Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The Lowdown
Here's basically what's been going on lately:
1) I finally managed to get in touch with that casting agency. The guy on the other end of the line was very nice. I'm convinced now that it isn't a scam. If it is, they're doing a very good job of acting like "people who wouldn't scam anyone." The guy basically said, "Look. You've got until September 27 before your trial runs out. Why don't you give it a few more days, and see if any casting jobs come up." He seemed genuinely concerned that I wanted a refund so quickly. He also told me how to use the casting database to see if there is anyone in my area looking for actors.
So I did. Turns out there's a casting call for an independent movie tentatively titled "Asheville: The Movie." The guy I talked to said that they needed 300 extras, but I haven't read that anywhere. Filming is going to take place in Asheville between October and December. I'm thinking about contacting them and seeing if they could use any extras. I've decided I'm going to give this casting agency a chance. If I haven't found a possible job in a week, I'm just going to call them and say, "Look. I'm sure your service is great for people pursuing acting carreers, but I'm not one of those people. I don't have any experience, I'm just looking for work as an extra, and I'm a college student so $60 is a lot of money to me."
I really don't think it's a scam, and they'll give me a refund as long as I ask for it on time. If it turns out it is a scam, then I deserve to lose sixty dollars, because they're doing a great job of convincing me otherwise. They aren't saying, "This is the deal of the lifetime! Why would you want a refund?", they just seem to genuinely want to provide a good service.
2) I have written a full review of El Mariachi. I've also watched Desperado, plan on watching Once Upon A Time in Mexico soon, and plan on reviewing both of those. So next time I update my reviews site, you can expect at least 4 new additions.
3) The Daily Show is doing a week-long special entitled "Evolution Schmevolution" in which they examine the controversy surrounding evolution and the new "intelligent design" theory. Last night they had Kurt Vonnegut on, which was interesting. For clips, go to Comedy Central and look for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
4) I'm 95% certain I'll be going to Washington, D.C. the weekend of October 22 to visit Souwa for our one-year-anniversary.
5) Sociology class continues to be my most intriguing subject. Yesterday we talked about the roles of women have changed, and the two main theories about this. One theory says that women are the problem, the other says that men are the reason society's going to hell.
The first one (structural functionalism) is based on the idea that our society is structured around certain systems, such as political and moral systems. Gender roles are one of the these systems. Basically, supporters of this theory think that all of the main problems today (economic, social, etc.) are caused because of women. Traditionally, women are supposed to stay and home and take care of the kids, while the men are supposed to be the "provider" and head of the household. These are their respective roles, and basically, society is collapsing because that structure isn't being maintained. Now women are free to get an education, work, etc. and they don't even really need men for anything (artificial insemination has basically rendered us guys completely useless in all ways). Society is collapsing because the traditional system changed very quickly instead of gradually. Our problems will be solved if women go back to that traditional role and are submissive to men, because that is part of what gives our society its structure. The professor pointed out that Southern Baptists are one religious group that supports this theory.
The second theory (conflict theory) originates from Karl Marx, who thought that capitalism was only one step on the way to communism. In other words: it's okay if our social structure collapses. Women should rise up and revolt against the traditional system, because this will bring about change and bring about equality. Women aren't the problem, men are, because they're the ones oppressing the workers/women. The professor pointed out something which I figured out a long time ago: ironically, most religions are founded on communist ideas rather than capitalist ones. Take Christianity for example. We call each other "brothers" and "sisters." We're all equal in the eyes of God. We read that "the last shall be first and the first shall be last" and that we should "love our neighbor as ourselves." Those are pretty much in line with Communist doctrine. The irony is that Southern Baptists don't support this theory, and Marx wasn't a big fan of religion.
I'm going to refrain from giving my personal opinion on the matter of women's rights for now. I need to get to work. Suffice to say I'm somewhere in the middle.
6) Bush officially took responsibility for the lack of action in regard to Katrina. Personally, I think it's just a public relations move; he's never accepted responsibility for anything before. He's just hoping to get his approval ratings up a bit more; after all, it's not good to be unpopular while you're running a war. If he really wanted to impress me, he'd actually apologize and be willing to accept just punishment for the mistakes of his administration.
1) I finally managed to get in touch with that casting agency. The guy on the other end of the line was very nice. I'm convinced now that it isn't a scam. If it is, they're doing a very good job of acting like "people who wouldn't scam anyone." The guy basically said, "Look. You've got until September 27 before your trial runs out. Why don't you give it a few more days, and see if any casting jobs come up." He seemed genuinely concerned that I wanted a refund so quickly. He also told me how to use the casting database to see if there is anyone in my area looking for actors.
So I did. Turns out there's a casting call for an independent movie tentatively titled "Asheville: The Movie." The guy I talked to said that they needed 300 extras, but I haven't read that anywhere. Filming is going to take place in Asheville between October and December. I'm thinking about contacting them and seeing if they could use any extras. I've decided I'm going to give this casting agency a chance. If I haven't found a possible job in a week, I'm just going to call them and say, "Look. I'm sure your service is great for people pursuing acting carreers, but I'm not one of those people. I don't have any experience, I'm just looking for work as an extra, and I'm a college student so $60 is a lot of money to me."
I really don't think it's a scam, and they'll give me a refund as long as I ask for it on time. If it turns out it is a scam, then I deserve to lose sixty dollars, because they're doing a great job of convincing me otherwise. They aren't saying, "This is the deal of the lifetime! Why would you want a refund?", they just seem to genuinely want to provide a good service.
2) I have written a full review of El Mariachi. I've also watched Desperado, plan on watching Once Upon A Time in Mexico soon, and plan on reviewing both of those. So next time I update my reviews site, you can expect at least 4 new additions.
3) The Daily Show is doing a week-long special entitled "Evolution Schmevolution" in which they examine the controversy surrounding evolution and the new "intelligent design" theory. Last night they had Kurt Vonnegut on, which was interesting. For clips, go to Comedy Central and look for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
4) I'm 95% certain I'll be going to Washington, D.C. the weekend of October 22 to visit Souwa for our one-year-anniversary.
5) Sociology class continues to be my most intriguing subject. Yesterday we talked about the roles of women have changed, and the two main theories about this. One theory says that women are the problem, the other says that men are the reason society's going to hell.
The first one (structural functionalism) is based on the idea that our society is structured around certain systems, such as political and moral systems. Gender roles are one of the these systems. Basically, supporters of this theory think that all of the main problems today (economic, social, etc.) are caused because of women. Traditionally, women are supposed to stay and home and take care of the kids, while the men are supposed to be the "provider" and head of the household. These are their respective roles, and basically, society is collapsing because that structure isn't being maintained. Now women are free to get an education, work, etc. and they don't even really need men for anything (artificial insemination has basically rendered us guys completely useless in all ways). Society is collapsing because the traditional system changed very quickly instead of gradually. Our problems will be solved if women go back to that traditional role and are submissive to men, because that is part of what gives our society its structure. The professor pointed out that Southern Baptists are one religious group that supports this theory.
The second theory (conflict theory) originates from Karl Marx, who thought that capitalism was only one step on the way to communism. In other words: it's okay if our social structure collapses. Women should rise up and revolt against the traditional system, because this will bring about change and bring about equality. Women aren't the problem, men are, because they're the ones oppressing the workers/women. The professor pointed out something which I figured out a long time ago: ironically, most religions are founded on communist ideas rather than capitalist ones. Take Christianity for example. We call each other "brothers" and "sisters." We're all equal in the eyes of God. We read that "the last shall be first and the first shall be last" and that we should "love our neighbor as ourselves." Those are pretty much in line with Communist doctrine. The irony is that Southern Baptists don't support this theory, and Marx wasn't a big fan of religion.
I'm going to refrain from giving my personal opinion on the matter of women's rights for now. I need to get to work. Suffice to say I'm somewhere in the middle.
6) Bush officially took responsibility for the lack of action in regard to Katrina. Personally, I think it's just a public relations move; he's never accepted responsibility for anything before. He's just hoping to get his approval ratings up a bit more; after all, it's not good to be unpopular while you're running a war. If he really wanted to impress me, he'd actually apologize and be willing to accept just punishment for the mistakes of his administration.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 9/14/2005 02:00:00 PM 
