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Question: Is it difficult being one of the only African Americans on two of television's hottest "ensemble" shows? KhandiA: No. Its not difficult. It was difficult being one of the many unemployed African American actresses. (from an AOL chat with Khandi Alexander.) |
Sunday, August 6, 2000 Grad School and TV Ramblings Tired. But briefly: Grad school: I'm beginning to gravitate towards a master's in England, followed by a Ph.D. in the U.S. Perhaps a research-oriented creative nonfiction project for the former; I'm starting to think in terms of continuing next semester's "Provocative Language" project with further research there, perhaps broadening its scope to examine differences in the ways such language is used in the U.S. and the U.K. For the latter, an English Literature degree -- heavy on the cultural and feminist criticism -- seems more likely. That's tonight's general feeling, anyway. I reserve the right to completely change my mind by tomorrow. (Now, how to convince the British Marshall Scholarship people that an in-depth study of dirty words is the perfect venue to help "establish long-lasting bridges and ties between the peoples of the United States and the United Kingdom, at a personal level"?)
Having become a rabid fan of NewsRadio over the past few months (through the magic of syndication), it was nice to discover a NewsRadio newsgroup earlier today, which, in turn, led me to this amazing Web site. Pity I don't have a broadband modem; I haven't even tried to look at any of the archived episodes. The link list is worth stopping by for, though. I've already read through a few interesting interviews, and discovered that the syndicated episodes I've been watching are, sadly, a bit abridged. Oh, well. Great show, though. In related news, I've now also seen a "Best of Kids in the Hall" video, taken out from the library, having found out that Dave Foley of NewsRadio was a star thereon. Pretty good, aside from the "I'm crushing your head" guy. I mean, yes, I laughed at his segments, but I hated myself for doing so. It's not like the joke got any better after the first five seconds... The algebraic riff on the sexual characteristics, work ethic, and physical endowments of blacks, gays, and orientals, on the other hand, was great. Which is going to sound like a really weird statement if you haven't seen it, so I'm going to move right along now...
Tangentally, I also took out Without You I'm Nothing, by Sandra Bernhard. Four words: I Don't Get It. Okay, a few more words: This was my first encounter with Bernhard's work, and it's likely to be the last, as I didn't understand it at all. Nor do I understand why this was in the "Comedy" section, when there wasn't a single humorous moment in it... I'm assuming she falls into the David Sedaris category of people I just don't get, even if others do. (I'm also wondering whether her rendition of "Hiney Ma Tov" at the beginning intentionally replaced "shevet" with "sheket." I assume not, but there's a very slight chance that she was reaching for a Hebrew pun...) (Okay, lemme 'splain. The actual verse, Psalms 133:1, is "Behold, how and good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Except that as mispronounced by her, it becomes something like "Behold, how good and pleasant it is, the silence of brethren in unity!") (I can't imagine anybody cared about that. Sorry.)
I missed camp almost all of last week. I'm not at all happy about that, which is a good reason why I oughta stop typing now and go to sleep, so I can make it there first thing tomorrow. Last week's paper was pretty good anyway, though. Six issues down, three to go. Although I've gotta get this next one out early, as Thursday (the day I usually write the thing) is Tisha B'Av, a major fast day not especially conducive to writing comedy. I wanna get the show on the road on Tuesday, finishing it by Wednesday morning, ideally.
The big question concerning my college schedule right now centers upon Tuesday. Do I stick with the 2 PM course on theatre? Or switch to a history class at 6:30 PM? On the one hand, I kinda prefer the subject matter of the former; on the other hand, I prefer night courses, and the history class would fill my last remaining core requirement, excepting physical education. All things being equal, I think I'd go with history, but it takes place at the same time as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On the other hand, ever since I unplugged my stereo system from its speakers, my reception of the local WB affiliate has gotten better, so I can probably tape it now. For now, I'm signed up for both classes. I may keep 'em until the first day of class and decide then. Not exactly nice, but I've been burned too many times in the past...
Incidentally, my reception of ABC has gotten much better since I disconnected the stereo's speakers, which is largely why I haven't reconnected them. ABC turns out to have a lot of good stuff, although I've learned that I cannot afford to start watching it in the morning, 'cause I end up unable to turn off the set and leave. First Regis (although I haven't seen it since Kathie Lee left), then Rosie, then The View. (I liked Barbara Walters right off the bat, but didn't figure out her identity until the third episode. "Oh, so that's Barbara Walters!" quoth I, in mild surprise.) Anyway. I don't know why I'm spending all this time rambling about TV. Sleep deprivation, perhaps. I'm gonna go collapse now. G'night, guys.
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