It's been a slow quarter for Passionate Realism. Between jobs, vacations, and other things, Passionate Realism had taken a backseat to other interests. It is alive and kicking, and I have had many ideas gestating in the back of my mind. Here's to hoping that the Passionate Realist Radio Program gets off to a good start. I would like to send audio pieces in from New York.

I think that we're off to a good start as Passionate Realists. As Passionate Realists, I feel it's necessary that we dedicate ourselves to honing our crafts, whatever they may be. My craft is comedy. We've accepted as a fact that dedication to craft is essential for doing the remarkable work we know we're capable of. Case in point-- Amy has just recently upgraded her review-writing skills by studying a style guide, and she will be enrolling in a class on theatre at the LACC. That is passionate realism. Kudos to Ross and Styles for publishing pieces in the latest Ostrich Ink. I need to publish something. In fact, that is what our movement is lacking at the moment. We're not really being published or produced anywhere. We need to work on getting our names out.

At the moment (and for the last couple months), I have felt awkward about pursuing any kind of advancement, not knowing where I'd be living, having no idea how I would be contacted, but now I know that I will retain my current cell phone number, and I have a new address. Now, I can begin the task of building, and I hope that everyone else will do the same. This will be the season of passionate realism.

Ross, you should write a query letter to the mens' magazines regarding your tanning piece.
- posted by Earnest @ 1:23 PM

 
Passionate Realism, as seen in this week's Salon:

Barry White was many things during the last 30 years -- a hitmaker, the butt of countless jokes, a has-been, and then the recipient of the ironic (and condescending) appreciation given to retro icons. Perhaps the last is better than no attention at all, but if people weren't embarrassed about acknowledging what gives them pleasure, they wouldn't have needed to treat White's supremely pleasurable music as camp. And, true to the image he built of himself as a true believer, White remained dedicated to his style of mood music.

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But whoever plays the roles, and whatever form swashbucklers take, the movies need their spirit. We feel close to swashbuckling heroes in a way we never could to the traditional stern, lantern-jawed male authority figure. There's always distance between us and the men on-screen acting more bravely than we could. And while nobody fools themselves that they could do what Fairbanks or Flynn or Lancaster do, the swashbuckling hero, in his physical abandon and capacity for sensual pleasure, has the common touch that endears actors to us. John Barrymore had it, so did Jean Harlow, and Michael Caine has had it in spades for years. You don't go to swashbucklers for moral complexity. You have to look elsewhere for the darkness that some actors have explored in the characters we have been taught to think of as heroes. But saving audiences from cynicism is no small task. Allowing us to believe in heroes, and allowing us to laugh with them, is as noble a feat as any a swashbuckler has ever accomplished.
- posted by amy @ 11:16 AM

 
I'm ready to talk passion. Regrettably, the First TV Show of the Passionate Realist Movement has been struck dead by missed meetings and E-Rock's traitorous move to the Big Apple. It's time to switch gears. I have the pleasure of announcing the First Radio Show of the Passionate Realist Movement, a historic pact between Styles and myself complete with historic handshaking photo. Nevermind that I dropped my camera and the film got exposed---the show must go on! Danforth France is onboard as our new host. He's a quick-witted and quick-brained comedian, but not an attention-demanding comedian type. He also wields a charming, radio-friendly voice. Lastly, blogger inactivity, while regrettable, will never mean the end of Passionate Realism. Global thermal nuclear warfare will come closer to finishing the job, but that's another story.
- posted by amy @ 7:31 PM