Mother Torture

So I've had an interesting weekend thus far. Friday I got out of work early, found a relatively secluded spot of the beach and read a bunch of Water for Elephants, which has a pretty cover and is the "book-of-the-month" for the book club I've decided to join out of sheer loneliness. It's not a great book. It won't change the world. But it's serviceable and interesting and worth reading. If you liked Carnivale, you'll find this a second-rate companion piece, but a companion nonetheless. The frame of this old man who's remembering (or, more aptly, reliving) his crazy days in the circus might actually be the better, more original part. Anyhow.

What's actually interesting is yesterday. Yesterday I was a (low-) paid audience member at a half-hour game show that will remain nameless, but let me tell you, it sucked. All these people were wannabe singers, actors, dancers -- people in the AUDIENCE. And let me tell you, these are not potential contestants. Potential contestants are pre-selected (and honestly, I'm fairly sure the ACTUAL contestants are pre-selected, but they'd deny it). Anyhow, we did two show tapings, and the person who won both I had originally been seated next to and was, at least, a sweet person who I'm glad won -- but then I was moved because the lady on the other side of this woman was belligerent.
I did meet a nice guy during the taping who had been talking to this super-short girl who had super-impossible dreams of becoming, you guessed it, a supermodel.
And they didn't feed us.
And there was almost a brawl between a grown man and a grown woman. It was like middle school. Only dumber.
$60 for laughing and clapping and pretending to listen on cue and waiting in lines and being treated like chattel for 9 hours. But gas is expensive and you'd have done it, too, if you didn't know better. What I can't understand is why in HELL there were people there who'd done this before. It has absolutely NO chance of making you famous, does not pay, and is not fun. I don't get it.

I watched Harvey on Friday. You should too. It's sweet and a little sad and Jimmy Stewart could have played a serial rapist/cannibal and have had us rooting for him. Damn.