TV times 3V! (The "V" is for Vinnie...or victory...Vinctory?)

You know the exterior of the city hall they use in Parks and Recreation? Well it's the city hall building in Pasadena. Walking past it one day I stopped and went "huh" recognizing it from the best show currently on TV. Here is photographic evidence:

I was very excited to pretend like I'm a proud native of Pawnee.

After this discovery, yesterday I had a private meeting with an acting coach who is known for his work in comedy. In fact he wrote the book on comedy. Literally. I bought it and am reading it now. Anyway, he had me do some cold reads and said that was what I was meant to do and that I am here at the right time now that comedy is making a great new come-back and I should take his words with great value since he wrote the book on comedy. So I felt like expanding my ego a tiny bit. Living down here I can use all the excuses for false modesty I can get.

Tonight was a very special time. I attended a live taping of Tim Allen's new show Last Man Standing. It was my first live taping ever. It was fascinating. Not just because I sat next to an Australian girl (not super impressed since I'm pseudo-kiwi myself, but nice just the same), but because I really dug Home Improvement. This show is basically the same thing, but instead of three boys he has three girls and works at an outdoor store instead of a tool show. Other than that, same deal.

It was great to see how quickly everything moves in TV and how lines change. It really is like a play, but it is also not at all like a play in the way that it took over four hours to film 22 minutes of TV time. Overall I was very satisfied with the process. There was a great comedian who kept us entertained throughout the performance and a DJ that kept things upbeat as well. The biggest thing was laughing when I was supposed to. If anyone has performed with me in the audience, you know it takes a bit for me to laugh. Tonight I did have some earnest laughter. I had a lot more laughter out of appreciation and respect because I knew the joke was funny even though I heard it three times already, but it was kind of part of the unwritten contract between audience and performers in a case like that.

Another great surprise was when I realized that my favorite newest actress is on the show, so I got to see her perform as well. Kaitlyn Dever. She was the little girl on Justified and the youngest daughter on Last Man Standing and also the little girl in Bad Teacher (the WORST movie with the BEST cast). Based solely on her performance on Justified, I know that she is seriously going places, and I am so happy to see her next to Tim Allen. She is a truly great actor and I look forward to seeing where her career takes her. Here's a short interview with her. Read it.

Enough gushing about an actor 1/3 my age with 10 times the talent and drive.

Here is a pic Jack took of me on the set of 513. Nothing super exciting...unless you like awkward thinning men in uniform.

McDonald's crew

Rather than spend two hours in traffic, I arrived in the Valley Village area three hours early and hungry, so I figured I would chill at the McDonald's for a couple hours and harness their free WiFi.

I stopped at the restroom first to wash my hands (warsh, for you ruralites). There was a shirtless man using the urinal, with his shirt on the counter. As I washed my hands he began giving himself a sink-bath. It must be a regular event because he didn't have an aroma aura around him like Pig Pen. Later on he sat down to charge his phone and put on a dressier shirt. Must have a job interview later or something. He carried with him a large clear plastic bag of clothes. That makes my heart do things I don't know how to handle, so let's move on.

With that I ordered and used a Monopoly game piece I found in my car, only to discover it was from last year's "game" and for some reason I did not remove it from my car the entire year.

When I sat down I was treated to a couple of teens playing guitar in the dining area. It was actually really nice to see kids use their creativity. Yep, I'm an old man. One even played a bit of classical music. Old man happy now.

(Only now do I realize how much of a people watcher I am)

Along with those groups were the other McDonald's usuals. Two cheap computer nerds (like me) in the corner. One ironically hipster, the other just old with a pony tail. There were some father/son and mother/daughter combos along with a smattering of singles. Oh, and I can't forget the diligent employee cleaning up every table and the floor and even the bench right up to where I sat. Very admirable. I imagine that's who I would be if I were a member of the McDonald's Army.

Oh yes, and the picture of Ronald McDonald on the window. Looking at that face reminds me that I know who that face belongs to (the one underneath the make-up, that is). He is a lovely director and you would never know he was a boisterous clown if you met him in daily life, but there he is, plastered on walls and windows every half mile all across the world. Could I pull off that job? It would be pretty sweet, I could still be me in real life and not have the stigma of being a spokesman, I would just also be a little rich and not likely to be mobbed like the Verizon guy.

I'm actually still here. The guy to my right has a left hand full of fries and a right hand holding his phone with Mario Brothers paused (that sound is ingrained in my being). So I guess I'm also one of the people here I am talking about. I am at peace with that.

The Big Bang Hypothesis

My roommate really enjoys the show The Big Bang Theory. I've always had issues with TV shows that use live audiences and canned laughter because they generally lean more to the side of the can than the side of actually being funny. Cue The Odd Couple music.

Over the last few days I sat down and gave the show a chance. I just finished the first season when I got an odd feeling. When asked what I thought of the show I responded that I didn't not like it. I took another moment to process my thoughts then I realized that I just liked the show. This is a new feeling for me!

It may seem odd, but I am not used to liking TV shows. I am very familiar with loving shows, but not liking them. Examples: Arrested Development, Party Down, Spaced, Firefly-all of those shows I love. Even the first couple seasons of the American version of The Office I loved. Then when Jim and Pam got together, I stopped watching because the main emotional connection I had with the show was fulfilled, so I moved on. In short, I am experienced in loving TV, but not in liking TV.

That little binary way of existing stretches into a few too many areas of my life. When it comes to relationships with women, I understand what being friends is like and I understand what being in a relationship is like, but I've forgotten how to get from the the former to the latter. Classic on/off dichotomy. Also with myself, if I am not doing something I know I'll be proud of, I just do not get excited about it. It may have something to do with the high expectations I have for myself and how I extend them into the rest of the world. As a therapist told me, instead of my extremely lofty dreams, I need reasonable, achievable goals. On that note I think discovering that it's okay to just like something is definitely a breakthrough.

Big Bang Theory is not a great show, but it's okay and touches me just enough to keep me interested. With that last sentence I would like to retract the earlier statement that this idea extends into the area of relationships...even if it was creepily accurate. Now I'm getting way too heady.

Mark the calendar, it only took me 6 weeks of living in LA to lower my standards!