Hampton06

Okay, so I'm not the best with keeping up with a blog. I already knew that I wouldn't be able to, but what is life without setting unattainable goals. 2006 is almost a wrap. So far, the momentum from 2005 has rolled right into this year. I'm not used to having very little to complain about. It's taking some adjustments. Things are actually, dare I say it, good.

My show was a success this year. I didn't make a million dollars, or maybe even $100, for that matter, but it was a success. They say find what you can do free and make that your work and that's what I did. This past Sunday was the last show of the year. The venue that I use is closing and the holidays usually don't bode well for getting an audience, so I'm on vacation (not really) until 2007.

Sunday night, I invited performers who started with me a year ago to come back for the final show. More than anything I've done in film/TV, this work has been about community. I didn't feel like I was at a show on Sunday, it was more like a family gathering. I'm finding that the older I get, the more important family, in every sense of the word, becomes.

I have no idea of where I'll host the show in 2007, I'm not worried about it. If I've not learned anything else, I've learned that things have a way of taking care of themselves. I just have to be prepared for the movement.

I swear, I'm not used to this. I need to gripe about something...

Okay, so I gained some weight. I mean, I don't mind the weight, I'm just not used to it. If you've known me for a long time, you've known me as a 140 toothpick. I got on the scale last week and it read 181lbs. After I changed the battery and stepped on again, it still read 181lbs. WTF?!? I'm short, so that's not really a good look on me. Well, it kinda is, fron the front, but if I stand sideways and look in the mirror, not so much. When I think about it, a few extra lbs isn't such a big deal. I'd rather be fat and happy, than thin and miserable. I've always been attracted to thickness, I guess it's not so bad.

Either way, my 181lb ass has been writing great material, performing well and focusing like never before. Well, I've performed well in most areas. I mean, I'm still awkward around, you know...people. Not everyone, just strangers. It's odd. I can get up in front of a room full of people and talk about my pubic hair, but become a social illiterate in a small cocktail party. Well, I'm not quite a social illiterate, I just don't normally feel like chit chatting. I'm not a chatter. I like real conversations, which often means I give real answers, which often makes people uncomfortable. But I'm working on it.

My dating life has been fantastic. Actually, I haven't really dated. I mean I have been on two dates, and about five, or six, "i'm not sure if this is a date" outings. The two official dates were minor disasters. I actually thought that i was on a reality show at one point and being filmed secretly. But even the dating thing is okay, I figure you can't have everything. Well, that's what they say.

I don't know that I'll blog again before 2008. I'm just being honest with myself. My therapist advices that. So, if I don't hear from you, or if I don't write again....Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy 4th of July, Happy Secretaries' Day, Happy Valentine's Day (I will probably blog on Valentine's Day as I will more than likely be in my boxers watching whatever is on my TiVo), and Happy Birthday.

I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I won't be spending money on a fancy new website this year, so I figured I'd better get back to my roots and blog. I've resigned myself to a few things over the last year and I've had a few new starts. The latest new beginning is my show "dear diary...tales of love, life, pain and stupidity." I've been working out of a spot call WORDSPACE in Los Feliz, right behind Fred 62. I just got word that space is closing down, so I'll be, well my show will be homeless for a minute. The truth is, I'm kinda looking forward to the change of venue. I like the possibilities that exist with starting something new.

Welcome to my spot. My little space on the net, well at least one of my spaces.

So can we get right down to it???

How glad are you that that whiny, annoying BEEYOTCH Monique is gone from "Top Model". The thing is, she is pretty and could've done well, but she's studied the show. She thought that Pretty + Bitchiness = Airtime. It's worked for other underfed contestants in the past, but not for phone hogging, panty rubbing Monique. (Note: I would have prefered to endure another week of Monique to avoid the Holy Ghost singing that Tyra and Miss J launched into during the judging).

It was a busy night for me last night - Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, The Nine. In some ways I think DVR is the best invention EVER, but as my scheduled programs list reaches up to twenty shows on some days, I realize I have an addiction.

Okay, real quick, I want to address Aunt Viv. Honestly, her best performance was her reaction after being eliminated. You know she was thinking, "Vivica is not happy." I'm glad that Vivica can get back to making straight to DVD films that I can enjoy on lazy Saturday afternoons.

Despite my unnatural love for television, my last few week's have been consumed by the music world, much more than TV. I have been drowning in all things Janet Jackson. Not drowning, that sounds negative. I have been swimming and bathing in all things Damita Jo. Speaking of Damita Jo - the album, it was a lot better than folks said. The singles sucked, but give it a listen.

I am not embarrased to say that I belong to online Janet fan sites. For months we've been gabbing and anticipating the coming of our Queen and then we got (limp) "Call on Me". I hated that song...not because it was a bad song, I mean, it isn't a great song, but I hated it because when I heard it I saw a career nose-dive before my eyes. I knew the single would flop. Yeah I know it's #1 on the R&B charts, but ya know what I'm saying.

For the last few weeks, being a Janet Jackson fan has been like being on a politician's campaign. The talk on the fan sites isn't about her artistry, it's about SUPPORTING janet. We had to WORK HARD to make her number one. I was a loon. I think I was more nervous about her first week numbers than the last presidential election. I'm not even like one of the CRAZY fans, I mean, I don't think I am. The CRAZY, DIE HARD, BUY 10 COPIES of the CD fans are in need of therapy. "How could this happen?", they ask. "What went wrong?"



I had already resigned myself to the fact that Luda was going to debut number one, the day I heard he was coming out the same day as Janet. I wish they could have moved the release date. The truth is, sell 300,000 copies of a CD at 40 with no radio, or MTV love is pretty damn good...the problem is, they set the bar too high. Let's be real it's Beyonce's world and we better just deal with it. (Note: Ring the Alarm isn't cracking the Top 10 - maybe more than two weeks are needed in creating a CD.)

Why do I care so much? That's a much longer story. I drank the Kool-Aid years ago. I actually purchsed janet's FIRST two albums. You know back when the only dancing she did was the shoulder movements.

I think for a lot of us, Janet's success, meant that we were all still relevant. It meant that the artists we grew up with could kick these babies born in the 80's asses. Janet's still teh shiznit, but damn, her success with this CD, or lack thereof is making a whole lot of us feel prematurely middle age. What are we supposed to do? Buy Cassie's CD?