A good night with Mad Night

Friday night turned out to be pretty decent. A friend of mine is in a band, and they were performing at a really nice venue near downtown LA.  There were other performers (the place sort of had an upscale arthouse vibe), and most of them were pretty decent. The wait staff at the location were attentive, courteous and attractive. 

I have, however, resolved not to even entertain anything more than friendly, harmless banter/flirting with any girls in the service industry (when they're working). It's not smart for me to mistake professional charm with real interest -- and that's all one can ever count on it being. And I'm unwilling to put anyone in the position of having to continue to be nice to a dude giving unwelcome advances, just because they can't turn business away. 

So, I didn't ask for the hostess' number, even though she was cute enough and seemed like a decent girl, and even though she might actually have been interested.  Ditto the bargirl -- although I did leave her a pretty good tip for keeping my water glass full.  She'd certainly earned it.

I did think of striking up a conversation with the girl that sat next to me, a Vanessa Hudgens lookalike (or hell, it could actually have been Hudgens, this being LA!), but her body language said no way. I was okay with that. I have to admit, I wasn't feeling particularly conversational. 

But although I mentioned all this first, the important part of the night was, of course, watching my friend Maura perform. It was the first time I'd been able to catch a show; she and her band Mad Night were actually pretty damned good. 

She saw me before she went on and was pleasantly surprised to see me there. Maura is a lovely and sweet girl; I met her when she wanted to share my patio table at a Starbucks a couple years ago. Somehow we kind of stayed in touch; even though I haven't seen her or talked to her in at least a year, she totally recognized me, gave me several hugs and was really glad I came.  

Before you start nodding your head knowingly: she's got a guy, she's not into me that way, and while she'd be a catch for anyone, I'm not crushing on her. 

But it IS great to know her and I'm really glad I went out. I get to find out about new places in LA, see good music performed, and be in the same room as (if not actually meet, lol) interesting people.  

Unfortunately, having crunched some numbers, that low-budget evening out was all I can afford to do this weekend. 

But my plans for creating new income sources are progressing! I've got a solid solution for getting the money I need to get things started; all I need to do now is nail down exactly how much I'll need, and things will get rolling. The research is almost complete. So it looks like I'll be making these plans a reality before summer's end -- exactly as I'd originally hoped. 

Thereafter, it will take a little while, I know, for the money to start coming in. But it will come in. It's two to four years now. And I'm prepared to work for it. 

I do recognize the irony of blogging this

I recently had the shocking realization that I talk too much.  

Specifically I talk about myself too much.  

It's understandable (playing Devil's Advocate): I've got plans and dreams and I'm excited about them, and I like to talk about them. Sure.

I wanted to inspire, but I suspect what I've done instead is bore. Or worse. 

Not everyone's got live dreams; not everyone has epic plans. But I rather suspect that those who don't, wish they did or even feel guilty that they don't.  

So when someone comes along all fired up about their own awesome shit, it's gonna get a mixed reaction.  On the one hand, that is indeed awesome shit. But on the other, they don't have awesome shit.  It's sorta like how I feel when I see people in relationships. Or those fucking eHarmony commercials.

Or, maybe they do have awesome shit, but I've spent so much time talking about my awesome shit, we never get around to talking about their awesome shit.  

This is utterly unacceptable. It's rude, boorish. It's probably one reason some people don't wanna talk to me often.  It doesn't help that I'm utterly horrible at picking up hints. Because this happened recently, hanging out with a buddy of mine. He gave me several opportunities to shut up about my book already and find out what was up with him.  And I totally missed them. 

When I realized this - the day after our visit - I felt like a total ass. And then I got to thinking and realized this has been a recurring theme. 

Well, now I know, which is, as we're all aware, half the battle.  I'm kinda glad I figured it out myself, but on the other hand, it took me long enough and I kinda wish someone actually had said something.  

I know, too, that this sin isn't unique or cardinal or irredeemable. Probably almost everyone suffers from this at some point in their lifetime.

But I try to tell myself these things, that it's not so bad. I'm probably right - my social issues are likely much deeper, broader and more complex than just being a blowhard. But I still feel like an ass. And, of course, I resolve to do better. 

Then I write a 13-paragraph blog about it. 

Why Are We Still Talking About These People?

I wish I had some answers so this would be a useful blog.  But it's really more of a rant. 

Some people are attention whores. I get it, I really do. But what I don't get is why we feed their desires, why we feel compelled to give so much attention to people we've never met and who have no value in our lives. And I'm not just talking about myself, personally. As far as I can see, some of these people have no value in anyone's life. 

Paris Hilton is, of course, an excellent example.  If not for the fact that plant life can feed off her CO2 emissions, I'm pretty sure she'd be a complete waste of human and planetary resources.  Even her dog hates her, according to such pictures as have made it past my anti-Hilton filter. 

How about those Jon & Kate morons?  I've never seen the show, okay. So in all fairness, my calling them morons may be excessive.  But why should I care that they're doing stupid stunts like alleged infidelity and whatnot?  It's none of my business, for one thing.  

That could lead into a tangent on things about people, particularly celebrities, that the media forces on us but that are none of our business.  But I'll leave that alone for the moment. 

This South Carolina Governor who put his dipstick in the wrong oil tank -- that's a little tougher. The man is in a position of public responsibility, it is necessary to know if he's involved in things unbefitting of his position. But do we need to drag the women into it? Do we really need to invade the lives of his family in what must already be a difficult time?  No, we don't.  We really do not.  

I'm also sick of hearing about Sarah Palin.  This is not a political statement.  I stay the hell out of politics. No, it's because the woman is NOT a legitimate national figure anymore.  Sarah: You had your moment.  Let it go.  

Finally, I'm really tired of seeing all the Michael Jackson coverage.  I was a fan for a while, back when everyone loved him.  I idly followed some of his exploits over the past fifteen years while waiting in checkout lines and such.  It's true that the man had a huge impact on the world and popular culture. It's true he's left an enduring legacy and will probably be the next Elvis Presley in terms of merchandising (I just hope they go with the 80's Thriller-era Jackson, not the travesty of nature he became in later years).  But the media saturation is just too damned much.  It really is. I don't need minute-to-minute updates on his embalming.  I don't need to know who is getting custody of his kids.  I'm not concerned about the disposition of his estate. 

Here's the thing.  A lot of this news is stuff that's being thrown in my face at every turn. I'm not saying that, in some cases, the information shouldn't be available.  This is, after all, the Information Age. What I'm saying is, can't we have the info we want, rather than this other bullshit? And why are we more interested in peccadilloes than products?

Take the activities of celebrities as an example. I'm always interested in the activities of artists. By which I mean, I'm interested in what projects they are working on, when said projects will be available, and whether the resulting product was any good.  I like knowing that Anne Hathaway is doing Shakespeare on Broadway -- and doing a decent job.  I don't need to know that she likes getting it up the ass.  I like knowing that Robert Downey Jr. will be playing Sherlock Holmes (and that Rachel McAdams will co-star). I don't need to know about their torrid off-screen affair.*  

The thing is, none of this info would be available if there wasn't a demand. I recognize that. But it would be nice if the demands of gossipy, bored housewives (apologies to my housewife friends) weren't forced upon the rest of us.  The Yahoo Entertainment section should be about entertainment. Not about celebrity gossip. And especially when said celebrities are really only celebrities because the media makes them so.  

Honestly, I'd rather know about the real celebrities in my life: My friends and family.  But even then, I still don't need to know who likes it up the ass. 

* I made that up.  You get my point.