| Author | Message | ||
     Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2620 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Per the NYT's 5/10/05 Editorial Section "Writing Inside the Box Over at the Flux Factory, an artists' collective in Long Island City, three fiction writers have agreed to isolate themselves in small writing cells for a project called "Novel: A Living Installation." Each has promised to finish a novel by June 4. That is 25 days away. Odds are that these will either be teeny-tiny novels or very bad ones..." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/opinion/10tues4.html?pagewanted=print Interesting project. I'm curious. How long has it taken the authors out there to complete your novels? And for those of you who've complete several such works, what's the shortest time period it took you to complete one of your books? Do you think you could complete a credible novel within a month? | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 807 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
ABM, if you read the AFTERWORD in "Flesh and the Devil"---you will see that I wrote it in 3 weeks, laying on the living room floor of my apartment in Cairo. The book came on me like a fever and wouldn't let go until it was wrung out. | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 236 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: |
Three weeks???!!!! Kola, would you be interested in subcontracting on my dissertation? Or maybe I just need to catch you fever. LOL | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1127 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Abm: Vampyre Blues took me three months--all I did was eat sleep go to work work on the novel. I did three drafts of 80,000 words in that three months. I did this all on manual and electric typewriters. I could do a first draft of a novel (40,000 plus words) in a month. I think it would be a novel but it would not be as good a novel as one I could come up with by revising. Once while doing Vampyre I did 8,000 words of first draft in one day. My normal pace is 1-3,000 words, with 1,500 words being optimum. Vampyre I consider genre or pop work. In such work you narrate pretty much straight forward--use shorter sentences, and paragraphs. More slang and popular language. I have done abandoned first drafts of novels where I completed about 100 typewritten pages (close to 25,000 words) in two or three days, but tended to abandon the projects and wound up with mostly useless first draft. For some reason I can do a full length play script very fast. Doing some heavier "literary type" work is much tougher. It has taken me a month to get 3,000 words of this. Walter Gibson who did The Shadow novels did one 60,000 word novel twice a month for about 13 years. He used to type until his fingertips got bloody. He would use three typewriters and move to another one when one got "tired". He could do one in four days but said that eight days was best. We often forget writing, especially novels is a physical ordeal. I am generally of the opinion that unless one is writing one's magnum opus, one ought to knock a book out in a reasonable time. I would have to have been struck by the Muse that I was writing the Great American novel to spend seven years writing one book like Joyce or Ellison. Of course, when you see their books, you realize why it took seven years. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2631 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Kola, It’s doesn’t surprise me you’d be capable of crafting “Flesh” in such a short time period. You seem so imbued with literary prowess that if you did NOT write scores of paragraphs daily, you’d burst open like a watermelon dropped from atop a skyscraper. Did that “fever” you felt as you were writing “Flesh” feel as though you were being taken over by our ancestral spirits? Because it often appears that way in your writing. It’s as you’re channeling them. Chris, Why’d you use typewriters vs. computers to write “Vampyre”? Was it easier for you to get into the flow of writing a book using this more traditional mode of writing? What portion of “Vampyre” was easiest and most difficult to write? I’ve read about the remarkably consistent/prolific Gibson. But even he couldn’t match English Dame and romance novelist Barbara Cartland. Cartland authored 723 novels in 70 years (estimated one billion printed copies). This Cartland chick was a MACHINE. Almost until her death (died at age 98 in 2000), Cartland dictated to her assistants about 5,000 words per day. I'm not sure what you mean by "knock a book out in a reasonable time". But I imagine many authors fail because they wait too long to finish their work. Because like Kola said, a book may come upon you like a "fever". But if you don't capitalize upon that 'heat' when the spirit burns hottest, eventually the "fever" will 'break' and you're left trying to tap energies that have run their course. All, Why’d you abandon some drafts? Boredom? Lost the purpose, direction and theme? Did you discard them entirely? Or are they in tickler file or some permanent archive status? Have you ever retrieved and eventually complete and publish a previously discarded draft? What inspired you to be able to do that? | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
Hello ABM, I wrote my book DEVIL IN THE MIST over several years. I started writing it on notepads, before I had a computer and then later transfered it to my pc. I would write the novel, then whenever I got other ideas, I would start another story or novel. All in all, I probably have the start of about 4 novels waiting to be finished and I plan to finish all 4 of them. Whenever I get a new idea, I type it up, give it a title and keep it in a file. Just recently I was moving and found mounds and mounds of work, some of it was really good and I could hardly believe I was the author because I didn't remember it. I plan to keep all of my work and finish it at sometime. But as far as DEVIL IN THE MIST goes, it was a long process, mainly because of the responses I was getting from agents, editors and publishers...i continued to revise and rewrite. I have abandoned some drafts because sometimes you hit a brick wall....i don't know how to explain it, but there are times I have to break away from a piece and then I may go on to another and write. Right now, I am working on finishing up one novel, but still writing on another (the second book in my mystery/suspense thriller). One book requires quite a bit of research, because I like to add historical facts as well as be as consistent as possible about location, demographics, etc. While the other is more of an entertaining, but dramatic book. I am close 200 pages on book 1, and book 2 is at 140 pages. | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 815 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
ABM: Why’d you abandon some drafts? Boredom? Lost the purpose, direction and theme? KOLA: My problem is with "emotion". I get emotionally wound up about an issue and I try to write about it without being sane--and therefore it doesn't READ well 3 days later, so I have to stuff it. I start on MANY,MANY "new" stories, novels, all the time and they just don't pan out. I tend to write first drafts like movie scripts, because the stories always come to me in the form of a movie. With "Flesh and the Devil", however, there really wasn't a movie script. It came to me as a novel and just "FLOWED" out. CHANNELING: As for channeling the ancestors---I don't think so. I think it's my LOVE FOR THEM that makes me interested enough to assemble some kind of Mock Opera about them on the page. Many authors claim that the characters come to them in a spiritual sense----but I haven't felt that. I feel myself REACHING for them, and of course, once you close your eyes---they appear----but the thing is, this doesn't seem to work without considerable imagination. Everything in life, including the spiritual, is SCIENTIFIC. ABM: Did you discard them entirely? Or are they in tickler file or some permanent archive status? KOLA: I always steal the "good parts" from the stories that I'm not going to use. I get great lines or character names or scenes and refashion them into the book that WILL work. In fact, ABM, that's how I wrote "Flesh" so quickly. Many of the great moments in that book were things I'd already written over the years in OTHER STORIES that I never published. During the 3 week writing of "Flesh"---I simply injected and RE-arranged the previously written scenes so that it fit within "Flesh". STILL, there's so much with that book that I wanted to do that wasn't done. Now you can understand my statement to AFRICANA that if I had 4 years to write a book (as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker are able to take) then I feel I could write a novel competative with the ones they write. There are many who claim "Flesh" is already in their league---but I feel that I could write as well as they do given more time. RIGHT NOW....I am "rushed" to produce the novel I'm working on now and I just wish that I could financially afford to wait 4 years to do this. BUT...by sheer originality, it's going to be a much stronger book than much of what's out there. You'll love Daisy and Peach. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2646 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg, You seem so organized (anal?). I wonder, though, does all the ancillary procedure help...or does int mostly add more reasons for one to avoid writing. I'm happy for you that you've re-discovered some of your older work. That must be akin to finding a knot of cash in a coat you haven't worn in years. And CONGRATS again on "Devil in the Mist". Though, between your "Devil", Kola's "Devil" and Chris' "Vampyre", I'm going to be dayam near scared to go to bed at night. HAHAHA! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2647 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg, (I guess others could answer it also) Is it easier for you to write several books concurrently rather than consecutively? Wouldn't already have complete another book if you focused primarily upon it rather than several at a time? | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
Anal...hahaha that is funny. Yeah, you know what ABM you hit the nail on the head, I do spend a lot of time procrastinating...it is my downfall, but when I'm on, get that feeling, it's all good and I get a lot of writing done. I hate to force writing, but at times I must sit and stare at a blank screen and wait on my muse, or i can clean the house, paint the garage, dust ( you wouldn't imagine all the things I think of doing just so i don't have to stare at that blank screen). But don't get me wrong, I love to write, really and I'm not really that organized, but I always have a plan and idea's galore. Now about those devils, well don't be scared, its not that type of devil, but his deeds are just as dismal. | ||
| A_womon "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: A_womon Post Number: 1268 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Writing is an art, and for me I have to be feeling what Im writing, so if I reach a point that my writing begins to feel old--I have to put it down for a while. Now, that "while" could be 5 minutes or 5 months--whatever the length of time--but when I pick it up again, I write furioulsy, staying up all night some nights and on into the next day! During the time in between when Im not feeling the current work, I will work on other manuscripts, plays, etc.. sometimes, I'll edit other people's novels, or poems...or do no writing at all. It depends upon a number of factors. my first book was written in about 3 months. But I went back and revised it about a million times since then. I don't think I'll quit re writing until I sign on the dotted line... I have 5 novels now--two are complete and the others are works in progress... | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
BTW, has anyone heard of this new reality show contest for writers called BOOKAMILLIONAIRE? It claims to be the next best thing in Reality TV, several ordinary people (right?) writers, wanting to be the next bestselling author. Haggle out plots, and storylines, etc...and of course with each other for a million dollar prize. So what do you all think? Who would you love to see on BOOKAMILLIONAIRE? Heres the link: www.bookmillionaire.com | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
ABM, I write concurrently. If I could just put out one book at a time, I would, but when I get an idea, I run with it. Sometimes something will happen in my life, I'll witness a scene, see a character, hear a funny saying and I have to write, add it to my story. Sometimes I wake up from a dream and I know just how that last scene will play out, so i can't just stick with one book, don't want to, because I got too many of them in my head, and they all want a chance at the podium. What can I say, this is what works for me. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2648 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
All, Do you ever equivocate over or mourn writing that you’ve tossed? Or have you trashed something only to later regret doing so? Do you have a literary ‘muse’ of some sort? Is it a separate person? Do you know each other? Is your muse living, dead or imaginary? Why does that person (or ‘entity’) inspire your work? And what is the 'temperment' of your muse? Is 'it' shy? Coy? Assertive? B*+%#y? Thuggish? 'Other'? Kola, It’s interesting that most of your ideas for novels appear to you in the format of movies. Why? Does that mean you have more a visual, sensual viewpoint with you write? Or is that a product of your being movie buff? I think “Flesh and the devil” is as fine piece of fiction as I’ve ever read. And that includes the Morrison’s books I’ve enjoyed. Kola: “You'll love Daisy and Peach.” ABM: Why? I little girl-on-girl ‘action’? Hehe! PS: This is VERY informative! And FUN! THANKS! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2649 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg, Thanks for the confession. I can be a notorious procrastinator too. So by admitting such here maybe we can 'heal' together. Check a link within the writersdigest.com site called "Writing Prompts". They are daily cues that can help jolt your muse from out of 'its' malaise. And thanks for protecting me from the "Devils" and "Vampyres". If you give me a blankie and a bottle and tuck me in, I can go to sleep. | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 820 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
ABM, I can only write one book at a time. "Ideas" for other books go into a folder, but I don't start writing on them. I can, however, write poems while writing a novel or a short story. As I said---the process is VERY physically, mentally and emotionally draining for me, because I have to FEEL so much of what is going on and then use only small parts of all that feeling on the actual page. Yes---it's because I wanted to be a filmmaker that my books come to me that way. I really only SETTLED for being a novelist, because I can't get anyone to finance my ideas for filmed images, so I determined to learn how to write them. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2650 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
A_womon, FIVE manuscripts in play, huh? JEZUS! You GOOOOO, GURRRRL! No wonder you've been 'ghost' in deeze parts. Hey? When did you start writing your FIRST novel? And how do you know when you've cleared a ("5 minutes - 5 months") literary lull and can rev up the wordprocessor again? Is there some kind of internal bell that rings inside of you or something? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2651 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg, Thanks. Hadn't heard of the book-based reality show? KEWL!! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2652 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg, Hmmmm? Couldn't you jumping from on book to another be a form of 'procastinating'? Fear of writers block? Fear the other manuscripts aren't really good? Fear criticism of editors, publishers, reviewers, etc. Or fear that your writing is GREAT and you fear that once you complete it you won't be prepared to mentally/emotionally handle...success? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2653 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Kola, Funny. But it seems to me you'd have scant problem getting a screenplay optioned. Your writing is so colorful, festive and sensual; I think MANY directors would enjoy working with you. Maybe you should consider getting a collaborator to help 'sanitize' it for American tastes. Or, perhaps, you should attempt to appeal to European cinema producers, if you haven't already done so. Kola: "As I said---the process is VERY physically, mentally and emotionally draining for me, because I have to FEEL so much of what is going on and then use only small parts of all that feeling on the actual page." ABM: I wonder if this explains why many of the greatest artists and philosophers die young. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1129 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Abm: I used a typewriter to write Vampyre because at the time I couldn't use a computer. I still prefer a manual typewriter for doing rough drafts and shaping. A computer is fine for finished work. Without looking at my notes, all I can say is that the beginning and the end of the book were hardest to write because those parts usually are. If I was as sure as you are that Cartland wrote all those books I'd be as impressed. Who was Kenneth Robeson? by "knock a book out in a reasonable time" I mean that you must finish it before you become lost or your attention wanders or before you change so you can't finish it. The inspiration comes in the fever but the rest is finishing it. I abandon drafts because they aren't working. I keep them a while. If they are still hopeless I pitch them. I have retrieved and published previously disgarded short stories--Vampyre Blues had been seen and rejected by many people. I don't mourn anything tossed. In 1991 I had one of those legendary fires that burnt up everything I had written up until then (stories and published stuff going back to high school) including stuff I had worked on for workshops--it was liberating. If a thing is good it stays in your mind. I do have a Muse. It has may temperments. | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
I wouldn't call jumping from story to story procrastinating...i call it visiting, checking out my characters and their situation. For example I have this piece i'm working on, called SMOKE, ...i like Smoke because it has a lot of old school characters, old men, strong men, smoking, drinking and passing on knowledge. I love to hear old men talk, like when I'm sitting at barbershop with my son, the old men are so funny, witty and wise. My dad, his friends and cousins were like this, and I would sit at the top of the basement stairs and listen. When I write SMOKE, i reminisce about times gone. As far as fear goes, I can take criticism pretty well...you know at first it hurt, but now, my backside is strong, and plus I know the bottomline, what don't kill me can only be used to fuel the fire. btw..i'm procrastinating now, by visiting this site and not writing. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2655 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Good point about Cartland. That's certainly possible...Okay...PROBABLE. But it was such a great story, I couldn't help but tell it. Also, it's said that she essentially wrote the same books over/over again with only tweaks in geography and wardrobe. THAT'S possible, I guess. Chris: "I don't mourn anything tossed. In 1991 I had one of those legendary fires that burnt up everything I had written up until then (stories and published stuff going back to high school) including stuff I had worked on for workshops--it was liberating." ABM: Dayam, man! That's almost as bad as when Kareem Abdul Jabbar lost his million dollar jazz collection in a fire in the early 80's. Chris: "I do have a Muse. It has [many] temperments." ABM: I'll bet. Say? Is your muse like that of famed director Melvin Van Peebles...gay? (Tell the truth now!) | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2656 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg: “I wouldn't call jumping from story to story procrastinating...i ABM: PotAYto, potAHto. TomAYto, tomAHto. Sisg: call it visiting, checking out my characters and their situation.” ABM: So then you view your characters as people who continually ‘live’ near you? And do they ever tell you to ‘scram’ when you’ve dropped in on them without calling first? Sisg: “...my backside is strong..." ABM: KEWL. But if a hard head makes a soft behind, does a strong backside make a weak mind? THINK about it... HAHAHA! | ||
| Sisg Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
Whew! ABM....weak, only when i wanna be. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2659 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sisg: "...weak, only when i wanna be." ABM: "Lucky Dawg!" | ||
| A_womon "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: A_womon Post Number: 1269 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
abm, i don't have a muse, only me and my imagination, I began writing when I was around six, my mom told me I used to tear out blank pages from the backs of books, staple them together and either make up stories or write myself into a tv show or movie I liked. I NEVER throw away a story once it's started, but i will move it from my hard drive and save it to CD if i haven't written on it and aint feeling it after a year. No, no internal bell, like Sisg said, you get an idea that fits the story youre working on, in a dream, just people watching, or listening to older people in your family tell stories at cookouts! ha! whatever moves you--then you just get excited and start writing again! Sometimes a single idea can carry the whole book and keep you excited until you finish! At least that's been my experience. and there are so many ways to tell a story! Yes, that's why I limit the time I spend online! Hey Sisg, did you apply for that "reality show"? it seems to me that it might be a way for an on demand like publishing company to get your info, but then again, you never know! | ||
| Cynnique Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
My Muse dwells within the confines of my computer and she has taken the form of a word processor, allowing me to punch instead of pound a keyboard, inspiring me by giving me the complete freedom to write without being distracted by the uninspiring prospect of having to sort things out later. And then to be able to immediately see what I've written there on a big screen tops it off. Which is to say that, to me, a word processor is the answer to a writer's dream. It makes it sooo easy to correct and revise your text, to delete sentences and to cut and paste segments, to have at your finger tips such features as a spell-checker, a dictionary, different fonts in different sizes, automatic word count, headers and footers which automatically-number your pages. And then, to be able to neatly print all of this out in a matter of minutes. You can even design your own front and back book covers on a word processor. If only I had had something like this at my disposal when I was young and prolific, but so easily discouraged by having to try and re-read my hand-written drafts with illegible revisions and scribbling in the margins. Then, there was the chore of typing up the "finished" product with the constant interruptions to make messy corrections, only to complete a page and find that it really didn't sound right and needed to be re-typed. Whew. Now I'm old and pretty much out of inspiration, but I can say that what I have written since discovering the word-processor was so much fun that I relished the "hands-on" experience of putting my self-published books in a "camera ready format". My printers were always so impressed with the way my mansucripts looked when I submitted them with the correct margins, typed in an appropiate font, singled-spaced, with the author and title as headers and the page numbers as a footers. If this doesn't make your book your baby, I don't know what does! In fact I was so fulfilled by producing a book that I felt no need to try and market it. So turning out a book, in effect, became my hobby. LOL. Just thinkin about this makes me want to go look over a novel I have whiling away on file in my computer. Humm. Gotta go. Bye. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1132 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Abm: How can a spirit be gay? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2673 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Easy. All it has to do is wear its momma's dresses, watch lots of Will & Grace and listen to Barbra Streisand and k.d. lang music all day. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1136 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Abm: The physical act of procreation--what we call sex--is only needed by physical beings. Not spiritual ones. Like when we give God a gender. God does not have a penis or gonads or ovaries. God does not need those things. Further, effeminate behavior is not the mark of homosexuality. Having sex with a person of the same gender is. To that end, a lot of very supermasculine types are gay. In addition to areas like the arts, they are heavily represented in your militaries. The French Foreign legion has a lot of gays. A lot of professional mercenaries are gay. A lot of famous soldiers through history were gay. The elite band of the Thebans was made up of pared lovers. Caesar. Alexander. Baron Von Stueben. Ernst Roehm, a tough, scar faced brawler, professional solider and head of Hitler's SA was gay. He was the holder of the iron cross. Lots of Pro Wrestlers are gay. Indeed a lot of gay or bi sexual men cover up their sexual preference by super masculine behavior and gay baiting. I've had my eye on you for quiet some time. I have noted your fondness for literature featuring loads of muscular, big sweaty mens in leotards punching each other out--to wit--Superhero Comix. Now, a playa can swing anyway he wants, you know. But don't let us catch you--after you have been leading these fine young ladies on this list that you got what they needs--slippin round on the down low. I will pray for you. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 400 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
ChrisH: Further, effeminate behavior is not the mark of homosexuality. Having sex with a person of the same gender is. Mah: By this rationale, celibate gays are not really gay, nor are gay teenagers who have never had sexual intercourse. Some gay people report "knowing" they were gay even as sexually inactive children. Homosexuality is a preference or orientation (depending on who you talk to). But I do agree that effeminate behavior is not a trustworthy "sign" of homosexuality. ABM, you are trip with that k.d. lang et al... | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1139 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mahogany: How can you be a celibate gay person? A person says he or she is gay. Well, have you ever had sex with anybody? No, but my inclination is to have sex with my own gender. Huh? I will grant that a person can label oneself whatever one wants. But can I be a hen if I don't lay eggs? Abm, on the other hand... | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 401 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Chris: How can you be a celibate gay person? A person says he or she is gay. Mah: The same way you can be a celibate heterosexual. What are priests and nuns who keep their vows? Or sistahs who get sick of trifling Kneegrows (hey, ABM!) and go celibate for a minute. These folks aren't suddenly asexual. They are either gay, hetero, or bi. Your sexuality remains constant, you just may or may not be acting on it in terms of intercourse at a given time. Chris: Well, have you ever had sex with anybody? No, but my inclination is to have sex with my own gender. Mah: Exactly my point. It's the inclination, not the act. You wrote that having sex with someone of the same gender is the mark of homosexuality. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1140 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mahogany: Precisely. You need an act. If I never have sex with anybody in my life I am asexual--you are not considered married if you have not consummated the marriage. The celebate heterosexual priests and nuns have given up, I assume, having sex. When you are celibate, you abstain. How do you abstain from something you never did in the first place? And who is celibate? Is say, an Astronaut who is on the space station celibate--or merely removed from the possibility of having sex? If I am married and go on an ocean voyage and do not have sex with anyone during the voyage but have it with my wife when I return, was I celibate or just not having sex until I was with my wife? If me and my wife abstain from having sex for whatever reason,are we celibate? | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 402 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Chris: You need an act. Mah: Only if you presume that sexuality is limited to intercourse, which it is not. Homo- and heterosexuality is about attraction, to whom are you primarily attracted? I can have sex with a woman, but that doesn't make me gay. Chris: When you are celibate, you abstain. How do you abstain from something you never did in the first place? Mah: People do it all the time. Do all priests and nuns have to "get some" before they can truly take a vow of celibacy? The word abstain simply means to refrain to do something by one's own choice, the definition is not qualified by having done the thing previously. Choosing not to do something, for whatever reason, is abstaining. Like a Congress person who get elected to the House. If on the first bill that comes before her she doesn't vote, it's still considered an abstention (sp?) even though she never voted before. Chris: If me and my wife abstain from having sex for whatever reason,are we celibate? Mah: Yes, because celibate means abstaining from sex. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 1141 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mahohany: You almost got that one by me--The comparison is not apt. You are comparing a single act to a state of being or a status. Anybody who abstains from voting too much will not be a Congressman long. Further, one had to engage in certain behaviors--campaigning, raising money etc before one became a Congressman. One cannot just declare oneself a Congressman. One must actually be elected and sworn in. By your analogy I am a mountain climber, a Martian and Albert Einstein--I am just abstaining from doing so right now. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 404 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
I agree that one cannot just call oneself a Congressperson. But when that Congressperson chooses not to cast a vote, it is called abstaining. My failure to vote on H.R. 715 on the floor of the House today, however, is not called abstaining because I didn't have the CHOICE to do so. It is semantics in the sense that a horny teenager who cannot find someone to sleep with him isn't abstaining. But that's because he's not CHOOSING to not having sex. Abstinence is about choice. And a gay person who chooses to abstain, chooses celibacy, is still gay. In your earlier question about you and your wife not having sex...if you abstain for any reason is it called celibacy. Yes, by definition, but also because unless you are physically incapable you could always have sex...even if it were with someone else. The option is there; the choice is yours. Also..."asexual" does not mean "not having sex." It means 1) the way some plants reproduce without the joining of male or female (not relevant here), 2) not having sex organs (we have those even when we aren't using them), and 3) having no interest or desire for sex (some celibates still desire sex...they just choose to abstain). Chris: You are comparing a single act to a state of being or a status. Mah: As are you with regard to human sexuality, when you reduce it to a physical act. Chris: By your analogy I am a mountain climber, a Martian and Albert Einstein--I am just abstaining from doing so right now. Mah: Not true. That Congresswoman is still a Congresswoman even if she abstains. And her repeated failures to vote does not immediately revoke her status as a Congresswoman--failure to get re-elected six years later (or sooner if her district calls for a referendum on her) does. My analogy is about FAILING to do something being called abstaining from it. You ARE abstaining from being a mountain climber because you choose not to do it. But the reason you are NOT, in fact, a mountain climber is because you don't climb mountains. But "gay" is a sexual orientation, not a sexual act. It's feelings and inclinations. Being inclined to climb mountains doesn't make you a mountain climber, having an affinity for Mars doesn't make you a Martian, and admiring Einstein doesn't make you him. | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 848 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
Well, Chris, I agree with Mahoghany. LOL I was miffed, to be honest, when you seemed to suggest that a spirit can't be "gay" but could be "straight" or "gender-ized". I think sex is a big part of spirituality. But then, most Eastern religions believe that. | ||
| Cynnique Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
Soooo - sexual orientation is involuntary and occupational designation is voluntary. Yes?? | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 406 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Cynique: Soooo - sexual orientation is involuntary and occupational designation is voluntary. Yes?? Mah: It would seem so. However, those in certain undesirable occupations might cry that they didn't have much of a choice! I've read about "ex-gays" who believe their leanings/orientations were involuntary, but that they could "heal" and stop acting on those leanings. I guess it's like the way an alcoholic in recovery is still called an alcoholic. Dunno. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2677 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Okay, Professor Griff. First of all, the gay muse thing came from Melvin Van Peebles' own mouth. He said that on a documentary about Black directors (I forget its name.). I was poking fun at that. You'd have to ask Melvin to explain how he defines having a "gay muse". Though, from what I've heard about the Van Peebles, maybe we're talking about more than just a "muse". Interesting essay, though, on how to 'profile' gay guys. I wasn't aware of A LOT of what you posted. But then, "diff'rent 'strokes' for diff'ent foks." Now as far as Yours Truly being on the DL...dat's NEVEREVEREVER gonna happen. But I tell you what, if it does, I'll come on down to the Show Me State to oblige you. K? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2678 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah: What are priests and nuns who keep their vows? Or sistahs who get sick of trifling Kneegrows (hey, ABM!) and go celibate for a minute. ABM: HAHA! Babe. Lemme tell yah. If you had DIS trifling kneegrow in yo' life, being "celibate" would be amongst the very LAST things in darling Yale-enabled dome of yern. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2679 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah/Chris, ("WHEW! I hope my head'll stop spinning from what these 2 a talking about.") I admit I got a little confused during your discussion. So I'm going to ask what for me at least will hopeful be a clarifying question: If a man voluntarily gives and receives oral/anal sex with another man but claims not to like it, is he gay...or just pretendin'? | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 407 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
ABM: HAHA! Babe. Lemme tell yah. If you had DIS trifling kneegrow in yo' life, being "celibate" would be amongst the very LAST things in darling Yale-enabled dome of yern. Mah: You're not in my life, KNEEGROW, and still the thought has never crossed my mind, lol! You never miss a chance to toot your own horn do you, ABM? God forbid we go 24 hours without a reminder of what a stud you are! Whatevah would we doooo???? ABM: If a man voluntarily gives and receives oral/anal sex with another man but claims not to like it, is he gay...or just pretendin'? Mah: *shrug* He could be gay, or he could be hetero and experimenting. Or he could be bi. Is he lying when he says he doesn't like it? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2681 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah: You never miss a chance to toot your own horn do you, ABM? ABM: Hey. Us “trifling Kneegrows” have got get our jollies however we can. Mah: God forbid we go 24 hours without a reminder of what a stud you are! ABM: I’m the kinda gift that keep on giving. Mah: Whatevah would we doooo???? ABM: I shudder to think. Mah: “Is he lying when he says he doesn't like it?” ABM: A man who “voluntarily” goes oral/anal with another man either “likes it”...or he’s INSANE. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 408 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Mah: God forbid we go 24 hours without a reminder of what a stud you are! ABM: I’m the kinda gift that keep on giving. Mah: Yeah, so's herpes. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2684 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah: Yeah, so's herpes. ABM: Come on, Babe. Don't be dat way. It's okay for us to do the thing. <<scratchin'>> | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 409 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Mah: Yeah, so's herpes. ABM: Come on, Babe. Don't be dat way. It's okay for us to do the thing. <<scratchin'>> Mah: You got a doctor's note, Kneegrow? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2686 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah: You got a doctor's note, Kneegrow? ABM: A note? Hmmm? Sure. It’s right over...hmmmm? ("Dayam!"). Hey! Don't worry gurl. I'm scrait. You can truss me ("I hope."). | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 852 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
Mahoghany Thanks for the pics of your daughter. She is TOOO cute and sweet looking. I'm so jealous. I wish I had a daughter!!!!! I don't want any kids by a new father, however. We'll see what happens. But your angel girl is very pretty. You must be a looker yourself, sis. And the daddy. He looks African. He's so sexy. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 410 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
[I think this should be in the hair thread...oh, well, we're here now!] Thanks, Kola. I just replied to your email. I've got two babygirls. The youngest is adopted. I think I was made to mother girls. I've kept my friends' sons, and I don't think I have those particular gifts, lol. But I do know this: if I had a son, I would be hard on him. I hate that adage about black women loving their sons, but raising their daughters. But it's so true. I am a loving, warm, and responsive mama, but I have high standards for my girls too. I want them to become proud, capable, and confident women. | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 271 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Mah, I agree about your cuties! And I, too, love being the mother of two girls. It is the greatest gift I have ever been given. Great discussion and resources about the writing process. Thanks, all. And interesting notion about sexual orientation of creative muses, spirits, deities, etc. And ABM? You should start an open thread, someplace where you can go to express yourself whenever you feel comin' on the temptation to inject your alleged talents, endowments, etc into a conversation. It'll also make the missus's lawyers' work easier to locate all your cyber activities in one place, saving you some money in the long run. *wink* LOL!! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2698 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
'Vette, HAHA! | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 413 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Vette: And ABM? You should start an open thread, someplace where you can go to express yourself whenever you feel comin' on the temptation to inject your alleged talents, endowments, etc into a conversation. It'll also make the missus's lawyers' work easier to locate all your cyber activities in one place, saving you some money in the long run. *wink* LOL!! Mah: ROTFLMAO!!!! "Alleged"! rotfrotfrotF! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2700 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Ladies, But you know, I COULD respond to this in a way that would make you blush. That would also, however, piss the missus off something-kinda-awful. Decisions, decisions...Hehe! | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 275 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Decisions, decisions... ABM, remember this grammar rule: "When two heads go walking the big one should do the talking..." | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2708 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
'Vette, Problem is, sometimes the big head goes mute...and the other one screams out loud. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 432 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Well, this gives the title of this thread new meaning. Too much success, too soon? LANCASTER, Pa. - Tristan Egolf, a political activist and author whose first novel at age 27 won him comparisons to William Faulkner and John Steinbeck, has died. He was 33. Egolf died May 7 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Lancaster apartment, said G. Gary Kirchner, Lancaster County coroner. Egolf had shown signs of depression over the past 18 months, said Michael Hoober, a family therapist in Lancaster and friend of Egolf. "He pushed the envelope wherever he went," Hoober said. "His creativity was always right in front of him, but somewhere in there it started to fall apart." Egolf received literary acclaim after the 1998 publication of his first novel, "Lord of the Barnyard: Killing the Fatted Calf and Arming the Aware in the Corn Belt," a manic tale about a Kentucky farm boy. It was rejected by more than 70 U.S. publishers before being picked up by a French publisher while Egolf was working as a street musician in Paris' arts district. A reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement in London called the book "a work of substance, significance and originality ... it owes a discernible debt to Steinbeck and Faulkner, a more palpable one to John Kennedy Toole." Egolf's second book, a frenetic love story called "Skirt and the Fiddle," was published in 2002, and a third novel, "Kornwolf," about a werewolf in Amish country, is slated for release next year. According to his Web site, Egolf had been working on fine-tuning the screenplay for "Lord of the Barnyard" and had just finished a rock opera. "It was very, very early for him ... and he had many, many more books coming," said Judy Hottensen, vice president of marketing and publicity for Grove/Atlantic, which published his first two novels in the United States. Egolf was known in Pennsylvania as the leader of the Smoketown Six, a group of men arrested during a visit by President Bush in July when they stripped down to thong underwear and formed a human pyramid to protest the Abu Ghraib prison-abuse scandal. Disorderly conduct charges against the men were eventually dropped. Egolf and several of the others filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in December, alleging their First Amendment rights were violated. The lawsuit will continue, said Mary Catherine Roper of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Egolf was also a musician and ran a multimedia arts Web site called Windmills that featured his music and writing. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2739 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah, Perhaps. I think, though, it easy for any great artist - which, apparently, Egolf was - to become self-destructive. Because sometimes its difficult to fit all those creative energies within the confines of, what often appear to them, a slow/plodding/boring world. Writers often seem especially predisposed to the type of depression Egolf suffered (thus why "alcoholic writer" has often seemed a redundant term). Perhaps it's because so much of what they do is internal. Or perhaps its because their discourse, in it purest form, is often unappreciated by others. But, I'm imagine sculpturers and musicians might argue much the same. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 433 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Yeah, I agree, ABM. Writing--and perhaps other artistic disciplines--can be such a lonely endeavor. The NYT, I believe, ran a piece recently attempting to debunk the notion that depression was somehow "good" and "necessary" for artists. Or something like that...I'll see if I can find it. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 434 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
The title of the article is "There's Nothing Deep about Depression", but it has since been archived, and costs $ to retrieve. Oh, well... | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2741 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah, It think this is a link to the article you refer to: http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Depression/news_2005/antidepressants_1.a sp It begins as follows: "There's Nothing Deep About Depression by Peter Kramer, M.D. (April 17, 2005) - - Shortly after the publication of my book ''Listening to Prozac,'' 12 years ago, I became immersed in depression. Not my own. I was contented enough in the slog through midlife. But mood disorder surrounded me, in my contacts with patients and readers. To my mind, my book was never really about depression. Taking the new antidepressants, some of my patients said they found themselves more confident and decisive. I used these claims as a jumping-off point for speculation: what if future medications had the potential to modify personality traits in people who had never experienced mood disorder? If doctors were given access to such drugs, how should they prescribe them? The inquiry moved from medical ethics to social criticism: what does our culture demand of us, in the way of assertiveness?..." | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 435 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Yep, that's it. Thanks. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2742 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah, Oh. If I left out comedians... Because apparently we can add Dave Chappelle to the listing of great yet troubled Black comedians like Red Foxx, Richard Pryor and Martin Lawrence (and White ones like Lenny Bruce, John Belushi and Taxi's "Ladka" [I forget his name.]. It seems especially ironic that great creators of LAUGHTER would suffer so. Perhaps their laughter is fueled in part via their absorbing all of OUR sadness. "May 14, 2005 With Star Absent, Network Says 'Chappelle' Is Over for Now By LOLA OGUNNAIKE Amid press reports that the popular comedian Dave Chappelle is in a mental health center in South Africa, executives at Comedy Central are saying that, for the moment, it is time for the network to move on..." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/arts/television/14dave.html?pagewanted=print | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 436 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Thanks for this, ABM. Latka was portrayed by Andy Kaufman, I think. Aside: I have yet to read anything by Lola Ogunnaike that I didn't like. | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2743 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah, Thanks for the Kaufman (and "Latka", not "Ladka") assist. What is there about the Lola's writing content or style you're partial to? | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2744 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
Mah, Chapelle troubles seems almost as much an example of getting too much to soon as that of Egolf. Getting an eight-figure deal for a CABLE show just HAD to have gone to a brotha's dome something kinda fierce. Instead just doing his own thing his own way, all of the sudden the fortunes of the ENTIRE network rests on whether you can concoct material as universally funny as his hilarious..."I'm Rick James...B*+$#!" | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 437 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Lola is smooth. She writes about popular culture with an insider's knowledge but never slacks as a journalist. She manages to be objective, but still engaging and...what's the word?...personable in her writing. She gets "familiar" but not too familiar, with the reader. But at the same time, she gets out of her own way; she doesn't draw attention to herself. She is merely the scribe BUT in doing what she does so well, one can't help but notice HER. She's subtle too, but effective--a trait that I struggle to adopt in my own writing, and so admire in other writers. So all in all, I guess I most admire the many balancing acts she does as a writer. If I'm not mistaken, I've read her work in the NYT, Vibe, and Essence. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 438 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
About Chappelle...someone may have already mentioned this here, but did you see his face on "60 Minutes" when they told him Richard Pryor had said that he passed the torch on to him? Based on his reaction, perhaps that more than the $50 million sent him reeling. Read on... DAVE CHAPPELLE SAYS USING THE 'N' WORD IN JOKES IS AN 'ACT OF FREEDOM' -- '60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY' ON CBS Dave Chappelle has offended many with his curse-laden and racially-charged comedy. But the 31-year-old, who just signed a two-year deal with Comedy Central that's potentially worth as much as $50 million, tells correspondent Bob Simon that he simply enjoys challenging people and making them think. Chappelle's skits, like the one about a white supremacist who's both blind and black or the one about a white family in the 1950s whose last name was similar to the 'n' word, push buttons and limits. '…I look at it like, that word, n-----, used to be a word of oppression, but that when I say it, it feels more like an act of freedom,' an unapologetic Chappelle tells Simon during an interview to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY Oct. 20 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Chappelle's brand of comedy is reminiscent of the trailblazing and incendiary work of Richard Pryor in the 1970s. Today, Pryor suffers from multiple sclerosis and is incapacitated, but his wife told 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY that he feels as though he has passed the torch on to Chappelle. The gesture is somewhat overwhelming for the young comedian, however. 'All right, that's more pressure than $50 million,' Chappelle tells Simon. '…That's a lot of pressure. He was the best, man. For him to say that is, you know, that's, you know, something I don't even know if I'll attempt to live up to that.' Between Richard Pryor's praise and Comedy Central's millions, there's more pressure on Chappelle to succeed than ever before. But, he's up for the challenge because even if he fails this time, he'll always have his farm in Ohio. 'This is the kiss-my-a-- farm…' Chappelle tells Simon. '…If you take these kind of chances, it's absolutely necessary…I'm cool with failing, so long as I know that there's people around me that love me unconditionally and I got that, so…what do I got to lose?' Josh Howard is the executive producer of 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY and Joel Bernstein and Renée Kaplan are the producers of this report. CBS and Comedy Central are both subsidiaries of Viacom. | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 287 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
I really hope Dave comes through this. Watching his first season (ny husband and I started watching by "mistake" and then were hooked) I always got the impression that he only intended to do a few shows. I got the sense that he was pouring it all on, being 150% outragous, thinking that he'd be yanked but at least he would have had a great time and could wear that as a badge of honor: "Too much for Comedy Central..." | ||
| Cynnique Unregistered guest Rating: N/A |
I think the poor brotha was in over his head. He was almost a one-trick pony, a funny one albeit. But the premise for his comedy was starting to wear thin. His creativity was probably burnt out. And the thought of having to prove himself worthy of a 50-million dollar deal had to be daunting. | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 291 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
You may be right, Cynique. I guess when I say above that I hope he comes thru, what I actually hope is that he can come thru as a human being. Forget it if he's thru as a comedian. There are more important things in life. | ||
| Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 873 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
I can't lie. I don't like him. | ||
| Mahoganyanais "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Mahoganyanais Post Number: 441 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
Dave speaks...from AP Wire: NEW YORK - Comedian Dave Chappelle wants to set things straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine in an interview more than a week after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended and the rumors started to fly. "I'm definitely stressed out," said Chappelle, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans — and even his agent and publicist — wondering where he went. "You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone — stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes." After Comedy Central announced that the planned May 31 debut of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa. "I'm not in a mental facility," said Chappelle, who also said he did not have a drug problem but had consulted a psychiatrist for one 40-minute visit. The 31-year-old comedian said he fled to stay with friends in Durban because he wasn't happy with the direction of the show, which is behind only "South Park" as Comedy Central's most-watched program. "There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, 'Let me remove myself from this situation,'" Chappelle said. Comedy Central president Doug Herzog told Time that the star has "complete creative freedom." He has told staff he believes there won't be a "Chappelle's Show" in 2005, but leaves the option open for the comedian's return. Chappelle, whose wife and two children live in Ohio, said he hopes to start up the show again, but did not indicate when he would return. Comedy Central had inked a reported $50 million deal to keep "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons, and the comedian hinted to Time about struggles associated with the power and fame that come with that kind of success. "If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius, you're great, that's your voice,' but I'm not sure that they're right." | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2753 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
'Vette, That's an insightful perception of Chapelle. Like you, I mistakenly happened upon his show. (I'm telling you, that skit where he had the sacchrine Wayne Brady cursing foks out and doing driveby shooting makes me laugh just thinking about it.) I too got the impression that he and some other funny brothahs (Eddie Murphy's brothah) had sort of luck-up on some airtime and were sort of goofying off, doing ANYTHING that came to mind. But suddenly he's got the 8-figure deal and the fortunes of the Comedy's Channel's are resting on him. Maybe the enormity of THAT what's gotten the better of him. Plus when there's THAT much dough on the line, network exec's start pokin' around in your business in ways that are not necessarily conducive to being...funny. | ||
| Yvettep "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 296 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A |
that skit where he had the sacchrine Wayne Brady cursing foks out and doing driveby shooting makes me laugh just thinking about it ABM, that skit was just plain pure genius. G-E-N-I-U-S. Wayne: "OH. Ima hafta choka b****?" Dave (terrified whisper): "Ruuuuun, ho!" LOL! | ||
| Abm "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Abm Post Number: 2758 Registered: 04-2004 Rating: N/A |
I don't think it's fair to suggest that Chapelle is a "one-trick-pony". Because almost every comedic stunt he's pulled on The Comedy Channel has WORKED. The race draft, gangsta Wayne Brady, crack-bum, Lil Jon, Rick James, hop-shooting Prince, brothaman president, etc. are ALL friggin' HILARIOUS! You've gottah have some genuine talent and skill to manage that! Perhaps because of the money his concerns/influences have changed. Maybe if he bring in some veteran entertainment management/support staff to take over some of the administrative duties, he can go back to focusing on his strength, creating humorous observations of the world. |
