Psychic Paranoia.

I'm currently working at a company that produces reality TV shows. Just now my boss came up to me and told me about this guy she just got off the phone with who wants his own show. Apparently, he's a world renowned "mentalist" who specializes in hypnosis, using the power of suggestion over people, and judging from his website, using those powers to commit statutory rape.

Sorry, but I've read WAY too many comic books to be impressed by the powers of Isreal Mandrake. As paranoid as this sounds, I would not be comfortable having someone who claims to have "influence" over people on my set, let alone give him his own TV show. Whose to say that this isn't all part of his plan? Maybe he got the meeting with my boss by using his powers to pull some strings, grease the mental wheels, and get the psychic ball rolling? I know we all create our own reality, but what if this guy is manipulating our reality via our brains, with the goal of getting his own reality TV show? If I've learned one thing at this office, its that people will do ANYTHING to get on reality TV. ANYTHING!

I recall there being a hypnotist at my Senior Prom after party, and he called a bunch of us on stage to hypnotize us. But before he could hypnotize us, he had to test which of us were most susceptible to hypnosis. Needless to say, my Dana SKULLy was far too dense and skeptical to be penetrated. I'll wear my hard head as a badge of courage when Isreal Mandrake uses his mind control powers to seize control of the company and one day THE WORLD. After all, it'll be up to me, the lowly intern, to stab him in the heart with a stake and submerge his dismembered body in the four corners of the Earth. Right? Right?

Let's just pretend I'm good at this.

http://io9.com/5549613/the-last-thing-spider+man-should-be-is-another-white-guy

When I first saw this article, I assumed the worst. And by the worst, I mean an uppity, overly sensitive bitch and moan session about how Marvel is racist for not drag and dropping an African American in the Spidey-suit. But I was pleasantly surprised by this article because it brought up an excellent point. Peter Parker was never a character defined by his whiteness. He is a character who is defined by the people he cares about, and the choices he makes to protect them. Spider-Man's biggest weakness was Peter Parker's greatest strength; his ability to love, and hold onto those relationships that mean something to him. Peter's refusal of the Superhero Sacrifice is what makes that book. And I'm pretty sure I'd go see that movie reboot whether Aunt May is cooking chicken casserole, tamales, or collard greens. On that note, I think they should cast racially blind and just see who who captures that snark we've come to expect from Spider-Man. That was what was really missing from Toby Maguire's "performance." Bottom line, I don't care what race the rebooted Spider-Man is, I just hope they get an actor who doesn't have this face in his repertoire.



I'm working two internships. One is with a Hollywood director and I'm unsure about saying his name on public forums such as this. And its not a testament to his fame or anything, he's C-List at best. I just know that he's vain enough to google himself regularly and the last thing I want is for him to find his name on my donk-and-poney blog where I regale my legions of fans with tales of getting his prescriptions for Valtrex filled (That's a pill for when you get the herps, FYI). Overall, I'm not learning much at that internship. It mostly consists of me sitting in the kitchen with the other two interns scouring the internet for images that coincide with director projects he wants to work on. He also has had me read a couple scripts and do coverage, and let me tell ya, I know I'm not the greatest writer on Earth, but God damn. If these scripts are indicative of the work done by paid, Hollywood writers, then I'm going to take this town by storm in less than five years. Let me explain. This is not a testament to my amazing writing style or unique voice; its a testament to the horrible material I've seen swirl around the toilet that is this town. If I read one more haunted house script about a woman being haunted by a creepy little girl ghost, I'm going to go bat-shit insane.

My second internship is at a prominent reality TV production company. I'm really enjoying my time at this internship, actually. Its a busy office and I'm learning a lot. The people are super friendly and down to Earth, and when I'm not doing little tasks around the office for people I'm watching TV and writing coverage about what I see.

I'm slowly widdleing away at my savings, so I'm only going to keep up this "no pay work" thing for a month or two longer. Until then I'm keeping myself busy. Totally overbooking yourself is a fantastic way to forget you're sprinting towards debt.