A comic strip by Robert Grossman from New York magazine, 1971.

Invasion of the Brain Snatchers

The above is one of the real "The Donalds", Sutherland. I can't remember where I saw this (the original pic of course is from the spine tingling Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake from the late 70's) but it appears on my Fb as a post I'd shared 5 years ago. Seems appropriate now as the fake orange Il Douche Drumpf Donald has pointed his stubby sausage link sized finger at everyone but himself this horrific, historic Presidential race. I'm not gonna weigh in on it here, as what's there to say that hasn't been said, but it's still curious to me how the bullshit media just runs with stuff for ratings and sensationalism knowing we may very well be entering the darkest part of American history since the Red Scare, and one perhaps rivaling the Civil war and slave trade if we keep heading down the path to Idiocracy and fascism we're heading. As is the case everyday nowadays, I'm reminded of how abhorrent and encouraging of impending doom the media has become by scanning the Fb newsfeed and reading the papers. Today, it was reported what Michelle Bachman Turner Overdrive said. Um... why is she still even remotely relevant (she isn't)? Why do her nut case twat farts make news, at all? She's nobody, hasn't been anybody for years (if she ever was anybody). the media seriously needs to stop posting about her and Anne Coulter and Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and other absolutely nonessential human beings already.It's like when they say a pro wrestler or former reality show child celebrity or something has "endorsed" a candidate. Why the fuck does it matter who or what they like, please? The media is just spreading info that falls on the "no need to know this crap" scale. Is this what freedom of the press has become? Freedom to publish toilet paper wipings? It's sad, especially in a Presidential year where people need to know important facts. It's a waste of time even if I just have to pass it on a news feed. Now I'm not saying people shouldn't have the right to say dumb fucking shit and tell us about dumb fucking people saying dumb fucking shit, I'm not into suppression or oppression, but where's responsible journalism? Give me the days where we knew there was the real stuff ands the national Enquirer, now it's a free for all of "look what I wrote". It's brain rotting stuff, and invasive as t's EVERYWHERE. It's uncool. We'll leave it at that. G'night.

the good ship Boaty McBoatface

Apparently a $380 million ship may be named Boaty McBoatface thanks to an online poll according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Well... as it should. I woulda voted for it to be called The Ship of Fools though, but Boaty Mac is pretty good. People all over the world have lost it because everything has become a heaping pile of nonsense, injustice and hypocrisy. There is more like this to come, mark my words, and so one day votes will be simply be taken away from the non-rich. Before that day arises can we have a poll as to what to rename New York $ity? How about GentrificNation? (yeah, not funny enough I know).

Making up for lost mind.

I did not post at all on here in 2006, 2008 or 2012. There were years flanking those where I posted like twice all year. No one reads this blog, which perhaps bugged me at one point, but now I love that. I've had this page for 12 years now and it's easier than ever to open up this link and post, no hoops, no worries. Write, rant, link, "publish" a pic of mine or someone else's what have you, I can do fucking anything on here... Ok, state of my life: things are whack right now to be sure. After years of supposedly moving upwards in my field of excellence, I'm at yet another crossroads in my life, and about to hit a round fucking number like no other. The last time I decade-ed it I ignored this page. I wish I hadn't, as I would've liked to have read in retrospect what I was going though but... I do remember the basic facts: my "final" band (and, as it were, my 27 years of band life) had come to a crashing end, save for a final sweet lil' tour to Big Sky country a few months hence. I'd recently screwed up a budding relationship with a female celebrity as my financials were all over the map, as was my mind, and I was depressed. Majorly so. I embarked upon my present "career", not knowing what was up, or forward, and alas, I made strides. Over the next ten years I would never be late on rent again while I built up and upon my resume, gained respect and... for what? Aye yai yai, there's the rub. The bottom line is that no one gives a shit, least of all this business or my landlords. People only care about themselves, and you in relation to their needs. Altruism and empathy are in short shrift in this land, but I digress. Depression has hit again like a sack of flour these past 6 months leading up to next months big (birth) day. What has been good is a reemergence of other talents I'd ignored while chasing that elusive and great paid role in the sky: I'm writing again (yeah, here, but more importantly, there), I've demo'd 20 songs for a film I'm a producer on, and... who knows, I may even fucking draw and paint again. So, in the midst of a dry spell and the utter fright of getting yet older, there's a hope. That said, I'd like to repeat my vows again for "snot" as well, as this page is a good thing. Perhaps it will be a time capsule in the end, or a book, or an art show, or a roll of digi toilet paper (who the crap knows), but it shall flow freely from me henceforth at a rate it never did in the past, mark my words. This page started with myspace and Rollo and has survived Facebook and the gobbledygook of gentrified corruption that's swept the city I was born in like a tornado these past 8 years since the "crash", and though I haven't the motherfucking foggiest what the future holds, least of all for me, I shall do my best to hold your attention here for years to come. Love and rock 'n' roll -RM

Entirely the same bs, on repeat.

Sometimes I'll give a decent rant to someone's FB response and, well, post it here (perhaps for lack of an original thought to put instead). Here's a short rant from the other day in response to someone saying "This rich/poor white-on-white divide & conquer tactic is at the epicenter of the Republican meltdown. It finally reared up & swallowed em whole. Now we all have to deal with it. Fuckers", which was in response to a video titled The Ploy of Wealthy Europeans to keep you distracted: Yes, but it's the epicenter of it all man, Dem and Republican. Blind eyes have been turned by both parties: the centrist party (Dems) have done jack all too and are still trotting out Reagan Dem ideology (even though it hasn't worked). They're the GOP of 25 years ago, albeit more palatable just by virtue of being called Democrat, even though not much links them to their Kennedy, Johnson, McGovern, FDR past, and none of what they espouse will trickle down, it never does. These parties have been flip flopping for 200 years, what's held steady is the rich Euro elite who want shit done for them and can't spare a dime. Our party voters are actually behind the right in realizing that people are fed up, we should all be for Sanders. I'm white, I'm liberal, I'm poor and struggling and have nothing in common with these Euro elite fuckers who've been doing this shit for centuries now. Divide, conquer, leave barefoot, pregnant and working your ass off too much to be able to even think about doing anything about it. It's tried and true. Hard to blame all the idiot legions who support Trump, only the racist, xenophobic contingent. Sad that they've all been duped yet again though via a different kind of charlatan. It's entirely the same bs, on repeat.

Hey Lefty, get ready for a new Reich wing PresiDUNCE.

Well that kinda blew yesterday. I know Sanders faired well, but 2nd place finishes mean jack when all is said and done (I know, I'm an actor, you're either cast or not). The left should really consider taking a page out of the new right's book and nominate someone who gets all the rampant dissatisfaction out there, before the Presidency becomes the PresiDUNCEy... and the new Reich. Will say it one more time: I think we're seriously underestimating the fed up contingent groundswell, and Trump will surely soften his divisive rhetoric in the end to bring in the GOP establishment (who've already sold their souls, so what is there left for them to lose?) before all those who may have voted for Sanders accept another Clinton.

Who is this Tronald Dump everyone's talking about?

"Ever since I was a young Jew growing up in Bklyn" -Hillary on SNL

Great clip. Hillary is a Reagan liberal though (read "moderate republican") to the core, Bernie can keep pushing her left til the cows come home but she doesn't believe what he says, and the middle and working class will continue to plummet/get left out in the cold if she's the nominee. The ideology she supports has not worked, and it never will, why all Dems cannot see that boggles the mind. Must be that they're doing well. Good for them. Look, I'd probably like our current President personally if we met, Obama seems like a smart, cool guy with a good sense of humor, but the last 7 years have been a continuation of a never ending downward spiral economically for so so many. As for Trump, his fans aren't just racist homophobes and xenophobes. Those are ideas that are fucking with their heads, but it's not as simple as "that's who they are". These are people that have been screwed by both parties for almost 40 years now, but they've been brainwashed by the Right as well, and so can't see clearly that Trump is a charlatan. Sanders is the only answer right now to pull those folks, and those left leaning who've struggled financially, back into the safety net (and some back into reality), and even Trump knows that. The GOP (TeaOP)'s words and actions over the past 7 years, PLUS inaction from BOTH parties, COMBINED with the REAL frustration from all those years of spiraling costs and dwindling opportunity (let's please not discount those factors, it's way too easy to scapegoat here), led to Trumpism, and only Sanders' Populist message can quell the chaos. Trump is capitalizing on an opportunity as a greedy businessman might. He's more afraid of Bernie than Hillary, it's obvious, and Hillary will lose a general election to him in a battle of insincerity unless she fully embraces Sanders views. Unfortunately, even if she does though, as I said, she will never believe them. Clinton is the consummate do anything, say anything establishment politician, like Rubio but less severe, and like Trump is becoming (although Il Douche is embracing political incorrectness like a hole in the head), and too many people know that.

Trump (yet again) blames everyone but the kitchen sink.

Trump (yet again) blames everyone but the kitchen sink. This time it's Bernie, his "thugs" and the Chicago police. Last time it was the Mexicans, Muslims, weak Jeb, pathological Ben, pussy Ted, lil' Marco, Hillary, her husband, FOXy Megyn and the rest of the media et all. Truth is that Orange Fascist F--k Face has no one to blame but himself, the whackjob supporters he's stirred up and GOP fat cats (who with their partisan policies and corporate claptrap have caused rising inequality that's hallowed out the middle class and immiserated everyone but the wealthy).

the three sTRUMPges

Paid for by no one.

Things need to change. Now. The destruction of the majority of Americans societal net (that which should be our basic and innate rights as tax paying members of society let alone human beings), our depleted standards of living, the scarcity of opportunities for upward mobility and the consequential denial, lack of empathy and perhaps deliberate ignoring of this reality (and in many situations corruption) by those unaffected, has reached a boiling point. People are "mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore". I'm mad as hell, have been for years witnessing and experiencing this decline and fall begat at first by Reagan's ludicrous trickle theory, are you? It's time for resistance and action, whatever that means to you. We can continue to be led astray by con artists who claim to have our best interest in mind, and by folks who go along with a flawed flow til the cows come home and the Earth burns up (which is another topic we've been disastrously failing to deal with at the exact same time, and quite important I'd say) or not, simple as that. Anyway, the above is a thought I had today while riding the sheepway train to nowhere. Everyone on it, including those distracted by their games and imusic, looked fucking miserable, and I don't blame them; going to low paying, dead end jobs or looking for work in a futile attempt to pay for the ever rising, exorbitant costs of living... When is enough enough? That's all I got, the Revolution will be Televised obviously. Now carry on with your hopefully fulfilling lives. Disclaimer: This post hasn't been approved by Sanders for President 2016 but it might as well be. Oh, and to hell with that Trump nonsense, he's a rich fascist fake. He (and ALL the other candidates) cares less about you than his stock options, or even a new pair of socks for that matter. Truth.

Skunks

In honor of Lou Reed's Birthday

I just read it was Lou Reed's birthday. Here's a never published caricature illustration I did of the man 16 years ago. If anyone wants to use the art for anything let me know, it's still for sale... Hope you're rockin' up there man.

"Good evening, Hollywood phonies" -Chevy Chase salutation while hosting the Academy Awards in 1988

Bloated Oscar, by Robert Grossman, for Entertainment Weekly, 2001

Mitch the Obstructionist Tortoise in... Splat.

They ask me continually via email who I'm for; Bernie or Hillary. Here's my short response.

The corruption in this country is off the rails. I've seen standards of living for everyone not rich fall drastically since Reagan. Obama was a great President given the cards he was dealt, but gains didn't reach the former middle, working class and poor. My health insurance premiums have actually gone up, not down, on a par with everything else (rent, cost of food etc), everything that is except wages. Work has been harder to get in my field if you're not already working or able to "pay to play". Now Clinton may be fine, but we don't need "fine", we need action. I'm also skeptical of her past (young Republican for Goldwater, working for Walmart, her niceties with Kissinger and that fascist antiChrist Trump), not to mention that her husband embarrassed the Presidency, making him persona non grata during the 2000 Election (thus paving the way for the worst President ever in Bush). Bill Clinton also supported and signed into law more financial deregulation legislation than any other President before him, and dissolved the Depression-era Glass-Steagall law, so why should his wife be awarded the Presidency as if she's an actor who's "due" an Oscar after losing out so many times on the extraneous, luxury back scratching (patting) award? Awwww... poor Leo Decaprio and Hillary, they've suffered. The hell they have, they're worth ducats up the ying yang each, and neither are the best candidate/nominee, let's be honest. Ok, Leo will win the Best Actor self-congratulation Award, he has little competition this year, but Sanders is the better Presidential candidate to fight for and lead us into the future, and the only one seemingly to have empathy for all of us left behind by Reagan's steady trickle of piss and the giant steaming dump Dubya deposited on our collective heads.

It ain't "Bernie or Bust" stupid. Yeah, there's a difference, a big one, but not bigger then the Grand Canyon-sized chasm the Dems have with the Teapublicans.

You read the newsfeed on here and every other post is "damning evidence about Hillary" this or "Bernie's pipe dream" that. Get a life. Come November, whichever one of them is the nominee has my vote, for better or for worse. Do they have yours? I'm with Sanders until then, but this "she said, he said" see-saw shouldn't keep your eyes off the prize: defeating those backwards, fascist fear-monger$ on the other side. They have no respect for the Constitution and no empathy for you (unless you're a filthy rich, racist, gun toting church goer).

Supreme Justice?

I can't cheer a person's passing, but let's hope this is just the first death knoll of the Reagan Revolting-lution that's destroyed SO MANY lives.

Robert Grossman's Antonin Scalia illustration, which first appeared in The New Republic, Dec. 5th, 1992.

This was apparently endorsed by Bert AND Ernie.

Stating the Obvious

Less than 2 weeks ago more than 2 feet of snow fell in NYC. Today, there is nary a milligram of moisture remaining on the ground from the "Blizzard of the Century", aka Snowmageddon. It will be 116 degrees in July and the increasing impoverished percentage of humanity that cannot afford the soon-to-be premium costs of air-conditioning (or shuttle themselves to and fro in their luxury vehicles) will be burnt to a crisp before the year 2100.

Trump marks the Spot

RFreyP

You can still hear many of those bloated 70's tunes over and over and over again on the machine that is Classic Rock Radio (I'd rather not, was tired of them back then, esp. "Hotel CA"), but "Your Lyin' Eyes", "Peaceful Easy Feelin'", "New Kid in Town" and many other songs I was unmercifully bludgeoned over the head with as a kid do bring back a simpler, sweet n' hazy, sun washed, faded denim era of easy goin' days long gone bye...

Prez Ups (and downs)

It boggles the mind that two of the stupidest, most vile, hate mongering, slime ridden imbeciles on Earth are still leading the pack of one of the two major American political parties. As if said party hadn't already soiled this country enough over the last 48 years with the worst of the worst that humanity has to offer. A large part of our population are seemingly not "doin' their learnin'", or were apparently just born with skewed brainular activity that is sadly beyond repair.

RIP David Bowie... Sigh.

Losing Bowie hurts. A day later his songs rippling in my head. I'm happy I got to see him play (even though it was the Serious Moonlight tour, a far cry from Ziggy or the Thin White Duke days), and unbelievably it was less than a week ago that I posted on here for his birthday about meeting him once in Soho; how gracious he was as I told him I was a huge fan and a musician who'd played his songs. I never approach celebs, but fuck, this was Bowie! Little did I know then or last week that I'd be mourning him so soon after. Bowie was someone I wanted to know more, and respected to the nth degree from afar. I appreciated him as the consummate artist he was, the advocate for underground music I loved, and the private, enigmatic gentleman he came off as, not just as another performer. He truly was one of kind, and listening to all his albums this past day have recalled many other moments in my life, among them playing "John I'm only Dancing" and "Panic in Detroit" with my band the KGB in high school, listening to Low and Lodger over and over on cassette, the day my uncle gave me a gift certificate to Tower and I ran and bought Hunky Dory and Rise and Fall of Ziggy on vinyl... It's hard to imagine a world without Bowie in fact. Just a few weeks ago his name popped up in casting of the film I'm producing as the ultimate choice for one role. He was a true icon, I can't say that about many people we hold on a pedestal. His passing recalled for me the day Lennon died, and when Kurt died. I, as it seems so many are on here, am feeling a genuine loss for someone I, we, didn't know, but that doesn't matter. We felt that we did, and we know and love his music, his interviews and film appearances, and pretty much everything about the man and his legacy. Thankfully, in that respect Bowie will be with us forever.

If there ever was a showboat that deserved to be canceled it's this one.

The Willy Wanker himself.

Il Duce and Il Douche... Separated at Birther

A cartoon by my father Robert Grossman that appeared in The Daily News in 1989. As relevant now as it was then. More.

Two polar opposite experiences just now. First, the fed up, wealthy looking woman at the crowded Whole Foods who slams her stroller into me. I apologize profusely, even though I didn't do anything, cuz, well, there's a kid. She then says "how about I hit you over the head with this stroller". That's the point when she gets told (correctly) to f-off. Soon afterwards, I'm at my crowded neighborhood laundromat. I accidentally put my coins in the wrong dryer, so I start to empty it out into the one below and some hits the floor. A sweet Hispanic lady sitting there says to her son "JJ, help the man out, don't let his his socks hit the floor". Her lil' tyke does with a smile, picking wet socks up and helping me reload my clothes. America in a nutshell, right there.

RIP Wes Craven. Here's a caricature illustration I did in the 90's of some bit player named Fred that was in a couple of his movies.

Hillo Kitty 3, by Robert Grossman

Bruce Gender (illustration by Bob grossman www.robertgrossman.com)

So Bruce Jenner came out as transgender tonight, Good for her. Seriously. Here's an illustration my father did of the unanimously proclaimed "world's greatest athlete" (I believe for Sports Illustrated) back when Jenner might have been the least likely candidate one might think would ever switch genders. Oympian decision on Jenner's part, I hope the press and public gives her their full support.

The East Village was Burning today

Boehney and Mitchey

NitWit News

@fck

Devil with a blue shirt blue shirt blue shirt, devil with a blue shirt on

Hmmm

Now that's not right

Button Your, Like, Lip

I've noticed that some people say "like" now before and after almost every word more than ever. This isn't a new phenomenon of course (see Valley Girl), I'm just wondering if the whole Facebook "like" button thing has exacerbated this annoying habit. Maybe there needs to be an "um", you know", "OmyGod" or "I mean duh" button to make that crap, like, even again.

By the way, if there was anyone reading this blog he or she may have noticed there's been a long time between posts, and perhaps before my last one as well, and so on and so on. With the advent of Facebook, I mean what's the point (of writing stuff here, and not there)? Ahhhh, the ephemeral question. Really, there is none, but I keep coming back, even if for just a short while, and I shall continue to do so damn you bet. So how about those Mets?

People keep saying the Farrow kid looks like Ol' Blue Eyes... I don't see it. Either way, it's not like this is some rags to riches story. What, does he get a record deal now?

"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." -Woody Allen

Many are retelling their personal experiences from 12 years ago today. Thought I'd share as well. I awoke 9/11/01 to a large noise that I attributed to thunder, though there was no rain. I walked to my kitchen to make coffee and saw people running on the roof next to mine, and odd site to say the least. I yelled out the window “what happened?” and one guy yelled back “The World Trade Center just blew up”... Not what I was expecting to hear to say the least. I’d loved the Twin Towers actually, dating back to the Bicentennial in 1976, when I went to a party in Windows On the World with my father and brother. My father had a sculpture installation up there and I remember being amazed I could sit in a window that protruded outwards and I could look down under at the street (which seemed like a mile away). I spent other memorable times in and around WTC as well, their were some memorable late night parties in the Towers in the mid-90s, and I had just been down their 2 days prior to the attack working some promotional job.

Back to that day, I immediately tried to turn on some news so I could see/hear what had happened, but the only channel I could get that morning (and for the next few weeks) was AM 1010 WINS. Upon hearing the News, I decided to go down there and check it out myself. Hopping on my bicycle I booked down, riding along the East River and made it in before they’d completely closed off the area… probably not the smartest thing to do, or healthiest with no mask, but I felt the need to see what had just went down firsthand. The experience was horrifying. Blocks upon blocks upon blocks of chaos, it looked like pictures I’d seen of 1983 Beirut. I waded on my bike through foot deep of debris; ashes, paper, shoes left behind, it was everywhere. There were totaled cars halfway in broken store windows and an eerie silence but for the choppers overhead. No one was saying “you can’t be here” or anything, everyone was simply stunned and just trying to figure out what to do and where to look. I must have stayed down there two-three hours, surveying the scene and helping out whomever I could that needed a hand and/or to be pointed in a specific direction. I collected some burned scraps of paper that I still have, some saying American Airlines, some saying Goldman Sachs, some from very high floors in the towers… chilling.

The weeks that followed were like none I could ever imagine. The two people I immediately thought of who worked at the Trade Ctr. thankfully both did not go to work that day, for whatever reason. One saying he “wasn’t sick, but just had a feeling he should stay home” that day. Life below 14th Street, where we had to show our drivers licenses at checkpoints, was surreal. I lost my restaurant job because there were no customers and finding work again proved very difficult for quite some time. I fielded calls non-stop from family and friends outside of the city who knew I and my family were here, hoping we were alright. Many saying “get out”. This was a singular event here I hope never to experience anything like ever again, but New York is my home, plus those who’ve lived here all know that , well, it’s not the easiest place to “get out” of.

The years following 9/11 saw the US and our weirdly empowered President escalate a bogus War, and our City turn to a multi-millionaire Mayor who's seemed to forget real New Yorkers in lieu of welcoming the International elite to our streets with open arms. Wall Street is still thriving while the rest of US can only try to keep up with the sharply rising cost of living. We’ve built two baseball stadiums here and countless luxury hotels yet we still haven’t finished building at Ground Zero... Things really did change here, there and everywhere that day. It’s hard to believe 12 years have gone by. My heart go out to those who lost love ones that day and in the days, weeks and years that have followed because of that day. Collectively, we lost a lot it seems, and it’s left a hole larger than Ground Zero, for as a city, a country, a people, we’ve continued to lose a lot more in many ways since that day. Here's hoping the days of losing are soon over and days of learning from it are to come.

New film takes a WIZard all over OZ.

The Mystery of Acting... demystified (not. just a bunch of fucking quotes)

Ok, you're not gonna understand any mystery from this article, that's for sure. It basically serves up a few selected quotes from actors (Lady Gaga?), almost none of them good (reactionary Right Wing nutter/good actor Gary Oldman's is alright), but all put together they're worthwhile in that good acting, or a good actor, is hard to put a finger on. You know it (him/her) when you see it (him/her), but I may disagree with you. What I can tell you (besides the fact that's it's not easily definable) is that it's a gift, it's a dream, it's a challenge, it's a struggle, it rocks and it's not for everyone. How does an actor tap into the illustrious well of "goodness"? Ahhhh, wouldn't you like to know ;).

"Is the use of our skill an embrace? Or is it the snapping of a shackle? We must start asking that neglected question, individually, or we will we only contribute to, or at least be complicit in, a national calamity."

In case you did NOT watch the mind blowing video I refer to in my previous post, which would be a CRIME, because you HAVE to, DO. IT. NOW. Here it is again, preceded by a fwd by the eloquent T.C., esp. tailored for all of our friends in the sham of a mockery we call... The Entertainment Industry. -RM

"Time to Occupy Ourselves after decades of Self-Evacuation. Here it is, the most graphic representation of violence in America, ever. Strangely, as you will see in the video, this is the only kind of depiction of violence the media censors anymore. Any other depiction of violence is hunky dory and A-OK just so long as it entertains.

Thanks to the early inspiration of men like Edward Bernays, the media's job has finally achieved its destiny, and become entirely devoted to perpetuating the illusions mentioned in this video, and meant merely to distract the very people who are most violated...with soporific entertainments and hallucinations (the new opiate of the masses...toothless vampire fantasies, super hero escapism, the artistic cowardice of endless "revivals," which should be called "avoidances," historical dramas bordering on state-sponsored propaganda), all of which are populated by artists whose magnificent razor sharp talents function like the teeth in the maw of a giant anaconda holding its prey, so the rest can slowly squeeze it to death. To my brothers and sisters in The Industry...simply succeeding as an entertainer (which only means, "one who holds" perhaps like the anaconda tooth holds flesh) is empty and without value unto itself. Money? Ha. Think again. So what if you hold America with nothing but your little finger? Now you're king of the world. Fine. Now what? You've had a blockbuster, an open-ended run, had money thrown at you. Ohhh, you've held them all right! Or as they used to say in the biz, "ya killed em!" In a mass market, there might be more literal truth to that than you realize. But, brother, that is an empty achievement. Dear sister, it is utterly without recognizable human intention or substance. What is your motive to hold audiences? To what end? To educate? To encourage? To lift the weary? To validate the courageous? Or to feel validated? Or to placate neurosis? Or to inebriate the spell-bound? To sell a product? Okay, what's the product? You have talent. Okay. So what? Leni Riefenstahl had talent. If you can't answer the larger question, "to what end", you can bet the farm your talent is being misused within a larger purpose that you are only vaguely aware of. The way work is shared in this industry is so overly collateralized, no one can afford to ask the important question. The "good Nazi," was given the task of pushing that button on the wall, then went home to a nice warm meal with the family. But what's the button do? We are trained that it's unprofessional to ask what the buttons connect to. So don't ask. It's unprofessional. And we like warm meals.

"To do great theatre" is an utterly vacuous statement. It means nothing. "To do great film" is even worse, since the form is far more collateralized. An actor doesn't show up on the set "to do great film." If he does, that's going to be one crappy actor. He shows up to enact a limited number of discrete objectives. I do not cotton to an idea like "great theatre." There is great human intention. That's all. I believe only in the achievement of the the objective of the play or story, and if THAT defensible in human terms. Does it belong to what has traditionally be called "The Humanities" -- or not. That is all that matters to me.

So let us ask WHY are we holding people's minds at attention? That must be our daily mantra. Our abilities to hold is a skill, yes; a power even; perhaps, a privilege. But is the use of our skill an embrace? Or is it the snapping of a shackle? We must start asking that neglected question, individually, or we will we only contribute to, or at least be complicit in, a national calamity."

Viral Video Shows the Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality

Nothing funny about this post. You can view it here. This video is spot-on and well stated, and it saddens me deeply that many people won't even bother to view it (never mind share it), because they haven't the time or interest apparently in their own Country's obviously skewed state of affair$, which are in fact, harming them (if they, like most of us, are not filthy rich). Many will also brush this off as "complaining". That's wrong and weak. Stay asleep then, but I hope (as this video says) you will decide instead to "wake up, and realize that the reality of this country is not at all what we think it is". It's 33 years after Raegan started his trickle down Genocide, 4 years after the Recession "began" and 1.5 years past Occupy and things are NOT getting better. Choose to lose (more) and continue to earn less or strive to change a broken system. Your choice. Pretending this is not an important issue and keeping it snug like venomous bug under the rug merely exacerbates the problem. That the über wealthy pay tax rates x 2 is immaterial when their income is stratospherically higher and increasing at disproportionate rates to absolutely everyone else. You want Victorian England? You're gonna get it. GOP talk about “workers” vs “shirkers” is straight out of antiquated Victorian moralism about those deserving and undeserving.



"This troubled planet is a place of the most violent contrasts. Those that receive the rewards are totally separate from those who shoulder the burdens. It is not a wise leadership." — Mr. Spock, Star Trek

Rush Lamebaugh's at it again. Oh the shame.

Rush Limbaugh is "ashamed" of his country for "the first time". Whoa, I'm shivering in my boots.

You can hear and read about the bloated fart wad here.

Where's the LaBeouf? Not on Broadway anymore, thankfully.

So Shia "where's the" Labeouf has withdrawn From Broadway’s ‘Orphans’ due to irronconileable differences with trained theatre actor Alec Baldwin. Another example of why film and tv actors with little or no stage experience should not get carte blanche offers on Broadway. Screw the finances argument blah blah blah about the need for $tars, etc. Haven't we bleached the Great White Way enough? Dumbed it down to the extent that ahem, Scarjo can star in Tennessee Williams? Look, Broadway will not go away, as a matter of fact, I firmly believe (though I'm in the minority I'm sure) that it would be stronger than ever if there were only quality actors onstage to (pay to) see, whether they be "Name" actors or not. I'm tired of people making excuses for utter lameness, it's insulting to those who work hard and train and know better. All excuses do is exacerbate problems anyway. Let's leave Broadway to experienced theatre professionals shall we, not Hollywood wannabes, or else it's just a sham of a mockery of the art form.

On a side note, now I'll go see Orphans (a play I always wanted to do after seeing Kevin Anderson and Albert Finney in it), I couldn't bare the thought of going before with that smug Shia Pet prancing around. In fact, this is a rare victory today. Shia LaBeouf will not sully Broadway. Yay. Let's rejoice at that.

You can read the NY Times Arts Section article that inspired this mini rant today here.

Macho Elves of a Different Almost Everything.

Just read this article from Slate.com "An Extremely Macho Elf: Reconsidering Steve McQueen."

"McQueen defined a fleeting moment in Hollywood's depiction of manhood, standing between the '50s kitsch of Sinatra, John Wayne, and Elvis and the post-Vietnam second-guessing of the pathological Eastwood, the sensitive New Age Redford, and Burt Reynolds. He was the first and maybe the last action hero to be neither absurd nor ironic.

(He) cultivated his own mythology through a strenuously aloofstyle of acting that is not without its critics. David Thomson, for one, observes a certain "dullness" about McQueen. Perhaps, but it was an especially radiant sort of dullness. With McQueen, it's hard to decide whether you hardly notice him, or you hardly notice that you never take your eyes off of him."

Now Jeremy Renner, who's apparently playing him, has nothing on McQueen. If there's one similarity, it's the "macho elf" look as mentioned in the article here, but McQueen was quintessentially American, Renner hails from here but truth be told he might as well be another member of the British (Aussi, Irish, Scottish) or basically "from anywhere but here" invasion of many of our acting roles. DD Lewis was a great choice for Lincoln, but must all our iconic figures be portrayed by non-Americans now, or, in Renner's case, by less interesting actors (if Americans talent is in fact used)? I'm glad a Yankee got the role in this case, but many will say that rarely happens because US actors aren't as good. B.S. It's how we crown our big actors, many without training or substance, that's the problem. A guy hits it big with one thing and "voila", he's everywhere, forced down out throats whether he's worthy or not. Nothing taken away from Renner, but there are plenty of better, and perhaps more deserving, American actors out there, trust me.

Anyway, that was a tangent if I ever heard one. You can read the whole slate.com article here.

Deserted City of the Heart Cooks Brain.

"Happy V Day" is what I got (and sent) today via text to and by those I dig (who may or may not dig me). Interesting how the word Valentine is shortened by many to one letter, which makes one recall D Day, aka the Day of "decision" in WW2 when 150,000 Allied soldiers landed on the shores of Normandy. In truth, the "D" in D Day may simply have referred to the "day" of invasion, decisive or not, and it's commonly misinterpreted to be a shortened version of Dooms Day. Decisive? Doom? Both potentially work for Valentine's Day, which has never been my favorite Holiday. Though I've always had a reputation as a womanizer, real or exaggerated, I've almost always found myself alone on this day, deserted (cue the violins). Thankfully, this V Day I'm meeting someone later, a beautiful Argentine woman half my age I met on the subway (!) who will soon desert me :( for her native land (cue said violins again). Oh well, I shall deem myself lucky in the interim and make sure she does not desert me for long, though I do wish I weren't suffering from cold symptoms right at this moment (violins go berserk).

Now I've already posted via Facecrack (thanks Gay Cowboy, that term is perfect) my anthems for the day (see Cream, Modest Mouse and more) and have just read some silly article in the NY Times about how actresses heart rockers "He Sings. She Acts. They Date." Um... really? Well I have one thing to add to that: Hey actresses, y’know I sung and played guitar/bass in rock bands for years… Just sayin’. Come on'! The article really should read: He Makes Buttloads of Money Singing. She's a Famous Actress. They Date. I don't mean to be neg, but that's the real truth there...

Anyway, I would be quite happy with this gorgeous Argentine, subway-ridin' tourist, actresses can be head cases, truth be told, and I'm not goin' back to the rock grind. On that note, gotta run. Happy V Day people of the interwebs who don't read this blog I keep forgetting about, and may cupid get all stupid with y'all, cuz it really does help to not be on your lonesome on this silly Holiday. I already experienced that this past XMas/NYE Holiday season yet again, and it blows. Now it's just tomorrow and the next day I have to think about, and most importantly P Day (payday), let that love $hine down on me next. -RM

Marco... Rubio! in the shallow end.

After the State of the Union we had to listen to the Union of the Snakes response, but that Milktoast Rubio kid was a guppy out of water. He'll never be president, give me a break. Sounds like Peter Sarsgaard, looks like Dondi. This is what the GOP is banking on now? Smarmy little soft-talking dweebs w/ no imagination spouting the same old tired b.s. that got us into the mess we're in today? The non-union dinner theatre wannabe was diving for his bottle of water to ease his noticeable flop sweat.

Beyonce tries to scare off Nemo

Firstly, apologies to those adversely affected by the blizzard. Apparently Beyonce's managers are trying to delete this horrifying Superbowl pic of her from the internet. It's a frighteningly ugly pic to be sure, but i'm mixed. If you're a celeb, you should be prepared for the worse, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the limelight. Stay safe, stay warm. Rock n' roll. -RM

As reported in the NY Times: Rat-Size Ancestor Said to Link Man and Beast! (rat post #2)

Exclusive Blizzard Photo: Rat on the Lower East Side braves Nemo. (rat post #1)

Babe I'm not gonna leave you (Redemption Blog).

Happy Birthday Babe Marley. Yeah, I've been the slackest of the slackiest in regards to posting on here. What has it been, over a year? Maybe I'll look back and post some pics from my absence, does that make up for my complete and utter lameness? Facebook, yes, I said the dreaded F-word, has consumed my words, for better or for worse. That must stop, it's all too ephemeral on there, and I do not need the accolades and adoration of others for my posts, i just need you: the non existent readers of this blog, who haven't stuck with me (for I have barely stuck with myself) over the past 9 some-odd years. Yes, I will write more, until I once again write less. I promise. I've got a forum here to let loose the gobs, so I may as well, correctamundo? There has, after all, been a lot of snot, I mean "so much trouble in the world", Know what i'm sayin'? Here comes the return of the sultan of snot, Rollo Manhattan (applause applause). In the meantime, enjoy this here pic I photoshopped up for yous.

Occupy the Entertainment Industry

Here's the Breakdown: To paraphrase that Jay-Z song, "99% are having some real problems and the richest 1% have none". Where is there a better microcosm for our Country's increasing wealth inequality, lack of career advancement/opportunity, shrinking middle class and general pervading culture of corruption than in our beloved Entertainment Industry?

If you're an actor, director, playwright, screenwriter or musician and you're NOT a household name, related to one, or already working on Broadway, TV, in mainstream Hollywood Films, or selling out venues, then you've no doubt felt the dramatic, debilitating changes that have occurred within the Entertainment Industry during this long Recession, changes that have taken a HUGE bite out of earnings, cost people to lose their Union health coverage (which, ironically, became harder and more expensive to get), and overall have stalled chances for many to move up in their chosen field. For these reasons, you should ask yourself whether you REALLY have the chance to succeed today given how things are. If you were active in the Entertainment Industry prior to the collapse, then you know the answer: not likely. You should then ask yourself how YOU can affect positive change in the world YOU know. Change has to begin somewhere, and where better then your own backyard, pavement you pound, stomping ground, work and/or out-of-work place.

The Entertainment Industry, as we know, can do more than blow things up, glamorize the glamorous and lay fart jokes. The Entertainment Industry can act as an EXAMPLE. The purpose of Occupy the Entertainment Industry is to discuss, motivate, inspire each other, meet up perhaps and hopefully make the powers that be in this industry aware that there are worthy, talented professionals out there that are being SHUT OUT of this business, by the Entertainment Industry equivalent of corporate lobbyists (greedy or simply unaware investors and producers with financial safeguards to meet, casting directors and agents, managers and PR people with clients to push), who've turned this industry into an exclusive business for those already working, and ONLY for those already working, period. As Albert Brooks said recently about being cast in the film DRIVE after learning he wasn't on the short list of the same old same old, or recently Award Winning, "name" actors being circulated by Hollywood Big Wigs; "The truth is, there are six guys you cast all the time for these parts, and it's so nice to cast a new guy in one." Wouldn't it be? Or does the Entertainment Industry only like taking the easy route? This country, this industry, was built on hard work, so why not allow those who've earned it but not yet earned millions the opportunity to get a BREAK instead of just being pushed DOWN.

Yes, the Entertainment Industry has always been a hard nut to crack, but it doesn't have to be damn near IMPOSSIBLE! Schwab's candy story scenarios and indie short film fest discoveries notwithstanding may still exist, but must all others trying to crack the nut have to PAY to (do a) play, via increasingly expensive (not to mention possibly unethical) seminars, showcases and other money making opportunities hosted by (or phoned in by) those already within or representing the inner sanctum of the already successful? If so, how may we ask are these supposed networking opportunities supposed to be PAID for if one isn't getting enough paid WORK in the first place? They're just bleeding the poor, and further creating a "survival of the richest" only community. There are NO MORE drop offs, Electronic submissions are essentially for the country club set; under lock and key, resumes basically mean NADA, industry doesn't come to see one's work anymore without a sure bet financial motive, some unions let in anyone with money to burn (who then take the jobs you're overqualified for but have been forced to apply for), and everything else out there is, well, offers.

Basically, what's happening now is NO LESS than a modern day form of segregation: the good ol' haves vs. the have nots. Now we're not saying our recessionary capitalistic tactics mirror our despicable racist past, but as the poor get poorer and the middle class becomes nothing but a memory, where will these methods lead us? Breadlines for background work? We know that time and innovations will NOT backtrack or reset, but if there aren't some out n' out changes to a system that disenfranchises the masses, then we've gotta at least find a happy medium. With core expenses higher then they ever were, now sure' aint the time to make work (and health insurance) harder to get, which is what has happened, plain and simple.

With Occupy the Entertainment Industry, let's attempt to take our passion, our art AND our careers back, so we can start moving forward again, because enough is enough, and there SHOULD be enough work to go around in this industry (esp. if it's thriving as much as we see and hear it is). This isn't about "it's not fair", it's about what IS fair. The Hollywood Dream = The American Dream after all , so we stand in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. We were told that Entertainment was the industry that WOULD NOT be affected by the economic downturn, remember? Well, at first it looked like that might be the case, but then all of a sudden the doors closed to many, and they've remained SHUT ever since. There are FAR too many unemployed and underemployed talented individuals out there. Reality programming and the like was supposed to be the killer of recognizing and allowing new and true talent in the door, not a recession!

Truth be told, our country has never been fond of funding the arts, yet we exploit them willingly. That being the case, perhaps the Entertainment Industry can set an example and start sending people back to work before other industries do. That may take a Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, PDiddy, Neil LaBute or other work $aturated celeb/industry mainstay to step aside in a role (or position or job) and let another worthy candidate play or take the part. Now THAT sounds like a fantasy, but perhaps the aforementioned (or the Occupy Wall Street conscious industry pros like Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin and Kanye West) could at the very least INFORM the Entertainment Industry powers that be that Show Business has (whether they've realized it or not) mirrored Corporate America during the recession, and that there are deserved individuals out there that need to be given a chance again, whether or not they're "as marketable" or "on the short list" as "name talent". If not, then perhaps they can remind our Unions, er... Guilds, that they should be fighting for US, as well as the Tom Cruises, Marc Wahlbergs and other performer/producers (um, can you say... conflict of interest?) with whom we share membership. It's NOT a fantasy to say that the future of good product may even be at stake as well. As Glenn Close said not so long ago "It's gotten out of control. It's taking bigger and bigger names to make smaller and smaller films. I worry that important films without a big name attached won't get made at all."

Obviously, all this will take time, as Rome wasn't built in a day (that series looked great, so it must have cost HBO some time and money to make ;) but audiences WILL get sick and tired of seeing and hearing the same people constantly on their screens, in the halls and on iParaphernalia, mark our words, just as those whose jobs have been cut or downsized have grown tired of being CONTINUALLY marginalized, while seeing the rich get richer and richer. Look, fans readily accept new, no-name athletes when they "hit" their marks and "perform" well on the playing fields and courts, so why not in the Entertainment field? Yeah, Pro Sports have their steroid controversies and all-too powerful owners et all, but athletes STILL have to earn their way up the ladder; their resumes still count, and in Sports there's the ability to essentially let new stars make THEMSELVES daily, merely through good play. Now if we exploited THAT ability, we'd be heading in the right direction.

That said, it's high time we Occupy the Entertainment Industry and REdirect it. Though much can and has been said about Entertainment Industry content, it's important to stress that we're concerned first and foremost with jobs, getting people back to work. While the rich MUST pay more taxes, we also want them to pay more ATTENTION to the rest of us, right? It's their greed and lack of compassion that's led our country, and this industry, to where we're at, so let us rally the troops and join forces with Occupy Wall Street, BUT, we CANNOT wait for the Celeb contingent to lead us. What have they to fight for anyway? Well, US, obviously, and maybe they will (as they surely have a voice that goes along with their wealth and opportunity), but we need to make OURSELVES heard first for ANYTHING to happen. What have they to fear in helping us anyway, being blacklisted? Please. A pro actor/friend of Occupy the Entertainment Industry said recently that no one has the cojones in this biz anymore like an Orson Welles or Clifford Odets. If that's true then why bother? Well, "If you don't start somewhere you may very well go nowhere" is the only way to answer that claim, and to quote Occupy Wall Street, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

In conclusion, we'd like to leave you with a quote by the esteemed Carl Sagen: "One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." Truer words were never spoken, but we have been given a RARE opportunity here via the surprising success of Occupy Wall Street to TRY and get our power back. Performers very well know that opportunity sometimes does NOT knock twice, so let's make good on this opportunity shall we? If you're willing to stand with Occupy the Entertainment Industry please contact us here ASAP, or at occupyent@gmail.com.

Express that.