#Metoo, national monuments, net neutrality...and the list goes on and on. We knew this was going to be a constant battle, just like fighting any kind of cancer, and we knew it was going to be exhausting. But sheesh. Some days it's just too much.
I haven't written anything in a while. I was caught up with work then was on (in my opinion) a well-deserved vacation. Then I got caught up in hours of Hallmark Christmas movies (it's what I do, people. Don't judge.). In other words, not much to revue (I love you all so I would never subject you to Hallmark movie reviews without an excellent reason. You're welcome).
And in the midst of all that there is the constant barrage of how fucked up things are in our country. I'm not here to be political, it's not my gig. But it's draining and depressing, amirite?
I listened to an audio book recently, which was for me, oddly uplifting. Like my own little Tiny Tim/Scrooge moment (you all get that I'm Scrooge, right? Bah humbug.) It isn't about Christmas miracles or even ways to navigate through our political climate. It's about movies and comedy. Yay!
Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt (read by Patton Oswalt)
I'm no expert on books...I was a Film major not an English major. I just know what I like. Qualified folks - the Boston Globe and New York Times - both gave favorable reviews.
Oswalt reads the audio version of this book and that makes it a sublime experience. It's like listening to four hours of Remy from Ratatouille tell you in his adorable little rat voice why watching films became an addiction.
Basically, Patton Oswalt watched Sunset Boulevard and it changed his life. He decided he wanted to be a director and the best way to achieve that goal was to see as many films as possible. It was his own type of film school and he was creating the curriculum. So he became obsessed. Like, wrote down every movie he saw and checked them off in his "bibles" - film reference books like Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film. He was so far gone that he let a date walk to her car alone in LA after midnight because they were at a film festival and he wouldn't leave the next film. She broke up with him soon after (and rightly so). Along with this, we are regaled with stories from his early stand up days. It's an amazing peek into what the comedy scene was like in the glory days of the early 90's - detailing who was up and coming and the clubs where they performed.
If you are at all interested in films (old and new), comedy in the 90's or Patton Oswalt in general, I highly recommend LISTENING to this book. It's good fun and he's an incredibly eloquent guy.
His stories about his early days in the comedy scene reminded me of some good in the world and reminded me to count blessings, even small ones. Weird, right? But here's why:
I think I've written about this before, but when I was in college I "co-managed" a comedy improv troupe. I put "co-managed" in quotes because I certainly didn't know a thing about what I was getting into and I would say the same for the rest of the troupe. We got some small gigs (If I remember correctly our biggest was Rooster T Feathers in San Jose). Anyway, we were affiliated with a "promoter" (again with the quotes) who 100% scammed us on every gig he got us. We even knew it at the time but felt like our hands were tied. Anything to be seen (Weinstein-esque, no?). Being that I had to deal with him frequently in my role as a co-manager, he often (always) said extremely inappropriate things to me and was a bit handsy. Our group joked about it a lot. I'm sure this was not only to make me feel marginally better but also we were young and didn't know, really, how to process this. As I was remembering how scary it actually was, I was reminded that the guys in this troupe made a point to NEVER let me be alone with the promoter. Meetings, gigs, whatever, one of the guys were always with me. We all knew that he was essentially a ticking bomb.
I had forgotten about them doing this, particularly in light of the fact that 20 years later I dated one of these guys and it didn't end well. So it was a bit of a gift to be reminded that, even if he's lost his way, my ex was a decent kid.
So let's count our blessings, no matter how big (Alabama, Time's Person of the Year!)) or small (quiet afternoons reading a book with my cat on my lap). It's easy to get overwhelmed with the bad but it's the good that feeds our souls. Thanks for reminding me, Patton Oswalt.
(I'd pair movie theater popcorn, Milk Duds and a big Coke Zero when you listen to this book.)
My takeaways:
#1 - Why don't I watch more old movies? There are SO many out there and I know I've only scratched the surface.
#2 - Patton Oswalt is a smart, smart guy. He's a prolific reader and (IMHO) a really good writer.
#3 - Patton talks about his brother, Matt, in the book. Matt is also a writer. When I looked him up I discovered that he was the person who convinced Mark Hamill to read Trump's Tweets in the Joker's (from Batman) voice. For that, we should all be thankful..
xoxo...hashtagSueslife
