Thursday, October 13, 2005

Grace & Bob

So here's the thing: I was watching Will & Grace the other day, and part of the storyline was that Grace couldn't get people over for a dinner party (or something therelike), and I had the li'l epiphany we all do when the suspension falters in our disbelief: She's gorgeous! And funny! And has a great job and apartment! There's no way in hell that she wouldn't have, like, 50 people at any party she chose to give! And she's gorgeous! It goes without saying that Will is also gorgeous, so it makes no sense that either of them don't have 100 million friends and lines and lines of wannabe lovers beating down their doors. I suppose some people would say here that the reason they don't is that they're completely neurotic and drive people away. I say puh-leeeeze. If you knew someone who looked like Grace Adler, it wouldn't matter how neurotic she is or isn't.

And then it occurred to me: You know how you'll be watching a show like Will & Grace or Friends or what not, and they'll bring on for one episode a character who is supposed to be really, really gorgeous and everyone's all about him (what I'm referring to generally happens with male characters), but you look at him and you're like, 'He's not hot.' I know why he's never hot! Because we as the audience are being asked to believe that people like Debra Messing, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow are average people, or maybe a-little-cuter-than-average New Yorkers, and that they're so Everyday People that they can't even get a date. So that when the show brings on someone who is supposed to be so hot that these (ostensibly average) girls go crazy, he would have to be so scorching hot that just filming him would burn up the camera. And anyone less would just look kinda plain. So that's why these guys never look very attractive, cux the expectation is so high. Maybe that's done on purpose. Oddly, I don't think it works the same with female characters. Generally when a girl is brought on who is supposed to be really hot, she is. But then I can't remember. Whatever!

Another TV-related thing: Bob, that icky Quiznos baby who speaks like a 40-year old Long Islander. Why is he talking about food as if he eats? He's not old enough to eat solid food! He couldn't fit a sandwich in his mouth! This is what I always think when I see this commercial. I think it would be much, much more interesting if he spoke about food as if he ate, but it was clear that he'd never eaten and didn't know what he was talking about--he was kinda just trying to ape how he's seen people talk about food. Kind of like how we all talked about sex before we had it or really knew what it was. Remember when you were aware of sex but didn't know anything about it, but you still kinda had to talk about it around certain friends, so you just kinda said what you thought might be the right things (but it came out all stilted and you didn't realize)? That's how I'd like to see the Quiznos kid talk about the subs. All off-kilter, to where you see that he's never actually eaten solid food but is talking like he knows what the experience of it would be. I don't know how the writers would go about making it look like that (it would take someone with ability), but it would be amazing if they could pull that off. That would be seriously interesting.

And that's the beep for now, ganzowlets!!

Beep!
Ed Shepp

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Baking A Nuffin Muffin

My computer wallpaperWell, I'm sure everyone without exception has been wondering incessantly why I haven't been posting. Have you been on the edge of your seat waiting with baited breath for the reason? OK, here it is. Wait! Are you ready? You ready? OK, here it is:

I got nuthin.

And that's the reason, full on undiluted like whale fat, baby.

So since I got nuthin, I'll refer to Mark Baratelli's recent posts. In a recent one, he begins: So two sources told me the quickest way to kill a blog, and the interest of blog readers, is to not post regularly. Yep, that sounds about right. True. If I indeed have a 'readership,' then it must have gone off and committed Hairy Carrie by now. Alas! But he's right--if you want to kill your readership, just don't post for a while. If you don't believe it, check. Don't post. As Madonna said, "I have truth on my side; you have cellulite. You'll see." In his newest post, Baratelli delivers more sage wisdom: Shu[t] your f**** mouths! Stop sharing s*** that might embarrass you in the future..or in the f**** now for that matter! God people. Even I, the king of Courtney Love self-revelation will say "Email me if you want to know the embarassing story of the day"! He's making a good point that you should'nt post really personal, intimate things on your blog that you wouldn't want to come back and bite you next year or next week. It's true. However, I would argue that I, in fact, am the reigning king of Courtney Lovian cathartirrhea, but that's just a li'l point.

Well that's that, then. Otherwise I pretty much got nuthin. So I'll tell ya what's up and down this week: I'm lovin: friendster's Your Profile Has Been Viewed By thing (add me, biotches!); Lindsay Lohan and her car crashin ways; the arrival of autumn and the pumpkin ubiquity it brings (the picture opening this entry is my computer wallpaper); and low-carb ice cream bars (they taste as close to regular as you're gonna get). I'm NOT lovin: that terabyte email thing, which I think is a hoax; humidity; blogger/friendster spam; and songmeanings.net, which I thought was going to be a good resource until I read the orgy of idiocy they call the 'comments' section.

And that's all I got for ya, beepners! Any suggestions on a Halloween costume for me this year? I was gonna be John Smith (as in Pocahontas), but I dunno if I can find a suitable costume. Whatevah!

Beep!
Ed Shepp

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Sweet Summer, I Hardly Knew Ye...


Those of you in New York know that there are maybe 4 weeks of good weather here, 2 weeks in the Spring and 2 in Autumn. With the slight chill in the air and the drop in humidity, it seems that the 2 pleasant weeks of Autumn are upon us now. It's really very beautiful outside--it should stay that way until that weekend, when it will encrapulate again before turning stunning on Monday, when no one can enjoy it. And by 'no one' I mean me.

So thus the end of summer is upon us, and this Friday will be the last week of the summer schedule on WFMU. Sigh. Is this the end of The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment??

NO! The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment lives!!! Yay! Celebrate, everyone! Yesh, it's true, gbeepners! I'm on the fall schedule, which means you get to experience more of my special brand of soundsperiments for weeks and weeks and weeks more. Please take a moment to thank your cod. And that's my big announcement for now, gbeeplets.

Not much other news--just working on the show lots and other gwanazble. I've noticed something that's disturbing--I'm using the word 'hot' a lot. Not in a Paris Hilton way, but, well, in some way that's not Paris Hiltonlike. It's odd, because it's only now creeping into my regular speech; it started out as something I thought or said to myself when no one is around. Like, if I'm editing a particular section for the show and it's really working, I find that I think or say, "Damn, that's so HOT!" Or if I'm watching a movie that I really appreciate, I'll be thinking, 'That scene is so HOT!" Examples: Much of Sin City I found hot; I also found the designlike feel of Whore! quite hot. Examples from my show: for the Work show (airing this Friday: In the Observations segment, when I'm talking about hazelnut coffee: The part where the All Things Considered blip comes in; also the part where the beat comes out of Fever with the li'l whoosh sound effect. I would listen to those and think how hot they came out. In that instance, hot would be pretty much synonymous with tight. I've been specifically trying to avoid using the word in public, cux I know people will think it's Paris Hilton-inspired, but really it's not. It's not! So that's my vocabulatory dilemma du jour.

And that's all I've got for right now. I could talk about Kate Moss and all, but everything's been said with that. Over and out.

Beep!
Ed Shepp

Monday, September 19, 2005

Blinp!

John SmithYowz! It's been almost a month since I've posted! And, typically, now that I've dragged myself to writing a new post, I have nothing to say. Whatever.

Two weekends ago I slipped twice in my carb-conscious diet: first when I had Indian food for a friend's birthday and then when someone at Starbucks gave me a free sample of the Pumpkin Spice Creme Frappucino (the sample was pretty much the size of a Tall). The Indian food wasn't worth it, but the frappucino was. It was better than all the sex I've ever had (except for once); but I wouldn't expect any less from pumpkin. I'm very glad to see pumpkin consciousness growing in this part of the country, even if it is only for one season of the year.

My new favorite TV show is The Comeback, with Lisa Kudrow. It's absolutely brilliant, and Kudrow is the most amazing actress who ever lived. She can really do the whole fake L.A. thing while simultaneously showing the disappiontment and humiliation her character is feeling. Sadly, the season is over, so there aren't any more new episodes to watch for, for at least a li'l while. Hopefully it'll get picked up for more seasons, or whatever the hell the Hollywood term is for that. Watch it on demand if you can.

My roommate, my friend and I were thinking of throwing a Halloween party again this year, but I'm not sure if we will. I find that I just don't have much interest in it and I've got too much to do with something like that to think about on top of it. Cux I can't just throw a crap party--I'd rather not have one at all. So dunno if that will happen. Even if it does, I don't know what I want to dress up as--well, I do know. I want to be John Smith (as in Pocahontas), but I don't know if a good costume for that can be found and, as I stated before, I don't care very much.

Lastly, to add a speckle of interest to the most boring blog entry ever, I realized while watching some of that show House that V.P. looks like a younger version of House. (Actually, he looks like the actor playing Dr. House, but who cares what his name is. I'm referring to him as House.) He didn't believe me when I told him, so I did a comparison, which you see here:


What say you, all? Does VP look like a younger version of House? You cannot deny they have the same nose and face shape, and the same eyes, even. What does everyone think?

And that's all I've got for now.

Beep!
Ed Shepp