Down by Law

I was recently accused of not thinking before I act this is nothing new in fact this is the way I have operated since I was 5 when I almost licked a car cigarette lighter. Thankfully I touched it with my finger first. This sort of lifestyle has gotten me into trouble many employers, girlfriends, and parents through out the years. Now if I were as Ego-centric as I have been made out to be this wouldn't bother me but I carry guilt like luggage. In still feel guilty about things that I did in elementary school for Christ-sakes I'm a mess.

I have always said that I don't care what people say or think when it comes to their opinion of me but if that were I wouldn't own a comb, the same goes for anyone who says that, except for the guys you see on the beach wearing a Speedo with a huge beer gut and enough back hair to make a small rug. Those are the people who could careless what people think. I've chosen a career based on what people think and feel, a certain amount of my self-worth is based in the opinions of others. THIS IS NOT the behavior of a normal person. CPA's and Gas station attendants do not live this way( don't post that isn't true you smarmy bastards). Some of them may, but it is not par for the course. Acting REQUIRES you to be empathic if you are disconnected from others then you are not acting you are pretending and F you! So the choice becomes do you tune those voices out? Or do you go on living an emotional roller coaster based on empathy? I have the unenviable position of being starved for attention and therefore seek others out the choice is pretty clear.
After a long night of introspection I thought that I had found the cause of my need for attention and affection. I had abandonment issues stemming from a traumatic event in my life around the time that I was 9 (maybe I'll get into that later). My mother quickly shot that down saying that I had attention issues from the time I was an infant. Great I'm genetically predisposed to being an attention monger. That really puts a damper on my not believing in fate.

One by one...

Late last month a legend and one of my personal idols Hunter S. Thompson snuffed his own candle almost a year to the day that they found the drown corpse of Spaulding Gray another immencly talented and emotionally screwed up icon. Why do the best always seem to do themselves in? Do marginally talented people with little to contribute to the cultural landscape kill themselves in a dramatic matter and we just don't hear about it? I'm begining to loose faith in my personal heros does all that talent just become too much to handle?

It only seems to be the really talented ones who kill themselves. So here is my purposal in order for people like me and the impressonable children of the world not to think that we should follow suit everytime on of orr icons kills themselves. Every time a cultural titan dies at their own hand... a less talented celebrity must also take their life to counter act the loss.
Example.

Kurt Cobain+Shot gun blast= Copy cat fans killing selves

Kurt Cobain+ Shotgun blast \ Michael Hutchence+ belt =

Cobain fans not wanting to be mistaken for INXS fans in their deaths

For the deaths of Hunter and Spaulding I call for the immediate suicides of Marlon Wayans & Jackie Collins!

Family Matters

For those of you who don't know my mother's name is LaDonna Davis, and my name is of course Joe. It was very surprising to hear about the tragic Chimp attack the other day in California involving our sound-a-likes.
Here is the first paragraph of the story as published in the Seattle Times. The parts that are alarmingly true to my real life are in bold.

HAVILAH, Calif. St. James and LaDonna Davis raised Moe the chimp as their son. That was the word they used to describe him, and that was how they treated him like a hairy, rambunctious child who was a pampered member of the family.
They taught him to wear clothes, to take showers, to use the toilet and to watch TV in their West Covina home.
On Thursday, the day they marked as Moe's 39th birthday, their love for the chimp nearly cost them their lives.
The Davises were visiting Moe at an animal sanctuary in eastern Kern County where he had been banished in 1999 after biting a woman when they were attacked by two other chimps and brutally mauled. the rest of the story

Please stand by my family during this difficult time.

Why the gaps?

I've been really F-ing sick lately and I have been missing a lot of work so the blog has suffered I apologize please bear with me and we'll make it through this together. To tide you over please read (I didn't) and enjoy these glowing reviews of Kathy Lee Gifford's book "Gentle Grace" originally published on www.Amazon.com


A precious book from a tremendous talent..., May 8, 2004 Reviewer: A readerKathie Lee's "Gentle Grace" is a beautiful work of inspiration and hope...it is a companion to her fabulous CD by the same name. They go hand-in-hand to share with others the tremendous faith Mrs. Gifford has. Both of these items are truly a blessing.
Kathie Lee has always been a talented, special celebrity but first and foremost she is a woman dedicated to the Lord, to her faith, family and friends. She's a super role model for all of us.
I highly recommend this book and also the companion CD!

inspiring..., June 22, 2004
Reviewer:
Kathy Bennett "the village people" (The South, USA) - See all my reviews This is the companion to the CD Gentle Grace and it is a nice devotional book to use either while listening to the CD or alone. It speaks volumes...Kathie Lee is truly an inspiration with the way she channels her talent into helping others. Her proceeds for this project and the CD go to help children's charities and that is admirable.
I love my copy of both the CD and the book and highly recommend them both.

I was an 8th grade Rock star...

Ever see the movie School of Rock? Not a whole lot of people know this but it was loosely based on my life, not like High Fidelity which is actually based on my life. When it came out the kids were stopping me in the hall and saying "Hey Mr. Davis they made a movie about you!" It is a little known fact that at the age of 26 I was an 8th grade Rock Star.
See what happen was I was boozeled by a clever young 8th grader named Brian, he knew that I used to sing in a band, because when he walked into a shop class I was subbing for wearing a Ramones T-shirt we started talking about music. I asked him if he knew who the Ramones were and he gave me a look usually reserved for people who mispronounce fajita. I knew we'd get along well. Brian got me to participate in the 8th grade talent show as part of his band which was as yet unnamed and had no singer. I said that I would agree only if the completed the impossible task of getting another teacher in the band, because I didn't want to be the old guy out there by myself. Little did I know that he had gotten another teacher to make the same tentative deal with him just an Hour before, a frustrated lead guitarist\ computer teacher, named Mr. Moore. I fell for the oldest teenage trick in the book "Mom said it was okay." He'd told both of us that the other was in for sure, and so began our band.
I never realized how often I said the F word when practicing with my old band but it became very obvious that it was WAY more often than I did while teaching. Most all of my sentences came out as if I had a terrible stutter " Hey man pick up the Ffffff... Beat! And "Sorry that was me I fu fa fo oh ha ha my mistake." We were as bad as we were loud. The kids were novices and Mr. Moore and I were years out of practice but we sounded like a punk band. Their normal drummer had broken his wrist and was unable to play, so we had a girl named Angela play. Angela's philosophy was play hard and loud but never in time, which was kind of the groups motto as a whole. The band knew 2 songs, London Calling-the Clash and Brainstew-Green Day (pre AOR respectable pop punk elder statesmen) Like any good high school garage punk band would be they were self destructive. Teddy the absent injured drummer cut his cast off 3 days before the show so that he could drum with his bros and they kicked Angela out of the band. Teddy couldn't keep up with the time changes in London Calling so we switched to Brainstew the day before. OH SO PUNK!!! YEAH!
Having abused alcohol and being ADD I have a shit memory for lyrics (ask Kifer) so I did the Michael Stype\ Bob Dylan thing and taped the lyrics to my mic stand. PUNK!!! We were a hit and it brought me street cred for about 2 weeks it was fun but kind of embarrassing. I went on stage and sold the hell out of it, we were rocking so hard and sooo loud that for a line or two I got caught in the moment and forgot where I was. I looked out and saw a screaming audience, the speakers were ringing in my ears, my heart was an alligator tearing through my chest. I was playing to a huge packed house Rocking out and they were LOVING it!! Then I realized where I was and what I was doing and I remembered they were middle schoolers and had a similar reaction to a girl lip synching to Brittany Spears song and I thought to myself as the last chord crashed down over us like a crushing sonic wave "What a Douchebag."

Mail call

I'm really not feeling well so I'm afraid that today's posts are going to be sorrowfully short. If anyone would like a G-mail account please send me your E-mail address Sodajive@gmail.com and I'll pass one on it's really F-ing cool.
I'd like to thank those who have posted comments on the blog so far and I'd like to tell those who have visited before you no longer need membership to post so POST AWAY!!!
I'll try and put up an interesting link for you guys to play with while I'm recuperating so keep those comments coming.

You've heard of the MoMaThe Museum of Modern art? Now meet the MoBa...

I'm soo tired.

This long month of improv has finally drawn to a close. It started with the 24hr. Marathon, PAX in the middle, and then the Dirty South Improv festival in N.C. a whole lot of stuff for such a small month. I'm a little burnt out.

I really enjoy this whole blogging thing I think it's fun and by the response on the counter, "Mad at the World" is getting around a bit, but I don't really want to be classified as a blogger. There was this guy who was sitting in the front row of every performance at the DSIF last week with a lap top, not watching and enjoying the shows but blogging for 4 days straight. W.T.F.

"I like to sail but I never want to be known as a boating enthusiast. I'd like people to say 'He's a guy who likes to boat'." - Mitch Hedberg