Words Words Words: Writing For Somebody

A few weeks ago I watched something fascinating. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson has always been the unsung hero of the late night game. Equipped with a low budget, Ferguson dramatically breaks the norm each and every night. Last week he did something that got a lot of attention. There was no audience.

His guest was the brilliant Stephen Fry and aside from the crew, they were the only ones in the studio. There was no traditional monologue, but only an introduction to this experiment. He said people like Larry King and Charlie Rose are able to do this and he wanted to try it. What follows was simply a free form conversation covering a variety of topics from Twitter to America. Fry is always entertaining because he is wise and articulate while still being funny. So is Ferguson actually. He plays the buffoon card a lot, but he is also a very intelligent individual.

Now this is where the episode intrigued me. All performers and writers are conscious of their audience. I know others will read this article so I am trying to convey my thoughts in a manner that they will understand. It’s more than being considerate; it’s being responsible. On a typical episode, Ferguson is constantly interacting with the audience. He plays off the jokes that are working and always wants to make them laugh. This isn’t just for him, but for them. The audience arrives each night to see him.

On the episode with Fry, he wasn’t the usual performer. He wasn’t playing the manic kooky host. He was calm and very interested in what Fry was saying. There were still jokes in the conversation because the two of them are naturally funny people. They were there to entertain each other and themselves. If the audience is there to see Ferguson, isn’t this the Ferguson they would want to see? This purer and more honest Ferguson?

It is silly to suggest that Ferguson the Performer and Ferguson the Man are two different people. Both of these personas still have the audience of him. The show he has is the show he wants. This is how he wants to do the monologue—what appears to be entirely improvised. This is how he wants to perform the interviews—without pre-scheduled questions designed by publicists. There is honesty in his program.

All writing has an element of truth in it because we write to satisfy ourselves first. That night we saw something that he really wanted to do. As with most experiments, it had the chance to backfire and bomb. Instead it was a great moment of television.

Words Words Words: Whatever Happened to Walking?

Whatever happened to walking? I don’t mean to get nostalgic, but walking used to mean something! People say they walk, but they don’t really walk. It’s like reading; reading a stop sign does not count as “reading.” Nowadays people walk for exercise or to appreciate nature. That’s stupid. I walk to get somewhere. Being a college student, I walk all over campus in order to get to class. Since it seems that I will never get a parking spot next to the building I live in, I actually have to walk ten minutes to get to my car in order to drive five more minutes to get to work.

It didn’t used to be this way. When I was a sophomore in high school, I didn’t have a car. Or a license. Or a simple understanding of how global economics works. Now I have two of those, I can look back with appreciation. I worked to a bookstore called The Mystery Company, which used to be located two miles from my high school. Sometimes I got a ride from a reluctant friend, but most of the time I walked that perilous journey alone. This is what I discovered during these months of walking: Nobody actually does it. Yes, there are sidewalks and, yes, there are traffic signals but most people forget it’s there like parsley. I received so many strange looks from passing cars. “Look at that boy. Is he homeless? I didn’t know sidewalks were open this late. Oh dear, he doesn’t even have an iPod. Honey, do we have any change to throw at him?”

I enjoy walking. It’s simple and relaxing. I have time to listen to various podcasts. No, I don’t like running. Running is pretentious. Running to get somewhere is like making business decisions on a cell phone loudly in an elevator. We get it! You’re important! This goes for exercisers too. Stop making me look bad.

Walking can also be an adventure. Oh yes, you doubting hypothetical readers.
As a youth walking to The Mystery Company, I walked through a blizzard and a thunderstorm, which according to the weather reports was the very tail end of Hurricane Katrina. (My kids are going to hate me.) Those were all fine and dandy, but didn’t properly prepare me for Ball State. I was under the impression that when it rains while cold, institutions would put salt on the ground to avoid icy paths. I am a fool. Today, the hike to my car was a bit hysterical. The entire campus was one giant sheet of ice. Everyone was slipping and sliding, but not in the fun summertime way. I tried to walk on the mulch to experience some traction, but even that was iced over. Ultimately I couldn’t even use my car because I couldn’t get out of the parking lot. There was a cop stationed in the parking lot writing up people who were accidently playing bumper car. Sure the campus could have used its resources to prevent accidents instead of reporting them, but we all know that’s silly.

I fear we only have a little bit of time left to walk. If Back to the Future Part II is as accurate as it seems, it’ll only be a few more years until we all have hoverboards. Then a few years later we’ll have the WALL-E hoverchairs. So you better walk now, while walking is what it is: uninviting and unpopular.

http://livemuncie.com/?p=61

Live Muncie

So I'm now writing for another publication. I know, I know. I'm repetitive. This is a really cool thing, though. It's called Live Muncie. It's a new magazine of sorts that is about to print its first edition. A lot of articles are available on its website right now (livemuncie.com). It's full of articles showing the value of life and the opportunities around us. So many of them are really fascinating and inspiration. Just take a look at the very well written article by Jama Kehoe Bigger entitled "A Desire to Be Happy": http://livemuncie.com/?p=67

So every once in awhile I'll be posting an article I've written. They won't be reviews but just fun comedy pieces about random topics. The name of my column will be called Words Words Words, because I am a nerd. I hope you enjoy them.