Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

krisis

Krisis has been creating Crushing Krisis since 2000, writing songs since 1996, and reading comics since 1991. He is a Customer Success and Digital Brand Strategy executive, serial organizer, parent, and feminist, among other things. Based in Philly through 2017, he now resides in Wellington, NZ.

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Sadly, it looks as though i won’t make it to the new round of American Idol auditions — the nearest one is in New York City (which is sure to be mobbed) and it’s on Thursday (directly in the middle of my three midterms). I put some serious thought into it before going to sleep, but the slim possibility of getting to perform on television for a few seconds doesn’t seem to balance out against not making it onto Deans List.

Even if the audition was in Philadelphia i might not have wound up auditioning… and not for lack of trying, since “We would like to give everyone the opportunity to audition. Unfortunately, depending upon the response we receive, it is possible that not everyone will get the chance. … [T]he exact method for selecting individuals from the crowd for auditions is subject to the producers’ discretion based on factors such as style, ability and skill.” I still gave the release form a good reading over, just so i could see exactly what kind of awful situation Fox was legally allowing themselves to plunge the contestants into … and, oh boy, there are some funny loopholes in there. My favorite two lines, by far, are as follows (emphasis is mine):

  • “You understand that you may reveal, and other parties may reveal, information about you that is of a personal, private, embarrassing or unfavourable nature, which information may be factual and/or fictional. You further understand that your appearance, depiction and/or portrayal in the Program may be disparaging, defamatory, embarrassing or of an otherwise unfavourable nature which may expose you to public ridicule, humiliation or condemnation.”
  • “You hereby grant to Producer, its assignees, licensees, agents and affiliates, the right in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, or for any other purpose, throughout the universe in perpetuity to use and reuse your appearance during all phases of the production of the Program.”

    • Between those two rules, not to mention the absolutely despotic clause about their rights to utilize your original songs, i think i’m probably better off not auditioning… whether it involves a trek to another state or not. Talent shows come and go, and i’d be better off trying out for one where i get to use some talents other than standing around looking “stylish” and that don’t think they’re allowed to do anything they want due to their obscene amount of popularity.

    https://crushingkrisis.com/2002/10/85580134/

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    On an unbelievably brief break from putting together my monster 1100+ piece mailing for Admissions today i took a moment to read a few blogs. Now, you have to understand that this is something i haven’t done for a fairly long time … i’ve even fallen behind on my tacet upkeep with Rabi, Tom, and Martha to the point where Elise has to inform me that the former was on break and the latter was back from hers. It didn’t take too much reading to remember why i enjoy this so much, and i’ll spare you the highly irrelevant details, but i was shocked the entire time by how out of the loop i am. Sure, i’m out of the teevee loop, as i’ve pretty much given it up cold-turkey. And, yes, i am out of the national news loop — i found out about the Washington Sniper in Linguistics class when someone mentioned it in a report they were doing about the speech community at WPVI News. But, i feel as though i’m out of some larger, more all-encompassing loop … instead just repeatedly running the Peter-circuit without a care in the world.


    Hoping to amend that soon, but right now i think i need to take a minute to actually eat something before starting on homework or some indefinite quest to reclaim my witty bloggness.

    https://crushingkrisis.com/2002/10/85578148/

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    I have been transformed, though not completely.

    The assignments in my songwriting class have so-far been very involving, especially to me — a non-music major. For example: write a melody for a completely instrumental piece and turn in an accompanying paper discussing your use melodic contours and devices. Less perplexing (though still very involving): write three different titles for each of three different subjects, then expand each title into a brief synopsis of plot, and finally re-write each original title using idiom/axiom or assonance based on what you outlined in your synopsis.


    I thought i would be alone in my venture into this musical territory, and went to the length of getting the program head and my own dean (a music major himself) to sign off on adding me to the class. Much to my surprise, there were a few non-music major in my section of the class by the end of the first week. However, their introductions went something like “Hi, i’m Bob, i’m in this band…”


    They all dropped the class after the melodic contour project.

    To the best of my knowledge i am the only student in my section who turned the assignment in complete and on time, despite harrowing and somewhat vague instructions including having to notate the entire melody and perform it in class.


    This week we had a myriad of assignments due, capped by one particular task: write a song. By no means did it have to be a good song, or a very well-written song, but it was meant to make use of all the exercises in title devices and word-painting that we had been employing earlier in the assorted assignments. As directed, I wrote a song, but i was less than pleased with what i came out with. Having already made a somewhat big point out of all the writing i’ve already done, i was definitely hesitant to turn something so equivocal and boring in masquerading as a masterpiece. So i wrote another… not my best song ever, but something i really enjoy playing. Because of my extra work i wound up scrambling before class to photocopy the scribbled lyrics out of my poetry book and to pencil in the chords, but i still had it turned in on time..


    To the best of my knowledge i am the only student in my section who turned the assignment in complete and on time.


    Complete and on time… there’s something about that. In the past i’ve been one of those students who turns things in incomplete and begs for extensions to wind up with their A. So far this year i haven’t done that — not once, even when i had the opportunity to do it to save myself from a logistical mistake.

    I don’t know what’s come over me… could it be that i was destined to suddenly become responsible at the age of 21? I’m still trying to figure it out, but in the meantime all that i can be sure of is that i’ve entered every day of class so far with the intent to prove that i am a capable student, if not the most capable student, when it comes to completing the work in an acceptable fashion. Not only that, but when people show up with excuses like “i was sick” or “i didn’t quite understand the assignment” or “i missed the roll sheet last week” i just roll my eyes and go back to taking notes. I’ve done all three, and i’ve still made it out with an A in each situation, but being smarter than everyone else is so much more satisfying when i am really being more intelligent.

    I really am.

    https://crushingkrisis.com/2002/10/85568735/