Clint Eastwood’s performance is the backbone of Gran Torino, a stellar movie
December 29, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Prior to yesterday, I’d only ever seen one Clint Eastwood movie, Million Dollar Baby. I didn’t know quite what to expect going into Gran Torino, but I shouldn’t have been too surprised that Clint Eastwood once again delivers a stellar lead performance as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran.
There are plenty of sites out there to give summaries, so I’ll jump into my generally feelings about the film.
Surrounding Clint Eastwood’s rock-solid performance are some unknown Asian actors. They do a good job for the most part, though their inexperience shows through in a number of scenes unfortunately, and they are not always believable in their roles.
Read more . . .
Transfer of knowledge can take longer than expected in comedy
December 27, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’m learning to work in smaller chunks lately. I have a huge project right now in that I’m attempting to write a one-hour-long one-man show. The first step in doing this is to organize all of my notes, all 45 pages worth.
My writing style is to doodle down little notes whenever I feel inspired and then come back and collect those thoughts and flesh them out later. I think this method works in that I’m never having to sit down and try to come up with jokes from scratch. The unfortunate part is that I hae a huge backlog of material to go back and flesh out (or maybe that’s a good thing).
To write my one-hour show, I have to reorganize the material into different sections such as Work Life, Family Life, Gay Life and so on. This helps me write stories for each of the different parts of my life. The unfortunate part is that the job of transferring my random notes into an organized book has taken me almost half a year.
The task of organizing 45 pages of notes was so daunting that I spent much of that time procrastinating. Now, if I can’t even transfer notes, how am I supposed to actually write one hour’s worth of material? It finally came to me today: I have to write in smaller chunks.
Instead of looking at the full hour, I’ve got to write little five-minute chunks that can be later spliced together. I’ll have to then build some narrative structure in later. This will be somewhat difficult as it is reverse to how I normally write. I generally have a narrative skeleton that I then add the meat to as I go along.
I hope this works. I’m really excited today, though, because I am on page 35 of 45. I really, really hope I can finally get this huge monkey off my back so I can move forward with my writing.
A stand-up comedian’s Christmas can be a lonely affair
December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Another year, another Christmas spent alone, thus is the the life of a stand-up comedian. I ended up having a somewhat boring day, but at least there was some great NBA basket ball on television; Celtics vs. Lakers is always a fun matchup (unfortunately, my Celtics lost).
I suppose a bit of loneliness is never too terrible a thing. Being alone today reminded me of the sacrifices I’m making to pursue my career out in Toronto and be separated from my friends and family. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m having a great time in Toronto, but today reminds me that I have to focus on why I am here in the first place, otherwise I’m separating myself from my family for no good reason at all.
I got quite a few updates done to my website. I re-intregrated Twitter feeds and fixed a few of the WordPress and Facebook interactions. I’ve also been researching Podcasting and will be introducing those into my blogs hopefully very soon.
The most important part of today, though, is that I’m finally going to get off my ass and start writing again. I’ve been resting on the material I wrote while in Calgary, and as proud as I am of that material, I know I can be much, much better.
I’m sure everyone makes lots of New Year’s resolutions, but I think my re-dedication to comedy in the new year will stick. All it took was a bit of loneliness to remind me why I’m out here.
Learning through videogames can be effective if done right
December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’ve been playing Rock Band 2 a lot recently, and it’s really helped my rhythm and has basically taught me how to play drums much more quickly than any other method I can of. This experience got me thinking about learning through videogames in general.
I’ve spent most of my life playing videogames. I think videogames are a great way to learn and can help children use parts of their mind that they normally wouldn’t use. It’s unfortunate that there’s a group out there who feel videogames can only rot minds. Quite the opposite is true; it all depends on the games you play.
My first big game was Tetris. I was absolutely addicted and played multiple versions on my NES and then my Gameboy (and eventually every other system known to man including my DS and Wii). Tetris is a great way to teach kids about spacial relations.
I was a huge role-playing game fan ever since playing Final Fantasy II on the SNES. RPGs are a great way to get kids to read. I’ve never read so much in my life than I’ve read while playing RPGs. On my way to becoming the Winnipeg Typing Champion, I learned to type mainly through typing videogames that my friend coded for MS-DOS and later perfected my style playing Typing of the Dead for Dreamcast.
I could bring out many more great examples of how videogames are a great way to learn, but the latest and greatest examples are music games. Sure, some of the instruments such as in Guitar Hero don’t really teach you much other than finger dexterity and rhythm, though those are important, but some games are so close to reality that they can really help you learn before taking professional lessons.
Playing drums is so close to reality that it’s a good jump start. Nothing takes the place of professional lessons, but now at least when you are at a point to take lessons, you are already fairly up to speed with the basics. I’ve also recently purchased Keyboardmania II for PlayStation 2. I’ve always wanted to learn piano, and now I can learn a few things before moving on to real lessons.
Maybe videogames aren’t the best way for everyone to learn, but it meshes quite well with my learning style. You see, I always avoid getting lessons or being trained when I start something new. I like to have the chance to figure things out for myself and develop my own style before later taking lessons and polishing up my act.
Two clear examples of this philosophy are my typing and my comedy. When becoming Winnipeg Typing Champion, I developed my own style of typing that would not have happened if I followed the standard conventions. I use different fingers for keys than are recommended, and I think it’s because my hands are different than anyone else’s hands, which is true of everyone. There is no one correct way to type, depending on the size of your fingers and the strength of your hands, it can vary from person to person.
The same is true of my comedy act. I took great care in carving out my own style before seeking out feedback from other comedians. I think it’s really helped me shape my own style.
2009 MCC Christmas concert at Roy Thomson Hall produced great musical performances
December 24, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
So I went to the annual MCC Christmas concert tonight at Roy Thomson Hall, which is a beautiful hall by the way. It was nice being back at the concert, as it was one of the first events I attended when I moved to Toronto last year.
The service was pretty religious, but I suppose that makes sense since it was a church service. Haha. It’s strange because I’m normally not much for the praying thing, but once you set that stuff to music, I am all over it.
It was nice seeing my old roomates, Lindsay and his boyfriend James. They were both so great to me when I first moved to Toronto, and it’s always nice reconnecting with them.
That’s all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas day. Celebrate with family and friends and have a merry old time, yo!
Painting my signature red glasses black was more fun than expected
December 23, 2008 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
So yesterday I went out and bought a five-dollar can of paint and painted my signature red glasses black (see picture below). It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, but the deciding factor was my purchase of a bright orange jacket recently.
Now, my style is generally fairly plain with the exception of one signature piece. Lately, this signature piece has been my red glasses. With the bright orange jacket, though, it doesn’t make sense to wear red glasses. The jacket should be the focus, and thus the red glasses had to go. The black glasses will allow me to focus on different pieces and this year my style will expand due to this much-needed variety.
To be honest, these black glasses are closer to my original vision when I went shopping for glasses a while back. Unfortunately for me, my head is much smaller than the average North American’s, so it is quite difficult for me to find a pair of glasses that fit my head. Instead of forcing myself into a pair that didn’t fit correctly, I went with the wild red glasses basically because they fit the best. Sure, they have grown on me, but black was definitely my original vision.
Okay, okay, I’ll stop all the worry by revealing that I still do have my red glasses. I did paint my glasses black, but . . . I had TWO PAIRS of red glasses. Haha!
Merry christmas y’all. I hope to see you all soon with my black glasses (and the red ones too).
Business humour is difficult to grasp compared to stand-up comedy
December 23, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
So I’ve been in quite a few meetings lately for my day job, and I’m noticing that I’m having difficulty loosening up. In my comedy and around my friends, I’m quite loose, but in the world of Toronto business, I’m seen as quite business-like and somewhat boring too.
At first I thought it was just a case of me getting more comfortable, but now I think there’s an actual divide in humour. The humour I bring to stage is not exactly appropriate for office chatter, and the “business” humour is so far removed from what I find funny that I have difficulty relating.
A co-worker of mine today said it came down to just being more fake. I don’t completely agree. Sure, I certainly laugh along with whatever’s being said, which I suppose is being fake a bit, but I don’t think the business people making the jokes are being fake. I think they genuinely find what they’re saying to be funny.
There’s not much I can do except hope that the humour eventually rubs off on me. Humour is a good way to be disarming and to relate to people quickly. Hopefully I can learn this new style of humour before too long.
Twilight movie stylishly mixes adolescent love with vampires and werewolves
December 14, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
This evening I went out with my roomie to see Twilight at the movie theatre. Twilight is a vampire romance movie based on a novel by Stephanie Meyer. I am a complete novice to the series and have never read any of the books, but I got caught up in the hype and have been eagerly awaiting the movie.
I’m generally not a fan of traditional vampire lore, though I am a super huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its offshoot graphic novel Fray by Joss Whedon. In a lot of ways, I found similarities between the two properties: love stories at the heart of a crazy, vampire-filled world.
I enjoy what Stephanie Meyer has done with some of the old vampire lore mainstays, particularly her twist on why vampires don’t go out during daylight.
Read more . . .
Top nine random reflections of 2008, my first year in Toronto
December 11, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
My first year in Toronto has been a wild, wild ride for sure. There are a number of things that stand out, though most of all would be the sporty gay Asians who’ve welcomed me with open arms. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever found a city so initially welcoming in my entire life. Within my first two months of living in Toronto, I was off to Montreal to play volleyball with a great group of guys.
My dayjob has gone extremely well, having been promoted twice since working here. The only part of my life that hasn’t gone according to plan would be my comedy career, though most of that is my own doing by not focusing enough on it.
1. Toronto is the most welcoming city I’ve ever lived in
2. Changing cities means basically starting over in the comedy business
3. Montreal is a great city, but how long will I love it if I go there five times a year
4. Business people are much more in shape than in Calgary
5. Nintendo’s Wii Fit is the best game ever
6. Politicians are kind of hot lately
7. Toronto’s gay community is a lot like the cast of Gossip Girl (in a good way)
8. The more expensive the haircut, the less chance that they’ll shampoo your hair afterward
9. Baskin Robbins is dangerously close to my new house
Being a leader is more difficult than I imagined, I have lots to learn
December 4, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
The recent leadership struggle in Canada’s Parliament between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives and the coalition of Stephane Dion, Liberals, Jack Layton, NDP, and Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Quebecois, has come to a standstill and won’t be resolved for another seven weeks. All this talk of leadership has gotten me thinking about my own leadership abilities.
I’ve always personally thought that I was a natural-born leader, though recent developments have led me to question my abilities. Both at work and in my personal life, I’ve always been thrust into positions of leadership. From a young age, I have always led or been very near the leadership position in every group I have been a part of. At times, the leadership has been thrust upon me and at other times I have sought leadership.
In some ways, I am not a very natural leader at all, but I am often placed in positions of leadership because of my ability to gain trust and belief from others. The trust is often gained through observations of my ability to inspire others through my actions and initiatives and my ability to work well on my own and overcome obstacles. Unfortunately, it is this very nature that makes it difficult for me to lead in the traditional sense.
In the volunteer world, I have found that I am better served as a secondary leader or co-leader whose purpose is to inspire through action, leaving the world of traditional leadership to those more capable. I have recently found the same at work, where I didn’t fare so well at directly managing and supervising staff but have fared much better when managing people as resources, meaning those I am in charge of have separate supervisors to deal with everyday managing while I deal with the bigger picture.
Unfortunately for me, there are times where I have to step up and lead in both ways, as the option to co-lead is not always there. With the SuperPowerBottoms, I am fortunate enough to have a great group of players to lead: They are hard working, show up early and are motivated to practice. In fact, they are so great a team that I have to question my leadership as the main reason to why we haven’t improved sooner. I suppose I can only do my best, and perhaps things will turn around soon enough.
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