
7. Watch the cat take a nap
8. Wake up the cat from taking a nap to play, and get swiped for her trouble.
9. Toss the cat off of the bed, and plot ways to get back at the cat for what will more than likely be infected cuts on her hand and arm.
10. "Forget" to refill the cat's food dish so that the cat has to eat the broken pieces at the bottom of the bowl that she's let build up and in her typical primadonna fashion subsequently refused to eat.
11. When the cat comes around whining because there isn't fresh, whole-piece food in her dish, telling the cat sternly "Maybe you should have thought about that before you literally bit the hand that feeds you." And then realized she was talking, aloud, to her cat. And that she was witholding food.
12. Pouring more food for her cat, and apologizing to said animal and asking forgiveness. From her cat.

So maybe nicotine withdrawal results in grouchiness, and a slight mental imbalance. I'll have to tell my friend that.

"We're going to need to take those Trojans and that copy of Tropic of Cancer, ma'am."

I thought about naming this post "You've gotta be fucking kidding me" but then I remembered that my mom reads this blog. Hi Mom.

Anyway. I just saw on CNN.com that apparently the idiot founder of Domino's has decided that he's smarter than God. He's going to build a town where you can't get an abortion. You can't buy porn. You can't purchase birth control. No word yet on whether that includes condoms, but I'm going to assume yes. And I'm going to assume that they'll have a rather sizable maternity ward at the hospital.

So here's what I want to know. How is he going to orchestrate that, exactly? Is he going to do random medicine cabinet checks? Is he going to have kiddie filters on everyone's internet? And, more importantly, does this mean that he's defined pornography, because the Supreme Court would love to hear it, I'm sure. And where, in this scheme of religious nervana has he figured in the concept of FREE WILL.

Whatever. It won't last. You can't say that you're going to have a town, and then flounce all the laws of the state and country that surround said town. It's unconstitutional, besides being shitty.


ETA: Well, I saw these guys on the Today show this morning. Now they're saying that they'll be "strongly discouraging" these things. WHATEVER. I'm going to go ahead and stick with yesterday's assertion that they're jackasses.

It's almost over

Big, big things happening with my Wing. They announced today that Rob Lowe, Emily Procter, and Mary Louise Parker are back for some of the final episodes. Sam's back!

Also, huge, huge happenings with Josh and Donna. If you've ever watched, you've seen the two of them flirt. Watch next Sunday (3/12) when the show is back for the final episodes. It's huge, people.