Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Live, from Chicago...

I typically don't use this blog for SNL-related jabber, but this is something special. Every year, Lorne Michaels and his cohorts fly around the country to audition and take note of talent. The Chicago cattle call is referred to the "SNL showcase" and held every late July at IO. As a current IO student, I thought maybe I had an inside track to see the auditions; as an added incentive, one of my former teachers was amongst the cherry-picked. Understandly, this is major annual event and draws a big crowd, so I had to prepare; I was informed that even though the show started at 8, doors opened at 7:15p. Lo and behold, when I arrived in Wrigleyville that night, the line outside of IO was well over a hundred strong. I thought this worked to my benefit, as the Del Close Theater sits 150. As it turned out, only the first hundred were let into the showcase. Though my rare opportunity to mingle with Lorne's minions didn't work out --apparently, Seth Meyers and Marci Klein were there, too-- at least I can take solace in the fact that Tara DeFrancisco (my former teacher) reportedly had a very strong outing.

Other notes:

+ If it weren't for David DeJesus' injury, I'm pretty sure the Royals would not have been sellers at the trade deadline. We'd been playing .500 ball since Yost replaced Hillman, and for once we were in a rare position of upward mobility. Alas, my dream outfield has been sliced and diced; with DeJesus out until 2011, Scott Podsednik was shipped for LA and Rick Ankiel was traded to Atlanta, receiving mostly minor leaguers in return. Recent heroics aside, there's nothing that can convince me that onetime hot corner prospect/current platoon left fielder Alex Gordon has not been a flop. Barring a miracle, the Royals' apparent goal for 2010 --right now, anyway-- is to avoid losing 95 games.

+ I regret to inform everyone that my stint as a life insurance agent didn't work out. Even though I was hired, there were several intangibles I couldn't quite get past, of which I can't elaborate upon at this time. With a heavy heart, the job search soldiers on...

+ This week's blog was a bit of a downer, but I'll leave you guys on a positive note. My ex-boss posted this on his Facebook wall yesterday, and I couldn't help but share this clip. Between this song and The Bad Plus' rendition of "Iron Man," it's funny how the Black Sabbath songbook is so friendly to jazz musicians.

1 comment:

  1. Life insurance salesman, eh? I bet that had to include harassing people at all times of the day, trying to force something on people that they didn't want.

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