Friday, June 10, 2011

Swinging in the Heat

Global warming has returned to the area. NOT coincidentally, we are told, so has summer. Pay no attention to the calendar that says its summer time. The reason it is hot is because of YOU…and YOU…and your filthy habit of trying to live comfortably while you are alive.

I’ve re-written this page 8 times in the last couple of days. It was all political. I have only left that first paragraph. I am definitely saving the politics for a podcast show. You have been spared.

I am, clearly, a fan of talent contest shows on TV.
My beef with a couple of them is the fake audience noise. Its really condescending to me. Feel free to edit as you need to do so but try to maintain integrity while doing so. I was never a fan of laugh tracks on comedy shows for that same reason. If a joke is funny, we'll laugh at home; that is all that matters. Live studio audiences that laugh are an enhancement, but not the canned laughing. Same thing with talent shows; if the acts are good I would like to see genuine applause.
These things do hold my interest because I am an entertainer but most importantly I do love watching people who otherwise would find it very, very difficult to get a chance for such notoriety to get access to as many people as watch these shows.
There have been some great personal stories in the history of these shows.
Of course if someone is very talented they are going to get discovered anyway, but even those who clearly have such skills still do show up on these sets.
It sort of made me wonder why. There are hundreds of thousands of people and acts who participate in shows like American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, The Hair (you know what I mean) and others. The chances of even getting in front of the on-air judges are slim. Is it really just all about getting on those TV shows? Why, exactly, given the odds? I suppose that even for many very talented people who sing and dance, a spot on TV is even difficult for them. How many singers and dancers do we generally see on TV besides in the backgrounds? Winning one of them, or being in the group of finalists will clearly provide a great boost for one's career. Since there is not much financial risk involved it's like buying a lottery ticket for sure; if one doesn't reach the finals it would be disappointing but not life threatening. But get into that final round and then the return on the investment is enormous.

I do have to admit that I would like to tryout for a show. And I even had my own, as local as it was, for about 10 years. My routines can’t fit in the 90 seconds that are given to these contestants. The best that I could do would be some mentalism demonstrations, but even they take time to set up and I could get ONE done in that amount of time.
The one I would really like to do though is Survivor. Do not ask me why I would want to sit outside for as long as 39 days in the heat, the storms and the mud getting bitten by bugs without running water or soap. There is something about the strategic part of that game that intrigues me. On this show is where I could employ things I know about hypnosis to my advantage. I could, for example, let my teammates know that I can use hypnosis to have them feel less hungry. I would actually do a few of those sessions clean so people would learn to trust me. Then, for those who took to the induction successfully, I would plant other suggestions that would keep them from taking me out of the game.
Most of those people have the type of mistrusting personality that would make it tough, but it would so be worth it to try.
Even after 22 seasons of Survivor now, it remains one of the top shows and still has thousands of people applying to be on it.

But I hate walking out to the mailbox to get my mail on these really hot days so I really should think of another show. Or maybe I should stick to being happy being on the ones I do now! If I do them well, I'll get lots of people to listen or watch. It's still just as difficult to win in this situation as it is buying that lottery ticket, but I do get personal satisfaction and have fun with it. And I don't get bit by any bugs.

That is the perfect way to remind you that the Dungeon of Manlove show is still running, of course, and has now been heard in a total of 32 countries. We picked up our first actual sponsor this week, New England Flingz, a swingers club. I love that! Information about them is at http://www.newenglandflingz.net/. I did a hypnosis show for one of their conventions a while ago and am going again next April. So, for all you swingers out there, and you know you are or that you want to be, click that link and let them know where you found them!

Done.

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