Weekend Anecdotes

1 – I wrote a rhyming poem on Saturday for the first time in several years. Kinda fun as an exercise, but I’m generally not much for poetry that rhymes. See, to me, rhyming is more like a novelty than a viable poetic device. In improv, we play all sorts of rhyming games:

“I met this guy, and his name was Bob.
He like to eat corn on the cob.
He’s unemployed, so he has no job.
His room is a mess cuz he is a slob.”

And so on.

Rhyming’s too much of a parlor game for me to take it seriously. I leave rhymes to children’s writers like Seuss or Silverstein. Still, it was fun to try.

2 – While I was in the library, looking at the comic books, I was approached by a young woman. She asked if I’d ever considered a career in acting or modeling, then gave me her card. Guess she was a representative of a modeling agency.

I know I should be flattered, but I can’t help but wonder what type of person approaches gawky, lanky guys standing in the comics section of the public library.

3 – I saw the first few episodes of the television show Glee for the first time.

Jury’s still out as to how I feel. On the one hand, half the cast is so delightfully neurotic that they’re a treat to watch. On the other hand, half the cast is so stupidly neurotic that they’re painful to watch.

The writing is funny, but it’s hardly original. A lot of the romance smacks of the same star-crossed spice that flavored the Jim/Pam relationship in The Office. Also, in the very first episode, there’s a joke about a gay couple both… making a contribution in the conception of their daughter. The daughter’s voice over says she’s happy she doesn’t know which of the two is her “real” father, while pictures of the happy family flash across the screen. Of course, the dads are a biracial couple, so it’s pretty obvious which one the real dad IS… I guess the joke’s funny enough. The trouble is that the exact same joke is used in an episode of Arrested Development. So I don’t get a real sense of novelty when I watch the show.

But I’m not gonna lie: I kinda love the music.

4 – During sacrament meeting at church yesterday, I worked on sketching the young woman speaking at the pulpit. I turned out an okay likeness, but, for some reason, the portrait came off looking a bit… mannish. I showed the picture to the girl sitting next to me, who was kind enough to point out what was missing.

“She needs a waist,” she said, “and boobs.”

Then, to help me picture the whole thing, she outlined the figure of a woman in the air with her hands, just so I knew exactly where all the curvy parts are. In case I was having trouble, I guess.