Closed Captioned

So I went to Gold's Gym down on 54th and I'm on the elliptical machine watching MTV's "The Real World" on the screen (I know, why?). It's some scene where all the kids are hanging out in a loud nightclub trying to yell over the music. Now I'm in a gym, so the closed captioning is turned on, and I'm thinking, "Wow, the people typing this can really keep up with the words even with a LOT of background noise".

Just then, the camera pans up to the stage where some "gangsta" rapper is doing his thing. The caption simply says "indistinguishable rapping"...

Immortality continued...

Okay, I think you're all missing the point here...

My point is that everything we say in this digital forum is basically a collection of ones and zeros, which don't actually exist. They don't age, they won't decay, and they can't succumb to the hands of time. It is unlike anything that's come before.

Besides, you could be the greatest writer in the world, but unless you actually get published, no one is ever going to quote something you wrote. Here we have the possibility of reaching millions of people, and perhaps something we say here will strike a chord in someone who will pass it on for generations to come...

Immortality

Not so long ago, in a galaxy very near our own, previous generations lived on through a letter they wrote, pictures in a photo album, or some old belongings, all of which wither and fade after time. The memory of what they thought, how they lived, their sense of humor, all diminishing with time. The memory of my grandparents, who they were, what they stood for, the sound of their voice, will probably die with my brothers and I. Little, if anything, of the actual people from generations past have survived the cruel eraser of time. But we've become a digital society. This is the information/technology age. We have the internet. What we say, the pictures we post, our thoughts and ideas, our websites and our blogs will live on, even in some small way, long after we're gone...like a tiny digital time capsule, maybe preserving just a small piece of who we are, and what it meant to be alive at this point in time.

June 14th

Well, exactly one year ago today I packed up my roller-skates in a suitcase, got on a train and moved into my apartment here in New York City. In some ways it seems hard to believe I've been here for a year already...in other ways it's not. I have literally been to a hundred auditions, spent a lot of time and money getting new headshots taken, updating my music book at the Lincoln Center Library, buying new dance clothes and shoes (and the bag to carry it all in), losing 20 lbs., and riding the subway (and walking) all over Manhattan running from audition to audition. Sounds like hell, right? Well it was, and is, but I still wouldn't trade it for anything. It's a strange way of life that most people can only dream of. Besides, I have a feeling it's all going to come to an abrupt end sooner rather than later. The one thing I'm not looking forward to experiencing again is the relentless heat and humidity of another New York summer.

I've also enjoyed a lot of great things here...roller-skating at the "skate circle" in Central Park, hanging out in Times Square, walking around the upper-west side, hiking up at Inwood Park, and meeting lots of new and interesting people. It is time to move on though, my suitcases are getting bored. Travelling the world and seeing all it's many sights is in my blood, and I've been sitting here for way too long.

A light at the end of the tunnel?

I know, bad "Starlight" reference...

I had a really good audition yesterday for Crystal Cruises. I sang 3 songs, was taught a ballet and jazz combination, did cartwheels across the floor(?), some tap and then a "mover" combination (she wanted to see our "personality"). At the end of the day they said "thank you" to everyone and asked me to stay...just me. Then they talked to me for almost an hour about what the job entails. It almost sounded like they were trying to talk me out of it at times. They seemed very interested in hiring me, however the casting director is flying out to London today to audition more people. So I sit and wait...again. She said I should know something soon, and she would be back in the U.S. on the 11th. I don't want to jinx myself, and perhaps I've already said too much, so I'll just wait until I have some sort of confirmation...

Audition season

Just when you think audition season is over, a whole new string of auditions comes around. I had a good one yesterday, just strangely not for the show I was auditioning for...

I went to audition for a series of small tours with Theater of the Stars, "My Fair Lady", "The King and I" and "Bombay Dreams". One guess as to which show I was going for. Anyway, once I go into the room I see Baayork Lee sitting behind the desk, who was the original Connie in "A Chorus Line" on Broadway, and directed me in the same show in Atlantic City. Turns out she's going to be choreographer for the revival of " A Chorus Line" coming to Broadway next year. So Baayork recognizes me (sort of), and asks if I'll be going to the dance call later this month. I said, "Only if you want me to", and she said she wanted to see me for the part of Larry (the assistant choreographer). So hey, that at least sounds promising, even if she's blowing smoke up my ass, I'll take what I can get...